.a new leaf.

i've started prepping seeds for my 2013 garden . . . got some started in a seed tray . . . am making lists and circling dreams in seed catalogs . . . i've been in this new, motivated, inspired mindset lately.  i just want to create, to dream, to plant, to begin . . .

the days are getting longer.  spring is teasing me with her coming.  i know that here in the PNW, she's still a bit far off.  we've got more rain and cold to get through, but the light is returning and that's enough for me.

so, i plan vegetable gardens, i clean out my closet, i begin new art projects, i start to plod through the pile of mending, i make soups with what is left of the tomatoes i preserved from last year, i see the garlic i planted last fall peeking out of the soil.

crocuses bloom in the neighbor's front garden and it makes me wonder if i still have time to get my daffodil bulbs in the ground.

my cousin and i are buying tickets for summer concerts already . . . i am dreaming of family camping trips and flying back east for visits in the spring and summer . . . i am ready for a change.

my husband has been biking to work all winter, but i am a fairweather biker.  i prefer the bus on the cold, windy, raining mornings . . . but i am beginning to dream of evening bike rides down to mississippi ave to drink beer on patios and see shows in the small venues.  and it's on it's way.

this is going to be good.

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in preparation for this creative spring that's just around the corner, i've been reading some new books.  i'll put them in my mixed media sidebar - but here they are as well:

The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest
i am excited about this book because it offers tips and advice for growing food in the exact region that i live in, as well as month-by-month guides to what to plant when. living in the PNW means i really can have a year-round harvest if i know how to do it.  this book is pure gold.

Print Workshop
this book give examples and simple instructions for all kinds of at-home printing techniques.  i have been more and more interested in the printmaking art form and i needed a little more knowledge in my brain about how to do this business.  this book seemed to have the best approach for my learning style.  since i've renewed my simple line of Hudson Tshirts (awesome shirts with my dog's face on them), i've needed a few more tools in my toolbox in this category.  super exciting!

Cut Up This Book
papercutting is, by far, one of the most magical, awe-inspiring art forms.  it's dreamy how someone can take a flat piece of paper and make it come alive!  this book gives a simple history of papercutting, offers some awesome examples of contemporary paper artists and gives a few projects that one could do at home.  i am hoping with this bit of a push i could set myself on a journey to mastering this magic for myself.  i was lucky to get to see a cut paper exhibit at the MOMA in NYC a few years ago - it was breath-taking.  stoked.

what have you been doing in this long winter months?  how are you preparing for spring?  

xo,

tj

.another 6 months.

hello lovelies!
it seems that another 6 months has flown by!

i am back down to working one job now, doing some massage and creating on the side.  i handmade, bought locally or re-homed most of the gifts we gave this christmas, my garden did so ridiculously well that i could not even keep up with the tomatoes!  let see . . . i traveled a bit - went to thailand, back east for a visit, down to southern oregon to see family . . . mostly we've had non-stop visitors since moving in to our new place last May.  it's been fun being NE PDX's most hospitable bed and breakfast.  i am also now the proud co-captain of my roller derby team, the Heartless Heathers for the 2013 season.  we are about to have our season opener in a few weeks - and i am so proud of how hard we have all been working this pre-season!

so, this was a big HAPPY NEW YEAR jumble update . . .

i will close by plugging a few facebook pages i've started.  the first is Bird on Wire Handmade (which i may just change to TJLoves).  here you can find my lovelies as i create them until i get that etsy shop.

the second is Hudson TShirts. a place where you can become a fan of our alaskan malamute Hudson and the  tshirts that bear his face.  hudson tees were a creation between myself and my dear collaborator, the fantastic textile designer and superhuman whitney. . . the first printing of shirts were a fundraiser for the man-friend and i to raise gas money to move back to the PNW . . . now tees are being printed so that hudson can leave his "print" on the world for years and years to come.

lastly, i've updated a few of the mixed media bars on the side ...  more on that to come.

for now i leave you with a few photos of my life since i last posted:

 strawberry rhubarb jam with rhubarb from my front yard

 an example of how my tomato plants took over the plot- they actually got much worse than this

 the man-friend and i celebrating our 8 yr wedding anniversary in sun river, oregon

 my 31st birthday float trip down the sandy river.  photo by corinne krogh

 climbing with friends at smith rock in central oregon

 at the top of the angles' rest hike in the columbia river gorge with my sisters in sept

 at the highest elevation a person can hike to without technical climbing gear on mt hood oregon, with my leaguemate Roller Eclipse

 my travel companions at the loi krathong festival in chiang mai, thailand this november

an example of what you can get when you shop from hudson tshirts

 my boy in his christmas sweater

the heartless heathers celebrating their win against seattle's hometeam the sockit wenches last month

i've missed you all!  what have you been up to in my absence?

.2012.

well.  it's a new year.  and i'm starting it out a little sad.

it's been 5 months since the mister, the pup and i left rhode island.  after i celebrated my 30th birthday, our friends sent us off with much love.

 we traveled cross-country for 2 weeks and arrived breathless and happy and more than a little terrified back in my home state of oregon.

since then, life has progressed slowly and i have taken small, unsure steps.

i've embraced more time with my family.  i live with one of my sisters.  we've gone to family weddings, said goodbye to a precious grandmother, celebrated thanksgiving and christmas with our loved ones.  i am surrounded by the beauty of the pacific northwest.  we've gone hiking and to the beach.  we drink good coffee and hear good music and hold each other close. these are good things.

but . . .
i work at a job i hate, we are scraping by to pay our bills.  i gave up the garden i have so lovingly cultivated for the last 3 seasons and now live in a house where everything is in the shade.  i love the huge trees that surround our house . . . but this girl needs to be growing her own food.  i haven't touched my easel.  i live too far from everything i love about this city.  i miss my old roller derby team (though my new one has made me feel SO welcome) and my old neighborhood.  my closest friends are now the ones who are so far away.  returning to a place where i once lived and finding that both the place and myself have changed . . . it's a tough transition.  i am forced to redefine it all again.

but this can be good too.

so i start 2012 with faith.  with bravery.  with hope.  with fear.

i will embrace possibility.  my heart will continue to feel all the feelings as harshly and as strongly as it always has.  and this is ok.  but i will try to take those feelings and translate them to action.

i will use my new sewing machine.  i will take hold of the time i have and fill it with what i love - radical homemaking, crafts, creativity, time in nature and with those i love, music, yoga, passion . . .

i will dye my hair red and get an acupuncture treatment.

i will volunteer at a local farm.

i will finally put pictures on the walls of my bedroom.  (5 months in this city and no pictures on the walls?)

i will pour my heart in to my life and leave no second wasted.

how will your year be different?

.the good things.

so life's been nuts. do i allude to that a lot on this blog?

well, it's still true.

tonight's bout was AWESOME!! such a close game! the old money honeys beat the mob by a HAIR. so close! wow!

after the bout, we had a meet and greet/info session for girls interested in joining Providence Roller Derby for the 2011 season - SO CRAZY to think that i wont be one of the newest girls on the league soon! wow!

if you live in the area, consider trying out! it's amazing. check out our website.

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in other news, a friend of ours is taking us out to a the beach tomorrow to do a vintage themed photoshoot! yeah!!!


i am sooooo excited about this! it's going to be the first real photo session we've had since we got married (almost 6 years ago!). i've been collecting little ideas for different things to bring with us for the shoot - vintage suitcases, an umbrella (loaned to me by the lovely brooke from rehab just for the shoot!), a vintage camera, my boots and cowgirl hat, a lovely dress i got in our clothing exchange friday . . . so excited to share the photos when they are ready and i'll def post a link to my friend's photography website when it is up! she's actually asked us to do the shoot so that she can build up her portfolio for her website. SQUEEEE!!!

speaking of the clothing exchange, last friday my friend, miss C and i hosted a clothing exchange (though she did most of the work since i spent the afternoon locked out of my apartment!!!). also called a Naked Lady Party. Everyone brings a bag of pre-loved items (in good condition) such as clothes, books, cds, bags, hats, scarves, jewelry, etc and we dump them in piles around the house, try them on, take what we want and donate the rest. some people add structure to these parties, rules about how many you can take based on what you bring, make it a game, wait in line, etc. we just throw things around and share! we also make it a potluck so everyone can snack and drink - miss C made KILLER SANGRIA!! it really helped beat the heat (have any of you read about the crazy heat wave that's been taking over new england? it is also taking over my brain!). sometimes we make the parties themed (we did one near halloween and made it trick or treat themed, and one we did was a tea party/alice in wonderland theme).

i feel GREAT about the swap! i brought 3 huge grocery bags of clothes and left with only 1 1/2 bags full of "new" items. then i went through and got rid of MORE items as i put the new ones away! i LOVE it!!! plus we had BAGS and BAGS of things to donate at the end!! fantastic.

try it~ let me know what you think!

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k, it's off to bed! crazy weekend might be over, but tomorrow is a big day and it starts with a 5:45am wakeup time! goodnight my lovlies!

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p.s. enter my giveaway!! the winner will be announced monday of NEXT week!!

.30 day journal challenge day 5.

Journal Prompt Number 5:
We are all obviously bloggers right, or else you wouldn't be here :) Even if you don't have a blog, I know that you read them.
This page is dedicated to your favorite blogs!! What are they? Are there any blogs that you can't go a day without checking?

i sort of felt strange making a list of blogs that i read . . . esp since i am very very sporadic about reading them, and will definitely go forever between posting blogs of my own. it sort of felt like some sort of popularity contest . . . (don't take this the wrong way janel! i am sure the exercise was GREAT for other people! but for me, i needed to change it a bit for how i was feeling today and i think that's ok . . . i think that fits with the spirit of this whole journal exercise, right?).

so . . . instead of blogs (if you want to know what blogs i read from time to time, scroll down and look at the sidebar to the left . . . they are all listed there under "these friends of mine" - if you don't see yours and you'd like me to add it, let me know!) . . . i listed "worthwhile websites"!!!

these are all websites that i think are worth visiting, that are making a difference in someone's life, etc. i followed up the list with "now go play outside!" because seriously? it's summertime! get off your computer and LIVE YOUR LIFE! (this is mostly a message that I needed to hear right now . . . if you need to hear it, go a head and get outside . . . if not, i applaud you! it's so easy to get sucked in to this screen, these pixels, this crazy online world - so get off! get out! live in the real world!) . . . again, this is a message mostly for me. to remember the good that the internet can do, to celebrate it and then to get out and do some good of my own.


thanks for listening to my rant. :)

here's the links to the websites that i listed on my page (some of them are linked in the sidebar to the left too):
wwoof
providence roller derby
buy handmade
learning to love you more
tweak today
the daily green
depave
earth dinner
heifer intl
eat well guide
animal vegetable miracle
book mooch
foxpoint community garden
one bag
cover lay down
empowerment4women
daytrotter
food not lawns
the green guide
objectify this
this is not ikea
couchsurfing
powells books


what are some websites that you visit that you think make the world a better place?

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today, my friend miss C and i played hookey and went to the beach! we burnt just a little, got sand between our toes, picked up a few rocks and shells, ate some strawberries that may have been covered in sand and then went to crazy burger for some vegencheladas and a vegan cookie with rice dream and bananas and strawberry sauce . . . mmmmmm . . . i am still so full!



this weekend is going to be nuts . . . work, a bridal shower, providence pride (the roller derby is in the parade tomorrow night and are doing a fun exhibition bout sunday [fake teams! unicorns vs rainbows!!!] etc) so i might not have time to post my journal pages until monday!

see you then!