i miss you, i'm going back home to the west coast...

whenever i head west, this song invariably gets stuck in my head. it's a problem. coconut records, "west coast:"


today a week ago, i was so, so happy to board a plane in portland, oregon, to head back east. it was a long, excellent trip... but mostly, i missed home by a week and a couple of days in. but i saw some amazing things while i was there.

japanese gardens, portland.


steps at the japanese gardens.


i bought a new ring. cargo in portland is a fantastic store - and right by rogue pub and distillery on flanders!


i loved all the bonsai trees at the lan su chinese garden.


an old growth forest on the coast.


my second trip to rogue - i like beer.


we took a dinner boat trip on the willamette.


me at the lan su chinese garden. each of those buildings was designed and built by chinese designers and builders (duh!) in china, then disassembled and reassembled, piece by piece, in portland by 90 or so chinese workers. amazing.


CHEESE!!! at the tillamook creamery. in addition to beer, i also love cheese.


waterfall, i like your colors.


my buddy, my buddy. wherever you go, i'm gonna go.


oh man... voodoo doughnuts. serious yum for just $1.50. i was boring and got the portland cream (this little guy). i did NOT sample such wares as "triple chocolate penetration."


this is an accurate representation of my first day on the coast - classic oregon, in other words.


ominous clouds.


ominous logs.


the sun came out for just a minute at cannon beach.


so many starfish at cannon beach.


so many anemones.


and some more starfish.


and my last day on the coast was sunny and fantastic.








as they say in portland, please bike responsibly.

have i become someone who goes to the symphony?!

why, yes. yes, i think i have.

we went to the indianapolis symphony orchestra last night - my first trip - to see CARMINA BURANA. it was amazing - full choir for the final part, hilarious (and incredibly talented) operatic folks, a very talented orchestra (which was fun to watch in itself, since i used to play the cello). the coolest thing? we just got the youngest maestro ever to lead a big city orchestra, and he was showing his stuff in full force. his first public concert was a week ago, and there he was, leading the whole huge SOUND coming from the stage without using a page of sheet music. seriously - this whole piece, not a page of sheet music in sight.

i might have a little crush.

here's the indianapolis choir's flash mob of carmina burana at the airport earlier this year:


i think the ISO is going to have some exciting things on the horizon! can't wait to see more.

such an infamous freedom, such a militant peace...

i just can't get enough of this (not at all recent) beautiful song lately. two gallants, "waves of grain."


and for more beauty, take a virtual trip to wyoming. i don't think my own eyes could see it this amazingly. eric hines, "wild wyoming, a summer of sunsets and dark skies."

Wild Wyoming, A Summer of Sunsets & Dark Skies from Eric Hines on Vimeo.

i also really freaking love green tomato hot dog relish, which i have canned a metric f*ckton of this summer.


and our new perennial garden is pretty rad, too. my drawing, of which i was very proud:


and the initial planting! we've put in a couple of bushes on the corners, and it'll look better as the plants grow.


i also recently made some new friends at the indiana state fair:








and chris ate a doughnut burger (the bun is two krispy kremes):


oh, and i made a friend at the zoo, too. oh, buddy!

long time, no see... video version...

it has been a wild, awesome, fantastic summer. things just keep getting better.

rather than recount all the awesomeness (and since this blog morphed into a blog of general-awesomeness-and-things-i-like quite a while ago), we'll just go with that. music that makes me smile. things that are pretty/quirky/hilarious/just plain wrong. this will have to be the video version. photos to come in a future post, i think.

matt and kim, "daylight." i dare you not to smile.


jay-z with a cat in the back of a dirty restaurant i would probably frequent.


soul train! i want to dance and dress like EVERY PERSON in this video.


elliott smith, "angeles." it makes me miss him to listen to this.


i've recently been introduced to old school star trek - just finished the first season two nights ago! this is a clip of george takei (aka sulu) being freaking awesome.


john hopkins is pretty rad, too - "insides," live at the ICA. a friend turned me onto him recently.


and please, please, please - if you are reading this, PLEASE click the following link and select "i am under 21." i promise you will not be disappointed at the magic that ensues: black acre brewing co.

i love my father, and i love him well...

alexi murdoch, "someday soon."


happy father's day, daddio!

things i like, house edition...

first, though, i want to BE this guy - the KO Hip-Hop Cello-Beatbox Experience: Julie-O.


and who doesn't need a beatboxing chipmunk in their lives? this has not failed to make me laugh yet.


also? our new house!!!


i brought a frozen pizza, prosecco, and strawberries for our first dinner at the house on friday.


i love the idea of handing cocktails and what-not through this little window. that's what i'm channeling here, at least.


chris putting together our lawn mower - a FANTASTIC push mower which i already love and adore!


pretending to examine our first giant lowe's receipt.


baby robin in the backyard:


my big sunday project: tearing up the turf (in the rain) to plant our ingenious (if i do say so myself) squash trellis area. we planted sunflowers in between, too.


my hair gets curly when doing hard labor in the rain.


and, for good measure, i finished a new mini-sweater.


knitting is fun.

ah, love love love...

i went to this show last night. so, so great.


since there's no one else around, we let our hair grow long and forget all we used to know. then our skin gets thicker from living out in the snow. you change all the lead sleeping in my head to gold.


and i kind of freaked out for this whole song.

is this a sign i'm getting older?

because i get my music tips from npr lately - gold panda, "you"...


and i get great joy in things like harvesting worm poop...




and i like spending my sunday mornings drinking coffee and researching native trees and planning gardens...


and i get really excited and take way too many photos at orchid shows and conservatories...








and i like to spend weekend nights wandering the canal at sunset...


i may be getting older, but all in all, i guess it's not so bad.

papa watches me on google alerts, hi dad!

das racist, "sit down, man."


and from the indianapolis show - awesomeness!

Das Racist - "Who's That? Brooown!" from MonkeyEatsMonkey on Vimeo.

also, i'm sad i missed this show: cap'n jazz reunion in chicago last year.


and other stuff...


spring is my favorite... and fall... and summer... aw, shoot.


whatever... we have easter eggs!


we also have monuments.


oh, and we have new sweaters!


yes, we do.