gee golly

well, hello. i feel like i haven't had a good sit down with my computer in weeks (which is why this entry is going to cover more than one event). it's nice to not spend as much time staring at my computer, but i do feel some sort of weird detachment. i guess that speaks to our generation's dependence on the ol' laptop. fascinating.

things at work have been wonderful, everything blooming and getting full. i'm starting to get more and more proficient at plant identification, which is obviously a very exciting thing. i've even started to form favorites. any sort of succulent or begonia falls in this category.

begonias:





Mary, Hanna, and I headed west for the Open Engagement conference in Portland two weekends ago. The whole weekend was a delight. Deep thinking with other socially concerned creative folks is very energizing. The featured presenters were pretty intriguing. Nils Norman was most notable to me. He spoke about the concept of Utopia, and also presented his research on Adventure Playgrounds. I also met a group of wonderful people who I'm sure will be future collaborators.

form the drive:
i had a chuckle when i saw this in a gallery window (the gallery is called Pony Club):
One of the new friends (but also old, as I met him in Minnesota at the Art Shanty project in 2009) is Jonas. We had no idea he would be at the conference but he was there to participate in the Wild Foraged Food cook off. He's somewhat of an expert at that. After the conference he decided to drive out to Palouse for a few days. During his stay he hosted a free soup dinner on main street.
And, finally....I had an unexpected day off from work Sunday, so David and I took the opprotunity to go camping in the Idaho wilderness.
It was a completely beautiful and restful trip with my two favorite boys.

(sorry for my inconsistency in capitalization, but i feel too lazy to go back and edit).