Wow. It's been a crazy whirlwind the past few weeks. In a very short span of time, I accepted a job that had been a long time in the works. Once the decision was made, we picked up within a week and moved from the Boston area back home to Michigan. As my art journal pages hinted at, I'd been going through a big discernment process about whether it was the right move. Boston's a pretty great place, and we had a nice little life going there.

Turns out that coming home was definitely the right move. A lot of angst we've felt over the past 8 years while we were living in Chicago and Boston feels lifted off our shoulders. An opportunity aligned with our desire to be here, and it all came together at last.

For years whenever we came home, I couldn't quite imagine us moving back. Home was all too familiar, and that made me uneasy. I always wanted to move away and experience other places. One high school teacher told us a statistic she most likely made up that 75% of us would grow up and live within 30 minutes of home. I thought that definitely would not be me. Nuh uh. No way. I can't stay here. Not that it's bad. It's perfectly nice. But I need to experience other places. I need to live somewhere with hills or mountains to climb, with new views.

So, now I have lived elsewhere. While away, I always wanted to be closer to family and friends, but was indifferent to living in Michigan again. But over the last year, especially, something shifted. Right now, this feels like exactly where we need to be. We don't know how long it will last. Two years? Forty years? We'll see.

Before leaving Boston, I had the most amazing week meeting up with friends. Totally unexpectedly, people gave me presents! A Knitting on the Road book, cute office supplies, a red velvet cupcake, this great book by a woman who grew up in the town where I taught. Most importantly, friends gave us their time, for coffee meet-ups, dinners, and help packing and loading the truck.

The day before the final 3-day packing/driving whirlwind, a friend and I got to go for an afternoon hike through my favorite woods. We took a route I'd never taken, but went to places I'd been so many times through those six years. On the way, we came across this spot. It was a spot I'd never seen.

I took this photo and then my camera battery died. This was my last shot from our leaving. A yet undiscovered, secret little pool in the woods, discovered on a long walk and chat with a good friend. A reminder of what I loved about living there.

In all the busyness, the camera never got charged, and then it accidentally got packed away in a box I couldn't find. I've been living without it for almost three weeks! It's been painful. Once the photography stopped, my blogging stopped. I didn't realize it until now, but my camera is my muse. Now that we're reunited, the storytelling about this new phase of life can begin.

Time for D-Troit

News! We're relocating from Boston to Detroit for a new job for me and to be closer to our family and friends. We've lived in Boston for the last six months years, and there are many things to love about life here, but it's time to be closer to home. 

For years now, I've felt like I've lived in a parallel universe. We've lived our life here. Meanwhile, our friends and family lived their lives there. Time passed. We aged. Matt and I both started sprouting the occasional white hair. We visited and kept in touch, but you can't help feel disconnected. For now, it's time to reconnect. For everything, there is a season.

And because I'm a crafty nerd, I've already started a photo journal to document the transition. I grabbed the B and D from google images, printed, and cut them out. Glued them on with a glue stick. Done!

During this last week in Boston, it's been great to catch up with all our friends. Dinners and coffee dates have kept me extra busy. I have a hiking date Thursday to finally tackle the full length of my favorite trail next door. We almost moved away three years ago, and then my return to graduate school kept us here another three years. At times, I've wished we moved home then but at the same time, I've made lifelong friends in that time and therefore wouldn't trade any of it. We've also had great neighbors/friends and are leaving behind a sweet little community that sprung up around the joys of dog ownership. It started with the dogs, and it became about the people. It's been an experience we'll always remember, and I think we needed to experience that level of neighborliness before planting roots elsewhere.

Oh, and of course there is a lot of packing to be done. The books are packed (not a small feat) and tomorrow I'm tackling the clothes, craft supplies and office stuff. Maybe the kitchen too. We've also been selling and donating some stuff along the way. I'm looking forward to settling into a new place and getting a fresh start.

We're definitely swimming against the current by relocating to Detroit right now. My brother, bless him, asked me if I'd been hit on the head! But, we're really looking forward to getting to know the city. We both grew up in Michigan and have fathers who were raised in Detroit's environs, and yet, we know too little about this place. It's time for that to change. I visited in late March and I can tell you, I met some salt of the earth people who were against-all-odds dedicated to making a positive difference. I left incredibly inspired, and I'm looking forward to soaking up even more inspiration.

And don't even get me started on how many craft shows and thrift stores there are in the Midwest. And music. Lots of great indie artists to connect with. I think it's going to be great!

I'll pop in here when I can over the next couple weeks. Hold tight! I'll be back in force soon enough with so much to share!

p.s. I'll definitely share the inside pages of this album when they are done!

love for here and there

Maybe it's just because the weather has been lovely lately, but I'm feel like I'm falling back in love with this place I live. 

For the last couple weeks, I've been more intentional about getting out and exploring. This is definitely directly related to the fact that I've been art journaling regularly and setting goals for myself. After living here for six years, it wasn't feeling all that exciting anymore, but I've had a few great days out and about lately and I'm feeling the Boston love again.

Yesterday I volunteered for a YWCA fundraising luncheon where they honored women acheivers. That was inspiring. Then I met up with a friend in Copley Square for coffee and lots of talk about life decisions, work, school and fun activities we share, like hiking, crafting, and whatnot.

Then I hunkered down at the Boston Public Library for a few hours to work. Unfortunately, my camera battery died so no pictures of the inside but it's amazing. I have to go back. Maybe even later this week. I love libraries and I completely fell in love with it there. I really wish I had spent more time there in the past.

They also had an exhibit up, called Away We Go, of travel posters. Absolutely loved it! There is a flickr set with their whole collection, which is definitely worth checking out for design inspiration. I can't even imagine what it was like to travel abroad in the 1920s-1940s.

Creator/Contributor: Sellheim, Gert, 1901-1970 (artist)

Last night I came home feeling good and made an art journaling page about fun things I want to do this summer. The idea for the blocks of color for journaling came from Rachel Denbow and the Tell Your Story class. I think this may be my favorite page yet! Yeah summertime!

Visiting my own town

Last weekend we were invited out to dinner in the North End in Boston. It was a lovely night. There was lots of traffic, as you can see, when we got there because of a Celtics game. The North End is the Italian district, with narrow cobblestone streets, lots of folks out on a nice Saturday night, and wonderful smells coming from small groceries, restaurants, and bakeries. Our friends stumbled upon a short line at Pizzeria Regina's, which is quite rare. It's right on a dark corner that is a bit away from the hustle. There's a doggie daycare on the other corner called the Dogfather. While we waited in line, a woman and two kids made a game out of throwing change up against a wall. After the best pizza, we stopped in first at a little fancy wine shop where Matt picked up some Japanese rice beer and then a pastry shop where I got a chocolate chip cannoli. Those little chocolate chips make the cannoli, as far as I'm concerned. It felt good to walk through the streets with friends and pick up little yummy treats along the way.

We're trying to make our way around to some of our favorite spots this spring. It felt like a long awhile since we'd been downtown and it felt good to feel a bit like a tourist again. After six years in this city, I felt like a tourist who knew right where things were.

We have a little trip planned tomorrow since Matt took the day off work. I'll share when I get back. Feels good to visit favorite places. Hope you have some fun plans this weekend too!

walking in the woods

I think what I like best about art journaling is that it's helping me clarify how I want to spend my time. Wednesday late afternoon, even though a few rain drops were falling, we went for a two and a half hour hike in the woods down the street. I can't believe all this is right next to where I live. And that I live right next to a big city. I spent the whole time in awe.

It was magical.

looking back

I started blogging back in 2004, a way long time ago when we were about to move from Chicago to Boston. We thought it might be a good way to keep in touch with family. That blog, called chitown2beantown (creative, huh?) is still hanging out online so it's fun to go back through the archives every once and a while to see what I was up to several years back.

In May 2007...

I was finishing up a semester of adjunct teaching at a local college, and was scrapbooking about it. Now I'm doing the same thing but I don't have plans to scrapbook about it this time. Just plans to finish grading papers so I can be done!

I went to an event in Cambridge where Barbara Kingsolver gave a talk. It's on my wish list right now to go to Cambridge for brunch, to walk around on a nice day and to visit the bookstores there. Must be a spring thing!

I'd just bought a digital SLR with some of that adjunct teaching money and was playing around with it and enjoying the spring. This week I was walking the dog around here and remembered these photos, as I passed the same spots. I've been missing being out in the woods and have been thinking a lot about how I haven't been taking nature photos a lot lately. Need to get back to that. Doing a couple big hikes is also on my wish list too.

Matt was growing a playoffs beard. This weekend the Red Wings (we're from Michigan) didn't make it to round 3, so there was some serious disappointment around here.

Do you have spring routines? Even some you weren't aware of until you looked closely?

Boston Dictionary Party

I'm a teacher's assistant for class where some students are doing a group project on tax policy in Massachusetts. Sounds boring, right? Well, when pennies are coming out of your pocketbook* to generate a sales tax revenue stream, it might pay to be an informed citizen.

I thought some of you crafters would be interested in better understanding the finer points of craft material taxation policy here in Taxachusetts. They've thought this through here.

Generally speaking, "Materials that become part of articles of clothing, such as name tags sewn to a garment, are generally tax-exempt."

Exempt
Sewing goods: Buttons; Elastic binders, tapes; Fabric and materials for clothing; Thread; Yarn (other than rug); Yarn goods; Zippers

Nonexempt
Sewing supplies: Dress forms, patterns; embroidery hoops; Knitting bags; Needles, pins, thimbles; Needlework instruction books; Rug yarn; Scissors; Sewing kits; Skein and yarn holders; Tape measures

I had no idea that all this time I was not being taxed for my yarn or fabric! I will have to check my receipts more carefully.

Also, the finer points of sales tax on apparel were amusing. The important distinction is that, "While apparel designed solely for athletic or protective use is taxable, items that are also suitable for everyday use are exempt."

For instance:

• Boat shoes are tax exempt but bowling shoes are not.
• Jogging bras are tax exempt but clothing primarily designed to protect from physical injury is not.
• Choir and clerical vestments are tax exempt but special clothing for jockeys is not.
• Scarves are tax exempt but handkerchiefs are not.

I guess by that logic, handkerchiefs are considered protective gear.

There are some amusing distinctions in other categories as well.

• Infant rubber pants are tax exempt but baby wipes are not.
• Food substitutes are tax exempt but food supplements are not.
• Comic books are tax exempt but dictionaries and encyclopedias are not.

Hey, that last one seems unfair!

Maybe we should throw some dictionaries in the harbor and start a revolution!

_________

*Translation: Pocketbook is New England speak for what the rest of us refer to as a purse. It took me awhile to figure that one out. I only did after a co-worker told me she put a milkshake in her pocketbook. True story. Before then I thought a pocketbook was a wallet. And yes, the milkshake spilled inside her new leather purse.