This Is Summer

Summer is crazy. The days are longer, but somehow they go by so much faster than the rest of the year. The shop is going great, and I am infinitely grateful for every single person who wanders in. Here's a glimpse of what's been going on when I'm not at gathered, or doing something for gathered from various remote locations...

I took a much-needed road trip down to Georgia to visit family. First stopped in Athens to visit my sister. We went thrift hunting.

We ate. A lot.

Then we caravanned down to Savannah to spend a few days with our folks. Where we made and ate food. A lot.

At a frozen yogurt joint. In case you can't read the flavors they're recommending you Mix, it's Strawberry Lemonade Sorbet with Coffee Yogurt.

My dad and I tried for a long time to try to i.d. this beautiful moth. It was about the size of my hand and looked as cuddly as a teddy bear. Look at that punham!

Neighborhood pool. Note to self: playing Name That Tune underwater is still pure hilarity.

Best friends in Savannah! And patriots? Red = me, White = Orea, Blue = Christy. Unplanned.

Back on the mountain, Drew and I harvested a pound and a half of wild wineberries in about an hour.

Good friends Brenda & Carson had us over for a garden dinner. Look at those cuties!

Surprise visit from Savannah friend, Kirsten at my shop! So good to catch each other up on our lives since our Terra Cotta days 6+ years ago. 

Had the entire band of Circle Takes The Square stay with us for another week right before leaving for European Tour numero dos. Mostly work...

... and some play. This was right after we all jumped into a freezing cold waterfall-fed swimming hole.

Drew's band is still in Europe, getting back August 10. It's hard having him gone, but I get to pretend I'm there by looking on YouTube to see which thoughtful audience member has recorded their set. Here's a good one from their first show in the Netherlands:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynaODIQU1f4

And last but not least, I got a Subaru! Hopefully no more worrying about winter drives up our mountain! Hooray! Although it's hard to think about winter right now...

Whew! And this was just July.

A Whisp of a Vacation

I couple weeks ago I had a brief window of time between two major life stages: Stage One- working for an employer, satisfied, but not necessarily working towards a greater goal; Stage Two- owning my own business, fulfilling a deep-seated dream of mine. I am now officially immersed in the dawn of this Stage Two, with the grand opening of my art & craft boutique, gathered, a mere eleven days away.

Here is what I did in that glimpse of unemployment bliss...

Got talked into walking the St. Patrick's Day parade route in downtown Savannah with my sister and her friend Becca. I did not wear green, let the records show.

But this man did. He's my new boyfriend. Sorry, Drew.

Ran into my best friend from elementary school, Lauren! We haven't seen each other in at least ten years, and I swear she hasn't changed a bit. In the best way possible.

Watched Rip watch Dad watching some fern fronds popping out of the ground.

Pepe the Peacock has not made an appearance in quite a while. But this wild(?) hen has mysteriously taken his place.

Went on a wet and wild boat ride.

Walked around Forsyth Park with the fam.

And then Drew and I took a short road trip out west, through West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana. Drew had mapped out a route involving sacred ancient Native American mounds, waterfalls, hikes, and camping. I made sure we knew where all the Whole Foods were along the way. We had an amazing and mystical journey, and here are some highlights...

A choppy panorama of the inside of an overhang, looking out. We magically managed to both be in the photo (see Drew on the far left and me on the right?)

We learned that Ohio state parks are possibly the country's best kept secret. Look at this hardscaping on the trails! Right out of the Labrynth or Never Ending Story!

And we stumbled upon a billboard on the highway advertising THE WORLD'S LARGEST WIND CHIME. That's right. We pulled off onto the exit, needing gas anyway, and I casually asked the clerk if she knew where we might find a really, really big wind chime. I hear a voice pipe up from down the aisle: "If you want to know about the wind chime, ask this guy here." The son (and his friend) of the man who BUILT the wind chime were RIGHT THERE, RIGHT THEN. Needless to say, they happily gave us the behind-the-scenes tour, including a sneak peek at the World's Largest Golf Tee in progress.

The last and largest of the mounds we visited near St. Louis: Cahokia Mounds. During a thunder snow storm. I repeat. Thunder snow. Pretty darn magical.

Then we got a visit from my college friend Jocelyn! She makes the most amazing felted finger puppets, which I am honored to carry in my shop. Check out her full site here.

And a quick Easter visit to Drew's mom and David for lunch. This is their dog, Simon.

Thanksgiving in the South

My favorite pics from Thanksgiving in Savannah. Better late than never, no?

My Dad and his shadow, Rip (the whippet)

A surprisingly decent spontaneous photo of Isadora and me.

OK, I apologize for the blurry pic (and sorry, Mom) but I had to put this one in. My mom as she uncovered the (in?)famous cucumber-dill-sourcream-gelatin-aspic-mold-relish. In the shape of a fish.

Food! Lots of delicious brown casserole foods in all their glory! We literally (and gladly) ate leftovers in some form or other for the next three days. Best part of Thanksgiving. My Dad petitioned for my Mom's turkey pot pie to be a new tradition. And yes, those are three types of stuffing in the foreground.

Family photo courtesy of Uncle Rick. Thanks!

Dad, me, Mom, Isadora, Rip

Savannah During the Storm

Some snippets of my recent trip to Savannah...

 

 The sun rising over electricity.

 Blintzes. Nuf said.

 A bookshelf in my parents' living room.

On a shopping trip with my mom to the beauty supply store. Not my usual kind of outing, but Mom loves the stuff in there. I can't blame her. I would want an extra long tie, too.

Family Time

I had a few days off work (the real, paying job), so I took that opportunity to trek down to Savannah to visit the family. My dad knew I was coming, and he was able to hide it from my mom, who didn't know. So I surprised her! I just casually snuck into the living room and leaned on her chair, asking, "Whatchya watching?" I think I might have given her a little heart attack. But it was totally worth it. And then I was the only one who knew that my sister would be joining us the next day, so we planned her arrival while we were all out running errands. She parked her car down the street, and was just sitting in the kitchen like nothing was out of the ordinary. Heart attack numero dos for mama.

 We sat down at the dock a couple nights in a row to watch the tide correspond with the vultures congregating on the electricity poles, then one by one flying off at dusk.

 And has anyone ever seen a squirrel napping? No, scratch that. I mean two squirrels napping??!!

 This is the cuff I finished whilst in Savannah. I call it "Charmer" (Drew's idea was Snake Charmer). When it's being worn, the feather bead resembles a reptilian eye...

When it's flat, it looks like a cobra, ready to strike. I hadn't even noticed any of this until Drew came up with the idea for the name. And it wasn't until I was posting it on my Etsy page that I realized it's a feather bead, completing the full circle of the concept with the evolution of reptiles into birds.

Savannah in Sepia and Jeweltones

I recently got home from a much-needed trip down to Savannah. Drew's on tour with his band, Circle Takes The Square, so I met him at his show in Greensboro, NC, after which we continued on to Savannah for his next show and to see my family. But of course, an hour and a half into my drive, I realized as I was attempting to buy some food, that I left my wallet at work. Living on the edge (as I am wont to do), I got to Greensboro on the 3/4 of a tank of gas I started out with, coasting in with my empty light on. Not only that, but I also got pulled over when two cops were checking everyone for their driver's licenses! Seriously, what are the odds? But he let me go with a warning. I wonder how many warnings one can get before one actually starts getting things put on a driving record? I seem to have lucked out a number of times...

Drew leading fellow bandmates and new friends over the customary post-show "pole hopping" sequence.

Matt the Merch Man!

Rocking out.

Yup- my husband!

Autographing their broken drum head for the wall of fame at the club.

Pepe the Peacock made several appearances on my parents' porch.

Isadora and the love of her life, Rip.

Girls' night in with Thai food leftovers, ginger cookies, and Hallmark Channel's trifecta of The Good Witch 1, 2, & 3. That's right.