Good luck is a strange phenomenon. Is it random? Are there only a certain number of people on this planet that are subject to constant good luck? Are there people that are unlucky? I am not sure that I have the answers to any of those queries. I myself have experienced life like the rest of us. Sometimes I felt like I had fallen on bad luck and then there were times in my life that it seemed the luck came my way...in small doses…. but I think I recognized it as luck. The fortunate situations that have come our way at the Ranch always come with sign. John and I are fond of saying, “Ahhhhh, an auspicious sign.” They are little things, like someone showing up just when we needed them. Luck for me personally, has shown itself in many ways. It can be good or bad fortune in my life caused by accident or by chance that (gasp) is out of my control. I have been fortunate enough to know when my struggles come with a challenge, the lessons are always rewarding. You know, the universe doing for me what I could not do for myself. A gentle nudge in other in other words.

When I was 21, I couldn’t get out of my own way. I was is a less than savory situation at home but around every corner was an opportunity to change. I remember I was sitting on a grassy hill starring out into space lost in thought and unable to see the change that must occur. I actually heard my name being called and looked down (I still don’t know why I did not look up) and a four leaf clover was looking at me. I couldn’t believe it because I always thought that was for someone who was lucky and I was not feeling lucky. My head stayed down and I proceeded to find 16 more four leaf clovers. As small as that was…..it gave me hope. I did change my life and have been changing ever since. For the record…..I have hundreds of four leaf clovers. Turns out, my grandmother used to find them and I have sisters that can find them. There is a scientific method to finding them but I choose to believe that every time I find one….it is an auspicious sign. Am I lucky? Or do I need all of the luck I can get? Who knows…………………


I found my first four leave clover of 2010. I was walking back to my office and I heard someone whisper my name. I looked down (I still don’t know why I don’t not look up) and a four leaf clover was looking at me.

Thirteen years have passed since we opened the doors to the ranch for the first time. Without missing a beat...we opened up the Ranch a few weekends ago to one of Jorma's specialty workshops. Though small in numbers, the group was over the top in the spirit they brought to our little piece of heaven. Winter seems to be gone (hopefully) and despite the overcast sky, everything about the light that shines through the hearts of musicians broke through that platinum ceiling. The mix of students came from all over the U.S. They came in from Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Delaware, Mexico City, North Carolina, Florida and South Carolina. Some of them were repeat offenders and others were new to the Ranch. By the time Saturday rolled around it was as if we’d all known each other for years. That is the magic of the Fur Peace Ranch. We are doing it again this weekend with Stefan Grossman, Larry Coryell and Jorma. This time the group is large and though we’ve just gotten underway...the magic is clear. The students have all been here over the last 13 years at one time or another. Some of them know each other and some are just meeting for the first time. Four are new to the Ranch but have been taken in by others and they are all off playing guitar after an amazing lunch prepared by Chef Chris. Pot roast taco's with Chipoltle brownies for dessert!

Years ago when we had the idea to open the Fur Peace Ranch Guitar Camp, we were moved by the land to build something. It did not happen over night. I was still in the throws of my life choices at that time. Eventually as I became healthier my eyes opened, my heart grew and I was able to see that it was the land that brought us here and it was time to learn some unknown lesson. It was in 1991 shortly after we first moved here...I went for a drive trying to escape my misery, but there I was, stuck with me trying to get a way from me. Every turn, around every corner of the winding roads that is my home, was more stunning than the last. The puffy white clouds, the rolling hills, the cows, the grass so green it hurt my eyes...and this voice that kept at me so lovingly. I heard, “Look at this beauty. Get out of your hurt and look at what is yours.” I finally gave in. Instead of fighting this internal struggle, I started to sail around the corners. I was laughing and gasping for air at the beauty that is this land that kept showing itself to me. When I reached the end of the road I was on, I turned back around and sailed back the way I came to be sure I wasn’t having a mental break down. I wasn’t having a break down. I believe that I had become so sick and tired of being sick and tired with myself, that there was no where else to turn except into the arms of these hills that were wrapping themselves around me like a mothers love.

Everything is connected. The land, the Ranch, the dream, the students, the music, the food, the land...and the circle keeps swirling every session...every year. Onward............

One of the great things about traveling is that you are forced to live your life one day at a time. It is a rare opportunity for someone like me to live in the moment. When I am at home, I am busy at the ranch every day. Then there’s the running Izze back and forth to preschool (which is 25 miles away), taking Chinese lessons twice a week and dance class one a week. Reading a book has become a luxury of late.
I did get to slow it down a bit when we were hit with one of the worse winters I have seen in Ohio in all the years I have been there. The snow and frigid temps allowed me not only to take it all in but to stop running. At my age if I fall on the ice, well….that would be bad. Honestly, I am not a fan of winter. I am from the east coast and figure that I have done my time in the snow and ice and that gave me the right to complain about any winter, whether it was snowy or just cold. But I can’t stand to hear myself complain (because I am so good at it). So last year, I vowed to not complain about the weather…..the cold weather. This year was the true test. And I think I passed. At the end of the day when I came back to the farm and got out of my car, I looked passed the mounds of snow piled high from Jorma’s deluxe plowing. I ducked every time I entered the door to the house, as to be sure I would not get decapitated from the foot long ice sickles that had formed out and over our gutters…and when it came time to walk my dog , I just said, “let’s go Nana, it so beautiful out.” I made walking trails for myself and the dog and shoveled every day and somewhere along the way, I stopped faking it. It was beautiful and I had become grateful for the opportunity to not complain.

The middle of February came and we were ready to head to Palm Springs to teach our winter workshops. I tried not to gloat to my friends about where I was heading. I have to say, it was nice. It was 80 degrees the entire time we were there. We made our annual pilgrimage with some of our students to the Coachella Valley View Point to watch the sun come up over the Salton Sea and I took it all in. I laid in the sun, read a book (wow!!!!) and tried not to talk about how I escaped the winter back home.

I am winding my trip up….just a few more days in California. I am on my second book and unfortunately have come down with a little cold causing me to feel a bit vulnerable. I am home sick. I miss my office, my home, my friends and the snow (yikes). What I have discovered is that one of the beauties of this life is that I don’t have to go far to experience nature in all her glory. Out here I have seen scenic vista’s, water views, majestic trees, dirt paths and picturesque landscaping. I have all of that and more in my little neck of the woods in southeast Ohio… not to mention the homelike warmth around every corner in the rolling foothills that is my refuge.

Snow or no snow, cold or no cold, I celebrate the fact that that today…..there are no ripple’s in my pond.

Saving the world over soup….

This winter, southeast Ohio experienced some frigid temps. I am from New England and have seen my share of cold and ice and snow so I feel like I have the right to complain. I have done my time in the cold. But complaining doesn’t get me anywhere. Then all you do is whine. No one likes a whiner. So, I took a completely different approach….a grateful approach and instead, embraced the beauty of all of the snow. I even started running in the cold my dog Nana. I surprised myself actually. Could it be that I actually like winter? I wouldn’t go that far. I found though that if I dress really warm and greet people like I am actually happy that it is colder than my body can handle, it is not so bad. I have also started cooking hearty soups. It is all psychological but you know…it’s working. Especially the cooking and then there’s the sharing of the soup bounty.


Ask anyone I know…who has eaten my soup…I make great soup! I would put my soup up against anyone’s. I always make sure my attitude is in check when I cook for anyone. I wouldn’t want a sour attitude to get in to anyone’s belly. So, once I know I am in a good place I pull down my largest pot to make a soup that would serve a village. For the most part, I don’t follow a recipe. My soups are in my heart and they just happen. Sometimes I see my self cooking and my hands are just cutting and pouring and adding and sipping and then….it’s soup. I eat a bowl then I pack it up and bring it to the Ranch to share with everyone. I always reserve a small container for my Mom because I want her to know that I was paying attention to her and my grandmother when they were cooking.

From December to early March, there are no sessions at the Ranch so our Chef Chris isn’t feeding us. Lunches are usually missed. Not this winter though. Every week since the first of January I have provided soup. Brett, my assistant, has made the bread; John has made some specialty of his and Kelly too. We all sit down and enjoy the food, the season and the conversation. The conversation is the real key to this story. Between the 6 of us, John, Treva, Kelly, Aly, Brett and myself, we have found all of the answers to all of the world’s problems. We have balanced the budget by hiring local accountants, we have found a way to start the healing and rebuilding in Haiti, we have found answers thru sensitivity training for the prejudice in this country and have found the secret to feeding the hungry and just about every problem that exists today. It just amazes me how easy some of it is. The question always comes down to…Why? or What were they thinking? If soup is how we found the answers, I encourage all of you to start cooking. Remember, start with a grateful heart and you too can fix what needs fixing in this world. Then, share your bounty with your co-workers. It will bring you together to do good in ways you never imagined. To close...it was my corn chowder that stopped the prejudice, my roasted root vegetable soup that balanced the budget, my yellow split pea soup that figured out a way to bring practical education on drug use in the elementary schools to the teachers, my tomato bisque that stopped the hunger in this world and my creamy fennel soup that inspired us all to take a look at how we should treat each other. Bon appétit!

Well, as much as I prayed for it not to come…the snow is here. Not a lot, but enough for me to sigh big. The trees are coated with a heavy wet snow which took down some nondescript tree in our front field and ripped out a power line that had a direct feed to the neighboring transformer. The line lay over our driveway just low enough to not be able to get out. Of course we did get out due to the ingenuity of my husband Jorma. I won’t reveal how he did it for fear that someone from AEP might be reading. Not sure if it was our tree that was the culprit but 160 families near us were without power all day. Thankfully a few years ago we were smart enough to buy a generator. The praying for no snow, the praying for electricity became obsessive at first, and then I remembered what a friend of mine said years ago to me. Little prayers are over loading the circuits to God. So, I moved on and tried to be grateful…and I was. I made it out, took my daughter to dance class, managed to grab a bite to eat with her at our favorite eatery, then spent the rest of the afternoon in a salon chair before heading back to the farm. The power was out until 8pm…

It got me thinking about all of the little prayers that are out there, floating around, perhaps not being answered the way that we would like. I was always told that you get what you need, not necessarily what you want. This, for the most, part has settled well with me over the years. But there are people that need our help...help that neighbors, friends and strangers can offer. Every year like most companies, it was time to set the date for our holiday/year end get together at the ranch. Once we set the date and make sure everyone knows it’s a potluck, someone (usually me) decides what the gift giving procedures would be for this year. I always say, ”no gifts... I have everything that I need." There is always an exchange of gifts though. We just can’t help ourselves. I really wanted this year to be different. I wanted all of us to experience giving in a different way. The moment we set the date, we put all of our employee’s names, including mine and Jorma’s on little pieces of paper. Then, Brett, John and Kelly helped me organize the list as the names were picked. We went down the list of everyone who works at the ranch, then picked a name randomly from the little pieces of paper. It was unanimously decided that each person (the giver) who got another (the receiver) as their vehicle for giving, could choose any organization to give to however near or far. We set a specific price limit and then waited for December 16th to share.

When everyone gets together at the ranch the food exchange is something else. Kelly’s noodles, John’s famous beans and more. This year we had potatoes, spiral ham, salmon, oriental salad, green beans, kale, pies, homemade candy, appetizers and more. Truly, more food than we could eat. And to top it all off, the organizations that everyone gave to in honor of another employee were just so creative and meaningful. Collectively, we gave to, Wounded Warriors, Alzheimer’s Foundation, American Farmers Association, Guitars in the Classroom, My Sister’s Place , Passionworks, Hillel Foundation of Athens, Ohio, American Jewish Federation to save Darfur, Norml, and local food banks in our area. I hope I remembered all of the organizations....

A big salute of gratitude goes out to my staff for agreeing to give in a special way this year……Happy Holidays everyone, may all of your wises come true.

Vanessa

Well.....I left the ranch the day before Thanksgiving and have been traveling with Izze for the last week. We had a great Thanksgiving before Jorma's tour started. We ate at Rod's Steak & Seafood Grille in Morristown, NJ (http://www.rodssteak.com). We reserved the 19th century train car attached to the restaurant and it could not have been nicer. It was like dining in the parlor car owned by James West...you know....from The Wild Wild West? There was only five of us....Izze, the star made it so special.
I had the imported penne pasta and lobster with fresh tomatoes, basil and light cream. The guys (Jorma, Myron and our bus driver Brent) had one of their famous steaks and Izze had the turkey dinner. She ended up eating my pasta. It was all superb...truly!!!

We left the next day and drove to the southern shores of Maine. It really is a great time to visit Maine despite the fact that there could have been a blizzard. You just never know in that part of the world. There was no snow just some rain and when the sun shined it was magnificent. We walked Ferry Beach with my sisters dog Lucy who became fast friends with Izze. We ate great food because my sister is the best cook I know and I just got to be me for a few days. Sometimes it is hit or miss with family...this was a big hit. Just what the Dr. ordered. I even looked at a piece of property while I was there....one that would be perfect for a Fur Peace Annex. But that's what I do when I travel. I look at real estate and think, "I can make that work". But really, at least for now, there is only one Fur Peace Ranch. As much as I would love to have another facility....we just can't be there on the porch with a cup of coffee Friday mornings greeting our students and be in Ohio doing the same thing. The Fur Peace Ranch is a one of kind treasure. I will leave Maine for long walks with my sister...the place where I can shut out the world if just for a week.

Izze and I drove to Philly today....another long drive. We will meet up with Hot Tuna at the Keswick...squish Jorma for a day, then head back to the hills of southeast Ohio, renewed and ready to welcome what I hope is a mild Ohio winter.

Gratefully......

Vanessa

Just a very quick note here today everyone.....I am on the road for the holiday and looking forward to the break. I wanted to acknowledge how thankful I am since 'tis the season to do so. Being grateful is something I try to be everyday. Sometimes I fall short but for the most part, I try to recognize all of the good things around me.

This year we/the band/Jorma had the pleasure of working with Skoota Warner. Hot Tuna's new drummer...yeah!!!! Skoota came to us through Jorma's agent, Seth Rappaport. A phone call about how great Skoota was and then a phone call to Skoota. Sight unseen for the band and Skoota, they decided to work together. For us it was a match made in heaven. Not only is Skoota a fantastic musician but he is a great soul. His gratitude is evident and he spreads it around like the wind. The moment we met....I felt his divine grace. If that wasn't enough.....as a drummer, he is the best I have seen play with Hot Tuna.

This is going to be a great tour (www.hottuna.com) on the 4th and 5th of December Skoota will join the band along with another Master, G.E Smith. G.E is one of Jorma's favorite guitar players...and mine too! We are grateful to Seth for hooking us up with Skoota and to G.E. for all that he has given us over the years. G.E. has been teaching at the ranch since the beginning and now he and Jorma are going to perform a weeks worth of dates out west in February (www.jormakaukonen.com). Can you tell I am grateful? I hope so....there are so many people in my life that are responsible for the gifts I keep receiving......a simple thank you doesn't seem enough....but thank you....and a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. May you be surrounded with the people you love and if that is not possible, then may you find joy in giving back........

Blessings......

Vanessa