ok. wow. so a couple months later. just survived a hellofamarchtoapril winter. brutal. but it's been a couple weeks of rain, not snow. so i don't want to relive the endless icy landscape. there was a couple days of sun somewhere once and now it's just been gray. really, i'll take it. gil's been working on insulating the barn and we'll start classes this coming september. really excited about that. would love to take a road trip this summer but i'm not sure if it will pan out. i'll be in the next sportswear international magazine - for mens accessories. that rocks. (
www.sportswearnet.com, myspace.com/simagazine ).

chloe and i found the bench my dad had dedicated to my mom. it's along the eastern prom walk in portland, maine. she LOVED to walk that, briskly...vigorously. very healthy strong woman. i've walked it with her sooooooo many times, when we would come into town. and then pizza and wine at flatbreads.

i can't believe she's not here. it was so good to sit with chloe and play around the bench. but then looking at the photos just crushes my heart and i can't stop thinking about how much my mom would just love and adore and enjoy and be so blissed out with chloe. they would be such amazing friends. it's insane. oh man.

oxo

late winter blues. oh my god. it is so bleak. bleak and cold and bleak and cold and really fucking bleak. actually. today was lower thirties and i swear that helped a lot. i still didn't go out much at all.

the i heart love show was a blast, tho. crazy crunch time right up to the end. long late hours while the family is tucked up in bed comfy cozy, where it makes you (meaning me) swear a lot at how much art sucks and what the hell am i (meaning anyone) doing anyways. which i know gil goes thru right before an art show, too. and then all of the unsettled feeling the day leading up to it and just thinking, how bad would it actually be if i bail now. i mean, all of the prep and food and wine buying and all the worrying about little bits of this and that and you just hope people show up. and then, they do and it's a good thing and people are psyched and then you're psyched and glad you did it and love art and expression. so it was really a success in all the ways i would define success. neither gil or i really focused to take many photos...but what we managed to snap, i posted at www.lovinganvil.com/valentine . wow alonzo mourning is wearing the biggest kick ass ring. just introduced mary k blige ...she's singing - really nice. chloe's asleep next to me on the couch and gil's sitting right here, too. raja's snoring on his doggie bed. so it is a really really nice evening. watching the nba all star thang. mellow and content. safe and sound.
ok. babble babble. tomorrow night friends are coming over for miso and saki. i'm totally looking forward to it.
oxo

good lord. i can't believe it's been almost two months since i've written. the xmas season ROCKED with chloe violet. she was amped, i was amped. we both almost passed out each night from eachother's amped-ness. and then, in her crazy ultimate coolness, january 2nd, when i said we had to take all of the xmas decorations down, instead of the protest i expected, she was totally into helping and putting everything in its box to go to sleep for the year. so that was a blast, too. we had an amazing new year's eve party. still not quite sure what motivated us to do it. but since all the bands we last minute asked if they could come play in our (cold) barn weren't able to make it (and a LOT took the time out to say that they couldn't...which was equally amazing) we rented this crazy gear to project music dvds...the pixies, calexico, devo, blasters, nick cave, ...gillian welch, i'm forgeting some. but it was a lot of fun. and then we've all been working really hard on art stuff (i have a valentines show coming up at the heart of biddeford) and house stuff. chloe started preschool which she loves. and THEN we all got really really really sick. so that's just what we're shaking off now. no more, no less. oh, i finally got my tattoo that i've been waiting for. phuc at tsunami did an amazing job...it's still not done. i kind of had to dig in my heals to make sure both arms got done in this past sitting, but i couldn't leave without it. i mean, it took almost two months to get this appointment so, you know. the words are done but not the graphics. we're hitting the road this summer so maybe i can get in with paul at infinity...

just got back from pdx for the turkey holiday. saw so many amazing, wonderful friends. it felt so good. like a cool drink of water. i felt really good, too, so much more relaxed and like myself, than i have in TWO years. crazy. we've have tremendous, wonderful friends here... but the west coast vibe is so familiar...and different than where we're living now. just a preference, i guess.

i'll post photos and more later.
oxo

good lord, this town is wacky.

and speaking of wacky. kris kristofferson didn't pass on, did he? i mean, the tribute album is amazing, as is mr kristofferson...but i'm a little confused. ok ok, i'm googling right now.

holy moly, it's chilly this morning.

i have so much catching up to do, in terms of halloween and trick or treating stories. and gil's art show. and our anniversary. but i want to post a few shots of our dia de los muertos alter right now, so i guess i'll just work backwards in time.

chloe really wanted yaya and grampa to have the popcorn from her trickortreat stash, so she popped it in the microwave for them - just from her. the frog's leap wine is my mom's favorite. the corralejo tequila for gil's pa. a portland oregon brew for elliott smith...tons of other items mostly for my mom and gil's dad. russell added a crossword for his grandma and a tennis ball for his pup. couldn't get my hands on marigolds so patricia helped with the flowers and now i know for next year she can get them with a week or two notice. it kicks up a lot but it also feels really really good putting it together and sitting with it over the few days. you know.


oxo

hmmm...i just said about four words in front of the biddeford city council. that's all i managed before i blanked out. i'm not built for public speaking. didn't say half the things i meant to...gil wanted to go but he's teaching tonight. alas. oh well. down with merc.

lovinganvil.etsy.com -- check out the greetings from biddeford cards.....

wow. it's chilly this morning. or at least that's what the thermometer says...i actually did pretty well getting out of bed this morning. i mean, it didn't feel particularly cold. all the insulating gil has done to this 1880 home is making a difference. altho, he says he's always impressed by how well it's built and that it has a lot of insulation, already. so cool. or warm. whatever.

but REALLY what i sat down to write is gil sold a painting at milling around again! we've very happy. it's a beautiful painting. i'll post a photo later. he's starting to work on a series about el paso, tx. i love it already.

so it was a good weekend and feels like it's going to be a good day, knock on wood. i couldn't sleep much last night...just lots of ideas whirling around...so i am a little extra sleepy...but good.
oxo

soooooooo....really. what do you make of this. i heated up a tortilla on the stove...and can you not see the skull image burned in? i mean, it's not la virgen de guadalupe...but still! ok. so we coated it in a glossy fixative and will preserve it for pilgrimages...or at minimum, later artistic use.

today, i taught a class at the portland studio. kind of INTENSE. teaching is hard. all the information in your head you have to get organized enough to impart it to other people. i don't know how i feel about the whole thing. right now, gil's teaching his biddeford art class. it would be cool to get the barn ready and just bring our teaching gig in house. weird how administrative it can quickly get going thru an institution. once again, probably old hat to everyone but us.

we have two art openings this saturday, which is very cool...they are related. both biddeford mill scenes. a couple pieces at the union house show and then a two day show with a slew of artists at the northdam mill. very cool. gil will have a solo show at union house in november and i'll have a solo show in february..around valentines day. i'm not going to jewelry for the union house, tho. which feels liberating...as much as i love jewelry. it's hard to remember that my first experience in art interest was drawing and painting. seems like another life ago.

also, we're set to be in brooklyn at the bust magazine craftacular this december. the 7th or 9th. i'm a bit confused right now. but i'll figure it out and i'm sure write lots about the prep in the time to come.
oxo

oh good lord. check out www.themusehotel.com and click on reservations and then on specials and packages. i was checking the site, planning a trip for us to go up for the bust sale at the start of december. imagine my surprise. all we can think of is the stock photo shoot we participated in a BUNCH of years ago in pdx. or maybe staying at a kimpton hotel in the past. but WOWIE ZOWIE, that was a weird shock.