I had an unexpected trip to Rhode Island last week. My Nana died on Monday, and Rob, Mags and I all packed up and flew there to be with my dad and April. It was a very bittersweet trip - we actually had a great time hanging out with my family and showing Rob around, (we basically ate our way across the state, and it was awesome) but there was this unspoken sadness because of the real reason we were there.



It was also a funny trip because it made me realize how much I miss being home. We were in a bar waiting for a Pearl Jam cover band to start (don't ask - it was actually really fun) and Maggie commented on how she felt so much more comfortable in New England than in the South. Like she belonged there. I think it's mostly because there's such a variety of people up there, all sorts of colors and ethnicities, that no one type dominates over another. It even snowed and was in the teens for most of the time we were there, and I loved it. I had frozen toes and had to go shopping to buy warmer clothes, and I loved it. Is there a possible move home for me in the future? I don't know. It would be complicated to leave the South... complicated but not impossible. I think I'll just focus on planning a trip up there this summer for starters, and then go from there.

this loom is amazing. who wants to drive out to Taos with me for a test drive?

isn't she precious?

hi. we're good. rome is challenging us - sometimes in good ways and sometimes in bad ways. in pondering the upcoming year and all we accomplished last year, i'm trying to live in the now instead of waiting until A, B, or C happens, thus allowing my adult life to officially begin. that's bullshit and it depresses me. i want more. i can't be afraid to challenge myself.


georgia aquarium date


christmas dogs

in love
in the pool
rocky mountain reservoir
new friend

life feels very surreal lately. starting with the trip to jamaica (which felt like a week-long episode of the Love Boat - ridiculously great) and rolling right into seeing Rob drive off to work in a suit and tie every day while i go and play mommy for a couple hours. every place is unfamiliar, every thing is new. even the bugs outside seem louder, different here.

we've found some good places to swim and hike, as well as the most amazing tacos i've ever had. coming up we have the Rome Film Fest, a beer festival, and Sherman Alexie speaking at a local high school. fun!

we out

rob and the dogs and i are sitting in our mostly empty apartment watching cartoons and sitting on a blow-up bed. tomorrow we clean the shit out of this shit and then hit the road. we won't have internet for a couple weeks, so you'll have to do without my musings and quips. it'll be hard, i know (euni, the only one reader i'm aware of) but it'll be worth it. so many new adventures to have, so many photos to post - including our fabulous jamaican vacation! so hang in there, gentle reader. I shall return!! xoxo

hellblthththth

we went to see the new hellboy movie this afternoon, and i am SORELY disappointed. the use of so many new creatures was cool, but on a whole it was entirely too self-aware and completely lacking in any compelling storyline. there were so many moments where i expected the character to wink at the camera - yuckyuckyuck. to top it all off, hellboy looked WEIRD. like a kid in a halloween mask. his shoulders are so tiny!



see? see how tiny? and don't even get me started on the awkward goth girl get-up Selma's sporting. I think i had that necklace in 8th grade. in 1982!

sorry for the 'disappointed fan girl' rant, but i am truly bummed about this.



thanks to www.geeksofdoom.com for the image.

i am so excited. i put a deposit down on a loom this week! it's really beautiful and the woman who owns it loves it, which means a lot to me. this is such an intense step. the first one i'm taking in my move towards being a for-real studio artist. i am terrified, and keep looking at job listings and thinking about going to beauty school or getting an online degree in library science. i have never seen myself as a full-time artist, so it feels really selfish and useless to embark on this journey. who am i helping with this? how am i bettering the world? shouldn't i be doing more? ugh - not a great way to start off, but these questions have plagued me since i started art school (hence the semester of chemistry and such in preparation for nursing school. terrible.) and let's not even get into my view on my talents and abilities. i look at other surface designer web sites and think of how i'm only capable of ripping someone else off. i have no original ideas. but then, how many original ideas are really out there? ssshhhhh, one step at a time. get the loom, make some sketches, weave some samples, and take it from there. i'm not reinventing the art world. i just want to weave and screenprint. if nothing else, i can just make cool stuff for my house on my days off from my real job and spend less money at target buying the same crap i can make better.

anyhoo - the loom lives in Memphis right now, which means a road trip to Graceland is in the works on our way to pick it up - what a bonus! and you bet your ass i'm getting a peanut butter, banana & bacon sandwich while i'm there!



ain't she a beaut?

New rental house in Rome

Hello front porch



fireplace



crazy, makes-me-go-cross-eyed guest bathroom



very beautiful, special room for honored guests



back porch with astro turf



nice backyard for pups to romp in


there's finally a reason to actually visit Rome!

I have been eating chocolate skittles like my life depended on it, discovered I like lawyers better than artists, and have spent money on dead animal skins. What the hell is next?

lived in fear. now in love.

This book is so interesting to me - encapsulating all the pain and beauty and hilarity of one's day, month, life, whatever into only six words. The editors said that people were admitting an addiction to doing it, once they got their first one out.

So, what's your six words?

The Brain

No, she's not mine. But she is real, and I wish she was mine. I would knit her hats all day long. My own little evil genius... ah, a girl can dream, can't she?

We got invited to The Firm's christmas party and I need a cute party dress for it. Anybody see anything worth checking out? Preferably right here in Athens. Cuz I'll be shopping the day of, most likely.

oh yeah, and I'm on myspace now. check it

Christien Meindertma’s giant knitwork

check it. thanks to style-files for the images & story

toot my horn

i was asked to take place in a design show at the Georgia Museum of Art in conjunction with a local gallery, Mercury Art Works.

the concept behind our table was having everything made by local artists, rather than using high-end new and antique stuff (which is what almost everyone else did.) i, along with my friend in textiles, Ms. Rachel Pepper, made the table linens. here's a photo from the local paper - not a great detail shot, but it gives you an idea of how our booth looked. it's funny that just to the left of the shot is a painting of a nude woman made entirely out of glitter (so amazing) that they were so careful to avoid showing.



we are supposed to get some professional shots from the museum, so i'll post more once i get them. i tried to take my own photos with my new and hardly used camera, but was told 'for my own protection' that ALL photography was banned from the gallery to prevent people taking pictures of what they liked and having someone else replicate it.

as a side note, hardly anyone at this show sold anything to the public (even the fancy-pantsed professionals), but the owners of Mercury are buying our entire linens set, having us make more napkins, and possibly make covers for their dining room chairs. i think the purchase price will just cover the expense of making the pieces, but for my first sale it's not too bad!

I think I have a vacation hang-over. Rob and I went to Tybee Island last week and had an amazing time, but I've had a horrible headache ever since we got home. Rum withdrawal, perhaps?

the trip was awesome. here's some stuff...

downtown Newport


Newport Bridge. my dad helped build it.


mom and April at park next to bridge


dingy

the dogs and I are hitting the road this afternoon. first to meet up with my mom in Wilmington, then we're off to Rhode Island to visit the family! I haven't been "home" since I left there over 10 years ago, so this is going to be fun. I plan on eating nothing but chowda and clamcakes and drinking only coffee milk the entire time I'm there. don't count on any pictures, since I still don't know how to take a decent photo on this camera unless I cheat and use the auto mode. damn technology.

in the deck where I park everyday works one of the nicest men I've ever met. everyday he gives me an update what he's been up to, how is wife's feeling and some great commentary on whatever he's thinking about that day. one day he asked me if I liked cookies. without a moment's hesitation I said 'of course'. he then offered me what he called 'the best cookie ever' - it was a little debbie star crunch cookie.

today when I talked to him he told me he had a real rough weekend because his wife had to go to the hospital. he's seemed so tired and worried about his wife, it made me really want to do something nice for him. since he loves these cookies so much, I thought I might try making him some. I searched the web, but couldn't find any recipe for them. anybody ever come across one? I know I can always buy him some, but I thought it would be fun to make them from scratch.

Team Snackstin

I am loving my new birthday toy. If you can't tell, I am literally hugging it. Mwah! PS - Rob is quitting law school and starting his racing career