Backyard Haven, Coming Soon

Since we moved in we've been obsessed with doing projects around the house. Only two things keep us from going full bore - money and time. Particularly time. This summer has been very busy, and now that our friend and family visits, and camping trips, and hikes, and exploring Michigan are coming to a close, we want to do house projects! Problem is, I'm about to start back to school and doing house projects and being in school makes me feel like pulling out all of my eyelashes one at a time. We did make some plans though. (And we did, uh, start ripping out the main bathroom because we just couldn't help ourselves. That post will come later). For now, we've been doing some backyard maintenance and plan drafting. We have a huge blank slate we get to dive into, and although this is more Kevin's area of interest (don't get me wrong, I like doing gardening and yard work, but only for about 70 minutes at a time) I did contribute with some drawings. Some day, maybe next spring, we'll start in on the backyard. For now, we mow, we transplant and weed, and we demo the bathroom.

Our fridge, where dreams become illustrations.

The Backpack

My trusty summit pack and all things
outdoor pack - styling circa 1990

I started hiking on my own when I was in high school, it directly corresponded with my ability to drive myself around. When I started to go hiking on my own, my dad let me borrow his old backpack. I can't remember now if he just let me borrow it and I commandeered it, or if he actually gave it to me. Either way, this backpack has been on many of my outdoor journeys. I summited Mount Hood with it, I summited South Sister with it as well. I've taken it down the shores of Washington state as I backpacked through Third Beach to Strawberry Point, and also through Lake Chelan and the North Cascades. This backpack has been one of my most trusted items of outdoor life. I looked at it recently because we went camping and I thought, "wow, this thing is old school." I know it is more than 20 years old, probably more like 25. But this thing has really held up. And it's so full of memories I will never get rid of it. Now, it gets to explore Michigan with me.

Mom's First Selfie

Here are my folks with Mr and Mrs Meijer at
Meijer Gardens. Oh how I love my mom and dad.

The Blalocks made it to Lansing! We had a visit from my folks last week, and it was so wonderful to have them here to see where we live. I realized that this was the first time I'd ever hosted both of my parents at the same time. Either my mom or dad would come to visit, or if they both came to town they would get a hotel room because I never had enough space in Seattle to host both of them. But now in Lansing I have a home of my own to host them!

One of the best things about having visitors is that I get to go to places that I haven't been to yet. For example, we went to the Henry Ford Museum (never been there, totally out of sight), and also Meijer Gardens. I also took them around the MSU campus, which I found kind of weird, as a 38 year old showing my folks where I go to school, and had lots of time to catch up and talk story. What I think may be the most surprising part about their visit, however, was that my mom got a new phone. And I'm not talking an upgrade from her phone from two years ago. I'm talking an upgrade from her flip phone from almost eleven (yes ELEVEN) years ago. We celebrated by taking selfies and having Siri and Cortana talk to each other.

More Finds

The two tall skinny
jars! Oh what to do?

After Kevin returned from his trip to North Carolina, there were a few boxes that we didn't really open. Part of the reasoning was that we knew we were just going to pack up again, so why open up boxes that looked so tidily packed? Well, one such box was opened up the other day, and we unwrapped all of its contents. The outside of the box just said, "Glass" and we knew there were bottles inside but of exactly what sort we weren't sure. Now that we are finding homes for all the little things we have some space on the larger cabinets. So, out came the Glass box and inside, so many wonderful glass jars! I think we'll probably use some of them for food storage (I've always been a fan of storing dry goods inside jars) but some are just so cool that I might display them just as they are. There are two tall ones in particular that I love. If I used cinnamon I'd put some cinnamon sticks in there. Unfortunately, I don't really know what to do with cinnamon sticks. Licorice would also look good, but alas, I don't really eat that either. I could store my chopstickes in them, maybe. Thoughts?

Here's the entire booty

Nooks and Crannies Take Two

It has been a year now since we moved to Lansing, and I am finding new nooks and crannies since we bought and house and moved (again). So first, I may have mentioned this, but, um, we have a lot of stuff. Second, all that stuff is finding a place. Here are some photos of how those things are finding their places and how all of our stuff fits into our new home.

This beauty of a dining room table is a piece of furniture Kevin brought back from NC

Get a good look at this because next year it will be totally different, aka, remodel

I was very excited to put our moon map prints in a new configuration

Middle Year Music and a Turntable

There are currently four podcasts that I rotate through these days, one of which is a music podcast called Sound Opinions. I've been listening to this one for about seven years now, and from it have learned about musicians I might not have considered. Sometimes though, I am less faithful in my intake of Sound Opinions, which also means that I then don't take in much new music. I used to be pretty on top of it all, but alas, school, work, etc. gets in the way of my listening time for podcasts. In the last few months, however, I have been trying to get some new albums in and listen to some oldies but goodies. Another reason for wanting to listen to more music is because (drumroll) Kevin bought us a turntable! I'm so very excited about this, because the loss of my old one is a very sad story that I will not go into here. And not only did Kevin buy a turntable, but he also bought my most favorite Bob Dylan album to go with it! So yippee! We can play records again! Like my friends at Sound Opinions (which if you haven't heard of this podcast and you love music, you should subscribe) I'm going to run down the albums I've been listening to that are either new this year or new to me, plus my oldie but goodie Bob Dylan.

Bob Dylan, Desire: I love this album. Pure Gold, with back up vocals by Emmylou Harris, another favorite musician of mine.

Bjork, Vulnicura: This album came out around spring-time, and I listened to it like a moth to a lightbulb, I couldn't get enough. I own a lot of her albums, but hadn't listened to her in some time. Then I read that she was putting out a new album based mostly on the break-up of a 13 year relationship. I was shocked to hear about the end of this relationship, and saddened. So I couldn't help but indulge in listening to her music as she processed this painful part in her life. The album is quirky, beautiful, and I did start crying once on the bus because of it.

Sia, 1000 Forms of Fear: Why have I not listened to this album yet?? I just bought it and can't stop listening. I saw Sia perform with Zero 7 about 10 years ago, not really knowing who she was, and I was mesmerized and jealous of her pipes. The latest album by her is fantastic. It soars, with some dance pop, and maybe it uses calculated melodies, but I'm all in.

Levi Fuller, The Wonders That There Are: This is a shout out to my old bandmate, who released this album in late 2014. I didn't really start listening to it - good listening - until earlier this year so I count it. I've always been a fan of Levi's music, and this album is much more varied than his other ones. It also rocks a bit more, and I love it because it reminds me of our interaction together as bandmates. (and I love it because it reveals the growth in his own music)

Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think, Sometimes I Just Sit: Here's an example of having my guys at Sound Opinions praise an album so much that I have to have it. Had I still been living in Seattle, I may have heard Ms. Barnett's music on the radio, the blessed KEXP, but out here in Michigan there is no such radio station so I rely on other methods for new and wonderful music. This is the kind of folksy, rocking, straight-forward music I can completely get behind. It is also the closest to my own music making so it holds some nostalgic reminders for me.

Five Full Days

Yesterday I said good-bye to one of my favorite people, my bestie bird friend, my bosom friend. Brenda came to visit me for five full days, and we walked around in my new neighborhood, went for runs, explored the Sleeping Bear Dunes, indulged in French Brunch in Traverse City, admired the Japanese Gardens in Grand Rapids, bought records, drank local beer, stuck temporary tattoos on our arms, and talked talked talked and laughed laughed laughed. I have expressed this before, but I will again here: It is so wonderful and comforting to be in the company of someone who knows me. I have made some good friends here in Michigan already, but to be with a friend who always gets the inside joke, who still laughs when my jokes aren't funny, and who can recall the things I can't remember is truly amazing. What a gift a good girlfriend is.