***We haven’t hosted or surfed since before Covid. As we return, I realize how out of date our 10 year old profile is! I have added some recent pictures and will add to the info below (new info marked with asterisks)

CURRENT MISSION

To help my children see the value in experiences, not possessions. To know individuals, not stereotypes.

**No change here - that’s still the goal!!

ABOUT ME

We are part of a small farm co-op because we believe in organic, sustainable, local food. Each year we get better at planning, preserving and preparing our farm food in order to decrease what we buy at the store. Oh, and Jav makes some pretty great Kombucha!

We bought our house as a "fixer-upper" and have gradually fixed, changed and updated the house ourselves as we lived in it. Jav wants to start a side business (during summers off from teaching) that buys, fixes and rents homes. His specific audience would be the families in his school district that are frequently exploited by their landlords.

We have two pretty awesome kids (no, really!) who we include in everything we do. Therefore, if you are looking to party, we are not your people. If you are looking for a happy home, shared meals, conversation, hikes, picnics, zoo trips, etc, we would be happy to have you join us.

**We still belong to the farm co-op, we’re always updating the house, and we still think the kids are pretty cool. We now homeschool the kids, Jav left teaching to run his own renovations business, and we have seen the dream become reality with the rental homes. These things also allow us to set our own schedule, so we have started to travel more.

PHILOSOPHY

Over prepare and then go with the flow!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

Hosting, for now. We hope to experience the traveling side as the kids get a bit older.

**Would love to meetup with locals when we travel - even if they don’t have room to host the 4 of us!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I was about to say "none," but I have had similar experiences. As a member of the St Olaf Band, I stayed in a number of "host homes" during domestic and European tours. They were all infinitely more interesting than the nights in hotels.

**We have now hosted solo travelers, couples, groups of friends, traveling bands, and families from all over the world. We have taken one trip as surfers. We don’t surf more often because it is hard to find hosts with room for four. Ironically, the one time we did surf, there were 8 of us in a one bedroom apt and it was delightful. Goes to show, it’s about the people, not the space!

Interests

Local food. Gentle parenting. Remodeling. Reading.

**Same things, just add in some travel

Music, Movies, and Books

Books - The Outlander Series (Diana Gabaldon); Animal, Vegetable, Miracle; Unconditional Parenting; The Red Scarf

**Luise Penny books, Lady Sherlock series

Music - Laurie Berkner, Julian Lloyd Weber, Tchaikovsky - actually anything from the romantic era, Miles Davis,

**Jav and Mari control the playlists (except at Christmas - then Teo is in charge)

Movies - La Misma Luna, Calendar Girls, Cinderalla Man, The Blind Side

Netflix series - House of Cards, Sherlock, Gran Hotel, Bomb Girls, Foyles War

Teach, Learn, Share

I would love to learn how to make tamales!

Countries I’ve Visited

Canada, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Portugal, Singapore, United Kingdom, Wales

Countries I’ve Lived In

Italy, United States