opening day [squeezed in versinon]

readers of this blog will know that many of my posts involve keeping traditions going.  i love how keeping favorite events or activities going on year after year, give a sort of rhythm to your life.  it provides a structure for memories in a way.  now i'm in no way oppose to new experiences, but i like a few favorites dotted in throughout the year.

one of those is the opening of  "portland lobster company." besides a couple of years during covid, i believe ive been at every opening day for the past 7 years.  it's a sign that spring is finally here.  a time to put that winter coat away and emjoy patios again.  this year was to be no different.  there was one big item that i had going on in my life, so this year's opening day consisted of just one beer on the patio.  

but it still counts!

[traditions] are back

it seems the pandemic is officially behind us, so please let the traditions resume! like going to tomaso's before enjoying the italian bizarre!

home for the holidays [finally]

 after a 2 and a half year drought, we all went to my hometown for the holidays.  there are hundreds of memories i could talk about that made this visit so wonderful, but let me just say that being home after such a long time away, was the best gift i've ever received.

polar [covid] express

 covid be damned, it's time to get out a little.

the past couple of years have seen a lot of events be canceled.  thrilled that the [polar express] is back!  an even that i've been wanting to check out for years now.

so although everyone was in masks including the big man himself, it was nothing short of the perfect way to get into the holiday mood.

a [double] baste

traditions are important.

but they don't come easy...or do they?

you may remember last year when i wrote about bringing the tradition of the [june] bucket to maine.  well it was such a hit, people started asking about it in march.  not only were my fiancee and i happy to continue it, but friends who attended last year, and who have a much bigger yard, offered to host it.

just as in years past, it was an eclectic group of people many of whom didn't know each other before the night started.  however when you mix up a communal cocktail drink like the [june] buckets, and ask people tp drink it via turkey basters, strangers become acquaintances and acquaintances become friends.  that's the magic of the [june] bucket!  you never baste alone!

as i said before there were a lot of new faces this year, all of whom are now looking forward to next year, which makes me think that year three, when it officially becomes a maine tradition, will be a glorious celebration.

we're gonna need a bigger bucket.

there's no place like [gin]

as a kid, with lots of relatives in western kansas, i attended my share of weddings, all of which  incorporated volga german traditions; the wedding march, the singing of the brautlied (bride's song), the flying dutchman and many other polka's.  i enjoyed them because my grandfather loved them and i knew they were part of my heritage.

it took moving 1,800 miles away from my home to realize just why these traditions are so important.


with a touch of homesickness last month, my fiancee suggested that we throw a "june" bucket party. this was a party held by my friends back in kansas every june which included a large cocktail drink known as a gin bucket; a party i was going to miss this year.  however with her suggestion, i was immediately excited!  we invited all our new friends and started planning.  i was meticulous down to every detail, annoying my fiancee with discussions of correct bucket sizes and number of basters.  

the night of the party, all of our new found friends and neighbors came over. they were a little apprehensive about this gin concoction involving drinking communally from a large bucket with turkey basters, however after a few "bastes," everyone was on board.  the night ended up being a wonderful time and all our new friends became better friends that night.

i couldn't have been happier that night. i was like tevye dancing around the streets of anatevk shouting out "tradition!"  somewhere between joking about getting "basted" and eating "walking tacos" out of doritos bags, portland maine started to feel a little bit more like home.

a few days later my fiance and i did a little wedding planning.  still reeling in the happiness of the tradition of june bucket and thinking about our upcoming wedding i began to think about all the volga german traditions i'd like to include.  that's when it hit me.  these weren't just simple songs and dances you did at weddings just for the fun of it; theses were traditions brought over from my ancestors who had left their home.  songs and dances that reminded them of good times with friends and family they were now apart from.  traditions bought over that helped this new world they found themselves in seem a little less scary. familiar tunes and lyrics they could get lost in and feel like they were home again. a little piece of their old life that helped make their new life feel more like home.  these traditions were tiny seeds of a world they once knew that they could plant in a new place.  with time and love those seeds took root and became a whole new tradition, the wedding songs and dances i knew as a kid a hundred years after they were planted.

who knows if my great great grandchildren will be throwing june bucket parties in a hundred years, but there have been requests for a repeat in 2017.  

christmas eve eve [tradition]

well, it looks like "public's" christmas eve eve party is a full fledged tradition now, as they hosted it for the third year.  i may be partial, since it's my favorite bar, but to me it's the perfect holiday party. everyone is usually back in town, but still has the night off from any family obligations. allowing you to connect with out of town friends. nothing seems more like the holiday spirit than enjoying good drinks with good friends....and "christmas vacation" on the big screen.

gin blossoms [again]

it's hard to keep a good party down.

after a brief hiatus the annual [june bucket] was back the other weekend for it's fourth year.  old and new friends once again joined together to drink a gin cocktail out of a bucket using turkey basters. 

summer break [or] summer school

this months #architalks topic is [summer break]


do architects ever take a summer break, or do they just think about architecture in new locations?

i don't vacation like regular folks, and i'm wondering if that's because i'm an architect.  when planning a vacation or trip one of the first things i'll do is look to find any architectural significant buildings within a 4 hour radius. a holiday trip to boston found me walking the m.i.t. campus, while a trip to portland found my friends and i touring an office building. when in l.a. it was a concert hall and church and museums almost every where else.  i'd like to blame my architectural history class on this, as anyone knows, having to study and be tested on a building naturally makes you interested in seeing it if you're ever near by.  however i think this love of structures and history started earlier.

growing up, our family was fortunate enough to take a summer vacation very year.  trips which occupy a several shelves in the childhood section of my memory library.  our family was always visiting historic sites and buildings.  i remember staying at several of these places, learning first hand from the owners about the building's history.  if we didn't stay there, we toured it!  our family was always seeking out interesting places, buildings or parks to take us to.  this is how i learned to vacation.  it wasn't until years later i realized other families vacations consisted of just snow skiing or boating at the lake.  all relaxing and wonderful activities, just not what i grew up knowing.  summer break does't feel like a vacation unless i've "toured" something, read a plaque or marker, taken picture in front of something historical, or took a brochure....and i wouldn't change that for the world

so now i'm wondering...

"do i tour buildings because i'm an architect; or did i become an architect because i toured buildings?"

please take time to visit these other #architalks blogs from other architects talking about [summer break]


Bob Borson - Life of An Architect
@bobborson
Architectural Bucket List

Matthew Stanfield - FiELD9: architecture
@FiELD9arch
SummerBreak?

Marica McKeel - Studio MM
@ArchitectMM
Summer Break = Extreme Architecture

Jeff Echols - Architect Of The Internet
@Jeff_Echols
Summer Break and Aunt Loretta

Lee Calisti, AIA - Think Architect
@LeeCalisti
summer break

Marica McKeel - Studio MM
@ArchitectMM
Summer Break = Extreme Architecture

Lora Teagarden - L² Design, LLC
@L2DesignLLC
Vacationing with an Architect

Jes Stafford - Modus Operandi Design
@modarchitect
Summer Getaway

Rosa Sheng - Equity by Design / The Missing 32% Project
@miss32percent
#Architalks 10 - Give me a Break!

Michele Grace Hottel - Michele Grace Hottel, Architect
@mghottel
#Architalks 10 - "summer break"

Meghana Joshi - IRA Consultants, LLC
@MeghanaIRA
Architalks: There, but not there

Amy Kalar - ArchiMom
@AmyKalar
Summer Break

Michael Riscica - Young Architect
@YoungArchitxPDX
Architecture Students Summer Break

Stephen Ramos - BUILDINGS ARE COOL
@sramos_BAC
Architect: Gift or Curse?

brady ernst - Soapbox Architect
@bradyernstAIA
The Education of an Agrarian Architect

Brian Paletz - The Emerging Architect
@bpaletz
Summer Vacation

Tara Imani - Tara Imani Designs, LLC
@Parthenon1
A Brilliant Summer Break

Cindy Black - Rick & Cindy Black Architects
@sharonraigeorge
Summer Break #ArchiTalks

Brinn Miracle - Architangent
@simplybrinn
Summer Break