Home is where the art is

The home. The abode. The domicile. The dwelling. Our place is a quarter of the size of our Rhode Island joint, but since we have about a quarter of our possessions it feels just right. We are learning the advantages of minimalism. This is quite noteworthy for those of you who know our collecting tendencies. As for the studio...I'm convinced if it weren't for Kendra and Osa I could live out there with a cot and space heater. For food I could run out and grab the unconcious squirrels who've just fallen the 200 feet down from the redwoods in the yard. They would be battered and pan fried on my hot plate(one final luxury) before they ever knew they had hit the ground...or I could just stay in our cozy home where Kendra cooks up inspiration in each attempt. Far, far away from those squirrels.

OSA THE WIENER DOG

Okay, so let me just boast a little about our lil' pup Osa. We became proud parents on New Year's Day. "OSA" is short for MIMOSA, the classic New Year's Day beverage. She's also named after Osa Johnson the admirable Kansan who was a stylish young pioneer who explored the wilds of Africa and beyond in the early part of the 20th century with her wildlife filmmaker husband Martin. Other "Osa" references are the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica which is one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet, and of course "Osa" in spanish means female bear.
Osa turns 3 months this week, so she's still growing and changing and learning a lot. She's getting longer and more hot dog like. We've got her potty trained. She rings a string of bells hanging from the doorknob when she needs to go out. Now we need to figure out how to determine whether or not she really needs to go out to do her thing or to just gnaw on branches, sniff around and explore outside. Not that she shouldn't do those things, but she needs all her shots before we can relax about that a little more.
We took her to the vet today for a shot and heartworm pill, the vet runs his office out of a biodiesel fueled bus next to a solar powered biodiesel refuel station. Only in California. So we've been bit by puppy love...it's crazy. Having a puppy is one of the most demanding yet rewarding things ever. Now I'm even more in awe of people with children. And parents with dogs? wow.

P.O. Box 504 Brookdale, CA 95007

Living in the Redwood forests of California changes one's sense of scale. You start to become used to living in the shadows of these giants. You even begin to get used to the amount of rainfall they require to exist. The dwarfing of all man(and woman) related things becomes common. Brookdale has a haunted lodge harboring irritable spirits thanks to a recent remodeling. There's a stream running through an old barroom. There's a mysterious neighborhood called Huckleberry Island that isn't really an island but rather a peninsula, and you can go to a little Italian restaurant down the way and the owner will work the dining crowd in platforms and the waitresses drop everything for song and dance. The mountain roads are windy and only the experienced and the brave ride their bikes along shoulders the width of a thigh bone. vegan terminal degrees who practice yoga and drink herbal teas mix with speed poppin' leather clad 4x4 drivin' freedom aint free chainsaw wieldin' types to create a sentiment that's pulled in two very different directions.
However, the overriding theme seems to be something along the lines of "Let me do my thing. whatever it is..."
Each morning we take a walk with osa around our fair village. We take pictures. We meet neighbors. Some of whom give us eggs from their chickens. There's a whole network of canine owners fraternizing around here that we have been given access to thanks to our wiener dog. Californians are given a bad rep, but everyone we've come into contact with has been generous and welcomed us with gusto to their state. Rain, rain go away. come again some other day...

wigwam warmth

"Have you stayed in a wigwam lately?" was what the sign read. My sorry answer to myself was "no" followed by a quick "and why not?" The most obvious reason being because I've never been to Holbrook, AZ. And to be honest had I not missed the first exit because of yapping to my brother on the phone, I would never have truly known a night's pleasure in a concrete teepee. This place was unbelievable. The fading neon signs and old lodge-like feel to the front lobby followed by the sweetest owner, Carol, reminiscing about robert redford staying across the way while a movie was being shot on the very grounds we were about to sleep on. Junked out '57 chevys , classic station wagons, and worn tow trucks were strategically placed around the gravel parking lot. The rooms were octagonal and still furnished(thankfully) with the same objects that were placed in them at their conception. All was well for the road ragged trio(don't forget our pup, osa) as we sipped from a bottle of belgium brew and watched the most psychedelic musical I've ever seen staring james cagney and a slew of dancers and synchronized swimmers all being choreographed to make us feel a bit beside ourselves. the little heater ticked away as the temperature outside dipped to near zero and a crew of photographers and models prepared for a german magazine shoot on the cold grounds the following day.

Rain and Redwoods

Aaaaaah. We've finally landed. 2,200 miles later, we are unpacking and settling into our new little nest in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz mountains. We totally lucked out. I was at a coffeeshop poring over Craigslist rentals while Aaron and Osa went to get stamps. Our puppy Osa is a magnet and she attracted the attention of a woman in the post office whom coincidentally happened to have a place she wanted to rent. Long story short, we seriously scored an amazing place. Its a one bedroom cottage in the redwoods, tons of trees as well as gardens, patio and landscaping. A separate art studio just 15 steps out the front door with an orange tree in front of it. We are sinking our teeth into art making and its so exciting to feel the new inspiration of this place. The town we live in, Brookdale is tiny. Its 10 miles north of Santa Cruz and about 70 miles south of San Francisco. There are lots of quirky things to explore as well as the NATURAL BEAUTY....it is overwhelming how these trees make me feel. The air is so fresh and wet and it is just GREEN everywhere you turn. We went to the beach the other day and had a terrific little picnic on the sand. It was cold and windy but we had to celebrate our arrival to the western edge of the continent.

Monarch Mountain

Well we are heading WEST! We left Lawrence on Saturday and got to Aaron's brother Levi's place in Salida, Colorado 14 hours later. The 1979 Toyota Chinook is loaded down as is the "Bruiser" so we averaged about 50 miles an hour. Plus, we've got a new family member.....an awesome new puppy "OSA". Our friends gave her to us on New Year's Day, pretty unexpected tho we had "put in our order" for one of Lucy's puppies when we left for Costa Rica....never expecting we would be so lucky. She is truly a great traveller, and tho we need to stop more often to stretch our legs and take bathroom breaks we are having a wonderful trip! We all went snow shoeing with Levi on Monarch Mountain which was such a stunning experience. Aaron carried Osa along in a pack and we all had a blast. We've been having such a good time with Levi and tho we are tempted to just move in with him we're sharing a cup of coffee right now and about to say adios. We'll try to keep you all posted but may not check in again until we get to California.

HAPPY 2008

Greetings from Minnesota. We've been visiting Kendra's family up here after a week spent in Hiawatha Kansas with Aaron's family. It has been really nice to be home with our family and friends spending some quality time with them all. Had sleepovers with all the nieces and an awesome time sledding with relatives on Sunday after a big dinner. Our tans are fading away, our skin is so dry after months of being in humidity, and we feel our Spanish going out the window too. We are heading back to Lawrence today to go through our stuff (its all stored in our friend Mel's basement)...we're packing up our two vehicles and moving west. We are heading towards the Santa Cruz area to begin a new chapter of art making and cooking. The ocean and the redwoods are calling us. Once we get settled we'll fill you all in on the details but wanted to shout out and say HAPPY NEW YEAR. We wish you all a very happy, healthy, inspired year of growth and prosperity.