Next year we're definitely going without the kid.

Now, I know that sounds really negative and grumpy (seems to be a trend for me), so let me rephrase that.

::

The New York Art Book Fair is awesome. All around. Tim and I were still talking about it way after we'd turned out the lights last night. There was so much to see and think about. So much great energy-the coolest looking crowd, and everyone so friendly. PS 1 is an incredible building, both for what they've done to it, and what they haven't.

And, we had the chance to meet two people whose work we admire greatly, and they are of course as lovely as one would expect them to be. The books they were showing were all so beautiful and interesting, it was hard to choose from among them. (I did come home with the first issue of Lines and Shapes, as well as Journal of Plants, which is exquisite.)

All around, everywhere we looked: the books, the 'zines, the posters, the photography! All of it so, so inspiring and original and, well...cool.

There it is, see, folks. Truth is, I'm a forty-two year old nerd with a thirty-three pound kid strapped to my back, walking around in my clogs just in awe of the hipness that is all around me.
(I am so starting to wear my engineer boots everyday, even if they do look like overkill in the line at Whole Foods.)

::

In all seriousness, this was an incredible experience for us, and we already can't wait for next years' show.

But we're definitely leaving the kid at home.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

Go.

We went apple picking today with twenty-two people, and there wasn't a wrinkle in the entire day.

I am here today to say go. do. live. feel. eat. touch. spend. take. give. laugh. yell. cry. get out. reach out. stop working. get working. climb. fall. hurt. heal. hold. hope. fumble. fear. reach. react. act out. bite off. make do. make new. make from scratch. borrow. beg. share. love.

It's all we can do.

Do it now.

Go.

{Who knew apple picking was so inspiring?}

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

Home is where my kids are sleeping.

We are all back here at home together for a while. Not long, mind you. We will go off in separate directions in a matter of days, before finally all settling back in Maine for the remainder of the summer.

I know it's hard to keep track of our schedule this summer, if anyone was game to try. Lucky for my family, I've got it all committed to memory.

::

I took hundreds of pictures. Hundreds. But alas, not a one of the highlight of my week: meeting my friend for a few hours, which flew right by. I could have sat on a bench with Jen, and talked for hours more. But, she and I are both inevitably drawn towards home. It's one of the things I admire about her.

::

All this back and forth, and here and there, and all or nothing this summer, has brought on much pondering. About home and friends and self and purpose, and life (yes! Life.) For blogging's sake, I wish I had some fully formed conclusion to present, but I don't.

But talking with Jen, and savoring the connection I feel with her and a few other online friends (and I can only hope you know who you are), I've begun to think of things in new ways. And I think I've started to turn a corner, around which I'm not sure what I'm going to be heading towards, but I know I'm as excited and curious to explore as I've ever been.

I apologize for how obtuse I'm being. It might be the melancholy of repeatedly saying goodbye and hello to my kids and my home during the course of one summer. It might be a mid-life crisis.
It may well be the heat.

But whatever it is, I'm open and ready for it. For finding out what's next. For figuring out a few things. For rounding the bend and moving forward.

::

I hope you all enjoy these last weeks of August. I was completely shut off from computer use this past week, so I'm thinking things may not be too active around here on a regular basis for a while. We'll see, though.
When I go back to Maine on Saturday, I'm taking my tech support with me. He's very cute and friendly.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

Trailer food:: Bubby's Burritos

In search of the ultimate roadside burrito, we went north, up the Hudson, to Bubby's. No Phone, no website, no nothin'.

Nothing but rice, beans, and cheese, local lettuce, tomatoes, and homemade salsa.
Served up with the perfect combination of hot and cold ingredients, rolled together in an organic flour tortilla. Made while you wait, and fresh, fresh, fresh.

I used to say that I wanted my ashes scattered at Spotty Dog Books and Ale, but I think now Tim might have to swing by the parking lot at the corner of Routes 9G and 199 in Annandale, and throw out a handful or two.
::
The details, as I know them:
Bubby's Burritos
Tuesday through Saturday 12-5
Montgomery Place parking lot/corner of Routes 9G and 199,
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
There are a few picnic tables, and a grassy area to bring a blanket...or you can drive over to Bard College and spread a blanket there.

While you're up there, there's a nice farmstand right next to Bubby's, a museum at Bard, a pretty walk around tiny Tivoli, plus nearby are the towns of Rhinebeck, Red Hook, and (a little farther) Hudson.

Eat more burritos. Thanks for reading.
tt
ps::that's not me obviously, with the long hair and an orange hat and shirt, but she's stylin', no?

A new bed

We took another nice, long road trip up to Tivoli on Saturday, primarily to buy burritos from the side of the road (more about that later...).

On the way, we passed a stand selling organic flowers, and I asked Tim to pull over. That he is the sort of man who will gladly turn the car around and pull over so that I can buy some flowers is a constant source of surprise and gratitude for me. Just saying.

Anyway, part of my almost daily routine, as you may have caught on, is to walk around our yard and cut whatever looks good and make little arrangements for the house. At times it's easy-that one week of peonies; when the daisies and coneflowers are going; even into the fall with thyme and lavender-but the truth is, it's sort of slim pickin's around here, bloom-wise.

So, yesterday, Tim found a heretofore neglected patch of our small lot, and dug it out to make a bed for cutting-flowers.

As usual he had a little help.

He says it will take a year or two to really be "productive". In the meantime, I'll keep using what we have. And he'll keep pulling the car around when I spot something good on the side of the road.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

A day in the city.

Sweet potato fries; the cleanest public bathroom on the planet;
Good Samaritan on the bus; walking walking, bringing extra shoes;
St. Marks Bookshop, A Year of Mornings;
little shops; huge rat;
city people in summer clothes;
mojitos and seviche; running for the train...
psychotic cab driver;
arriving home late in the pouring rain to open windows and the band playing in the living room.

Hope you are enjoying another stellar weekend. Thanks for reading.
tt

Photo project::Horizon line

While walking at the sculpture gardens on Sunday, Tim began to see a pattern emerge, and started shooting.
Horizon lines, everywhere. Check out the whole project (in progress), here.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

tt

Road trip, close to home

Yesterday was pretty close to perfect. I don't say this lightly. I know that I'm generally pretty cheery here, but believe me, it's not all sunlight and flowers, all the time.

But yesterday. Good. Flowing. Relaxed. Happy.

And a road trip, of sorts. Close to home, but it felt like miles away.

Art, gardens, families with whole picnic spreads, and snippets of conversations overheard, in several different languages; a mother duck with her ducklings, following; dogs on leashes; children, not.

It felt...European. Something about giving the people grand, exquisite places to spend time in, and the people rising to the surroundings. (I feel the same way about the National Mall.)

And from such an unlikely source. I can't really figure it out, quite. But I'm glad it is so.

For yesterday was nearly perfect. And this place had a lot to do with it.

We brought three different cameras, and took hundreds of pictures. Most of these are Callie's.
You can see them full size, here.

And look for a new photo project by Tim; (as soon as I can find the cord to that camera.) He's really on to something good.

Enjoy Monday! Thanks for reading.
tt

Road trip::Woodstock NY

Road trip with a purpose: to bring back the work for Bill Mead's next eyebuzz show, starting May 14.

Years ago, in Provincetown, Bill was making paintings with a vessel motif: mostly teapot shapes. They became so admired, coveted and sellable, that he was turned off from making them any more.

Until recently. He has come back to the abstracted still lifes of vessel shapes, with much success. His next show at the gallery will be made up of recent works in this theme.

Here are some shots from Bill's current studio outside of Woodstock, NY.

We also had a tour, with a very cute guide, of the "green" house Bill has been building for the last year or so. We look forward to the next studio visit, when the "fours" are almost "five", and the "new house" is home.

::Jennifer Judd-McGee's show will run until May 8.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

tt

Monday morning words of wisdom

On the trees, in Woodstock, seen on our Sunday road trip (more on that later).

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

Sunday night, when I should be sleeping.

It's late. Out the open window by my desk I hear what sounds like repeated gunshots, and subsequent shouting-a girl, more amused than scared. I'm guessing some teenagers are doing the sort of thing that, while tempting to call the police about, would be much less interesting upon close inspection. I'm hoping.

It's been that sort of day, actually. As if "that sort of day" routinely includes scary episodes in places you least expect. We went for a miserable hike this morning. Tim would not support that assessment, but he knows what I mean.

Along the wooded path we navigated, on the other side of the Hudson, some misguided being with a blue spray paint can left all sorts of hostile and scary graffiti. I've posted an awful lot of new shots for my suburban graffiti project today, but I've left out all the ugly ones. Curse words. Pictures. Swastikas. I didn't even take pictures of those.

I pulled Anna into the shower with me the minute we got home.

On the way back to the car, we saw a snake. I'm not a fan. Tim picked Anna up and pointed out the critter slithering away. Good enough, until the entire ground cover started to move, and we realized we had startled some sort of snake haven into action. I can't even write any more about it. Not a good walk.

Funny, the rest of Sunday was wonderful. But I'm left with this odd sense of malaise from the snakes, and the graffiti.

::

For anyone wondering: meeting Jen last night was wonderful. She is sweet and smart and lovely, and I hope we cross paths over and over again in the future. Thank you to everyone who came out to the gallery to help welcome her to Tarrytown.

::

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
tt

Matt Licari at Purchase College

Matt's show at eyebuzz was pre-blog, so I haven't told you here before how much we admire Matt's work, and how much we like Matt himself, Matt's family, and Matt's friends. A lot.

He'll be showing again with us sometime next Fall. We went to see his photography exhibit at the Purchase College School of Art + Design. His work is displayed here in a way we hadn't seen before, and it looked amazing.

Callie's budding photography interest is coinciding with my own (although, to be fair, hers began first!) She thinks she might like to study photography in college, except in London. I'm happy to encourage her in anything she's dreaming of, but maybe, she could stay a little, um, closer to home?

The experience of browsing around the School of A+D was, in general, awesome for us and the kids. We saw a lot of work in progress, students hanging out and in the middle of projects, a few other exhibitions: some good, and some, well, not so good.

The truth is, art can be dirty. Literally and figuratively.

We could feel the dust in the air from studios and workshops, see photo sessions going on, digital labs in use, smell cigarette smoke from the courtyard.

And, found lots of good stuff for my suburban graffiti project.*

All in all, a really good afternoon.

More tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

tt

*Please remember, my Flickr skills are pathetic. I'm working on it. But really, did I need another black-hole for my "free" time?