Storm King

Just catchin up by posting some photos from our trip to Storm King, an outdoor art & sculpture park in the Catskills. My main goal was to see the famous Andy Goldsworthy stone wall, which did not disappoint, but Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Memorial, installed a Wavefield, which was also pretty darn cool. There is nothing better than when nature and art intersect, (as if we could separate them). It was a gorgeous park with lots to see...I loved it!

adam's high school graduation party

here's some pics from my nephew adams big day...and i got to make the centerpieces-giant fortune cookies-so fun! it was all good until lior demolished casey at arm wrestling!!

Creations From the East

Hello there from Casey.  While its been a while since I've written on here, there's good reason why.  I have actually been busy with some things here, keeping life moving, making art and craft and money.  I've been working part time in an architect's office (www.danabixby.com), learning the ropes of running a small architecture business (which is a WHOLE lot of paperwork), organizing and updating her material library, and helping with the design of a small Montessori school near us. I realize just how invaluable my building experience is when it comes to this world, and while I still want to someday run my own studio, I'm starting to question the viability of a formal education, apart from the personal and professional connections I could make. The proof is in the doing, so that's exactly what I'm doing: Doing!  I've also become somewhat knowledgeable about staining and dyeing concrete floors, with a little test project of a 35 ft2 hearth.  Fun!

When I'm not in the office, I've been lucky enough to have a carpentry patron in the form of our friend Eilene Shine down in Hoboken.  I've gotten to know the place pretty well, spending a week at a time down there helping her with her rental apartment.  What started off as a few odd jobs turned into replacing a back deck, which then turned into remodeling the kitchen (new cabinets and some electrical work).  Hopefully she'll be renting that sucker out soon!  I've also gotten to see my friends from Oklahoma that have settled in NYC, which is always a treat to hang with people that you used to see at grade school recess...

On my own, to quell the urge to create, I returned to a short story that I started after Jen and I got back from Asia.  It's about a guy from Oklahoma that winds up running away from the Tsunami, and dealing with his estrangement from family and self.  I worked it up to about 20 pages and entered it into some competitions.  It could be just the beginning of a longer book, but for now its shelved.  If you're interested I'll send it to you.

I also just this week completed an entry for a Bay Area design competition called Rising Tides, dealing with solutions for rising sea level over the next 100 years.  My entry is a relocation plan for our old town of Corte Madera, which is mostly built on a tidal marshland.  The buildings look like topographic ships made of modified oil platforms and shipping containers, donated by a busted (as in legally, some day) Chevron.  The main thrust has to do with environmental justice and training underserved populations to build it.  Come on big money!

I've also been reading tons of magazines and books, including Rolling Stone, Dwell, Architecture Review, Metropolis, Outside and the occasional Healthy Eating that Jen gets.  Books include The Backyard Homestead and Deep Economy, and an old anthology of Modern Poetry.  Not to mention blogs galore and all the crazy links that get posted on my Facebook page (thanks David!) and cool lectures from Ted.com.  Oh, and Netflicks of course.  Recently Jen and I made centerpieces for her nephew's high school graduation party.  Cool paper fortune cookies with clever sayings on them (jen's idea) and some colorful chinese take-out boxes with actual fortune cookies in them.  I got a whole case (way too many) for $15. These kids need all the fortune they can get!

I'm starting to get excited about our roadtrip across the country, taking the northern route that neither of us has been on before.  It startles me how I could have missed out on so much of America and still seen so much.  This place is just too big!  Can't wait for the Rockies to explode out of the plains.  Then I'll know we're back in the west, where, with any luck, we'll feel we "belong".  Then on down to the Bay, where friends await, and we'll see once again if this is home, or if we've been totally spoiled by the beauty and peace of a country life, and we'll have to reassess where and when to call it our own.  But, I guess if I want to get into Berkeley (again, wondering if school is really the key to success) and get that sense of community and purpose back by building a house and a garden and connecting to those we love and will love, then we just gotta make it work.  Wanna help?  See you there!

a few short videos

here are some snippets from our life here...

catch-up

howdy! gosh, time is flying and we have not been blogging! a lot of my time has been absorbed by my parents and their needs, so casey and i haven't quite been exploring as much lately or writing as much. things seem to be changing rapidly with my parents. their relationship has been altered by age and their personalities are shifting, so it really is a whole new ballgame.

we have been trying to get organized, rearrange responsibilities and set up systems to make it easier on them. we referee when we need to, talk them down when they need calming and try to be the voice of reason. there is much tension and misunderstanding. i can see how confusing things can get and personally, it worries me a little to think this could happen to me and casey someday!

so, while we have many, many pictures to post of some wonderful spring bbqs we've had and stories of great friend's visits, i am not quite able to get these all loaded right now. the fact remains, we have one month left to go unless it becomes clear we need to stay on a spell longer.

we'll see how it goes...we're making really good progress getting organized, but there will still be some dancing to do. today we're going to talk to the head nurse at kimball farms to see what care is available to them and if it makes sense they move into the next level. while it sounds great, this place is also filled with some mentally challenged patients, who clearly are way more incapacitated than my parents. it is a bit scary to think of them surrounded by people like this. and yet, it is becoming more clear they need more assistance than where they are now. so what do we do? my dad really does not want to go, he likes his apartment. it makes me so sad that he may need to be somewhere he doesn't want to be. but it is too hard on my mom for things to stay how they are. there will need to be compromise (and a small miracle) for this to go smoothly.

more to come. just a quick note to let you all know we are here, doing our best to provide support though there is less time to keep you all updated on the fun stuff! like my birthday, which was amazing!! i spent the day with my family and they surprised me with a gift certificate to Kripalu, the famous yoga retreat center here. I can't wait to go spend an entire day there....I'm going to need it!! love to all of you...we'll catch up again soon. xoxoxoxox

i like green...

unobstructed beauty

in a time when so much joy is obstructed by a failing economy and dwindling finances and now swine flu(!@#$!)... we fail to realize there are still blessings in the world. being here, i do feel somewhat removed or sheltered from life's harsher realities because my immediate surroundings demand my attention so often every day. it is sort of like being in a bubble of beauty...and if i could somehow capture it and share it with all of you, i would! i now know that the bay area holds no monopoly on beauty.

i truly believe spending time somewhere beautiful changes our perspective, fills us with hope and renews our spirit. with spring FULLY sprung, flowers, trees, bees, birds, frogs, bunnies and all growing things, are bountiful. nature in springtime is unstoppable! the gardens here on bob's property are bursting, the trees all blooming and the hills green and lush. it relaxes me, bringing balance to any fears or anxieties that might crop up. i hope you will find some quiet time to spend in nature and that it fills you with peace during these uncertain times.

with only 2 months left, we treasure every moment fiercely. borrowing my sister-in-law's motorcycle (thank you thierrie!), and donned in our new helmets, we now tour a new area every day, viewing country life as we cruise along. the history of this area is felt deeply in every rickety paint-peeled barn, built hundreds of years ago, the well-kept farmhouses that dot the area, and the crisp, tidy, colonial charm of the architecture. large stone churches and arches, mossy rock walls demarkating property lines and perimeters, rolling hills undulating toward the mountains. and every so often, we run into horses, cows, sheep, llama and buffalo. (well, not literally run into)

reminders of my childhood are everywhere. being on the east coast is like walking down memory lane: the bright yellow forsythia that lined the yard of my childhood home, the so red cardinals, lightening and thunderstorms, warm nights, jimmies on black raspberry ice cream..oh the list goes on and on! meeting up with some friends from high school and college reminded me of who i was when i was young. parts of myself that i had long ago forgotten. these visits have been priceless and a reminder of all the growing pains i had while still learning who i was. i had a youth full of experimentation and boundary-pushing. somehow, gratefully, my parents still talk to me!

family life is great. time with my sister michele has been so wonderful-when she left for college in 1976, i was 9 years old. since then it's only been sporatic visits, until now. it has been really rewarding spending time together as adults. and soooo much fun getting to know her husband eiran, and their sons adam, lior and matan-they are super cool, i adore them. i love how unique each of them are. we all convene weekly for family dinners at kimball farms with the folks. my mom is managing her sanity and her ailing memory. this woman's spirit still bright and sense of humor keen in every moment. always an inspiration to me. my dad is doing fair, losing weight but tries to power through the day best he can. naps are frequent. he is enjoying our visits. i see such a bond of trust that has developed between him and casey, it is a gift to see their relationship flourish. yesterday, we took my dad to the bowling alley. he is having a hard time walking, so he sat and coached us. his magic words led to more pins falling, more so with casey, than with me, but at least we both scored over 100. not quite the 185 average my dad had in his day! it was nice to have him experience the sights, smells and sounds of a place he so loved so dearly in his life.

we recently spent a week in nyc, visiting old friends, seeing musuems, chilling in central park with the coopman, seeing some shows (fun!) and eating yummy food and even a day at the jersey shore. staying at my friend fenners in hoboken, we returned each night exhausted and full of city life! it feels like the city is bursting at the seams with people, lights, action. and the pace beyond fast. have i gone soft, or what?! just walking down the street made me feel like i was on speed! well...maybe i'm not quite the urban girl i used to be. after an incredible time visiting with dear old friends, some i hadn't seen since the 80's!, we were ready to return to the country. and so, here we are reaping the rewards for having survived the winter...as a local friend said, we've earned this profusion of new life. the sunshine, the birdsongs. so for those moments when we get swept up by the intricacies of living in today's world...i invite you to make time for a walk in the sun, a moment in the sand or even, sitting mindfully with a healthy meal. where is the beauty in your world...where do you look for reminders of what is positive and thriving and alive?

hope to hear from you soon...wishing you all well!
with gratitude, jen