Pretty in pink.

I made this necklace today along with some matching earrings. Hopefully I'll wear it! It's not perfect but, I like the way it turned out.

Bobbi.

My mom lost a dear and lifelong friend this week to an aggressive form of cancer. In less than 6 weeks, the doctors discovered what was going on and realized how grave the situation was. My mom was able to be with her in the days before she passed yesterday morning. Thinking of Bobbi, Bobbi's family and my mom today and how fragile life can be.

Livin' the dream...?

When we start contemplating living our dreams, we first bask in the possibility of what could be; we sit back and daydream about a better kind of life, a life of creative freedom, of starting our own business and being able to do what we want when we want. We see how big our ideas can be and then we come back to reality.

As we actually start to consider taking actions TOWARDS our dreams, that is where the fears, insecurities and doubts come up. And the biggest block of all is the need for security and certainty.

You see, you can’t been a Seeker on The Path and value certainty over the adventure of creating yourself. We have to learn to let go of our attachment to what’s comfortable, easy and safe and learn to become strong enough in our Faith to not avoid or prevent uncertainty, but to be solid within uncertainty.

The Path is one of uncertainty, of stepping out into the unknown and of being able to remain solid even when we don’t know what the next moment will bring.

So many people will never realize their dreams because they place certainty so high in their lives that they never break free and dive deep into the unknown. It’s a rare individual who feels the fear and does it anyway. It’s an uncommon person who steps out into the unknown and goes ALL IN with their dreams.

I’ve come to believe that when I personally take risks on behalf of my dreams that there is great certainty, not through facts, figures, metrics or physical proof, but through the faith I place in The Uni-verse. I have come to know that no matter what I will be taken care of, I will meet the perfect people at the perfect time and that right before huge breakthroughs are moments of big time doubt.

The goal for us is not to shy away, no, our goal is to step out even though we are terrified of the unknown. We are journeyers, we are travelers, we are Seekers on a Path into our own Highest Potential. We are not promised certainty from the world, but rather from our Faith. It takes a strong person to step out into the unknown, day in and day out, to risk being wrong, to risk making huge mistakes when the stakes are even bigger and to be willing to fail. It takes an even stronger person to fail and then to pick themselves back up and realize that failure is only failure if we give up. Instead, this strong person sees failure as a lesson, as an education and as a test of how much we truly believe in ourselves.

You see, success on The Path comes in two forms: the first is being able to keep going when you would normally quit (this is a HUGE win), the second being self-realized enough to be free from or at least understand your fear. These two things do not guarantee a huge financial pay off, but once you have these two things it makes it much easier to be a savvy entrepreneur because you will not only be fearless, you will choose a path that is based on the right livelihood. As Russell Simmons says, “Money doesn’t make you happy, but happy can make you money”.

The key is to not give up, but to keep going. -Mastin Kipp

If I were a bird, I would live here.

Zero-Packaging Grocery Store to Open in Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas is already home to Whole Foods, but that won't stop a group of entrepreneurs from founding a new grocery store right in the natural food behemoth's backyard. While the new store In.gredients will also specialize in local and organic ingredients, there's one major difference between this venture and its hometown competion: In.gredients promises to be the country's first ever "package-free, zero waste grocery store."

The idea is so simple, it's surprising that no one in the United States has implemented it yet. (The United Kingdom, on the other hand, got the bulk food-only Unpackaged in London last year). Just like many people bring tote bags to the grocery store, shoppers at In.gredients will be encouraged to bring their own containers to pack up items like grains, oils, and dairy. If a shopper doesn't have his own containers, the store will provide compostable ones. It's as if the specialty bulk food section rebelled and took over the rest of a traditional grocery store. In.gredients will replace unhealthy, overpackaged junk with local, organic, and natural foods, and moonlight as a community center with cooking classes, gardening workshops, and art shows on the side. -Zak Stone

Strawberries!

This weekend started off with a lobster dinner al fresco with AB. By the night's end, I ended up with blue crackle nail polish on my fingers, (nail art is AB's new obsession.). Fantastic! The next morning, we woke up and cruised down to Vergennes to meet AB's fiance Max who rode down from Burlington on his bike. We had some tasty treats from Vergennes Laundry and then made our way to the Charlotte Berry Farm. It's only been open for a week so the berries are small but, still delicious. I decided to make Strawberry Shortcake with some of the berries I picked. I'm also experimenting with my first infusion. I'll keep you posted!

I spent Saturday afternoon doing yard work-laying down new mulch seeding the grass, pruning the Geraniums and watering everything. I was sleepy on Saturday evening but, ended up rallying to head over to Clara's parent's place in Shelburne to celebrate Kristen's b-day. The Sunna's made it to VT to celebrate Miss L'Esperance so, it was great to catch up with both of them! Jeremy and Kat grilled soft shell crabs, I sang my "special song" to a small audience (accompanied by a real guitar player this time-stepping it up) and we all watched a very large and orange moon rise over the bay. Awesome.

Sunday was spent relaxing, taking some pictures, foraging for flowers (legal and not), and doing some baking. Back to work today-feeling refreshed and grateful...

Photography Lesson.

Here are a few shots I took over the weekend. The lesson: Aperture.

Workin' it.

I helped produce a Merrell video shoot last week right here in Burlington--good peeps, nice weather and a whole lot of running around. In the end, we produced content for 20 product videos. Solid!

Deer!

It felt bizarre to turn the corner and find these creatures standing in the middle of the road. They sprung into the field next to the road once they saw me. I wasn't quick enough to get the other two in the frame. There were five in total.

A lovely view, tasty food, a great friend and LOTS of wind!

The last few weeks have been pretty busy for both Steve and I. I haven't even gotten a chance to see his new place in Montpelier! He has a waterfall in the backyard. Lucky.

Earlier this week, he and I hatched a plan to finally eat at The Inn at Shelburne Farms. Neither of us had been there for a meal. We got there a few minutes before our reservation so we could explore the beautiful gardens a bit before sitting down to eat.

We walked around and watched the flowers bend in the wind which had kicked up just 10 minutes prior to our arrival. Everything was blowing around. The outside tables that had been set were broken down and brought inside. Finally, after our blustery walk, we made our way back to the hostess. While we waited the last few minutes for our table, we snacked on some Shelburne Farms Cheddar and I picked up a glass of champagne from the bar tender in the waiting area, (beware- the champagne will sneak up on you when you get your bill!!). We finally sat down in the dining room. The walls were deep red. Antique floor lamps lit the room. The doors to the dining room were open for most of our meal. The warm breeze was amazing! I had the pork loin and Steve had pasta with rabbit. We ended our meal with cheesecake instead of the Boston Creme Cupcake because our waitress said the cupcakes were dry.

After our two hour meal and lots of conversation, we both headed back to the cabin. Steve finally got a hot shower. I guess the hot water hasn't been working for the last few days at his new place. We opened up the windows in his room to cool things off since the temperature reached 91 yesterday. HOT! In the end, I'm glad I had a little company last night. We had a crazy thunder and lightening storm. I always find them to be a little spooky when I'm staying at the cabin. OOoooOoo...

Here are a few more pics from last night's visit to Shelburne Farms.

Super Sad True Love Story

"Looking good is the new smart," says a character in Super Sad True Love Story. Welcome to Gary Shteyngart's vision of America in the near future, where intelligence does indeed take a backseat to sexual desirability. Books are a thing of the past; they're now considered curios that "smell like wet socks." Americans now spend all their free time shopping and watching videos on their ''apparats,'' smart phone-like devices that nobody is ever without.

The last shreds of modesty have long since disappeared -- young women buy obscenely named undergarments that reveal pretty much everything; and the harshest, most degrading varieties of hard-core pornography have now become mainstream entertainment. This isn't your father's New York -- but if Shteyngart's manic, alternatingly hilarious and terrifying vision is right, it might be your son's.

The surprising and brilliant third novel from Russian-American satirist Shteyngart is actually two love stories -- and while they're both, as promised, super sad, they're also incredibly (but very darkly) funny. The first love story chronicles the affair between Lenny Abramov, a shlubby but large-hearted salesman, and Eunice Park, 15 years his junior, a confused, shopping-obsessed daughter of Korean immigrants. Lenny is sweet but oblivious; Eunice is troubled, and runs hot and cold. Their relationship is uneasy; it hangs obstinately by a thread.

Adding to the strain is the fact that America has become a financially strapped police state, and the poor and disenfranchised are threatening to revolt. The States are now all but owned by China (now "The People's Bank of China-Worldwide") and are in the political grip of an ultrahawkish defense secretary who's in charge of America's war on Venezuela. The ruling Bipartisan party brooks no dissent, and publishes menacing warning signs with the party's mascot, a cartoon otter. When poor people begin to rise up in places including Tompkins Square Park (perhaps a reference to the infamous 1988 police riot there), they're put down with brutal efficiency.

And that's the second love story. Shteyngart writes with an obvious affection for America -- at its most chilling,Super Sad True Love Story comes across as a cri de coeur from an author scared for his country. The biggest risk for any dystopian novel with a political edge is that it can easily become humorless or didactic; Shteyngart deftly avoids this trap by employing his disarming and absurd sense of humor (much of which is unprintable here). Combined with the near-future setting, the effect is a novel more immediate -- and thus more frightening, at least for contemporary readers -- than similarly themed books by Orwell, Huxley and Atwood.

Shteyngart is relatively straight-faced when it comes to Lenny and Eunice's love for each other; he keeps his sharp tongue and jaundiced eye temporarily in check, and it's a smart move. The novelist knows how to get well-earned, knowing laughs, but it's the deeply sad, though not quite despairing, tone that makes this such a remarkable and unexpected novel. Anyone who remembers Sept. 11 will get chills reading Lenny's description of the New York skyline, the empty Freedom Tower rising above it all: "Is this still my city? I have a ready answer, cloaked in obstinate despair: It is. And if it's not, I will love it all the more. I will love it to the point where it becomes mine again." Lenny could be talking about America; he could be talking about Eunice. He could be talking for anyone who's ever been in love, with a person or a place, anyone who knows that the truest kinds of love can also be the saddest. VPR Book Review

"Bright star, bright star, twinkity, twink..."

This weekend has been an interesting one for a number of reasons--one of them being that it's my first full weekend of living at the cabin. I left work on Friday and drove down to get things ready for a ladies dinner with Dana and Laura. We grilled, attempted the first of many paper decorations for Jay and Dana's wedding and wrote some bad poetry about wooden boys, pandas and anticedents which all somehow relate to our loose interpretation of...Christmas? The 3 poems we produced are currently being scanned for posterity. The next morning, we nibbled on some breakfast treats before heading into Burlington for Dana's first fitting. One word: WOW. After our appointment, we headed over to Penny Cluse for some brunch action and then out for a bit of shopping afterwards. As it turns out, we're a dangerous combination. We all walked away with a little something.

I headed back to the cabin later in the afternoon after having made plans to have AB and Max out for a visit. It was Max's first time out so we did a little exploring and then started the grill up. Dry rubbed chicken was on the menu along with asparagus and grilled zukes. Yum! After dinner we refreshed our drinks and headed outside into the darkness. OOoooOOO...We started by sitting in the front yard to watch the sun set. Eventually, we ventured out for a late night nature walk-the nighttime kind. The moon was bright and the stars...I can't remember the last time I've seen stars to bright. It was amazing. I wanted to try and get a photo but, didn't. Maybe tonight?

Max and AB headed out this morning and I started my day with a walk around the circle, (2.2 miles). I walked down North Shore Road. It was quiet. I looked at the mailboxes and remembered the time I had spent in many of the cabins throughout my lifetime. Stenciling for the first time with Grandma Jacob on the porch at Leif's cabin, The Cooper's Coop with Kathy, Toby, Rob and Ed, tennis with Marge Blake, meeting Liz Twitchell for the first time (she was one of the few kids on the road that we weren't related to) and of course the Curtis cabin that is for sale - again. Vermont is a special place. I've made so many memories here. Knowing that there are so many more to be made makes me smile.

Head out into the woods and let your eyes adjust. You can see so much some nights. It's been a bit of an adjustment for me to get use to the dark and to the quiet but, I'll get there. After all, shutting off all of the noise in the world is getting harder and harder to do. Peace is becoming a luxury.

Thought Bombers.

JUNE 3 - AUGUST 20, 2011 :: In this exhibition, artist and designer Michael Jager and his team of designers collaborate on the creation of one-of-a-kind kites meant to evoke imagery of grand ideas, personal goals, self reflection and emotions that exist above and beyond our earthly lives. Over the spring semester and throughout the exhibition, artists will engage the community, in the gallery and in area schools, in kite-making to create vibrant individualized expressions of personal narratives. The classroom workshops will culminate in an outdoor kite flying festival at Waterfront Park on June 12th. The community kites will be on display on the 4th floor of the BCA Center for the duration of the summer. The exhibition will transform the first floor gallery with kites by JDK designers and will include original films and regular kite-making workshops for visitors. Highlighting Jager and his team’s twenty years of creative output, including snowboard and product design, and inspired by the legacy of 1960’s activist-artist-nun Sister Corita, this exhibition creates a unique fusion of community activism, graphic design and personal expression.Thought Bombers. Opening at BCA: Friday June, 3 (5pm - 8pm).

Maglianero is a mouthful...of goodness!

A cafe that opens this morning near the waterfront has a couple of unusual features: An outdoor shower for your bicycle, and an indoor shower for your body.

Maglianero is in the new enterprise of JDK, a design firm on Maple Street. Its name is the merging of two Italian words and means (roughly), black jersey. The cafe is designed around the concept of the “modern mobility movement,” says Michael Jager, 51, a JDK founder/principal and its creative director. The idea is to create a gathering place that supports, celebrates and brings together the creative/artistic/athletic/green communities of Burlington, Jager said.