Day 72

Had a great time with my pal, Mae today. We headed to Northside to check out Chicken Lays an EGG in search of vintage wear for Alison's wedding. Took a walk down Hamilton Ave and ran into Adam's cousin, Matt, at Melt and then saw our friend, Jayde at Take the Cake! We made our way to Fabricate, where Mae purchased a great headband that I had spotted a couple of weeks ago and I looked over my Paper Acorn inventory. Then to Casablanca Vintage to see the fabulous improvement of the store (since new management has taken over).

Chicken Lays an EGG

Melt

Take the Cake

Fabricate

Casablanca

A lovely day for a walkabout.

Day 71

Spent most of the day getting my table display finalized in preparation for Crafty Supermarket, INDIEana Handicraft Exchange, and Pile of Craft. (So excited about these shows!)

                  

I converted an old suitcase into a display by adding some little shelves into the lid to display my luminaries...

My new banner arrived!

And also, there was this:

Then Adam and I braved the stormy weather and headed up to Kings Island to get our season pass cards! My parents gave these to us for Christmas, and we're so pumped to spend our summer riding the coasters!!

Here's my roller coaster face:

Day 70

Had a fun downtown trip with Adam, Mae and my dad. Met for lunch to talk Ballroom shop and got some ice cream after. Creative Team is rockin' it with the Ballroom project! Can't wait to see the first elements installed.

the boys hard a work... watching dad

dad hard at work... working

the basket is nearly finished!

Pike letting the sparks fly

Day 69

Got a funny text that made me smile. A friend said that I reminded her of a young Patty Griffin. I didn't know much about her, so I looked up a few photos and videos. How have I never listened to her before?! The comparison was quite flattering.

If only I could sing like Patty...

It's always interesting to get a little insight into how people perceive you. Listening to the way my friend described our similarities made me feel pretty good... Especially when I generally perceive myself as coming off something like this:

Day 68

The drive back home from Detroit on Easter Sunday was cloudy and uneventful. But watching little breaks of light in the sky reminded me of the day and the Victory that was won!

Day 67

Boy those folks up north sure know how to party! Andrew and Amanda's wedding was so great, and just being around Adam's family was so much fun. I couldn't be more grateful to have in-laws that I really enjoy being with!

Day 66

Driiiiiive and drive and drive and drive and drive and drive and drive... aaaaaand... Arrive!

Here were are in Rochester, MI- getting ready to see Adam's cousin get married on Saturday. So much fun seeing Adam's mom, step-dad, aunt, cousins and cousins' kids! I'm so glad to have married into such a goofy family.

Day 65

We spent our small group time this morning going through the Holy Week experience at church. It was a somber and moving hour that ended with worship and prayer. Hope you all got to go experience it without having to wait in the super long lines.

Afterwards Arynn took me out for coffee and brunch. Love that lady.

Day 64

There's been some worrisome things on my heart lately that have found a sort of resolve today. I'm praying that we (Adam and I) did the right thing and that everything will work out.

In other news, I took some arty photos of my paper scraps. So there.

Also, I caught up on a week + of neglected blog posts. :0)

Day 63

I know that storms can be scary and dangerous, but there's also an element of excitement to them. We woke last night to the windows rattling with the wind, sprays of rain pelting the house, and tornado sirens wailing. While it was enough to get us to go to the basement until it passed, I still enjoyed hearing the power and energy in the storm.

It's a strong God we serve.

Day 62

Had the pleasure of sittin' on my friend's babies tonight. Evie Dean is just the cutest little bugger. And of course, Ester and I have been good pals for a while now. (Even better pals after I let her play with my phone most of the night.)

Day 61

A lovely Sunday afternoon for a grill-out with the family! So great to have my folks, my brother and his wife over to enjoy the weather, hot dogs, ice cream, and each others' company.

emilyjanowiak

Day 60

So much fun today! I mixed up some mimosas, put out some snacks and had the best time with a few of my good girl friends. We got together to work on centerpieces for Alison's wedding. What a great group of ladies.

Day 59

Today I took a break from Paper Acorn to go help out my mom with a sculpture she's working on. It's massive, and of course, it's fabulous. She was commissioned to do this piece to hang in the atrium at Crossroads. Come see "City Rising" in person some time after April 21st!

That face you see in the bottom right is a plaster cast from my buddy, Brett! We made those things back in high school and mom and I found that bit of sculpture in her shop today.

Day 58

Another regular work day. Felt pretty proud of this piece I made for a custom order.

That's some pretty tiny cutting!

Day 57

Lookit the cute little houses I made for my tomato and pepper plants! They're all warm and cozy.

Day 56

Here's a little something that made me smile today... Remember this thing?
<-------------

When we got to the workshop for Creative Team tonight, we noticed that someone had drawn on the white board their theory for what our contraption might be. ---------------->

Day 55

While the rain pored down outside, our little house was glowing warm and friendly last night as we feasted, laughed and played games with one of my very good friends from "back in the day". It was fun to play house, making dinner with my cute apron on, lighting candles, and even breaking out the cloth napkins! And, of course, it was so great to see Brett again. He's just such a sweet, warm guy, and a pleasure to hang out with.

Let's do it again soon, Brett!

Day 54

It was another beeeeeautfil Sunday to get outside and dig in the dirt. After church I putzed around in my yard, doing what I could with what I had. Thought about heading to Lowe's to buy more plants I can't afford, then called up my old buddy, Brian, who had started a community garden with his roommate and a couple of neighbors. He invited me to come down to Walton to check out the garden and help get some work done.

What they have started is very impressive! A hoop house, compost, several raised beds, even an old boat that will eventually be converted into another raised bed. Most of the materials were scrapped, found, or donated by the community. They even scrounged up some old, rusting metal from the wooded area on the communal land and bought more supplies with the money they got from recycling the metal. Once the food is harvested, they're planning on selling to the community and putting those funds back into the garden to expand it. Anyone is encouraged to volunteer hours, and in return you get your pick of lettuce, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, peas, peppers, cabbage, onions, broccoli, spinach, eggplant, strawberries, mint, sage, thyme... A self-sustaining grocery store!

I ended up staying and working until the sun went down, and came home tired and dirty with 4 tomato plants and 2 pepper plants. Looking forward to getting down there more often!

Day 53

Roller derby, y'all.  

Roller.      Derby.

On Saturday I got to join this fabulous group of people to go watch a bunch of girls on skates knock each other over. It. Was. Awesome. The Cincinnati Roller Girls rocked it, crushing the other team by nearly 100 points. And of course, the whole time I'm watching this, I'm thinking, "I could do that... Could I do that?" I'm pretty delicate.

I liked the idea of it in theory; coming up with the fun nick name (like Pushy Cat, June With a Cleaver, Cherry Choke, Godzillary), putting on the uniform, maybe even taking a few laps around the rink... But the instant some big scary girl comes at me, I'd fall to the ground in fetal position before she had the chance to bruise me with her hips.

My friend Tracy has been going to the team practices and has even tried out, because, well... she's much braver than I am. It sure looks like a ton of fun!

Day 52

How to Pretty Much Have the Best Day


Step 1. Start your morning with a colorful breakfast. 
Content isn't that important. Aesthetics are key.

Step 2. Go downtown. 

It's a great place to see other humans! (And if you work alone in your house most of the time, this may come as a bit of a culture shock, so pace yourself.) Perhaps set up a meeting with a marketing director at a magazine while you're there, and brainstorm about some fun projects. This will get your creative juices flowing and boost your self esteem.

Josh Beeman

Step 3. Head over to Northside.

If you're ever looking for a unique gift for that hard-to-buy-for someone, or maybe a fun goodie for yourself, pop into Fabricate. Everything in their shop is handmade (mostly by Cinci locals) and truly one of a kind. Are you of the crafty variety? Take some of your work in and talk to Chris Salley about consignment. (Don't forget to pick up a Paper Acorn piece while you're there.)

Step 4. Get your portrait drawn.

So you're still in Northside, why not stop by the Visionaries and Voices studio? If you're a new visitor, you will instantly be surrounded by curious folks wanting to meet you, talk to you, share their artwork with you, give you a handshake or hug, and perhaps even whip up a drawing of you. (Also a good esteem builder; see Step 2.)

Neil Dignan

Step 5. Take a nap.

Self-explanatory.

Step 6. Enjoy the weather.

If you haven't been doing this all day, you might as well start now. My best recommendation is to make a light meal, grab the newest Martha Stewart magazine and sit yourself down in the back yard. Be sure to position yourself so that the sun is on your face as it filters through the budding maple.

Step 7. Go see art.

Art openings are another great way to get into the mix of other humans, see the creative works of others, enjoy some wine, catch up with old friends and have a general good time. (To maximize your enjoyment, wear a super-cute outfit with new shoes.)

Attn: Shelby! Blue Hell Studio. This is where I got my mad (haha) welding skills.

Step 8. Snuggle.

Come home to your love, curl up on the couch, put in a movie, and act like you like each other.

jessgonacha

Day 51

Starting my morning early with a few of my favorite ladies is always reason to smile. My small group started meeting at 7:30 in the morning out of scheduling necessity, but I have to say that I really love getting together at that time. We have our coffee, some breakfast-y snackies, break open The Word and share what's on our hearts. I have certainly lucked out to be blessed to have such strong, God-lovin' women in my life!

And also, I made this:

super easy

Day 50

Yesterday was Wednesday, Day 50. I was thinking about how difficult it is to come up with a post on "everyday" days. Nothing special happened. No real emotional leaps or brilliant insights. Just a normal work day.  I guess there's a simple beauty in days like that. Everything just seems to be in its right place.

thebigharumph

Day 49

Oops... I've gotten a little behind on my blogging this week. :0)

Day 49 was Tuesday- Creative Team Day! Our team of builders and welders made great progress on the Ballroom project and got the first element just about finished! Check out this big'ol thang:

Aren't you intrigued now? Stay tuned.

Day 48

ToniGroteArt

Loved spending this work day with the skies rumbling and the rain watering my freshly planted flower seeds.

Day 47

Sunny, sunny Sunday! The front yard finally got some attention today. As I dug old, dead plants out of the ground, cut grass, turned compost, laid mulch and made everything pretty, I kept thinking about the service this morning.

Our pastor was talking about sin and how it was never a part of God's plan for there to be death and pain and torment in this life. Sin brought about destruction and decay; things we were never meant to experience. I loved the illustration he did... Through the first 10 minutes or so, while the music was playing, an artist was on stage, painting a brilliant landscape. (Nice work, John Volk!) He finished the painting and exited the stage with the rest of the band as Brian went into his sermon. To illustrate how sin (our sin) does nothing but blacken God's creation, he turned to the painting, grabbed a can of black spray paint, and marked up the painting with wide sprays of aerosol. The audience gasped as he then took a knife and sliced up the canvas. "Does that bother you?" he asked sarcastically. "It only took that guy 10 minutes to paint that! Imagine the pain God feels when he sees his creation destroying itself."
Well done.

Since the focus of today's service was our sin and its affect on the world, the hour ended with an awkward mix of heavy silence and hesitant applauding. Fortunately, I'm certain that as this series progresses, the rest of The Story will unfold. We'll get to the redemption part. The happy ending.

So as I was pulling up dead  plants and sweeping away grass clippings, I thought about how some people like myself are wired to get such deep satisfaction out of making things better and fixing the broken. There's a sort of redemption we get to experience, even if in just the smallest ways. Of course, even though my little ratty yard does look better now than it did yesterday, there's so much more that could be done. The sink-hole in the center of the yard, the dead patches of grass, the constant collection of street garbage at the bottom of the sidewalk steps, the cracks in the concrete... No amount of hours or money could ever make this earth perfect. We are truly powerless to make everything right again.



 As easy as it could be to let that thought depress me (and sure, it sometimes does), I still love to think of the rest of the story; that there will be redemption in the end. (Both in the physical earth and in our spiritual selves.)  Through our powerlessness, God's redemption shines.

But we still get to experience beauty in the midst of imperfection. We get to see growth, light, joy... We get to dig in our little yards, get our hands dirty and feel content and accomplished with sore muscles. We get to end a lovely day of being outside with ice cream and back-to-back episodes of Arrested Development on Netflix.

And Charlie is happy in his bed of grass.