slippery when.....[all the time]

 i hate being that guy who covers up hardwood, but these stairs were so slippery.  they've caused one bad fall and many, many near injuries due to their lack of grip.  so a small home improvement task i took on was getting a stair runner in place.  as much as i love learning about my home by taking on projects, i was happy to have a professional install this.

pretty in [yellow]

finally, the yellow sunflowers bloomed.  

i had lost two before they had fully bloomed to some hungry squirrels, so i was anxious to take a pic before the same fate happened to this one.  partly because so much time had gone into growing these tall beauties, but mostly because i was so happy to finally have this natural representation of my home state in my yard for everyone to see.

this is [40]

so this is 40. 

 

to be honest not what i expected or planned.  minus the fact that we're still in the middle of a global pandemic and this is the second birthday spent in quarantine without celebrating with friends...there is no way i would have guessed my life would have been like this when i turned 40.  not good or bad...just unexpected. but i guess i'm at the point in my life now where i can say [that's life] and really have some experience behind it

to borrow a line from my blog title, here i am 40 years old, learning about life and getting paid with experience...still.

home is where the [bread] is

obviously, this whole "cooking and making food that reminds me of home because we're stuck in the middle of a global pandemic and i can't visit my family" continued this week with the making of my dad's banana bread.  

staying true to my childhood i let it cool just enough before cutting off a slice and eating it while it was still warm. 

i'm going to be as big as a house if this pandemic continues and i keep cooking.

together like [chili] and [cinnamon rolls]

this pandemic is really starting to get to me. it's now been well over a year since i've seen my family back home.  that along with the winter weather has me needing some warm comfort food, a combo of foods only a mid-westerner would love and even understand. chili and cinnamon rolls.

i made this combo tonight and the spicy mixed with the sweet took me back to my midwest childhood sitting in the school cafeteria.  you see, chili and cinnamon roll day was the one day no one brought a lunch.  everyone loved CCR day!

and it wasn't just at school, this combo was mad at home as well.  large community chili dinners would take place in my hometown before home football games.

this combo isn't for everyone, but for a guy missing his family, this mid-west meal, made kansas seem just a little bit closer.

with a little help from [my parents]

living 1,700 miles away from where i grew up, i don't get to see my parents nearly as much as i would like.  thankfully, they recently came up to visit.

this visit found us keeping the tourist attractions to a minimum and instead activities were focused more on house projects.  not only did they help weed the yard and trim the hedges, we found the time to put together the crib.  this was actually my favorite project of the week.  i enjoy knowing that the crib my child will eventually sleep in was put together by my parents.

it was a quick trip and we didn't do anything too terribly exciting, but in a way, just having them around the house to help with small projects made me feel like they lived in the same town, instead of guests visiting.

i just wish they were here to help with all the other items i have to put together! 

calm, cool and [painted]

with a little more experience and a lot more brushes, my wife and i started another painting project.

"this room will be WAY easier than the kitchen" i remember saying, "it's just a box!"

somehow i didn't factor in all the trim, the windows, the doors and the radiator cover, all of which were painted light yellow and all of which took more time than i had planned.  also kneeling down and painting base trim took more energy out of me than i thought.  one saving grace, being a tad wiser this go around we decided not to tape as much, as we felt more confident with our trim brushes.

although it took the better part of two weekends to finish up,  i was extremely happy with the way this project turned out.  unlike the kitchen, i felt the light grey we picked out was the perfect color.  the whole room has a calming vibe which is exactly what we were hoping for in a nursery.

hopefully the baby thinks so too!

a [house] of a different color

i think one of the first projects any new home owner tackles is painting, and we were no different.


the kitchen of the house we moved into was kind of a light peach and light green...almost sherbet like colors.  although not horrible, we felt it could use a fresh coat of...some other color.  wanting to go pretty bold we decided on blue.  i'm not sure if i'm just the victim of watching too many house hunting shows but blue and kitchens seem to be a thing.  i was nervous going with such a bold color but i felt the all white cabinets and appliances we currently now own, would help balance out the boldness.  i was also hoping to make the white trim pop.

as an architect, i've specified countless colors for rooms, but none of those were going in my own home.  i spent several hours researching blues and shades of blues to determine the best color.  even at the store i requested four different shades to try out on the wall, and to see how they looked in the different light that would hit the room.  finally after tormenting myself, we made the choice, "dyers woad" seemed to be the perfect mix of grey and blue.

my wife ans i spent the entire weekend taping, trimming and painting our new little kitchen. naturally during the course of the project, i kept needing new supplies, so i went from a couple of brushes and pans to the owner of several different brushes, cups, spackling paste, drywall sander, 5 in 1 painters tool, a goofy looking roller to get behind the radiator and a ladder.

in the end, just getting the project done felt good and it allowed us to unload several boxes and get the kitchen organized.  as much as i had researched the color i'm not thrilled with it.  i wish it would have turned out just a tad greyer, but it's a happy shade and my wife really likes it.  also it really did make the white trim pop.  more importantly than the actual color, there's something about a fresh coat of paint that makes a house feel more [yours].  maybe it's the covering of the old layer, or maybe it's the fact that it's a decision you made about the house, but our new [blue] kitchen made us feel more at home.

new flooring will probably make it seem like our home too... but that's later down the road.

 

 

parents [week]

remember in kindergarten when you would have an open house and your parents would visit your school so you could show off your classroom?  it was your chance to show your mom and dad your desk where you do all your work as well as the location on the mat where you eat your snacks.  it's a time to introduce them to your school friends and show them where you hang out at recess.  it was a whole night dedicated to showing your parents this whole new "school" life you were a part of; a different and exciting new world outside your home.  i remember how great of a feeling it was to share all this with them.

well, i can tell you as a 37 year old man it's still possible to have the same feeling.

i live nearly 2,000 miles from where i grew up and i don't get to see my parents nearly enough as i'd like.  maybe that's why after they drove up this summer to visit my wife and i, just like in kindergarten, i was excited to show them this new maine life i've created.  i may not have been able to show them everything, but it's only because this new northeast life is a slightly larger floor plan than my kindergarten classroom, but i did my best.

the major event was taking a trip to boothbay harbor to show them the town we love so much.  we spent two days eating at our favorite restaurants and meeting the friends we had made up there.  by the end of the boothbay trip, they shared our love of the town.  back in portland, i introduced them to the sandwich known as a maine ham italian, took them to trivia night at a brewery, ate at one of my favorite bbq spots and of course, just like in kindergarten, showed them my desk where i do all my work.

to say i enjoyed having them up for a week long visit would be an understatement, it really was fantastic.  just like when i was young, it was wonderful to show off this new world to my parents.

whether it's a 15 minute school bus ride, or a four day, 2,000 mile road trip, distances seem shorter when there are shared memories, and this trip created several.

year in pictures [2016]

year twelve for the [year in pictures] post 

i've never left [home] before.

sure there were the college years and those nine months i spent in san diego, but i always had a place to come [home] to.  even living on my own in an apartment in downtown wichita for the past decade, my parents were a mere 15 minute drive away, so even my bachelors pad, which i called [home] only felt that way because my friends and family were so close.

earlier this year, i actually left my [home]

or at least i thought i did.

turns out i was wrong.  

looking back through pictures i took these past twelve months, trying to find the ten which most represented my year, i discovered something i didn't expect.  you don't ever really leave home, you simply find a new one.  wichita, will always be my home, nothing can ever change that, but somewhere in the last 45 weeks of this past year portland, maine also became my [home].  it was hard to leave wichita, mainly because i had so many memories there.  i was heading to some "place" i didn't know, with zero memories.  little did i know that it's memories that turn a "place" into a [home]. with that said, i offer you ten place-to-home turning memories from the past year.

last_night_at_luckys_1.22.16

every friday night without planning or question, my friends and i would gather a lucky's.  it really is a magical thing. years from now when they write the history of wichita in the 2000's, lucky's will be known as the gathering spot of some of cities most creative and talented people, solving the social problems and civic issues of the city we love, one pool game at a time. thankfully i was lucky enough to be a part of it.  for almost a decade this was my friday night [home].  i miss it terribly.  i purposely took this pic to remind me what it was like just before i would pass by the large windows and see who was gathered around the pool table that night.

leaving_on_a_jet_plane_2.24.16

i left my hometown one cold february morning just as the sun was rising in the east, giving me one final view of my [home] before starting a new adventure out east.

foggy_ships_5.13.16

i moved to maine at the end of february.  by the middle of may spring had still not made a full appearance.  thankfully there was starting to be a few hours of daylight at the end of my work day, which i was excited about.  this particular day was still cool and very foggy.  i took a long walk home that afternoon a snapped this picture.  i remember for the first time starting to find the beauty in the surroundings of my new [home].  shortly after this picture was taken spring finally arrived and it was amazing!

a_tradition_continues_6.18.16

every year, back in kansas, my friends would host a "june bucket"party.  this year my fiancee convinced me to invite all our new friends and keep the tradition going.  we had only been in town four months but we gathered everyone we knew a held the party.  it was amazing.  acquaintances became better friends that night, memories were made and a tradition was continued.  all of which led to portland feeling more like [home].

to_the_rescue_8.28.16

i'm not going to say much about this photo, other than to say it wouldn't be a family vacation without some sort of shit show happening, and there's nothing better than a good ol' family shit show to make you feel at [home].  just know that everything and everyone turned out ok.  i also think we're at the point now where we can all laugh about it, as it turned out to be nothing too serious.

beach_life_6.31.16

obviously i knew when i moved to maine it was near the ocean, but up until this day i thought all the beaches were rocky.  this is the day i discovered old orchard beach, with it's more typical stretches of sandy beaches. old orchard beach definitely has its own character and tourist attaching flare to it, but it was still a wonderful discovery.  finding unique things around your house helps make it a [home], and discovering old orchard beach with its ocean breeze carrying a corn dog fragrance made maine feel more like [home].

just_like_a_painting_8.11.16

i can't say enough wonderful things about the city of boothbay harbor.  without a doubt my favorite town in maine...so far.  almost in complete contrast to old orchard beach, boothbay was quiet and quaint.  a living postcard of what i thought maine would look like before moving here.  the weekend was spent making new friends and learning how to shuck oysters.  i took this picture because it so perfectly summed up my opinion of boothbay harbor; a real life painting.  i will be eternally grateful to the townspeople for making my fiancee and i feel at home that weekend.

lost_in_the_dunes_8.25.16

a weekend to a friends wedding found my fiancee and i discovering cape cod for a few days.  wanting to see the beach we randomly picked a spot on the map and discovered a wonderful spot.  hidden below the dunes the view was obscured until we came right up to the crest making for an amazing surprise.  we spent an hour taking in the view together, chatting about life and our own upcoming wedding.  sometimes it's not a place that makes you feel at [home] but rather a person.  this picture represents that whole trip for me...as well as the absolute best breakfast burritos i've had, which we had enjoyed that morning.

rainy_day_perspective_10.9.16

an october weekend found us taking a trip to newport.  unfortunately the weather was starting to hint at winter and it ended up being rainy and a little chilly the entire weekend.  luckily for us one of the more popular things to do in newport is to tour the [homes] of incredibly rich families.  after the tours we googled the town in search of places to grab a drink by a fireplace, which led us to a couple great bars and several new local friends.  this weekend reminded me you don't need a multi million dollar castle to have a great [home] all you really need is a good drink and a fireplace.

holiday_home_12.14.16 

not much to look at, but this is the view i see everyday when i come [home].  memories my fiancee and i have shared with each other and with new friends have started to make this house feel like a [home] and i love it.  i also still love my friends and family in my [home] back in wichita, which makes me think about the saying  [home] is where the heart is.

i fully believe that.  

but i also now believe your heart has the ability to be in a couple places at once.

snap[chat] out of it

being away from your home for a long time is a strange feeling.  going back home is a strange feeling as well.

for the first time in nine months, i traveled back to kansas to celebrate thanksgiving with my family.  the minute i was in town, it felt like nothing had changed and this whole [portland] thing had been a dream.  making the rounds to my favorite spots, i was recognized and greeted by friends and people who knew me.  a feeling i hadn't had in a while. from bars and restaurants to shops, i constantly ran into wonderful people who had been a part of my life for a long time.  after being in a desert of anonymity for the past nine month, i was flooded with the feeling of being recognized.

i can't lie, it was a wonderful and warm feeling i missed.

i cherished every minute spent with family and friends. a perspective you only get after months out of eyesight from them.

days later i returned [home] to maine and slowly got back into my routine here. i found myself  looking back through my snapchat memories and the whole wichita trip now felt like its own dream.

and that's a thought i'll hold on to.  i'm lucky enough to be between two dream worlds.

here are a few of my snapchat memories, in their wonderfully raw quality.

 leaving the northeast

 airplane sketches

 

arriving in the midwest

 

wichita airport

 

 friday night crew

 

 friday night standard order

 

 board games

 an ace player

 kansas running

 pho sure

one of my favs