springsacomin

words to follow these here pics.

late night sugar rush anyone?

Pea Lately

So Pela's getting big fast, and we are trying to keep up and perhaps stay a few steps ahead of her. The joys and trials of potty training have been fun. We have been able to upgrade our roasting situation with a larger roaster. That means more time to hang out with family, and more time to build the business. Here's a few pics from the last week. Pela's a big fan of Dr. Seuss, and she loves hanging/running around @ the art museum.

@ work with Pela

Pela's been busy helping us build the business. She's been cold calling and setting up meetings so much, we have had to tell her to back off a little. Here's a few shots of her in action.

things to do

Pela is very intent on getting where she's going in this picture. We had just finished multiple rides up and down the escalator @ barnes & noble. Heading to get some coffee, we knew there was only so much time. Such pointed efficiency sets the tone for such photos.

forts & cheerios

One great benefit of having a monkey @ home is rediscovering the many worlds that can be discovered in ordinary objects and scenarios. To our benefit, we build forts and tents from time to time. Being weather-bound indoors, now is the time for forts. Pela took turns running in and out of the structure, taking care of various babies in various locations. Other activities include hide from scary mama coming close on Pela's bare heels to eat her neck.

Oh yeah, the point of the story: Sarah and I were across the room, watching Pela clamber about on the couch. At one point, we look over, and she's standing there leaning her hip into the couch in her overalls, hair askew in her Pelaway, selecting a morsel in the shape of a cheerio from under the couch cushions. The morsel then, of course, while gazing into our eyes, pops promptly into her mouth. Mind you, this treat is easily 9 months old. Before we can collect ourselves to say anything more than, "is that tasty?" or "is it chewy?", she has selected and consumed three delicious snacks. That's our girl...

(note: Sarah keeps the house really clean[in spite of Pela & I]. this is not intended to serve as passiveaggresive communication of desired couch cushion maintenance. I love you baby. It is a major character in this tale, and in life. For where would we find mystery but under couch cushions, car seats & jacket pockets? dunno.)

snowing again

It is snowing again in KC. I guess it's common in winter for a city to have a lot of snow. Today is a day of big flakes and slick sidewalks as we navigated freshly snowed sidewalks around downtown KC. One of our customers are in a big H&R block building. It has very tall windows with which to display the beautiful precipitation. This text is just an excuse to post a picture we took by a fountain in the H&R building.

We attempted to take a day off today, but the first part of the day was running around for the business. We were running around together, so it was a satisfying outing. We are semi-holed away for the rest of the day. Wow, that's blog-worthy...

cat in the hat

Pela's latest viewing preference has been the late 50's animation of the Cat in the Hat. I fully approve because of the big words in other languages, as well as the fully creative & psychedelic in the Tom & Jerry way it was rendered.

Sarah's been watching a little dude, as I may have mentioned. His name is Robbie, and he's about 3 months old. His visits have brought about the excavation of the bouncy chair. Which, being to the scale of Pela now, looks almost more comfortable with her in it than an infant. That is, picturing the chair to adult scale in the mind makes it a relaxing prospect were it designed and implemented into our homes.

That's it. Enjoy the clip.

whoa is me

Sarah, Pela & I went to the Nelson art museum today. It was brisk & blue outside. We were remarking on how far we had to go to get to the front doors, so I suggested to Pela she hop in my jacket. She agreed. As we turned off the sidewalk into the tree-lined walk to the museum grounds, I reached down to open my jacket. This particular jacket has an adjustment mechanism in the form of a tight elastic cord with a plastic ball on the end. Apparently, I grabbed this ball with force as I moved the zipper down its track. Said ball then catapulted under my glasses into the soft white of my eyeball.

I did not drop Pela, but I did expand her vocabulary by one word. I handed her to Sarah and bent over, clutching my flaring eye socket. Long story short, I can see, & ouch.

Elastic is for observant folks. About a month ago, I was removing a dead pine tree from the roof of my car. In doing so, the bungee cord holding it in place held to a branch as I lowered the tree. Do I set the tree down to dislodge the bungee? Or do I give it a little flip to lazily dislodge the branch. You guessed it. I did the latter and shattered the back windshield of the Subaru with a plastic bungee cord hook.

Perhaps the wise among us live longer, & perhaps the foolish have more fun. Takin' the lumps we got coming to us, whichever category we place ourselves...

That is all. Take a minute to secure your protective eyewear.

artwork lately

The three of us have been working on some stuff lately. Sarah's been sewing & making aprons, Pela's been drawing and destroying, and I have been diving in to printmaking. More to come.

pea lately

it's mid January 2010, and much has happened. Maybe I just wrote this in the last post, but I will be redundant for the sake of posting consistency.

Our business is approaching a year old, and with the help & support of our family & friends we are feeling, well, helped & supported. We have moved twice in 10 months, and may or may not move once more by the time another year rolls by. We are roasting and printing out of a gallery space in the Westside neighborhood of KCMO. It's a shared space with some fellow artists and designers/filmmakers. The last place had no heat or quality plumbing, so at the very least, this place is a step up in quality of living/working. It stands to grow in excitement as the months pass as well. One definite benefit is Pela & Sarah can come around and not worry about tripping over too much.

Sarah has been doing great, working as the accountant, shipping & receiving, bill payment center, my main supporter, encourager and best friend. Oh and she's full timing raising a little monkey. She has been watching a 3 month old little dude a couple times a week as well. Pela is having a great time getting to know someone smaller than she is. It helps that he often has frog heads on his feet.

It's winter in KC, and most other places in the west. We had some snow this year, and it's more than we have had to deal with in past years. It was a challenge for certain. The issue wasn't so much the volume of snow that came down, it was more about the amount of snow that remained on the ground in the weeks after the snow. One of our cars remained in a drift for 3 weeks due to poor traction, and the 8 inches of snow that adhered to the pavement. KCMO's budget was shot in the first night of heavy snowfall. Yes, it was a holiday, but it was also winter. I don't have a solution for the problem, so I will move on. One thing I know, Subarus make lots of snow a lot of fun to drive in.

Pela is growing wildly as many kids do. She's got a cute little high-pitched voice, and learns more words every day. She has a passion for penguins, a.k.a. 'pengoes,' coloring(cowdowing) with dry erase markers(thxami/papa), & shows particular prowess and cunning in snatching sips of beverages from under people's noses. She likes alll kinds of flavor profiles. That's all I am going to say about that.

All in all, we are enjoying life in KC. We long for the mountains, but rest in the knowledge we can reach them in a day's drive. Much love to you all. Thanks for tuning in... xo

long time

So, it's 2010, and this is the first post in 6 months or so. What has happened? I reckon much. Pela is two and some change, our business is doing well, & we have moved to a new location. Seated with Pea in the photo is our friend Jeremy Collins. He's a local illustrator whose work we have enjoyed for years. Small world brings us into the same workspace. Pela enjoys benefits of working with diverse creative folk. more soon.

Moon Marbles

We went this morning to Bonner Springs KS to check out Moon Marbles. They make custom marbles there, and performed in house are some great demonstrations of that craft. Other notables on the shelves: remote control zombie, paper doll book of 1960 rockstars & elvis presley bendable figures.

hangin' in KC with the family

My bro Scott & niece Addy came to visit us for a couple days. We are packing in as much eating, walking & talking as possible. Right now, there's a ms. pac-man tournament going on. The victor remains to be seen.

More to come.