Winter Wonderland

So Amy and I just moved (well, we're still in process) to Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood just to the south of Boston. We had grown tired of the Fenway because of Red Sox season, parking issues, landlord issues, parking issues, and Red Sox season. And landlord issues. It got to be too much.

But, we really liked JP - and it's really close to Amy's studio. There are a lot of people we like who live near here, too, so that's nice. We found an apartment on the second floor of this three story house. It's really awesome because it's right next to the Forest Hills Cemetery - I can see your face right now, but it's not like that. FH is a victorian cemetery, and it's really beautiful. (www.foresthillstrust.org) We can look out of our apartment and see woods and small gravestones in the distance. It's really quite nice. There are sculpture gardens, and a lot of people go for walks, run, there are concerts in the chapel, neighborhood events, etc.

We actually hired movers (a great thing) to move the heavy stuff. We had asked some friends to help us, but seeing as how the high Friday and Saturday was going to be somewhere between 6 and 13, we thought we'd keep our friends and hire movers.

It snowed today, so Amy and I took a break from unpacking boxes and went for a walk through the wintry cemetery. Here are some pics! The yellow house is where we live - second floor apt.

Christmas in Dixie...

So it usually takes me longer than I would like to catch up on reading all my friends' blogs, much less writing in my own. Today has found me camped out on our couch all day with a ferocious cold. Apparently, being pregnant wipes out your immune system and leaves you hacky and snotty with nothing you can really do about it other than accumulate sympathetic apologies affixed to well wishes from the local pharmacist. And somehow, I leave CVS already feeling like a bad parent for wanting relief. What's up with that? Having just returned from our Christmas trip South, I had planned on jumping right back into the studio in preparation of my February wholesale show, among a current production schedule due out in late January. I had also thought I would come home rested and rejuvenated too. Definitely NOT the case for me. Feeling like ass is not something I am used to--Ash even called and set up doctor stuff for me with our insurance (which I had neglected to do in August) and make an appointment. I can usually get things running pretty well again in about 2 days, but this has had me flat exhausted for over a week now and I'm tired of it. Tie-Urd. 

It's funny though, I have time to think like I don't normally think. Or wander into my usual disaster fantasies like the upcoming tax season, do I need another tax write off for this year or am I just in a spendy mood? What will I do about working in the studio and being prego? What will I do to keep cash coming in when baby actually arrives? Is our new place really going to be the shithole I imagine it will be? What if I never feel good again? What if it stays winter forever up here? Comical, Ash would say. But seriously, right? What IF? 

Jumping tracks a bit, we did have the best time at home, despite my being sick and Ash taking such good care of me. I have been so thankful for that man over the last few weeks...much more than I can even say. He amazes me with his kindness and thoughtfulness...and keeping things together. Good man. *sigh* So anyway, we got to Bhm much earlier than we had planned b/c of the impending snow storm that was to hit Friday afternoon. We moved our 6pm flight to 6am to avoid being stuck in an airport most of the weekend. A good example of my neurotic brain working in our favor and a perfect opp to surprise Mom. It was fun to troll around telling people with our news, or them guessing it before we have a chance to say it (Su ;o), and even going to a party (Mistletoe Madness) and RMC and catching up with friends...and family. It was fun noticing all those little things about the South that we used to take for granted upon our re-entry: wide interstate lanes, no tolls, cheap parking, wide parking spaces, friendly hellos when we enter a restaurant, Chick-fil-A, good customer service, Bible-verse themed interstate signs next to Love Stuff themed interstate signs, Chelsea Christmas parades that involve Santa, Jesus, shetland ponies and karaoke, people who use turn signals for the direction they are turning (despite the fact that there are only 2 people occupying the 8 person vehicle), and believe it or not, less potholes. Much less. Even for Alabama. 

Here are a few pics for your enjoyment of our niece and 2 nephews...

Suma-time/part 2

These are just a few images from the latter part of our beach vacation before we headed to Bhm for Artwalk. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pics of Artwalk this year. And Ash had to go home on Saturday so he could be at work on Monday (boo that). I stayed in there for a few days to catch up with people before heading to a show in Chicago the next weekend...where Hurricane Ike's wind and record rainfall caught up with me in payback of having such a glorious time at the beach. Who's the sucka now...?

Bike rental in Rosemary is essential. When my family arrived the second half of the week, we had the best time cruising up and down the sidewalks on our 'new' bikes. This shot is on our way to Alys Beach to play at the Fonville Press.

I love this shot of Holly and me. This was one of the things I had looked forward to most in heading South in August. Time with my girl. *sigh*This is our sweet niece, Caroline. Who, when well rested, is the most delightful of little girls. We played on the 'grassy knoll' here in Alys for quite awhile and this shot I think captures a little bit of my hope for her as she grows up...

...And Holly and I just like to roll down the hill...together. :) and yes, we DO have action shots of this.

Oh how I miss J.Clyde and friends...this was a fun night. Thanks for showing up, guys!
One of my mom's and my favorite things is ice cream...so I think Caroline gets it honest. It's fun to be an aunt and get them tanked up on sweets before returning them home (sorry Heather). Kind of a little payback for growing up with Tommy. ;) and I know it will come back to me one day, I'm sure...

Suma-time/part 1

This is from a short trip up to Portsmouth, NH. A day where we went to a waterpark (hilarity), to Hampton Beach, to Portsmouth, to LL Bean in Maine and then back home...all in about 14 hours. Fun times!

This picture is from the time we spent in Rosemary Beach, FL with Ash's family...albeit very brief (b/c some are more fearful of hurricanes than others, ;) ), we definitely loved our time with them...especially our nephews Noah (2.5) and Jonah (10 months).
This picture was taken less than 20 hours before Gustav hit about 100 miles down the beach from us. BTW: being that we were in the middle of the rain bands, we never saw a drop of rain in Rosemary Beach. Suckas.

A Bushel and a Peck...

So Ash and I decided to go apple picking this past weekend...I mean, now that I am respectively DONE with most of my fall shows for a few weeks (I have had one every weekend from August until last weekend on both weekend days, not to mention being away from Ash for more than 10 days during Sept). Needless to say, the hubs is a trooper. (But I did treat him to the fleet foxes show here Monday night as well. Did I already say that it was amazing? B/c it was...

Having an actual Saturday off felt like the best vacation I've had in awhile.  Here are some pictures to highlight our adventure. We also stopped by Salem, which is particularly cheesy this time of year...

If I find enough gumption to post more pics, I have quite a few from our McClure/Lucas vacation extravaganza in Florida and Birmingham to post later. yay! 

the ballad of love and hate

I know several of you may have been shocked to finally find a new post on our neglected little blog when you opened your google reader. I'm a little shocked to be blogging. I don't really have a reason to write much of an update on here. This summer has turned out to be much busier than I had intended it to be. I guess I'm a little thankful for that in some ways, but being that I feel so stressed with it, I'm not sure it's worth it. This isn't really the type of situation I was looking for with my "small business." I'm not sure what I'm looking for out of this situation other than helping out financially when I can. I love being able to help out with our finances.

As far as this little blog, I enjoy being able to put the general update out there...to not be as forgotten as we feel for those of you who care to read what we write. I hope to be able to catch up with those whom I miss the most on a more personal level and fall so short of even responding to most of my emails in any given week being that I get more than about 50 per day at this point. 

I think the longer I go without putting anything out there, the less inclined I am to start up again. Much like my exercise regime. It's usually accompanied by a huge *sigh.* ...with potential failure and judgement looming in my future.  I feel the weight of not doing the things I want/should do in these days. I have felt so consumed with my daily living, with my to-do list, that I forget the other things in life, like going to the store or being a wife. Being that the summers are so short here, I long to even be outside enjoying the weather and sunshine while I can. And day after day all I do is sit in my dark little studio, inhaling what dust and chemical I may only to make a little more money.  By the way, I hate money.

I don't know where I'm going with this and I'm sorry for dragging you along. Overall, I think I like this place in life a little bit more than I did in our first couple of months, despite the continued hardness of it. I like how much closer Ashley and I have gotten as a couple here. I like our space. our garden. riding my bike to the studio on a sunny day. that my studiomates are so different. and so great. i love that Ash really seems to like his new job. i love that my friends are having a babies that we prayed for for so long. (and that I get to meet soon!) I love being able to take a class in anything I want to learn about. I love the option of going to a portuguese church service and eating pao de quejo on a regular basis. i love not owning a home. i love that a hot day here is 90 with 30% humidity, not 104 with 80% humidity. i love the good beer here. I love a realized and expanding potential of a city.

BUT

I hate being so far away when terrible things happen. i hate not knowing how to respond to pain. or death. or friends who are hurting. or loneliness. (i want to know how and to do it better.) i hate not seeing our niece and nephews regularly. I hate chasing down people here who say they want to be our friends but who, in actuality, have no time or space for new friends. I hate not ever seeing or knowing my neighbors. I hate not having a sense of community. I hate being far away from friends getting married that we hoped would sooner than they thought they would. I hate missing out on porch time...missing wine (or soco with susu) and porch time and thursday/friday nights with friends...any night with friends. i hate feeling as lonely as i do most days.

I guess these are just growing pains. Or maybe the fact that I downed sangria right after Ash left on a camping trip this weekend and have been watching Dr. Phil when I should be stringing jewelry b/c I have over 456 pieces that need to go out before we leave for the beach next week.

I can change jobs faster than you can kiss a duck.

And that's pretty fast.  

(This is a compilation of other info and thoughts I've been letting go of randomly, so forgive me if you've already portions of my spill)

I turned in my two week notice Friday.  Exactly four months after I started.  This is the least amount of time I've held a "real" job - I only worked three weeks at Walmart in college.

Goody Clancy (GCA) just wasn't a good fit for me.  More so than any other firm I have worked at previously, their work is focus on one thing: making their clients happy.  So, really, their designs aren't so much a reflection of how good their work can be.  Rather, their work is a reflection of how good their clients can be at designing a building.  I saw what I believe to be bad design decisions made simply because the client requested them.  There was never any discussion about how to better achieve goals - whatever the client wanted, that's what they got.  GCA is all about service, which is great.  Our clients are, after all, footing our paychecks.  However, I would rather be at a place that clients come to because of our expertise, our design, and our creativity.  Not so much because we can follow orders.

[Below, a GCA designed atrium.  Pretty un-interesting)

So how did I end up at GCA?  Well, we had a house on the market, with an offer, and I had one job offer at the time.  We wanted to make the move work, and so we made it work.  GCA wasn't my first choice, but

 it wasn't my last, either.  I did like a few of their buildings - one of which they ended up not being the chief designer of, and who knows how the other one got built.  I had been told that they had come from a long "dry spell" in design terms, but some people said they seemed to be coming out of that.  I thought these two newer buildings were evidence of that.  Maybe at least one of them is, but I'm not willing to wait 10 years for that to happen.  I didn't see too much interesting design being done around the office in my tenure, nor was any presented to us in our weekly office presentations.

So, I'm starting work at Sasaki in two weeks.  Sasaki seems different.  Whereas GCA pretty

 much does only higher-ed work and multi-family housing, Sasaki 

does it all.  And, they are a multi-disciplinary firm.  So I'll be working directly with landscape architects, eco-tech experts, urban planners, etc.  And the firm is all about collaboration between these fields - it's one of the reasons their designs end up being pretty good.   

 

[Right, a Sasaki chapel.  Much better.]