Why do I love this season? Because these little annuals I got in June are now a cascade of color outside my house.
Rather than be upset about the idea of fall frosts coming and killing my lovely flowers, I'm enjoying them in the moment. And taking a ton of pictures, of course.
8.28.2007
A Little Color
Caterpillar
Just a tiny one. I was about 8 years old the summer the caterpillars came and ate every single leaf off the trees up in Northern RI at my grandparents house. I swear you could hear them munching all night long. This little guy, who Brad found on the boat, reminds me of those caterpillars, but he's much smaller.
Crafted Spaces, Take 2
The August version of the June picture I used for my business cards. Instead of roses, it's hydrangeas and daisies and some mad weed out by the shed.
New Baby Tomato
Those stem leaves indicate to me that this little runt could just grow to be full and strong --- as long as it doesn't get too cold too soon.
Waiting to Ripen
Lots of big gorgeous healthy tomatoes, but nothing's red yet. I'm trying to keep the plants in the sun during the day to encourage the ripening process.
The living metaphor: I can buy tomatoes, but growing them and tending them and waiting for them does make them taste so much sweeter.
8.25.2007
Lluvia
Why will it not stop raining in Northern Illinois?
At least my condo is on the second floor. I'm a little concerned about tree branches through skylights though. Good lord. I lowered the price AGAIN today. I need to just sell the thing and hope for a tax write-off for the loss.
It had its benefits though, even if it costs me some money to get out of it now. I have rent to pay very soon, and a thread to just tie up overall. Losses to cut.
At least my condo is on the second floor. I'm a little concerned about tree branches through skylights though. Good lord. I lowered the price AGAIN today. I need to just sell the thing and hope for a tax write-off for the loss.
It had its benefits though, even if it costs me some money to get out of it now. I have rent to pay very soon, and a thread to just tie up overall. Losses to cut.
8.24.2007
166 Irving Avenue, Providence RI
. . . will be my new address, as of September 15.
I got an apartment today. I will be living with a girl named Andrea, a toy designer at Hasbro. We hit it off well and the townhouse is gorgeous. I will have the entire top floor to myself, with private bathroom and a walk in closet. The room is huge.
I've also loosely arranged my return to Chicago so I can move all of my stuff out here. I have a weekend planned with Kate and the Mpls crew, so I'm thinking September 20- October 1. That gives me a few days to get into Irving Ave from Gaspee before I go deal with Chicago.
So I'll have a weekend with the Chicago crew, and a few days to pack the PODS thing for shipment. It's the easiest way to go, and at around 2k makes the most sense. Gotta start making those arrangements. Coordinate Palatine and Providence for the POD: pick-ups, deliveries, permissions, etc. Balance work with all of it. Make sure the money is still flowing.
I'm going to need that Columbus Day Weekend with the Fish Crew. Fall is going to have to be fun.
I got an apartment today. I will be living with a girl named Andrea, a toy designer at Hasbro. We hit it off well and the townhouse is gorgeous. I will have the entire top floor to myself, with private bathroom and a walk in closet. The room is huge.
I've also loosely arranged my return to Chicago so I can move all of my stuff out here. I have a weekend planned with Kate and the Mpls crew, so I'm thinking September 20- October 1. That gives me a few days to get into Irving Ave from Gaspee before I go deal with Chicago.
So I'll have a weekend with the Chicago crew, and a few days to pack the PODS thing for shipment. It's the easiest way to go, and at around 2k makes the most sense. Gotta start making those arrangements. Coordinate Palatine and Providence for the POD: pick-ups, deliveries, permissions, etc. Balance work with all of it. Make sure the money is still flowing.
I'm going to need that Columbus Day Weekend with the Fish Crew. Fall is going to have to be fun.
8.22.2007
A Calling
Dude, I love my job.
Maybe it's because it's new, and I'm always enamoured by new things, but honestly, contracting is fun. I get to hang out with guys all day (no girl drama, thank you VERY much). And they're useful guys, who can do stuff. Even better, I get to make sure that everything gets done so that each one of them can do their part. And when they don't, I get to give them hell. Better still? My tendency to swear like a longshoreman is not frowned upon, but encouraged.
But the best part of all is making beautiful things happen. Every day there is substantial progress made, and these rooms are shaping up amazingly. Once I get 'em I'll post some before and after pix.
Maybe it's because it's new, and I'm always enamoured by new things, but honestly, contracting is fun. I get to hang out with guys all day (no girl drama, thank you VERY much). And they're useful guys, who can do stuff. Even better, I get to make sure that everything gets done so that each one of them can do their part. And when they don't, I get to give them hell. Better still? My tendency to swear like a longshoreman is not frowned upon, but encouraged.
But the best part of all is making beautiful things happen. Every day there is substantial progress made, and these rooms are shaping up amazingly. Once I get 'em I'll post some before and after pix.
8.19.2007
First Tomato of the Season
It was the first of two I enjoyed the other day. It looks so perfect, but unfortunately both were partly rotten inside. So I cut that part out, and the part that remained was delicious.
There are so many more lovely green tomatoes waiting to ripen out there now, and flowers just turning to fruit, and buds just turning to flowers.
I've gotten better about nurturing all of my plants, thanks in part the purchase of a watering can and a pair of pruning shears. The effort is both grounding and rewarding.
8.16.2007
A New Business Paradigm
I spent today on the job site coordinating cabinet installation in the kitchen, window and door installation in the cabana, the electrician, the boardman and plasterer, and a place called Insulmart that sells, you guessed it, insulation. And all the while in high heels, baby! Gotta bring the fabulous to the Home Depot.
8.13.2007
The Other Side of the Line
I've become one of those women I used to hate.
In Chicago in the midst of my 20's, I used to meet women just the other side of 30. And they always had this condescending attitude, like I was just SO young. I can remember railing against it more than a few times.
Well, I'm doing it now.
What was only last summer the first side of 30 has now shifted this year to the other. I'm not quite 30, yes, but I'm a year ahead from having skipped a grade. Everyone's turning 30 this year.
And it's different. In fairness, my life is vastly different than it was just a year ago. So maybe it's just the difference, but when I see girls just a bit younger than me, it feels like an eternity. I was 25 when I left Iowa, and it's been four very full years.
So maybe it's not being bitchy, which is what I always thought was going on with those girls. But the difference is that I was still living away from home, dating and partying. They had drama, families nearby, and fiances and careers. While I was living there, I had two cats and some girlfriends. Here, I have family, immediate and extended; and still four part-time jobs, just like there. Plus the beach house has a ton of traffic, being that it's summertime and the ocean is RIGHT there. And I still have the cats and the girlfriends. There's just more going on.
Perhaps it is the changes. Perhaps this line is just psychological. But I've felt it now, from both sides. And realistically, I have crossed a line. I'm home. I never knew that I would do this. But I did it. And I knew that as I did it, I'd know it was the right decision. And maybe that was the line, not due to the arbitrary 29/30 distinction, but one that was there because I was ready to cross it. In my 20's I made my own way. But now, I make decisions in the context of other people besides myself. It's good practice, and it's part of growing up.
So I need to remember that, especially when talking to girls "in their 20's." The 20's is a state of mind. The Roaring Twenties. It's also the most confusing time, and so defining. Everything you do for the rest of your life as an adult starts there, in those heady times, when it's so hard to see the bigger picture as you're swirling around in it. You need empathy in your 20's, not judgement or worse, contempt.
Well, there you go. I'm still that girl, just through the lens of someone I now understand just a little bit more.
In Chicago in the midst of my 20's, I used to meet women just the other side of 30. And they always had this condescending attitude, like I was just SO young. I can remember railing against it more than a few times.
Well, I'm doing it now.
What was only last summer the first side of 30 has now shifted this year to the other. I'm not quite 30, yes, but I'm a year ahead from having skipped a grade. Everyone's turning 30 this year.
And it's different. In fairness, my life is vastly different than it was just a year ago. So maybe it's just the difference, but when I see girls just a bit younger than me, it feels like an eternity. I was 25 when I left Iowa, and it's been four very full years.
So maybe it's not being bitchy, which is what I always thought was going on with those girls. But the difference is that I was still living away from home, dating and partying. They had drama, families nearby, and fiances and careers. While I was living there, I had two cats and some girlfriends. Here, I have family, immediate and extended; and still four part-time jobs, just like there. Plus the beach house has a ton of traffic, being that it's summertime and the ocean is RIGHT there. And I still have the cats and the girlfriends. There's just more going on.
Perhaps it is the changes. Perhaps this line is just psychological. But I've felt it now, from both sides. And realistically, I have crossed a line. I'm home. I never knew that I would do this. But I did it. And I knew that as I did it, I'd know it was the right decision. And maybe that was the line, not due to the arbitrary 29/30 distinction, but one that was there because I was ready to cross it. In my 20's I made my own way. But now, I make decisions in the context of other people besides myself. It's good practice, and it's part of growing up.
So I need to remember that, especially when talking to girls "in their 20's." The 20's is a state of mind. The Roaring Twenties. It's also the most confusing time, and so defining. Everything you do for the rest of your life as an adult starts there, in those heady times, when it's so hard to see the bigger picture as you're swirling around in it. You need empathy in your 20's, not judgement or worse, contempt.
Well, there you go. I'm still that girl, just through the lens of someone I now understand just a little bit more.
8.12.2007
Islands and Perseids
Pats and I headed to Block Island this afternoon, where we tooled around on a moped, ate, shopped, strolled, and returned to relax this evening. It was the best trip to Block Island I've ever had. It's also the first one where I had the great good sense to leave before it got dark. Overall it's been a "Best of Rhode Island" weekend for both Pats and myself, and I'm appreciating my new old home again through her eyes, as I did when she first visited in May.
Once we got home we watched a documentary on glaciers, in which the host was kayaking at the mouth of one. We decided to go kayaking tomorrow morning as a result.
While researching kayaking online, I stumbled upon the Perseid meteor shower, gearing up for a peak at 2 am, Monday. We went out around 11:15 pm and saw a handful of large glowing meteors with long pluming tails. I'm going to try to get a couple hours sleep now and wake up at 2 am to see if I see more.
I really need to get a telescope. My front yard is actually very good for stargazing, overpowering street light notwithstanding. I have so missed living in a place with less light pollution than the midwest. Iowa is too flat, so you'd get ambient haze for 60 miles. Chicago has plenty of lights at night, so close and dazzling that you almost don't miss the stars. Planes descending into O'Hare from the East over the Lake are like animated stars. You make it work. And sometimes there are surprises, like the aurora borealis one cold November night in Waukegan, when I didn't believe it was possible to see what I know that I was seeing.
But to watch the sky tonight, as my eyes adjusted and the depth increased and more and more lights appeared . . . it reminds me of the stars in Maine, where billions of lights and the swirl of the galaxy and the aurora borealis are regular attractions.
I missed the sky when I left Maine. I missed the ocean when I left Rhode Island. Finding them again feels like home.
Once we got home we watched a documentary on glaciers, in which the host was kayaking at the mouth of one. We decided to go kayaking tomorrow morning as a result.
While researching kayaking online, I stumbled upon the Perseid meteor shower, gearing up for a peak at 2 am, Monday. We went out around 11:15 pm and saw a handful of large glowing meteors with long pluming tails. I'm going to try to get a couple hours sleep now and wake up at 2 am to see if I see more.
I really need to get a telescope. My front yard is actually very good for stargazing, overpowering street light notwithstanding. I have so missed living in a place with less light pollution than the midwest. Iowa is too flat, so you'd get ambient haze for 60 miles. Chicago has plenty of lights at night, so close and dazzling that you almost don't miss the stars. Planes descending into O'Hare from the East over the Lake are like animated stars. You make it work. And sometimes there are surprises, like the aurora borealis one cold November night in Waukegan, when I didn't believe it was possible to see what I know that I was seeing.
But to watch the sky tonight, as my eyes adjusted and the depth increased and more and more lights appeared . . . it reminds me of the stars in Maine, where billions of lights and the swirl of the galaxy and the aurora borealis are regular attractions.
I missed the sky when I left Maine. I missed the ocean when I left Rhode Island. Finding them again feels like home.
8.11.2007
Patsy in the House!
As she decompresses from urban stress, Pats and I are having a wonderful relaxing weekend in Rhode Island. We hit a bumper crop of actual Prada in Patsy's size at Marshall's yesterday, and instantly "terra cotta" has become the color du jour. We hit yoga at 9 am this morning and then breakfast at Crazy Burger before an hour or so at the beach.
We toured Chateau-sur-Mer in Newport this afternoon, a glorious gorgeous RI August afternoon. I found myself delightedly at the intersection of art history and interior design inside the mansion. For instance, I had no idea that the French Rococo style remained popular into the mid-to-late 19th century; and the imported, hand-carved Italian hardwood paneling and inlaid floors in the library and dining room are beyond words). Out on the grounds, Pats loved the massive Weeping European Birch tree, which she noted was so massive and shady that it was it's own micro-ecosytem. On the ride home I announced my intention to shell out the money someday to become a member of the Historical Preservation Society (or whatever the hell they call it) so I can go to the mansions as often as possible.
So it's been a laid-back Rhode Island type of visit. Moreover, it's been so good to have "girl time" with one of my closest confidantes. I've missed her in my day to day life since I left Chicago, and I'm getting used to having her around again. So now it's a question of making sure we stay more connected. I have no doubt we will.
And tomorrow, we might splurge and go to Block Island. Or we might just stay here, go to the beach, cook some food. Neither of us really needs to run around, and we're close enough to happily loaf around and share an afghan on the couch. Either way it'll be good.
In other news, Amity was stranded for three days in New Jersey with 200 lbs of luggage before she was finally able to get back to the DR yesterday. NEVER fly Continental to South America. My aunts ran into a similar problem leaving Peru, but were only delayed a day. Am had to shell out for three days in a hotel --- no vouchers except for food the first night. There are too many reasons why flights can get delayed and connections missed.
Anyway, back to the grading. I want to get it done and have an easy Sunday.
We toured Chateau-sur-Mer in Newport this afternoon, a glorious gorgeous RI August afternoon. I found myself delightedly at the intersection of art history and interior design inside the mansion. For instance, I had no idea that the French Rococo style remained popular into the mid-to-late 19th century; and the imported, hand-carved Italian hardwood paneling and inlaid floors in the library and dining room are beyond words). Out on the grounds, Pats loved the massive Weeping European Birch tree, which she noted was so massive and shady that it was it's own micro-ecosytem. On the ride home I announced my intention to shell out the money someday to become a member of the Historical Preservation Society (or whatever the hell they call it) so I can go to the mansions as often as possible.
So it's been a laid-back Rhode Island type of visit. Moreover, it's been so good to have "girl time" with one of my closest confidantes. I've missed her in my day to day life since I left Chicago, and I'm getting used to having her around again. So now it's a question of making sure we stay more connected. I have no doubt we will.
And tomorrow, we might splurge and go to Block Island. Or we might just stay here, go to the beach, cook some food. Neither of us really needs to run around, and we're close enough to happily loaf around and share an afghan on the couch. Either way it'll be good.
In other news, Amity was stranded for three days in New Jersey with 200 lbs of luggage before she was finally able to get back to the DR yesterday. NEVER fly Continental to South America. My aunts ran into a similar problem leaving Peru, but were only delayed a day. Am had to shell out for three days in a hotel --- no vouchers except for food the first night. There are too many reasons why flights can get delayed and connections missed.
Anyway, back to the grading. I want to get it done and have an easy Sunday.
8.08.2007
Julia Child with Monkfish
Julia Child - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Click above to see the kitchen diva taming one nasty looking critter. But so tasty, especially when cooked to gourmet perfection on a camp stove. Julia Child introduced it to the world, or so I heard recently. This is for the JOWYCOII crew. May we dine on the fish of the monk again soon.
Click above to see the kitchen diva taming one nasty looking critter. But so tasty, especially when cooked to gourmet perfection on a camp stove. Julia Child introduced it to the world, or so I heard recently. This is for the JOWYCOII crew. May we dine on the fish of the monk again soon.
Negocio
I'm thinking tonight about Spanish, and how in Spanish, the word for "business" is "negocio". The word "negocio" is a cognate for "negotiate" in English. Because right now, business is all about negotiation.
First, the details of a day, a week, or more. I love nothing more than juggling a busy schedule, but my consciousness is shifting toward longer range plans. The fall travel schedule. Holidays. Business. A month, three months, a year. Five years. Ten.
And there's been the business of moving back home as well. Any time one makes a major change, there is a period during which it all just has to settle down. The way it settles is part of the negotiation. When proximity changes, relationships change. In my case, a lot of old ones are new again, and that's alot of negotiating.
Maybe it's even moreso in this case, as opposed to if there were only all new ones. Like when you move to a new place and don't know people. You can be anyone to someone when there's a clean slate. Otherwise, who you were is trying to negotiate who you are now, vis-a-vis your ideas of who the other person was and the reality of who they are today.
On top of all that, my new business is about to start construction on its first job, the cabana remodeling. Egos and schedules are all in flux, and settling out the details is all part of the negotiations as well.
Pats arrives tomorrow, and I need me some Patsy time. Mike's out of town at Trisha's brother's wedding, so the timing works for a girls' weekend at the beach. I still have to balance downtime with the job starting and the term ending at CTU.
Somehow it's all working out, and it feels good.
First, the details of a day, a week, or more. I love nothing more than juggling a busy schedule, but my consciousness is shifting toward longer range plans. The fall travel schedule. Holidays. Business. A month, three months, a year. Five years. Ten.
And there's been the business of moving back home as well. Any time one makes a major change, there is a period during which it all just has to settle down. The way it settles is part of the negotiation. When proximity changes, relationships change. In my case, a lot of old ones are new again, and that's alot of negotiating.
Maybe it's even moreso in this case, as opposed to if there were only all new ones. Like when you move to a new place and don't know people. You can be anyone to someone when there's a clean slate. Otherwise, who you were is trying to negotiate who you are now, vis-a-vis your ideas of who the other person was and the reality of who they are today.
On top of all that, my new business is about to start construction on its first job, the cabana remodeling. Egos and schedules are all in flux, and settling out the details is all part of the negotiations as well.
Pats arrives tomorrow, and I need me some Patsy time. Mike's out of town at Trisha's brother's wedding, so the timing works for a girls' weekend at the beach. I still have to balance downtime with the job starting and the term ending at CTU.
Somehow it's all working out, and it feels good.
8.05.2007
C. with Clamcake
This is the Christmas Card from the SS Clamcake. Here's C., passed out in the yard. Brad put the clamcake on C's stomach and took this picture. Classic.
I think this is the same weekend of the infamous stickball incident, involving C. and Ms. E Burke, a broomstick, a baseball, and my mom's Ford Escape.
Pats & Jessi at Scarborough
Mike took this picture with his phone when Pats and I visited RI in May. She'll be here on Thursday and we won't be anywhere near this bundled up at the beach this time. Can't wait to see her.
Mwah!
Glorious Solitude
After a busy weekend of entertaining, I had the now-rare opportunity to watch the final episodes of the "Sex and the City" series on DVD in my underwear last night. Amity and I started the project to watch all of the episodes in order during our summer visits. Blockbuster's incomplete selection notwithstanding, we got to most of them, except the first half of season one and one chunk in the middle of season four. All the guests left in the evening, and the boys went out for an overnight fishing trip for tuna and sharks.
A big part of why I left Chicago was to be closer to family and old friends, and the whole summer has been full and rich with everyone around. But I also know to cherish the few little moments: a cool breeze coming in the bedroom window, a warm sunny non-humid morning for a change, Rococo sacked out on the pillow next to me. At 10 am, Mike came barrelling in to wake me up, right as the phone rang with my mother calling to wake me up.
Now, the boys are just finishing cleaning up from the night, and the mahi mahi has been filleted for dinner. We're going to have a quiet Sunday, the brother and me. Construction starts on the first Crafted Spaces job this week. Patsy arrives from Chicago on Thursday, and I'm on break from CTU next week. My parents announced yesterday that they are waiting to tear down this house, so perhaps I won't be moving until Spring. But from the gleam in my mother's and brother's eyes, they might still try to go ahead this fall. Either way, it's going to be our family's project to build the new house, and the investment of all of our time and talents will make our homestead a place to continue to enjoy for generations of Beagan family and friends.
So yeah, when the quiet moments arrive, I'll take them. But I wouldn't trade the chaos for the quiet like I used to do.
A big part of why I left Chicago was to be closer to family and old friends, and the whole summer has been full and rich with everyone around. But I also know to cherish the few little moments: a cool breeze coming in the bedroom window, a warm sunny non-humid morning for a change, Rococo sacked out on the pillow next to me. At 10 am, Mike came barrelling in to wake me up, right as the phone rang with my mother calling to wake me up.
Now, the boys are just finishing cleaning up from the night, and the mahi mahi has been filleted for dinner. We're going to have a quiet Sunday, the brother and me. Construction starts on the first Crafted Spaces job this week. Patsy arrives from Chicago on Thursday, and I'm on break from CTU next week. My parents announced yesterday that they are waiting to tear down this house, so perhaps I won't be moving until Spring. But from the gleam in my mother's and brother's eyes, they might still try to go ahead this fall. Either way, it's going to be our family's project to build the new house, and the investment of all of our time and talents will make our homestead a place to continue to enjoy for generations of Beagan family and friends.
So yeah, when the quiet moments arrive, I'll take them. But I wouldn't trade the chaos for the quiet like I used to do.
8.03.2007
Silly
To see Amity and me in a rather flattering face-pulling animated gif. Click here.
Thanks to Am's brother, Zach. :P
Thanks to Am's brother, Zach. :P
8.02.2007
Grand Central
Amity is back from the DR, visiting and getting the rest of her stuff organized. Meanwhile, Mike is moving in for the month of August. My house isn't all that big, but we're juggling. The folks will be back from Maine soon, so at least we won't be running to their house three times a day to take care of the very geriatric dog. Construction starts on my client's project next week, and I have a bunch of stuff to coordinate.
But right now, the next two hours are chats for CTU. The topic is the Enlightenment. Mike's sitting next to me on the couch with a legal pad and a pen, planning the next week and making lists. He's making me proud. Am is packing, recovering. Gearing up for a grocery run. It's hot and the weather is gorgeous.
Somehow it became August.
In other news, I was happy to hear from Kate in Mpls that she and hers were fine after the highway collapse. I hope Senorita G gets the same good news. For those who've not been to Minneapolis, this was I-35 where it crosses the Mississippi River. Right smack in the middle of the Twin Cities. And the river is wild just upstream from there. Though a very serious incident, I shudder to think if this had happened in January. My thoughts are with you.
Time for chats.
But right now, the next two hours are chats for CTU. The topic is the Enlightenment. Mike's sitting next to me on the couch with a legal pad and a pen, planning the next week and making lists. He's making me proud. Am is packing, recovering. Gearing up for a grocery run. It's hot and the weather is gorgeous.
Somehow it became August.
In other news, I was happy to hear from Kate in Mpls that she and hers were fine after the highway collapse. I hope Senorita G gets the same good news. For those who've not been to Minneapolis, this was I-35 where it crosses the Mississippi River. Right smack in the middle of the Twin Cities. And the river is wild just upstream from there. Though a very serious incident, I shudder to think if this had happened in January. My thoughts are with you.
Time for chats.
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