The building where my event was held, along with several others, is a closed down old high school. It was the perfect space to set up for various events that happened in different classrooms, hallways, and out on the lawn. I loved the location for this!

(Pre World War II Japanese salt and pepper shakers–hilarious green chickens

There’s that saying–distance makes the heart grow fonder–which I found to be very true in the case of my lack of postings last week. It’s funny how much I look forward to writing and sharing with you; funny for me because I never expected it–but then again, some of the nicest instances/things that come along one can not expect either, which is so nice .

(an antique linen hand towel, picked up while junk shopping with my mom–i wish people still did more of this!)

The move went great. We got our stuff all in and are diligently unpacking a few boxes at a time. A typical dinner conversation will go something like this: what do you want to do tonight? watch a movie? go get a microwave? unpack a few boxes? the answer inevitably being: unpack boxes. And all the while we are throwing sidelong glances at each other with goofy grins on our faces, excited to be in our new space .

(some of my books and a library book–I heart the library–seriously.)

Unpacking definitely has two sides to it. One is when you are looking at the mountains of brown boxes with their illegible or mystery labels on them waiting for you to open them; but I found that taking a room at a time really helped. Once I got into the groove, I found it even enjoyable–I think it was the immediate results that were happening which is always so satisfying. I started to place all my little trinkets and things in the spots that an old house always has. It is funny when things you’ve owned for a long time start to look different–take on different colors or even meanings–because of the different context they are in. It’s almost like rediscovering yourself through your things–so interesting. It is also interesting pairing your stuff with someone else’s–how the dynamics change, play off each other, and compliment–decisions are made for things to stay and other’s to go, what works and what doesn’t. It becomes like a big puzzle that can only be taken a small amount at a time, at least for me. And, we’ve had a good time doing it!

(Good luck charm from Greece–to keep away the evil eye–this hangs by our front door)

I am totally itching to get back into the kitchen, make use of big pink (my hot pink kitchen aide mixer), and get going! I’ve made some simple dinners, but nothing with the oven yet–always a crap shoot when you are using a new one. I did make my favorite chocolate chip cookies before we moved, in anticipation of having something sweet around for my insatiable sweet tooth–and our movers.

(Vegetables from Chelsea’s garden–yay!)

(Photo courtesy of Patrick Leonard–from the TBA and Slow Food Portland websites)

I am also preparing for the Time Based Arts Festival which I am in this coming weekend. Check it out, if you are in Portland, it will be a ton of fun so stop on by! Some free food, bring a picnic, check out the TBA the WORKS site which is in an old school that was shut down years ago but has been opened just for two weeks of art and performances–I love that kind of stuff, historic buildings, old uses being re appropriated, so neat!

Cheers!