Summer Supercut

Summer Supercut

In the midst of political and social unrest, work, and change...
Things were alright this summer. The power of love and nature persists.

Stuck

It's the summer of being stuck again. I don't expect this post to mean anything to anybody, but I'd like it to be here so I can see it someday and remember how I was feeling right before breaking out to do my own thing for a living.

Larry Cat

Almost every single morning I wake up hugging Larry. 
It is one of the great things in my life. 

Sick

I am sick, it's just a cold. I am trying to memorize all the discomforts - the ache of my hips and the pain of holding my head up. It's a labor to do anything. I am so thankful for my health. I am in disbelief at how easy it feels to be when you're well and why is this something I always forget to note except for when I am truly well-fed and sublimely happy?

There was a car crash on the Island tonight and somebody died. Whenever I hear the Life Flight helicopter thumping overhead to land on the ballfields I pay a moment to acknowledge that somebody is having possibly the worst or even the last day of their life. I wish for a stronger culture of empathy in our communities. A moment for the anonymous soul.

For all this doom and gloom, I promise I really am doing quite well. I have decided to start working on making dresses. I will call the brand Böijer after a silly nickname I have. It's a beginning, at least.

Chickadee Hill Time

↑ Private

I am learning so much at Chickadee Hill Flowers. The other day we arranged and installed flowers on a beautiful chuppah that Emily's dad made. The apple branches made everything extra lush and lovely. We also used Forsythia branches, Mountain Mint, Dahlias, Matricaria, Queen Anne's Lace, Cloud Larkspur, Peonies, and Baptisia greens. Beyond the material that she grows herself, Emily also sources from the incredible Sacred Bough Farm (definitely worth a follow on Instagram! @sacredbough).  The greenhouse feels especially exotic right now - the Sweetpeas that Emily started back in January are being cut down soon to make way for peppers. Until then I will continue to enjoy their incredible fragrance. I rolled my ankle and fell on my head once - It smelled like Sweetpeas in the room at the time. The smell of their blooms will always haunt me a little bit but I still love them all the same.

Home Garden

↑ Private

I love the time of year when the lilacs leave thick mats of fallen blooms on the ground. This spring carpet is a fine luxury. I leave the irises as their blooms fall away - their stalks and molting brown petals are so enchanting. The night I took these photos was heavy with the damp - it was low tide and I could smell the wet seaweed on the beach all the way down the block.

Exercize

I wonder if my neighbors ever watch me exercise? I mostly dance after dark so I can use my windows as big mirrors. I don't mind being a weird person that does that thing because, whether we realize it or not, we all need people like that in our lives.

I am still uncomfortable with the idea of visiting the community gym. My job demands that I spend a lot of my time on display. When I'm at work, I feel like a hamster who's cage doesn't have a hut. In my private time, I much rather engage in situations that don't demand convivial banter.

Chocolate Box

I made this giant chocolate box.
There is about four feet of snow on the ground right now.

Blue and Yellow

↑ Private

I took this picture in the fall. I was sitting on my bed thinking about how blue the gloaming was and how yellow the light melting in from the kitchen felt. I think this photo captures that moment perfectly. The nights were starting to frost around this time - a chill that I love, when the sharpest colds are still distant enough to feel romantic.

Red Velvet

↑ The World Nightclub, NYC 1980's (via)

I love when people use the word 'underbelly' to describe the darker plane of society. Underbelly makes me feel that everything on culture's opposite side can be exposed all in one go, like flipping an alligator over. Truth is: not so.

Put me in, Coach

↑ Kirsten Owen in 'Sportswear', Marie Claire Germany Nov. 1993 (via)

 

Who says you need to wear "exercise clothes" to work out? Theoretically, if you're exercising in something it then becomes exercise clothes? I really like this outfit because it's got the appropriate stuffeddoggie 2/3 ratio; two things one way, one thing the other. In this case,  you've raided a huge football player's duffel, stolen his underwear and track bottoms, and replaced them with your own skirt and stockings. He will be so surprised when he goes to get dressed for practice. You can watch his reaction via military binoculars from a mossy hillside .4 km away.

Maine Hockey

I went up to Black Bears hockey game at UMaine last week.
We lost to University Of Vermont. 

I love the smell of hockey rings - to me, the ice has a large soft fragrance that chills your cheeks and sticks in your clothes. Up close, you can smell the boys' hockey pads. In person, the game feels so different. I love the loud ting of a puck hitting the post. When a shot rockets into the wall, you can feel the resounding crack all through the arena.

No Flex Zone

Wintertime is setting in. I dance for exercise - keep the heat at 58°F. My houseplants typically go into a state of dormancy due to brief daylight hours, low temps, and lack of humidity. Some whitefly came in with the colocasia (aka black magic elephant's ear, pictured right) and I've been treating the outbreak with Safer Soap. If you love the smell of powdered doughnuts and hate toxic chemicals, Safer Soap is the organic plant pest treatment for you.

Some Woodstacks

Fall is here, and you know what that means... Big bonfires started with gasoline and leafblowers! Time for outings with friends! Frosts in the night, insulating the house, the neighbor's woodpile, and HOCKEY SEASON!