you can come over to my place if you want to

last night was my photography show. my mom brought me flowers. it went pretty well - i had 20 pictures up. i sold half of them. if i do a show like that again - i think i need to have more photographs. like 50. and more small ones. and multiples of prints. but - that all takes a lot of money and investment. so, maybe that's a long-term goal. i think the truth about why i have art shows is because i like having all my friends in one place. this doesn't get to happen for me very much, but i got to have my work friends, my family, my church friends, my non-church friends, and my friends from childhood all in one place. dear lord, thank you.

so this morning i woke up to the most beautiful saturday morning that i ever could have dreamed of. i cleaned the apartment, took some clothes to the goodwill, and now i'm waiting for steve so that we can get some mexican food and wander around frick park. steve's leaving in a little more than a week or so. mostly, i just feel so glad that i got to live in the same place as him. maybe some day we'll end up in the same place again - i sure hope so. he's one of the greatest friends i'll ever have.

the last few weeks have felt like the happiest times of my life. i am so grateful for this life and the journey. it's wild, man. and i'm just so happy to be part of it. i'm always learning that i'm in control of most of how my life goes - at least my own happiness. if it's not perspective, then it's something else. and if it's something else, then you better be brave enough to change it.

there we are.

at the end of my life, i suspect somebody might ask me, "who are you?" and i will answer, "i am my mother's and father's daughter, and my brother's sister." this weekend, my dad finally moves home after 2 years of living in boston.

every day, i feel more like my mother. and more like my father. and i see in my brother more and more the reflections of my mother and father too - just, different - and in him, i start to see me too. i just want to soak it all up for as long as possible.

i realize that i can't make it on this journey without them. i realize that they hold the answers to so many of the questions i have. my identity, my being, my past and future are all indelibly linked to my family. i am, literally, nothing without them. i exist because of them.

wide-eyed walker

spring sprang. i feel alive again.

st. judy's comet

at the end of the day today, roman looked sad. he said that he missed his mom. i told him that even though i'm 26 years old, sometimes i still miss my parents too. i asked him if he wanted a hug, and he said yes. so we hugged.

last night i figured out why i love paul simon so much - and it's sort of simple. he makes me feel the way that it feels to be with my parents.

in the summer of 2007, i had just broken up with my college boyfriend and i was a wreck. my dad and i spent a week backpacking in the sierra nevadas. it was a difficult time to be father and daughter - i was so fragile, and he was so unsure of how to handle it. so, we just didn't talk about it. and that was okay. instead, we just stayed up late and stared at the stars in the sky and talked about the moon.

all the vampires walking through the valley

i planned on going to phipps this morning - i wanted to see some flowers, and sense spring - even if it wasn't wild or totally natural. but surprisingly, when i woke up, it was warm and sunny. i went to frick park and took a small walk. i took my shoes off and felt the cold, soft, cushion of grass and earth underneath me. birds were chirping and dogs were chasing deer. even though i could hear forbes avenue in the background, the relationship between man and nature felt harmonious nonetheless.

laurie trok / jewelry

so, part of the goal of my "good stuff" tab was to feature different artists / people who are doing things that are worth mentioning. i've been somewhat lazy about this part of my blog, but finally, here's my first post.

this is the jewelry laurie has been making lately. she's been working pretty hard getting enough pairs of earrings and necklaces together for the handmade arcade in a few weeks. i think that the jewelry is a perfect mixture of whimsical and classic. the pieces remind me of the artwork of paul klee. she draws inspiration from alexander calder's jewerly and mobiles. this jewelry is all made out of old glasses and sunglasses lenses. they create really interesting reflections, shadows and distortions. plus, some of the lenses that are used are transitions so they change color throughout the day (unless you live in pittsburgh where the sun never shines). if you're interested in checking out her jewelry and other art, visit her here.

kenyh-go.

"miss laura, how do you turn this thing on?"