muncie, drywall, & cheese

it's time for an update. this might become habit--blog silence for weeks, then a lengthy update that only skims the surface of each missed event. but this is the life of a new(-ish) mother, who was never very efficient in the use of her time to begin with (i'm also helping my own mother out with various things these days, to be fair). often i find myself with only an hour and a half of free time each day (heron's first nap; i am usually making dinner during the 2nd nap). if our blog is neglected or you have not received a return phone call or email or thank you note from me in awhile (greg & julie! thank you for the babyLegs! heron loves them!), this is why. but i am not complaining. i love spending my days with little heron, my extroverted daughter. i was never even really into kids until i had one of my own. now i cherish these days that i wake up with this little bird next to us, so sweet & joyful, greeting the day with giggles & songs. we have started to build a rhythm into our days--a rhythm that includes playtime, singing, walks in the woods, stroller walks, learning, errands, books, naps, baths, & even a contemplative podcast (thanks for telling us about this, becca!) that josh joins us for.

so. let's catch up. a few weeks ago we had the pleasure of hosting jason & jada andre, our friends from the outer banks who now live in wilmington, 3 hours from here. they came for a weekend to help josh drywall his studio. before my dad passed away, he & josh had planned to convert an unfinished room in the outbuilding into a studio. now josh is completing this project with the help of visiting & neighboring friends. with the help of jason & jada, josh was able to get all the drywall hung. now he is mudding, & hopes to be done with the painting & flooring before we begin touring (pennsylvania, florida, & seattle/vancouver) in november. once he moves into the studio i plan to move some art & craft supplies into the office space he's been using so that i can begin making things once again... (my supplies are still in boxes for lack of workspace)

: jason andre :

: josh's future studio :

last week we returned to muncie, indiana, for a release show of josh's new album, jacaranda. the show was at muncie alliance church, & josh was happy to have friends accompany him on stage. jason brewer came from elkhart to play upright bass, and jay kirkpatrick & joseph lehner came from indy to play slide guitar, accordion, bass, melodica, & percussion. lisa lachapelle decorated the stage with love, & dear friends erin & megan graciously & creatively helped me with merch (while i mostly clung to heron in her tutu, & caught up with merch table passersby). we stayed with pat & lezlie mccrory (where we celebrated josh's 28th birthday with lezlie's delicious, exotic balsamic cake!), then with bill & robin lett. mostly it seemed that our trip was not so much about the show as about closure with that place, & time with beautiful friends--we miss our muncie/anderson/indy friends so much! we were glad to have the excuse to be there again.

: happy birthday, josh! :

: our chubby ballerina :

: erin at the merch table :

: josh's album release show :

i have enjoyed getting reacquainted with waxhaw, land of my middle school & high school years. i actually appreciate the small-town aspects of it now; in high school i was always prancing off to "the big city" of charlotte to hear new bands. my latest discovery is the weekly farmer's market in waxhaw. it is small, but diverse for its size. this is farm country, & all the vendors live within twenty miles of us. there was an alpaca herder spinning wool (with an angora rabbit on her lap from which she pulled hair to blend with the alpaca yarn she was spinning--fascinating!), goat cheese, goat milk soap (from farmer rhonda who raises goats, rabbits, chickens, & grows all her own food; we're going to visit her farm this week), honey, plus local kale + 15 varieties of squash. josh & i are getting so inspired to begin raising some of our own food & provisions. i found a local raw milk dairy, so i hope to begin making my own cheese. & i want to raise bees! all in good time. we need to know where we're settling down before we begin accumulating bees, alpacas, and goats, i suppose. but the cheese... i can cheesemake right here, right now! josh & i have the biggest weakness for cheese. i think i could save us some money & have fun doing it!

um, on that abrupt note, i have to go. it's heron's bathtime!