kal-el.

finally made it to metropolis.

quiet.

not much to say lately. the words will come back. for now maybe just some visuals.

i like nyc

holly's recent trip to nyc for this cool project had me reminiscing about my one trip there way back in '03. it was in january and it was cold. i was there for work but my boss' wife and i hurried through our trip through the buyer's market so we could have more time for playing. we stayed on 42nd street, i forget the hotel. it was across from a sanrio store and next door to madame tussaud's. i remember a lot of walking and looking up. and of course having a camera (film!) attached to my face. i can still recall the amazing pastrami on rye i had at a deli i can't remember the name of. same goes for the greek dinner that was enjoyed at a cramped restaurant that was probably called nick's, but i'm not sure about that one either. freezing as we walked the two miles from our hotel to central park, exploring the park, and walking back again. i think all we did on that trip was walk and eat (after we did our work). what amazed me was how at home i felt. i can't wait till the next time i go. and it will happen. i have some museums to get to : )

these are two of my favorite fun shots from that trip.



thanks holly, for sharing your trip with us and bringing back some great memories for me!

now back to our irregularly scheduled blogging . . .

so, really i left off with us leaving for our big road trip.
we've just now really settled back into our non-routine routine (though the icebox could use a good restocking!).
i'll start with a few highlights from our trip and a few pictures. you can bypass all of this if you just want to see the pictures by going here (that's really just a sampling - i couldn't bring myself to upload all of them to flickr).

we left on a saturday, of course later than we wanted to, but that was and always is expected. please keep this in mind if we are ever traveling your way. things started to go downhill not even 2 hours from home. bad traffic in chattanooga. bad bad traffic. as in it took over 2 hours to go 4 miles. yes. that bad. and bea was not a happy camper. once through that fine city all was good. the trick was to keep moving. and move we did. straight to saint louis.

saint louis was one of our favorite stops on the way to the rockies. our friend's tim and tara, whom we have only seen one other time (on another road trip) since our wedding 7 years ago, live there. we got there very, very late and stayed up even later once we got talking. the next morning we had a delicious breakfast, some frolicking/wrestling out on the lawn, and then headed over to the missouri botanical garden . we barely touched the surface there, mainly spending our time in the children's area, which was really fun and henry had a blast. it was the perfect pit stop sandwiched between two long days of driving. we can't wait to get back to saint louis!


the next morning we headed out towards the mountains. we stopped in kansas city (mo), for lunch and a visit with a friends family. they adopted our wild beast of a dog willie when they bought their 40 acres and we are forever grateful. he has found the perfect home and is fat and happy!
we all experienced kansas for the first time (and wind farms) and i have to say i thought it would be a dull drive. instead, i thought it was beautiful and peaceful. it was hillier than i anticipated and the greens were so vibrant against that blue sky. really beautiful.
we made it into colorado at night. we had no peek at the mountains until we were weaving through them just north of denver. holy moly. it was surreal. especially to be driving through them at night. crazy. we got to our friend's the murhpy's (scott, suzie (+1), and caleb) in the middle of the night. they had work the next day and we had just driven 14+ hours. we chatted for a little bit, and even though we hadn't seen them since our wedding, we were all tired. so, we hit the hay. then this is the view we woke up to

that's right. at the murphy residence you don't look up at the mountains, you look out at the mountains. i forget their elevation, but i believe it was over 9000 ft.
we also got to visit with postman and chuck (high school friends of matt's). we stayed at postman's (and his wife christine) house and chuck flew from minnesota to hang with us for the weekend too! these guys had henry climbing the walls (and matt too)!
while all the fun stuff was going on, there was work to be done. thursday through sunday much of our time was spent at the show. it was beyond our expectations! such a large show and an array of talent. it was fun, but exhausting, especially for matt. by sunday he was ready to shut it down as were all the 250+ sculptors that were there. that show was broken down in record speed i bet. sadly, matt did not sell anything. at least we can say that the only thing that would have made this trip better was if there had been a profit made. instead, we made great contacts and matt got his name out there and met some great artists that we hope to see at future shows. we still hope to make it an annual or at least biannual trip. how can we not, when it offers us the chance to reconnect with so many friends and family?

we even got to see another friend we haven't seen since our wedding. weiner and his girlfriend, natalie. they're a pair i tell you. i cannot even explain it. there's no one like weiner and it just makes since that his girl hoops with fire. she's a professional hooper. and she gave us a show. and hoop to bring home. i had no idea how hard it is to hoop. they like to say "hooping makes you happy". i think if you did it enough it would give you great abs.

good times : )
we got to experience a lot in colorado though our main goal was to visit and reconnect. there must be something about that place, we know a few who have made their home there. so grateful to have gotten the opportunity to visit them! but after a week+ it was time to start the trek back home.
but first, a few more stops along the way . . .
we left the rockies and headed towards iowa. stopped in for a brief rest at my family's house there then headed to central illinois. bea got to meet grandma bea (matt's grandma).
(they look alike don't they?)
henry had an early birthday party with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins there.
he went tubing and loved it.

he went fishing with grandma. slept outside in a tent with uncle george and aunt jess.
and had a good relaxing time with family before really heading home.


this was such an experience it has taken us (okay, me) weeks to recover. but in a good way. we all experienced so many firsts on this almost cross country trek. first views, first foods, first introductions, etc. andi can truly say that my kids are travelers. it amazes me how well they do. i knew it about henry, but bea! she had to ride backwards the whole way! she had her moments definitely (chattanooga was rough), but i've learned that if you are willing to take your time and stop often enough it goes so much smoother than being in a rush and being tense. kudos to my little troopers! i'm hoping that by traveling distances with them while they are young will have pay offs when they're a bit older : )
and they did great at the show too. some people thought matt was crazy for "dragging" us with him, but i wouldn't have had it any other way. it really was a family affair. we went to set up with him, spent a lot of time at the show over the weekend and we were there for the breakdown. we kept matt company, manned the booth, and drove him a little crazy too.

we really did take the circus on the road.
and it was worth every moment of it.



***and congratulations to the murphy family on the arrival of isaac dylan!!***

pack it up pack it in

taking the circus out west.
colorado specifically.
here to be more exact.

the man has a show and the family is making a great big road trippin' vacation out of it.
i've been packing and cleaning and doing laundry in a caffeine induced fervor.

so grateful to be able to stop and see friends and family along the way that we don't get to see often enough.
excited to be going somewhere new and see a change of scenery.
pretty sure we won't want to come back ; )

lot's more to do - we're off in the morning and not even half way ready to go.

we'll be absent for a couple weeks. hope to have lots to share when i get back!
(think good thoughts for us!)

sculpture show: the first

so that last post? the one about going coastal and heading to charleston, sc. that one where i said check back to hear about how the actual purpose of that visit went. well, this is that post. finally.


matt took part in his first sculpture show in summerville, sc. it is an annual show called sculpture in the south that i am sure we will continue to attend each year. my saying regarding the show (because i am a huge dork) is that it wasn't a total bust.
matt had no sales, which was the case for most of the artists. he did however make some great contacts, got his name out there, had lots of interest in his work, and got to meet a lot of talented artists who share his passion for sculpture. it was a good test run for the big show out in loveland, co. this summer, and we got to meet a few artists that will also be attending that show too.



of course, it rained most of the weekend so matt had to set up and take down his booth while getting soaked and muddy. i was there for the set up part, but i had the little ones with me so i really only got wet when henry was having to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes. other than that we sat in the van watching a movie for the majority of it. it was a long afternoon and we all had stinky sandals by the end of the day.


as soon as the set up was done we raced back to the hotel to get ready for the black tie optional event. my mom had come up that day from georgia (yes. really!) because she was going to watch the little ones while we went to this affair. she stayed for the weekend and i would not have made it through the weekend without her. mom, thank you thank you thank you!
and off we went to the part-ay. it was swanky and it was intended for patrons to meet the artists, but we ended up talking only to other artists. i spilled wine on my dress. a given. and i still have not taken it to the cleaners. another given.


the next day was the first day of the show and it was steamy and overcast. matt had a lot of interest shown in his work and some people kept coming back to his booth repeatedly throughout the day. but no one bought : (
the second day was much of the same. he did get to meet one of the founding patrons of the show and was introduced to some gallery buyers, so fingers crossed - his name at least gets around.

all in all, it was a successful weekend even though no dollars were made. matt met artists from oregon all the way to maryland, he got the invaluable experience of talking to interested buyers and getting a feel for what people thought of his work, and he had a good time. so did i, but i may have to take my mom up on her offer to watch the kids here and let matt and i go alone next year!

it also made me get a website going for matt since i had a website printed on his business cards even though no site yet existed. well, now one does, though it is still in progress. i just had to get something up before the show. take a peek.

going coastal

this past weekend we had the pleasure of mixing business with pleasure and headed to the coast.
matt had a sculpture show (his first!) in summerville, sc. a town that appeared to be full of beautiful, restored, hundred + year old homes. the night before the set up we drove a little ways past summerville and stopped in charleston to visit with one of matt's old college buddies, jon. we actually lived with jon way back in 1995 when we moved to savannah and had no place to live yet. we had jobs, but no place to rent, so we drove back and forth over the state lines for a couple of weeks.
anyway, jon lives on a great piece of property right on a river that heads into the deep water. his house was a little ramshackle when he first moved in. i didn't see it then, but from what matt was telling me before we got there i was a bit nervous.

and then we get there. late. really late. midnight, maybe. and it is dark. very dark. the house sits at the end of a dirt road, no street lights, nothing. we know we are in the right place because jon told matt he bought an old city bus to revamp into an rv and it is the first thing we see. next we see the sweetest little greenhouse (made from found windows) all lit up. then jon comes strolling up. we tour the green house first. full of lemon tree seedlings, herbs, and tomatoes. it smelled so good in there!


we move on to the house and enter in through the kitchen. the first thing that greets us is the plants. they are everywhere. that and the orange walls.  

then you meet the most amazing found-in-the-woods sink (almost everything in jon's house was found/thrifted/salvaged). i actually miss the sink. it was a beauty.

   

up a few steps and you are in the living room. perfectly worn walls, more plants, found artifacts, a beautiful old piano, guitar after guitar, and just the most cozy room i've been in in a long time.

 

this room was the original room to the house. everything else was added on later. (not by jon, except for the 2 decks). in all there are 4 rooms, not counting the bathroom. this house exuded charm, coziness, and calm. mixed with the rest of the property, which included the greenhouse, a chicken coop, garden, outdoor sleeping tent, exercise area, hammock, and a fire pit, i felt like i was on vacation, it was so relaxing and peaceful. i was not surprised when jon's girlfriend amy said they rarely left their home. i don't think i would either.




come back later, and i'll give you more details about the trip and matt's show.

spring break?

i had meant to post something entirely different today, but i just didn't get the chance.
bea had an unexpected visit to the doctor to confirm what we suspected. croup. she's doing fine except for the barking cough in the evenings, poor girl.

on the up side we are taking a slightly impromptu vacation to florida.
when matt had his last trip to the bahamas, i mentioned i'd love to have a week off. so, my MIL suggested i head their way. she could watch the little ones and i could go stay at the condo. sequestered. and alone. i thought that sounded like a pretty good plan (except the sequestered and alone part. i opted to stay at the house with everyone. i'd miss my babes too much. BUT, i will take a rain check on that when they are older!). this is just the first week that worked for all of us.
matt has a lot of work to do for some up coming shows. he has one this month in south carolina and a big one towards the end of summer out in colorado. i figured this would be a win win for both of us. i can get a mini-break and he can get a lot of work done with the 3 of us out of his way. that's the plan anyway.

so, i'm signing off for about a week. hoping to get some knitting and some swimming done and that's about it. maybe get a little sandy too. and sleep. sleep would be nice.

see you again next week!

more florida

we took a boat trip up to sarasota for the afternoon. it was warm and sunny, but that wind put a chill in you. henry makes a great first mate. that is until he grabs the gear shifter and down shifts completely in one fell swoop. poor kid. the way grandpa and i grabbed at him we scared the you know what out of him. (honestly, it scared the hell out of me when he did it). thank goodness he didn't throw into reverse is all i can say. and as always, sweet bea slept through most of the ride.

we docked the boat at some swanky dive and snuck over to a more laid back kind of place. had a decent lunch and listened to the most monotonous live singer i have ever heard. not even remotely entertaining. he was just paid background noise. so, i digress. after the eats we all went for a walk in the park where the boy pretended to be indy jones climbing around the trees. he also wanted to play frisbee. there were a lot of bee games going on. and he really wanted in on one.

then we headed back to the boat and started for home. henry and i spent much of our time down in the cabin messing around and being silly and singing pirate songs.

and of course taking pictures.

holidays: round 2 part 2

early in the morning, the day after christmas we piled into the car (with dog) to head to florida to visit with matt's family. no sooner had we gotten the dog in the car did she decide to flip out. high pitched squealing (this is actually pretty normal when she is anxious or excited), and she was just spazzing. she was trying to jump over the seat which would have landed her smack on top of bea. not a good situation with a 65 pound dog. she's getting old and she just doesn't travel well anymore. we can't board her, we never have. thankfully we have a great friend, mariann (THANK YOU!), that we were able to call and ask her to watch mason for us. if she hadn't been so obliging, this would have been the car trip from hell.

but because of mariann, two complying children, and a wonderful husband who drove the entire way so i could finish my last knit gift, the trip went off without a hitch. bea and henry travelled great, though bea did cry the last 20 minutes out of hunger, poor thing.

we had a great time in florida. a little swimming here and there, soaking in the hot tub, picking fresh grapefruit from the yard (and lemon limes for our beers), chasing ali the dog around the house. all the good stuff.

we visited the crazy but always good christmas house one night. then another day we took a boat trip to sarasota for lunch and a walk in the park. on another day we went to snook haven on the myakka river for lunch and live music. and a couple days at the beach combing for shells. it was a full and relaxing trip. and it went quick.





the only downer was everyone came down with some 24 hour bug and henry got his the night before we planned on leaving at 4 am. so terrible seeing your little one feeling so crappy and not being able to do anything about it. though it still amazes me that i can handle the vomit like a pro.
so, we ended up letting henry sleep as long as he could and waited to see how he was feeling. he seemed okay so we packed finished packing up the car and said our goodbyes. we hit the road back to home around 9 am and our 8 hour trip turned into a 12 hour trip. thank you college bowl games that were apparently all played in florida. (what do i know?) we sat in bumper to bumper traffic on a 3 lane highway for i don't know how many hours. so we had a kid that felt like crap (but wasn't puking) and a baby who hadn't been held most of the day. it wasn't pretty, but we were so glad to be home when we got there.

more to come . . .

back from the feast

we are back from the great's and it was a great start to the holiday season. i don't know about you, but our thanksgivings are never a quiet affair. there are too many of us. it's always loud and its always good. i wish it happened more than once a year.
i hope all of you enjoyed your time with your family as much we enjoyed ours.

just beachy

while i'm getting back into the rhythm of things around here i'll just share some pictures.