In Another Castle
Certainly you have heard the phrase, "A man's home is his castle". I would say the same goes for two women living together, in this case, "A woman's home is her castle". So currently, our "castle" is a small two-bedroom duplex in the city. Our horse's "castle" is a pasture about 12 miles away. My hope is that we someday will live in another castle, a larger castle with great grassy lands around it, and a beautiful indoor arena where we can play and work with our horse even on the coldest of winter days. There would also be a stable, where horses can come inside when the weather becomes the most bitter in deepest Michigan winter. Other horses, both visitors and boarders, would also come to play. Human visitors would also come to play and to work, learning and experiencing mentally/emotionally/spiritually the deepest and strongest growth just by being close to the majestic equine beings coaching alongside their human counterparts who are trained to support this growth. Our visitors would be of all ages, races, sexual orientations, and abilities/disabilities. Some of them would be veterans whose mental, emotional, and physical wounds can begin to heal through their relating with the horses while getting high quality coaching and counseling.
The castle for the humans would be fully wheelchair accessible, chemically safe and filled with technology to enable independence and to facilitate good care giving. Some of the technology would include an overhead lift system to move me from wheelchair to bed or toilet, light switches and thermostats that adjust by voice control, power door openers, and an extremely powerful air purifier. The materials from which the castle is built would be carefully selected so as to minimize both environmental impact and to minimize odors and chemicals to which my partner would react because of her chemical sensitivities.
Attached to the castle would be a 12-guest room bed-and-breakfast built with the same accessibility features, and in addition, features to accommodate to persons with sensory disabilities. Such features would include, but not bee limited to braille signage and room labels, visual and auditory smoke alarms, and both print and audio informational materials. There would be a large commercial kitchen and dining room connecting the two buildings. The dining area, though large, would be warm and welcoming, with a comfortable sitting at one end around a large stone fireplace. Leading off from one side of the dining room, would be a short hallway to a therapeutic area including massage therapy rooms, an accessible swimming pool and hot tub, and a small gym equipped with accessible workout equipment.
Not far from the bed-and-breakfast building would be a cluster of small log cabins, again fully accessible. These would be available for rent, by the week, month, or year, for individuals who want to live on a working horse farm and/or want to take part in the large organic community garden that is also on the site. The cabin dwellers would also be eligible to participate in the community dining room.
Although this castle would be a bit of a distance from the city, visitors will be accommodated by accessible shuttles, so that even those who cannot or choose not to say overnight have the opportunity to visit and take part in all of the wonderful healing activities. This is what life would be like for my partner and me in another castle.
The castle for the humans would be fully wheelchair accessible, chemically safe and filled with technology to enable independence and to facilitate good care giving. Some of the technology would include an overhead lift system to move me from wheelchair to bed or toilet, light switches and thermostats that adjust by voice control, power door openers, and an extremely powerful air purifier. The materials from which the castle is built would be carefully selected so as to minimize both environmental impact and to minimize odors and chemicals to which my partner would react because of her chemical sensitivities.
Attached to the castle would be a 12-guest room bed-and-breakfast built with the same accessibility features, and in addition, features to accommodate to persons with sensory disabilities. Such features would include, but not bee limited to braille signage and room labels, visual and auditory smoke alarms, and both print and audio informational materials. There would be a large commercial kitchen and dining room connecting the two buildings. The dining area, though large, would be warm and welcoming, with a comfortable sitting at one end around a large stone fireplace. Leading off from one side of the dining room, would be a short hallway to a therapeutic area including massage therapy rooms, an accessible swimming pool and hot tub, and a small gym equipped with accessible workout equipment.
Not far from the bed-and-breakfast building would be a cluster of small log cabins, again fully accessible. These would be available for rent, by the week, month, or year, for individuals who want to live on a working horse farm and/or want to take part in the large organic community garden that is also on the site. The cabin dwellers would also be eligible to participate in the community dining room.
Although this castle would be a bit of a distance from the city, visitors will be accommodated by accessible shuttles, so that even those who cannot or choose not to say overnight have the opportunity to visit and take part in all of the wonderful healing activities. This is what life would be like for my partner and me in another castle.