FiNNISHED

ice fish house fever

2012-01-16T22:36:00.000-06:00

Kim and I ventured to the Art Shanty Village on Medicine Lake. These are the crazy things that happen during winter in Minnesota, snow or no snow! The shanty village is pretty much a village: a danceteria, a printing press, a travel office, a historical society, public transit...aka ice biking (pictured above), capital hill & the department of everything else, a school house that gives mini classes, a working sauna (which was amazing!), a form of law enforcement (Kim in front of the movable robot), a gymnasium, a cafe, a dress up house, a camera store, an international society, a zoo of sorts, a hotel of sorts and the list goes on....

delayed...

2012-01-10T12:19:00.001-06:00

Winter has yet to show his face around these parts. It has snowed three times. I have gone cross country skiing twice. Today the high is supposed to be in the mid 40s. I'm spreading wood chips in the gardens. And honestly, I rather like. Sure I'd like there to be snow, but this mild weather has been making me want spring, that and all the seed catalogs I've been looking through. So many options!

Here are a few photos of jade plants that flowered a couple weeks ago. Craziness. I've never seen this happen.

a curious creature

2011-12-13T13:45:00.000-06:00

I saw this little guy along the shoreline last week. He was a very curious fellow. It for sure isn't a squirrel, but other than that I'm unsure. Any thoughts?

what does one call a flock of eagles perched above?

2011-12-07T19:59:00.001-06:00

There has been a strange phenomenon of eagles, hawks, & turkey vultures here this past week. Seriously, today alone I counted 10 different eagles as I went on a walk. Craziness. The lake is still vastly open, not frozen, and is teaming with gulls, ducks, and other fowl... and at first we thought they may be eating the birds, but after doing a little cross country skiing (first time yesterday!), it is confirmed they are eating fish. This morning I picked up 11 sunnies & 1 small mouth bass on the lawn. This may sound gross but I'm keeping them. They are resting in my freezer. I am going to use them for fertilizer on the vegetable gardens next spring. Not that I'm trying to avoid that awkward exchange with the butcher requesting fish heads again or something like that.

when nature wins

2011-10-07T10:41:00.005-05:00

In eastern Paktika Province, near the border with Pakistan, September and early October are pine-nut season. Much of the able-bodied population in rural villages is busy gathering cones from forests on mountain slopes.

But several slopes that yield rich harvests face American military positions, which presents an annual problem: pine-cone pickers risk being caught between two warring sides.

This year, as villagers worked the slopes in front of this new American-Afghan outpost, the risks to civilians were reduced in a starkly practical way — the Taliban and Haqqani fighters declared a unilateral cease-fire, American officers say.

“For two months we basically received contact daily or twice daily,” said Capt. Craig A. Halstead, who commands Company B, Second Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, which rotates platoons through the post.

In the month of August, the company’s data shows, there were only two days when the outpost was not under fire. The fighting continued through Sept 8.

On Sept 9, the hills were quiet. The company took no fire.

On Sept. 10, the soldiers intercepted radio chatter, including the voice of one of the fighters talking to others about the harvest. “We will not shoot for 15 days so the people can collect pine cones,” the voice said, according to the translated transcript.

By then, Afghan villagers were visible on the slopes that surround the post.

For three weeks, using long poles that end in hooks to pluck each cone, local men filled sacks with their harvest and brought them down the hills for sale in Orgun, the nearest city, or to Afghan buyers who canvass the harvesters in their villages.

Throughout this time, not a single shot was fired at Observation Post Twins.

(excerpt from NYTimes article by CJ Chivers, Published Oct 6, 2011)

You can read the full story here. Huzzah for Pine Nuts.

check out them apples

2011-08-31T12:51:00.000-05:00

Yum! Produce from mon jardin

2011-08-21T12:06:00.000-05:00

you wear what you eat?

2011-07-20T22:00:00.002-05:00

so... i was doing a little

laundry and ran low on

detergent and thought

heck, why not throw

a kohlrabi in.

it's clean. so,
it will clean my clothes, right?

right!

no, that's silly matthew. one can't substitute kohlrabi for detergent.
or can they?
this is the internet after all, it has to be true.

nah... here's what really happened...

i had a wet shirt and a kohlrabi

hanging on the line together
and since it was so hot....
they just kind of fused together! voila!
who knew?

ok here's the truth.

i was at the freshest
farmer's market in town
(mill city farmer's market).
and bought a kohlrabi and then
saw this wicked t-shirt and knew
it was destiny.
we were meant to be.

two peas in a pod... or two kohlrabi on a t-shirt (doesn't have that same ring, does it).

in other news, the hair has worked at fending off the deer!
that and what my pastor calls "golden guard."
i'll let you figure that one out. thanks for all the suggestions.
what's ready to harvest in your garden?

oh deer

2011-07-02T08:57:00.001-05:00

so i wasn't really hearing gun shots, but rather canon fires for the bi-weekly regattas.
ah the good life!

in other, more tragic news, the veggie garden has been discovered by deer.
they've struck twice.

so far they favor the extremely tasty, tender, buttery red veined spinach aka bordeaux spinach,
which you can't find in stores. i learned about this one from the organic farm, thanks Harriet!
fortunately, it was pretty much done for the season.

they also have a fondness for red and gold beet greens, and swiss chard.

those pesky deer.

i could try placing some netting down. i heard also that spreading human hair
around the beds can help ward them of. sounds a bit gross, but hey if it works, it works.

so, feel free to mail me some locks. ha! sick. please don't.

know of any other tricks for warding off deer?

this neighborhood is going to pot

2011-06-30T23:11:00.001-05:00

i thought i lived in a safe place. after all, i'm in the suburbs. but a disturbing trend is occurring here; i'm hearing gun shots. not just now and then, but multiple times a week. and when they happen, boy do they happen; several an hour. just when i thought my life was in order, livin' the good life out on the lake... BANG!

Any guesses as to what i'm hearing?

More details to follow.....

maybe this photo will help

what's bloomin' on the home front

2011-06-20T21:16:00.000-05:00

Lamb's Ear, Hosta buds, Salvia, Hydrangea bubs, Dianthus, Coral Bells

Oak Leaf Lettuce, Pansies/Violets (both are eatable!), French Breakfast Radishes, Broccoli Raab

speaking of hot compost/fertilizer

2011-06-15T23:20:00.004-05:00

that was the answer.... the title says it all.

last weekend ross & lisa got hitched outside of Luverne, MN.
as you can witness, it was grand.

and i had this responsibility:

a bit overwhelming at first, but it was fun the entire time.

congrats you crazy cats!

Go go Vita Mixer go!!!

2011-06-02T12:52:00.000-05:00

Jane! I love your answer, but Sarah and Meg nailed it: chalkboard! This was sitting in my parents basement being unused, so I asked if I could use it and they obligingly said yes. I told them: Every artist's kitchen needs one. Right? Am I right here?

Now... don't freak out, but this is probably one of the strangest/not so pleasant things I've done in a while.

It involved this guy.... a jug of molasses, some rotten bananas, old carrots & their tops..... and the glorious Vita Mixer, which is an industrial blender, the kind you'd heard at a coffee shop. It is really loud and makes your smoothie in about 5 seconds.

Any guesses as to what I was making? Here's a hint: it wasn't too eat, and it involves my job (think job title).

Here's another clue...

I will let you know soon.... oh the suspense.

so excited about this...

2011-06-01T02:08:00.000-05:00

the latest and greatest addition to the apartment.

can you see what it is?

(no, the liqueur cabinet is not new, try again).

meringuing around

2011-05-02T20:28:00.011-05:00

whip it!

whip it good!

will it set???

five + hours later....

yeah baby!

now the filling....

so many lemons; so much yellow!!!

blub, blub, blub....

(reducing it down)

then chill....

& put it all together....

the finished product: lemon meringue

Greenhouse Goings On

2011-04-22T23:37:00.009-05:00

it has been drizzly the last few days, alas the traits of spring. been spending some time in the greenhouse.

doing some tomato transplanting, aka up potting (just coined that phrase).

the tomatoes are much happier in the larger pots. believe me; they told me, honest.

Stages of a Caster Oil Plant (Gibsonii) seedling.

Lovely little nasturtium. Grow baby, grow!

the boss (Sketchy), wondering what all the activity is about....

evidence of spring!!!

2011-04-06T18:54:00.007-05:00

can anyone name any of these plants?

bloomin'

2011-04-04T22:57:00.011-05:00

Every spring the former Dayton's, now Macy's, indoor flower show downtown Minneapolis is a must see to brighten a deary Minnesota heart! I went this past weekend and the place was packed with people and flowers. This year the theme is famous towers from around the world (the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Eiffel Tower, the Bell Tower in St. Mark's Square in Venice....). You can smell the flowers before the elevator doors open on the eight floor. It is marvelous. Here are a few shots of the action. Go see it if you are in town. It is only on for one more week. And the best part is that the show is free!

drip... drip... drip...

2011-04-01T12:11:00.008-05:00

it's just lunch

2011-03-29T21:41:00.008-05:00

the greens are finally ready!!!

the first planting was dug up by the cats!!! so, i've learned to cover bare dirt. i guess it looks like
a litter box. meow!

suspects number 1 & 2

tasty (i'll let you decide which one, ha!)

lunch is served. yum!

Unadulterated Maple Sap

2011-03-24T19:32:00.005-05:00

this winter some pretty severe tree trimming was done mostly on towering sugar maples. now that we are having warmer nights (by warm i mean just at freezing) the maple sap is beginning to flow! and flow it does, right from the sawed off limbs. the dark stains are the sap. if the bark wasn't so rough i'd be tempted to lick the trees. the sap is really good, even before being boiled down into maple syrup. apparently, it takes about 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. wowzers.

i love this quote from author Diana Kappel-Smith, author of Wintering: "If I were a maple in the spring rain, I would be swollen with juice, red in the face, my heartbeat tripled; I would be howling and dancing, threshing my arms against the sky! But trees are such introverts."

when it has been below freezing and then there is a sudden calm, windless thaw for several days the sap in the trees is released and runs up and down the trees. by tapping the trees the sap is literally pushed out by the tree. it is like opening a soda can that had been shaken.

more from Wintering....

The sap runs from tapholes because the tree pushes it out; this is the unexpected thing. During a thaw the whole tree expands under the pressure of its sap. The tree in winter is a closed hydraulic system and during a sap run it can build internal pressures of up to twenty-four pounds per square inch. After a while- even if it stays warm, or instantly if the temperature should drop below freezing again- the pressures reverse and become negative. Given the chance then, the trees might reabsorb all of the sap that they pushed out hours before.

If the weather is right the sap will run from the trees any time for six weeks or so after the leaves have fallen- sometime in November- until the new leaves arrive. During winter warm spells the trees are gurgling with their sap as if they were half asleep. After mid-March here [Vermont] the trees are at their touchiest and most responsive; if the weather cooperates then the trees push.

One more quote from Kappel-Smith... I know Matthew, you are becoming such a nerd: "I am always awed and stirred by these trees, perhaps because they seem so unmoved even in the midst of their violent season."

so stoic, eh? must be part finnish!

45 degrees and rising

2011-03-16T11:54:00.010-05:00

oh man spring is so here. i don't care what you say. it has arrived. can you tell i am excited? no, well try harder. i never have been a huge fan of spring. it always seems too dingy to me, like dirty dish water, but all this planning and waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and diddling, dawdling has got me so anxious for spring! glorious spring!

here's a little ditty just penned about the events of these past few days...

The sap of my heart is beginning to flow
down through my limbs
and out through my toes.

I hear Spring arriving:
Clicking and dripping every morning as I walk
the birds' chatter reigns as I dart to punch the clock.

Pursued by a sly, cunning cardinal fox
Two downy gray geese flap, flap, flap and fly away.
Such a spectacle! Such a delight! Squawxsss!!

Yesterday, a V flew cardinal above my head,
while this morn a cardinal sang aloud:
"Arise! Awake, Lazarus! Spring, come forth from the dead!"

2011-02-23T23:10:00.008-06:00

Last weekend we had our second snow of the year that was over twelve inches. Craziness!!!
Here are a few photos ...

These last couple are of me going batty after staying cooped up inside most of the day on Sunday. Sheesh... need to get out more I guess.

Orchids!

2011-02-16T14:57:00.006-06:00

The orchids have been a blooming at work. They are pretty spectacular.

here is one that is about to burst with blooms. i'm anxious to see what color it will be. any guesses?

2011-02-01T12:20:00.000-06:00

yes and then no....

2011-01-26T12:45:00.002-06:00

so i received a few emails bemoaning missing the deadline to vote.... yes, the poles are closed. you've missed your chance, your "right".... sort of.

the glasses have been sent back to warby land, but i haven't ordered a pair yet. i need to go have my pupillary distance measured. go figure. i'm for sure going to purchase Miles and the second pair most likely will be Huxely. So congrats to Alvin, Sara and Andy. You guys have great taste! Thanks to everyone else for their opinions. It was fun to read what people thought and also very helpful.

decision time

2011-01-18T17:15:00.008-06:00

hearing i was in the market for new specs, my friend Katy told me about this website that one can shop for eyeglasses at called warby parker. it is a new company that makes all their own acrylic frames. for every pair you purchase, they donate a pair to someone in the majority world. every pair of frames is $100, including prescription lenses. you can pick up to five pairs, they send them to you in the mail, you have 5 days to try them out, and then send them back (return postage included). that is included in the $100 price tag. i ordered my set last friday and they arrived today (pretty fast considering there was a holiday in there).

so here are the five i've narrowed it down to. what two pair do you think look best? look carefully because some of the styles are fairly similar. please help me decide. i've got only until friday!

1. Miles

2. Webb

3. Fillmore

4. Roosevelt

5. Huxley

What's up doc?

2011-01-07T15:18:00.006-06:00

I was at the grocery store the other evening and it was pretty late, almost 11:30PM, just doing my weekly grocery shopping. You know, the usual midnight trip. Any who, at the check out this guy behind me starting talking to me. I had bought some carrots that still had the stems on them and the cashier asked if I still wanted them kept on (he was going to rip them off). I said to leave them on.

"What are you going to do with those?" the man behind me chimed in.

I didn't really have any reason to keep them, but I told him that they could be used in soup (which I was planning on making this week) or one can cut them up and put them in salads (maybe hummus too, just thought of that). I felt like I was at the Sioux Falls Farmers' Market again, answering people's questions about what to do with eggplant.

"Are you a vegetarian? he inquired.

"No," I responded. "I used to work on a vegetable farm and really like vegetables though."

"Well, I was looking at what you are buying and thought that you must be a vegetarian because no one ever buys what you do."

I must admit that most of the food I was purchasing was produce (carrots, lettuce, cabbage, mushrooms, green onions, lemons, pears....), but I also had tortilla chips, ice cream, chocolate, which he must have not noticed. Later, on the drive back home, I was musing about this conversation and thought perhaps he noticed the produce more because I don't put everything in those individual clear plastic bags located in the produce section because what am I going to do with all those bags once the produce is out of them, eh?

He then asked if I ever buy the prepackaged baby carrots. I usually don't, but I humored him and said that I have, which is true, I have.

"I love those!" he exclaimed.

Then out of no where He started joking about how maybe I could try smoking the carrot greens. He said he worked with youth and they were always trying to smoke something. Carrot tops could be the "alternative" and "safe" answer. It was so bizarre, but I couldn't help but laugh. This guy was funny and kind of odd.

I thought the conversation was over, but then he asked:

"Do you ever peel your carrots?"

"Sometimes, but usually no," I said. "If you buy organic, you don't really need to. Just give them a good wash and then enjoy."

"WHAT!?! You don't? Carrot peels are soooo bitter. How can you stand eating them? Do you live around here? Do you have the Internet... because if you do you'll find a ton of stuff on there saying the same thing. Carrot peels are bitter." He was super insistent.

It was too funny. I should have let him have a bite right then and there of one of the carrots, but I didn't think of it at the time. Too weird!

So.... I finally have looked it up and have come to the conclusion that you don't really need to peel carrots. When one peels a carrot, one is basically whittling away at the carrot, and losing a part of the edible nutrients. A lot of people peel carrots because they are afraid of eating any dirt, which a good rinsing can easily avoid.

Some objectors- yes, that's correct, objectors, there are actually people who object to peeling carrots- state that unlike say apples, cucumbers, or potatoes that have an actual peel that is physically different than the inside of the vegetable, carrots don't. Often peels contain a lot of nutrients. However, if one cuts through a carrot it is the same color, texture and consistency all the way across the carrot. Thus the nutrients are pretty much dispersed evenly throughout the entire carrot. This demonstrates why it is better to buy organic carrots, because any chemicals found in conventional farming soils will be absorbed throughout the entire carrot, not contained in the peel because there is no peel.

SO, what about carrot peels being bitter? This argument might actually be true. I found a scientific paper examining if there is any truth to the bitterness of carrot peels. Apparently, there can be a higher concentrations of two certain chemicals around the outsides of the carrot that can account for a slight bitter flavor. This amount is fairly small though. And the paper said that it is often not the case in carrots found at farmer's markets. Perhaps conventional growers are growing a different variety than organic growers? Perhaps, the flavor becomes more concentrated if the carrots are old and have sat on the grocery shelf too long? The paper didn't really speculate much on any of these theories. Shucks! Or I should say, Peels!

Anyways. Eat some (organic/home grown) carrots people! And look up how they make baby carrots. So interesting. Might there be a carrot museum? Too bizarre.

matthew vs. the giant painting

2010-12-13T17:54:00.011-06:00

please add one to the sum

2010-12-08T00:26:00.008-06:00

today, i went cross country skiing for the official first time this season (that's one elbs & dad!). my boss needed to leave early today. he gave me the option of staying till usual or quitting early and i immediately chose the latter. it was refreshing. the grounds here at southways are providing some welcomed play space.

i also received the green light today to grow some veggies in the greenhouse. "Matthew, I'm the kind of boss that when my employees are happy, I'm happy, so if growing lettuce will make you happy, grow some [expletive] lettuce"- the boss man. Yes, I am so pumped. Fresh greens here I come.

Here are some recent photos of views captured around the grounds.

Redirecting

2010-11-29T21:22:00.002-06:00

The previous post is a photo of where I now work. Things have really changed in the last few weeks. I have moved from small town Iowa, to a really affluent suburb back in the Twin Cities. I am now employed as the fulltime gardener/caretaker at the fifteen acre Pillsbury Estate in Wayzata, MN on lake Minnetonka. I live on site in a "carriage apartment," which my parent's have stated is bigger than their house. The apartment is big, but I think they still have more square feet, regardless, it is a nice place. I will have plenty of room to paint and create. I am excited about that.

I was some what worried about moving back to the bustle of the city, but the grounds, being located on a peninsula on a very large lake, and not having to commute to work have provided a sense of some of the calmness that rural life lent me.

I am so extremely thankful that I got this job. I saw a vague three sentence job post on craiglists and took a chance. Thanks Lord!, You have provided once again.

objects in mirror may appear closer

2010-11-23T23:39:00.002-06:00

dusk on the return drive to siouxland

2010-10-19T21:08:00.008-05:00

the possibilities are endless, but the abilities are limited

2010-10-09T14:43:00.003-05:00

last weekend, betsy, andy, morgan and myself spent the time at morgan's cabin on big stone lake. we saw an ad advertising the sale of a derelict high school and entire city block upon which it rested. we ventured the half hour north to the hamlet of beardsley, mn and explored the possibilities. any one have $75,000 to spare?

because popular demand gets you no where....

2010-10-04T20:06:00.003-05:00

if this were my front door, would you visit me?

the rumor weeds

2010-08-02T18:19:00.002-05:00

these rumors aren't true.... these rumors aren't true...

no, i didn't move to cambodia and become a buddhist monk...
no, i didn't move back to minneapolis...
no, i haven't yet move to the dakota desert and become a benedictine...

these rumors are true

yes, i'm still in sioux center... (currently moving from the attema's to the lief's)
yes, still working at the farm....
yes, i wasn't accepted in the grad program in helsinki....
yes, i don't know what i'll be doing this winter yet....

so that's the nitty gritty for now.
much love.

some photos from the trip out west....

2010-05-01T21:15:00.011-05:00

The Great American West

2010-04-15T20:21:00.003-05:00

After traveling 4,000 plus miles to Nathan and Corissa's wedding, I can now say I've been through every state west of the Mississippi (not including Alaska & Hawaii). This trip crossed Nevada and Utah off the list. Utah was stunning. I never knew that mountains could be so colorful (shades of brown, ocher, green, red, black...). And I was able to actually see (in daylight!) Arizona and New Mexico (the last trip in January, I traversed these states at night). I can not believe I'm saying this, but my favorite place was New Mexico. So rugged, dry and yet hospitable. Thanks Laura for putting us up at 2am!

dismantling

2010-03-31T21:00:00.008-05:00

i've begun to take the window project down at Sandy Hallow. yesterday i walked through the entire layout and fell in love with the entire project again. i admit that i was less than fond of it by the end of november when i quit putting frames up. but seeing her again, man that did something to me.

taking it down, taking it in, taking it apart has been strange. i've never felt so forlorn about an art project. when one sells a painting, it disappears from their possession, but it is carried on, enjoyed by the new acquirers. as an artist, i find solace in this and the cash doesn't hurt either. with site specific installations, once its over, its over. it doesn't exist any longer. i've dismantled decor at the humble bean many a time, but this project was larger(22 acres), finite (November-March); an actual art project from start to finish.

here are a few pictures before striking down the rest today.

some recent works....

2010-03-25T19:47:00.010-05:00

This first image isn't brand new but the first of a series...

No Passing Zone!

What Passing Zone?

Peas & Carrots w/o the Peas

Not Tonight, but some Yarrow

Brassica's Dream Dance

These are all on display at The Fruited Plain. Check them out.
Better yet, buy one!

Any ideas of what the vegetable is in the last painting?

sometimes decaf is okay

2010-03-09T00:36:00.003-06:00

the other night i drank coffee at midnight. i didn't fall asleep until 6AM, yikes! however, i was reading a book, and finnished it. so, it may have been the coffee, it may have been the book. but more than likely it was a combo of the two. the book (the trumpet major, by thomas hardy) had such a disappointing ending. probably the worst book i've read by hardy yet. since this past fall, i've decided to read as many of hardy's novels as possible. i'm about half way through. and i'm hoping the next one will be better (the mayor of casterbridge).

read any good books lately?

heat wave

2010-03-02T15:02:00.002-06:00

so it's only been in the mid 30's these last few days, but it feels like a heat wave. the sun is out in full force. the sky is bright blue. the roads are finally clear of ice and seeing danielle and evan ride their bikes the other day reminded me that ruby (my bike) should be utilized asap and so i have. i even opened my apartment window a crack, to let in the fresh air and to let the paint fumes out. back at the ol' canvas.

all is well on the western front!

2010-02-25T12:30:00.003-06:00

wowzers... the portfolio arrived. i awoke at 5am (1pm finland time) really calm, checked the delivery status and said it had arrived. thanks Lord, i heartily thought and went straight back to bed. i don't know what i would have done if it hadn't. i had emailed the application office with my predicament and of course in their stoic scandinavian response they said that all materials not received by the application deadline would be automatically rejected.... and then a little note said, but we hope for your sake that it arrives. Ah oh how kind! I wanted to punch that person in the face... ok joking but man talk about a different mindset. When I applied to Dordt they were super friendly, practically begging for me to come and now for grad school they could really care less. such is life.

anyways... you can see a limited preview of the portfolio by clicking here.

i'll hear back in late april if i am accepted into the program.

jumping the hurdles is impossible with short legs

2010-02-24T14:37:00.002-06:00

I'm becoming a bit freaked out.

I'm applying to exactly one amazing grad school: University of Art & Design Helsinki for the MFA in Environmental Art. I had all my materials (Application, CV, Study Plan, Portfolio, International Reply Coupon...) ready and after a couple hours at the Post Office and then FedEx in Sioux City, the materials were shipped out. The package arrived in Finland on Monday, cleared customs and has since been sitting at the FedEx in Vantaa (suburb of Helsinki), because I used the wrong address, which isn't possible because I used the exact address the school instructed me to do so.

So on Tuesday I called FedEx, gave them another address. It is now Wednesday (almost Thursday there) and it's due with no exceptions by 4pm on Friday. And the package is still in Vantaa.

This entire process has been a lot of struggle, work and also a lot of fun. A lot of people have helped me out and it stinks that only 18km separate my application from its destination (I Google Mapped it).

2010-02-17T19:33:00.001-06:00

today was perfect snowball weather. the temp was just right so that the snow could compact and not be too wet.

wanna fight?

wildlife

2010-02-09T14:47:00.002-06:00

this late morning i went skiing for the first time in quiet some time. the ol' feet are a little sore now, but otherwise i'm doing fine. while skiing i saw a hawk, a brown squirrel and one woodpecker. the hawk was hunting for food but i don't think he was too successful because i saw him soaring about when i started skiing and he was still at it when i was making my way back. oh well... better luck next time i guess.

in other news.... the Olympics are coming! i'm so excited. i love the winter Olympics way more than the summer. ski jumping, cross country skiing, the biathlon, downhill skiing, hockey, speed skating, bobsledding, figure skating- these are a few of my favorite things. i'm just not too sure about curling, but whateves... good for them.

do you have a favorite winter sport to participate in?
to watch?
for me i love cross country skiing and playing broomball!
like watching ski jumping, figure skating (pairs).... pretty much all of them.

oh no he didn't

2010-02-02T17:48:00.001-06:00

good news... bad news... you decide

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning ... so thus six more weeks of winter!!!

Happy Ground Hogs Day

i don't know why

2010-01-27T12:18:00.002-06:00

for the last few days, i have had a word stuck in my head. i don't remember where i picked this word up or, until about 5 minutes ago, knew what the word meant. but regardless it is one of those satisfying words that makes you slightly gleeful that you speak english. a word that goes round in your mouth and makes full use of its capacity.

the word is haberdashery.

enough said.

wowzers

2010-01-09T17:46:00.003-06:00

After 33 hours of driving (one day of twenty, and one of thirteen) Jacob and I have finally arrived and unpacked in L.A. It is so warm here, it is delicious (seventies). We spent a night and part of day in Albuquerque, NM visiting Laura MacMillan. We helped around her school doing some odd jobs and sitting in on a few classes. I was even able to help teach 7th graders all about mosaics. Fun fun fun.

I'm not a big fan of the pueblo/SW style of architecture that is until I came to Albuquerque. After seeing so many American cities- ok, suburbs- that look pretty much the same (vinyl siding condos and chain restaurants), it was refreshing to be in a place with such a unique style that even corporate giants like Wal-Mart clad their facade with terracotta stucco. To be in a place with an authentic personality, identity, character is something pretty unique in our United States. Props to Albuquerque.

The majority of the drive was spent in the dark, with me taking the grave yard shifts from about 1am to 6am. I'd like to make the drive from New Mexico to L.A. in the daylight. Seeing the strange shapes of cactus and dark hulks of shadowed mountains whetted my appetite. I imagined it all to be pretty breathtaking in the light.

From the bit I've seen of L.A., I'd say it's crazy here. Everyone drives so fast. I don't know when I became such a wimp but I don't think I could live here simply due to the traffic. Well... I'm sure I could manage. Also there are ads for movies everywhere and some pretty nice buildings covered entirely in advertisements. From Piper and Jacob's dining room you can see a sixteen story skyscraper covered on one side with a billboard. Some one paid a lot of money for that space. But from the same window you can also see the stunning skyline of downtown Los Angeles. Craziness. I love it.

never play truth or dare!

2010-01-03T13:29:00.005-06:00

i may or may not have dyed my hair bright red last night.

don't worry sis, it will be back to normal by the wedding.

*note to self, never tell friends secrets when you are bored on a saturday night and have nothing to do, they might make you go ahead and do them....

let the games begin

2009-12-09T20:38:00.002-06:00

the last few days have left numerous inches of snow across these parts and thus slowed my world down, which is enjoyable. it's wondrous how even still in this modern age nature can cause us pause. people are driving slower. people are thinking slower? i think it fun that i must bundle up to go outdoors. you might be at a friends when it is time to go. you say your goodbyes and then it takes another 5 minutes to cocoon yourself before you actually leave. i'm sure i'll be sick of this all too soon, but for now it is a novelty.

thus to date the cross country ski outings count is 1.

a quick trip to the dakotahs!

2009-12-02T13:02:00.011-06:00

this last weekend, post Thanksgiving, i head up north to hannover, nd; a town so small it shouldn't exist. it had one church, one house and an abandon restaurant. but the real gem is the nearby bakker residence. thanks for a relaxing weekend arlo & heidi, peter & taeda, and elbs & julie, who came down from winnipeg for a surprise visit.

the weekend consisted of a birthday party, poetry reading, some fire side chats, a walk in the fields, making a collaborative large-scale painting (3x7 feet!), lots of home made food, reading stories to tots, and watching tots play/fight/giggle.

i took the long way back to dordt (avoided interstates as much as possible). so i passed through bismarck, nd headed south to pierre, sd and then across to sioux falls, sd before the final descent into siouxland.

nd is surprisingly beautiful. the plains give way to random hills, knolls, balds if you will. i found the vastness and emptiness freeing; an opportunity to be seized. it seemed like a frontier land and i was a pioneer ready to make my claim. i realize this is silly and that it's all claimed, but whateves... i'll get my share one day. there were large random stone piles in farmers' fields reminding me of covenant stone alters from the OT. i thought it would be fun to utilize them some how for a future art project. maybe paint the piles bright neon colors and take a ride through the sky in a bi-plane. maybe.

sd, on the other hand was pretty flat and dull, expect, except, except by pierre. pierre is a small place. it makes sioux falls seem metropolitan and it's not. i came into the city from the north and was expecting to see some type of a skyline. it wasn't until the road gave way to the river valley that i was confronted by the dome of the capital. surprise! a city. and then, it all disappeared. you take a few zig-zaggy turns through the town, ford the river, climb out of the valley and enter a national grassland and you forget that moments ago there was traffic or at least busy streets and people, people living their busy city lives. pierre reminded me of how one is supposed to lay low in a ditch if inclemental weather is approaching and you're outdoors. watch out pierre, the storm is approaching!

a saturday afternoon project

2009-11-16T00:43:00.005-06:00

two saw horses made from cast-off picture frame moldings made the legs...

an old wood door made the top...

a "new" dining room table, all from reused material!

you know what i mean...

2009-11-04T13:18:00.004-06:00

it's the new phrase. everyone is using it and it is driving me nuts- you know what i mean? you know what i mean? you know what i mean?

sometimes using this phrase is legitimate: explaining the difference between terms (squatting vs. bivouacking) or to bring clarity on a subject/instructions. but for the most part is seems that people use it for a filler. it's the new uhm...... uhm...... uhm! you know what i mean? here is an example:

so i was at the store the other day, you know what i mean, at the meat counter, you know what i mean and the guy asked if i wanted Havarti and i'm lactose intolerant and it just baffled me, you know what i mean, i'm at the counter going to get meat and the person asks....

perhaps, it is attempting to be inclusive. since you weren't there for the event the speaker talks in a way to make you feel apart of it regardless if you want to be included or not. for example a person is talking about visiting a relative that you've never met in a place you've never been.

aunt Bess makes the best pies, you know what i mean? the crust is so perfect and flaky, like those biscuits that my great aunt May made but you now buy in cans, you know what i mean?

while perhaps you too might have had an aunt who made excellent pie, you didn't have aunt Bess' pie. we are becoming lazy, empathetic speakers.

it is funny how these phrases become integrated into everyday speech. once you start noticing them it will drive you crazy. for a while everyone, including myself would incorporate the disclaimer "just" when praying.

"Lord, just bring world peace..." "just revive us" "just...." "just...." "just..."

as if God only did that then that would be enough? or the phrase "for real?" or how about "seriously?" because we could no longer decipher if truth was being said?

these are the things i think about at times. i need a new hobby, you know what i mean?

last weekend....

2009-10-22T22:35:00.003-05:00

last sunday my grandfather kilpatrick and my uncle john came down for a visit. it was a very enjoyable time. they drove four hours, stayed five and drove four more hours back home. i think they must love me. my grandpa is one of my best friends. we are pen pals. he and i get each other. i attribute my love of the outdoors to him. he is almost 90, still drives a car, has his own house, goes to wood working class twice a week, volunteers at the local nature center and makes a wicked meatloaf. he brought me some treats. yum. yum. can you tell what everything is?

black liquorice, lemon drops, beef jerky, pistachios, wheat thins
thanks!

he said something towards the end of their visit that was very intriguing. it's been playing over and over in my mind this week. i don't know if i should mention it or not, but it won't escape my mind so i'm letting it out. it is something a bit frightening, something a bit haunting. it is something a bit mysterious but at the same time wonderful and ever so beautiful.

he told me that my grandma jackie has been visiting him. it's happened twice. he has awoken from a doze in the afternoon to find her sitting on the couch in the same room as him. i asked if he talked with her. he said that he did, but that he couldn't recall what about. regardless, both times were very pleasant. he then proceeded to remind me that this coming wednesday (now past) marks the tenth anniversary of her death.

i don't know what to make of this. i believe him. i'm just wondering what, if anything it means. my grandpa is a widower twice over. i'm curious why it's my first grandma, my real grandma and not virginia, his second wife, who passed away last spring. i wonder if it will happen again.

just a thought

2009-10-12T13:20:00.001-05:00

i wonder if someday chemotherapy will be seen as foolish as bloodletting is today? just a thought.

the most recent works (up at the show too)

2009-10-06T10:57:00.005-05:00

The Show goes till October 14, check it out if you are able.

Put up a Parking Lot

No Passing Zone

Sunflowers, AKA Van Goghing

Crab Tree Exuberant, Early Spring

and more....

i've stumbled upon something that is so strange...

2009-09-28T12:46:00.005-05:00

This past weekend was spent with friends who will be soon departing the area. Erika Hydeen invited me to attend a Marching Band Field Competition and in turn I invited Morgan to attend. It was crazy. It was fun. It was something completely foreign to me, but Erika, who has participated in said glamorous events in high school, schooled Morgan and I thoroughly on the inner workings of the competition. We witnessed the top ten bands from the Tri-State area perform. Orange city's band received third place. They were really tight. Good sound, not garish, and they utilized the entire field. Some bands went all out. They had sets, and the color guard had costume changes. At times it was like watching a musical rather than a band competition.

This band's performance was about a mountain climb up Mt. Everest.
In the background one can see the large photos they had on display.
The song had four parts: market place, base camp, white out, and summit.
During the white out, the color guard ran around with long white banners every where.It was effective. It was over the top.

The guy in the red polo is a judge. These guys walk around on the field during the performance and take notes. To my surprise i didn't notice any of them getting trampled. The judges are very nimble folk

On Sunday i spent the day at Erika's parent's house in orange city doing batiking. We spent a long time on them and they are still not finished (over eight hours). Oh well. It was a good refresher and has inspired me to continue the craft, which I'm sure my mother is happy about. She thinks I'm the best at it, which of course is true. Mom's don't lie. It goes against their nature.

Here's Erika by some of the batiks in progress.
She's happy because her small batik turned out the best.

let's review

2009-09-02T09:57:00.022-05:00

since i didn't do too hot of a job posting this summer here are few photos of what occurred this past relaxed summer.

sister kristie's grad from PA school, yeah!

paris w/ cousin marie

the netherlands,
w/ luuk and amanda

canoeing with the gang,
watch out boys here comes carmela the heart breaker

st. vincent concert in omaha,
w/ lisa & kung fu ross

elbert! a quick trip to winnipeg

purple radishes anyone?

a country wedding hosted by city folk
(yeah howie & kathryn)

drawing class!, dordt discovery days

moving, once again,
thanks mom & dad!
(still not finished to post the final results, soon...)

hiking w/ david in the smokies in tennessee

pickled cauliflower?

heirloom tomatoes from work
(the few that survived the cool summer, and blight)

a future art project, perhaps?

dust off the curtains

2009-07-07T11:38:00.007-05:00

whelp, it is high summer here in siouxland and that means one thing for me; yep time to move again.

my wonderful parents came down last weekend and helped gather the things and transport them to my new digs: Duplex, Apartment C, which has an illustrious history of some pretty good guys living there: Ross, Dane, Jeremy, Reid...

the apartment is good: ample in size, a bit too close to Dordt, has lots of lights, and new pergo floors...

however i'm not a fan of apple wallpaper... so something has to be done about that.

the apartment has a really large front room and then a huge kitchen. the plan is to make the front room my studio space and the kitchen into the living space: kitchen, dining and living areas.

here are some before pictures of where i'll be "living it up"...

you'll have to wait a bit for the afters...

pickles?

2009-06-10T23:54:00.007-05:00

i used to hate pickles. i'd pick them off hamburgers. they were wasted garnish on my plate.

but something happened. i got over it. and now i rather enjoy them, which is exciting because i'd say that this transformation has only been within the last year or so.

tonight i took pickling to a new leave: pickled radishes. during the spring time there is always an excess of radishes from work and i hated seeing them got to waste. so after a quick google search, pickled radishes seemed to be the most appropriate long-term solution for saving radishes. i'm excited. and the recipe was really easy.

this may not look like typical radishes because they aren't; they are french- go figure.

2 dozen radishes
1 cup sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1 tbls musard seed
1/2 tsp celery seed
2 tsp dill weed

Stem radishes. Cut into roses if desired (I usually do)

Mix all other ingredients in a saucepan. heat until sugar is melted and mixture is clear. Add radishes.

Keep in fridge, or can in a boiling water bath 20 minutes. One cautionary note: Over time, the radishes get all puckered and wrinkly looking. This does not affect the flavor, but can be off-putting to some people. So you might want to keep the batches small, and use strictly as a refrigerator pickle.

I hope to do a fair amount of canning this summer.
I recently purchased a book about canning and I'm anxious to try some of the recipes.

farttttttttttttttttttttt day

2009-06-01T22:08:00.006-05:00

I work five days a week at the farm, but the work week for me runs from Tuesday through Saturday, so I've declared that from thus forth or at least for the summers, Monday's are ART DAYS.

YEAH! Hurray! Hurrah! Zip!

Today was an art day!!!!!!!

Today I worked a bit on two paintings; both of them trees. One tree is at a park, the same park I wrote about a month or so ago and the other tree is across an empty parking lot.

I painted first at the parking lot. The tree was on one end of the lot and I painted it while sitting on the bed of an old truck parked on the other side of the lot in the shade. It was fun. Two freshmen high school punks came along when I was packing up and declared the painting, that I had just started, to be "fantastic."
"If I tried to paint that it would just be a big blob," said one kid. The other readily agreed. "It's terrific." Terrific? I didn't know high schoolers used that word any more or for that matter, anyone used that word anymore. Terrific? Yikes!

After they left, I didn't really know how to take their compliment. I had only worked on it for about an hour and only half the canvas had paint on it. After that encounter, I was a bit distraught that they declared the unfinished product a success. I mean how genuine could a "fantastic" be from somebody who declared themselves to be hopeless at art?

Later, in the evening I was painting in the park somewhat secluded from the playground and bike bath. A little boy riding a bicycle noticed me and then began to bike around where I was painting. There was no path, so he was biking through the grass. It was pretty funny. He was making motorcycle noises and I'm pretty sure he thought that I didn't notice him spying on me, but I knew.

Suddenly, a mob of kids came running out from a house that was on the edge of the park and proceeded to inquire about what I was doing. "Why is the tree like that?" "Are you going to paint a lake in the picture?" "Why is the shadow blue?" "Why is there yellow there?"

I began to become overwhelmed by the tumult of their noise and the flurry of their activity. I had come out here to paint, and paint alone. They began to inform me all about their lives, like I was their new confidant or something. It was surprising. This one had just started softball today, and that one liked to draw war, and this one liked panda bears and that one had a fat orange cat named Oscar. The boys in the group teased the girls about how bad they were at softball, and the girls began to wrestle them in the grass. The girls informed me they weren't allowed to watch wrestling on tv, but that they had gone to this one kids house and watch wrestling on youtube (something I had never thought of doing before). One kid asked if I went to Dordt and I said that I had, and now I painted for fun. They wanted to know what I was going to do with the painting and I told them I wasn't sure. One thought I should win a prize for it. I liked that idea.

One little girl informed me that she wanted to be an artist and an author when she grew up. She ran back to her house and came back with a painting of a penguin she had recently made. The penguin was blue and it was surrounded by cerulean swirls, very expressionistic, very fun.

They soon left in order to set-up a tent for a camp out in their backyard. It got quiet quick. I smiled. They were a delight. And I realized that I had become a grouch today, but they had lifted my spirits. I'm not sure why I was berated by so many kids today, but it made for an interesting time. I'm glad they felt comfortable enough to approach me and talk about it. Perhaps it shows how hungry we are for the arts, for being creative, for witnessing somebody in the creative process. Perhaps not. In a culture that values competition, values sport, perhaps the need for taking time to be creative is ever more important. Perhaps not. I guess kids say it how it is, so perhaps I should take their comments more seriously. Perhaps not. Time will tell.

Paris and farther North

2009-05-29T01:06:00.017-05:00

monet at the l'orangerie
(no that's not him in the background)

and me w/out my lover

feeling triumphant

at a farmer's market

sacre coure, with my cousin marie

self portrait, whilst biking on a warm day in holland

liesbeth! (a friend from a former life)

amanda & i at the beach in den haag

a very famous girl, w/ a pearl earring

it was grand. you should go.

2009-05-13T14:06:00.001-05:00

i've arrived in paris. it is wonderful. my feet are tired, and it's only day one.

today i saw two great art exhibits: alexander calder's paris years & a retrospective of kandinsky.

2009-05-11T14:32:00.002-05:00

why do farmers plant corn? because it is a cash crop, it's subsidized by the government, and the demand is strong. why does harriet plant heirloom tomatoes? because they taste incredible and because she is smart and knows that she can receive a decent return on this investment. tomatoes sold in grocery stores are probably my least favorite item to purchase. they are so blah, they are so boring. i mean if you like eating cardboard, by all means go ahead... but i'll take a garden fresh tomato any day.

Barbara Kingsolver in her book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, describes garden tomatoes as follows:
Fresh garden tomatoes are so unbelievably tasty, they ruin us utterly and forever on the insipid imports available in the grocer. In defiance of my childhood training, I cannot clean my salad plate in a restaurant when it contains one of those anemic wedges that taste like slightly sour water with a mealy texture. I'm amazed those things keep moving through the market, but the world apparently has tomato-eaters for whom "kinda reddish" is qualification enough. A taste for better stuff is cultivated only through experience.
- a bit snobbish perhaps with that last sentence, but overall it rings sound.

last week i had the weighted privilege of planting the tomato hoop house. this house is filled with heirloom tomatoes, which are pretty much the best of the best, when it comes to tomatoes. i was a bit nervous because tomatoes at seedtime and harvest are a big deal. probably the number one grosser. i didn't want to make any mistakes. i was also a bit proud that i was trusted with this task (well... i am currently the one employee working there, so the options are limited... but still a little revelry please). i planted 150 plants, roughly 20 varieties: purple russian, green maldovan, great white, carbon, orange jubilee- these are a few of my favorite things. as i was planting these and other tomatoes it was fun to reminisce about their characteristics. i cannot wait for late-july when they will be ripe for the picking.

in other news... in one day i'm headed off to paris, to visit ma cousine marie, and the netherlands, to visit amanda & liesbeth, for one week. i'm excited. i'm nervous. i'm way behind. must pack. au revoir.

back in the saddle again

2009-05-06T23:40:00.003-05:00

this morning i found myself back on the farm. i picked red vein spinach, and regular spinach for several hours. did a bit of weeding too. it was really refreshing to be in the hoop houses, slowly making my way up and down the rows of fresh, ripe greens. some spinach leaves were too large to sell (bigger than my hand). i kept some for wraps. yum! fresh, organic produce is so delicious.

this week at dordt is finals week. in the midst of all the mad studying, the flowering crab apple trees have begun to explode with blossoms. as of yet no students have been injured. as an extra precaution i've decided to wear my flak jacket while biking around campus. who knew that spring could be so dangerous?

eeeeeeeeeeeuh how i looooooooong for you: tea of the day, magnolia oolong

2009-04-28T13:46:00.005-05:00

i delight in how nature is changing, morphing, giving testimony daily to God and that God is active and in control, that God is still creating. who can deny God's grace by observing the delicacy of spring?

last week the forsythia stole the show here on campus. what? you missed it. that's ok. that is fine. however, you really should not miss this week. pay attention to the demure magnolia. she is a show stopper. there are several white magnolia bushes around campus, some in surprising, neglected places. there is also a set of magnificent mauve magnolia trees by the classroom building that i once had the privilege of observing during a Justice Matters Week here at dordt. it was the first such event and it was my turn at the letter writing tent. the tent was in a standoff with the trees and the trees won my attention. during that two hours, i grabbed my easel and began to paint. that painting now hangs in chicago, gracing the wall of a great couple: meg & rob- enjoy.

yesterday, as i was driving lisa vander plaats to her job interview at the organic farm, she said something so telling; "usually i just walk around and don't even realize that the trees are budding. then one day, i'm like- wow! when did this happen?" she then confessed that this year she was making an attempt to watch, to take note of what the trees are up to. and the best part is that she said she has had no regrets.

try it. spring is just beginning, it won't be a disappointment. you may have missed a bit, but there is more, much more, waiting to occur- to delight.

a miss?

2009-04-24T15:17:00.003-05:00

sometimes i hear names and think, perhaps i'll name my kid that some day. but then i think, who in their right mind would name their kid that? or that's a great name, but man, they'd get hammered in school.... but then again with all this anti-bullying legislation getting tossed around, they might be safe, they just might be safe.

so if you're about to have a kid, i guess you could use one of the following, but do so at your own risk...

and these are names that go well with kunnari (keep that in mind)

boy names:
loyal
amos
guy
asher
avrumel
finigan
fennel

girl names:
nadine
eve
elle (like the magazine)
aurora
mercedes
prudence

to squelch any rumors that could start from this post, no i'm not expecting anytime soon.

a scene from today

2009-04-20T00:41:00.008-05:00

it takes practice to sit beneath a tree for a spell; to drink her in; to become familiar with her ways. it takes even more practice to wait for a budding architect to sketch a tree; to watch him delicately trace her onto the page exactly to scale. after a while, the once gorgeous tree becomes dull. static. plain. her allure begins to wane.

"lets' take a break," david said, to which i nodded in agreement. he had been trying to draw the tree for over a half hour and was barely making progress.

he got up to stretch his limbs and i sat there for a moment, hesitating before i did the same. he walked behind me in order to lite a cigarette, trying to find shelter from a slight breeze.

i mused to myself: enough of this drawing business, it's time to climb the thing.

with his back to mine, i suddenly darted to the tree scanning her for the lowest limb to grab. leaving the firmament below and entering the realm of the sky, i grabbed her lowest branch and quickly pulled myself up into the tree. with my legs still dangling in the air, i realized this thing, this concrete, dull, static tree was fully alive. the once poised model, had started to sway with the slight of the breeze. having full confidence in myself and not wanting to look like a gray city squirrel in reverse, i hefted myself fully into the tree and sat on the next limb above. this breeze was not going to impede my fun.

the higher i went in her branches, the stronger the breeze picked up, jostling the limbs and making me take heed. coming to a halt a few feet below the crown of the tree, i braced myself against two branches as the wind began to increase it's assault.

here it comes, i thought. she's not that static after all.

the branches began to sway a bit too much for comfort. i looked around for david who, not wanting to be outdone, was ascending a nearby tree. the tree began then to really move and i, not able to go any where, decided to let my mind take me else where. the sharp sway of the branches took me sailing. often on weekends during the summer months, my dad would take my sister kristie and i sailing on lake nokomis. it was frighteningly fun. the fun was in being the skipper: hoisting the sails and securing the rigging. the fright came when the sailing commenced.

the worst was "coming about." in order to steer the boat, my dad would have to turn the rudder, which wasn't so bad unless we were in a strong wind. then my dad would loudly say, "preparing to come about" and the boat would shudder and jostle as the sail wrestled to hold the changing winds in her hands. the tilt of boat would quickly switch sides and we'd shuffle our butts to the bench on the other side to avoid tipping over. our sturdy little boat- aptly named the sunfish- suddenly felt like it was coming alive, morphing into a fish that was yearning to plunge into the depths below- below? perhaps, this wasn't the best time to be thinking of things below, being several yards above the ground and all. thinking of sailing was not helping matters. i resolved to defy the wind and began to trust the strength of the tree. the gale soon died however, and the branches of the tree came to a rest. my thoughts returned to the present.

david was in the next tree over, higher up too, which made me jealous. but i wasn't about to let him know it. pretty soon david descended his tree and climbed the one i was aloft in, the one that he had been drawing.

"man, this tree is waaaaay better to climb," he exclaimed. "i almost slipped and fell to my death a few times over there."

"oh," i glumly replied, trying to mask my amusement. "that would have been rather tragic."

david's eyes widened to hear more.

"you haven't even produced one sketch yet," i jeered.

"oh, come on," he wined. david's mouth opened wide to retort but out came a grin instead. our eyes met and they began to laugh, but nothing was ever said or needed to be. we both sat there for a while in silence; practicing in the limbs of the tree.

taking a turn in the park

2009-04-14T15:08:00.005-05:00

this past saturday was too nice not to be outside. i grabbed a willing friend (david miller) and went on a "hike" of sorts through Oak Grove Park looking for the magnificent oak tree that the young theologian kevin zonnefeld showed me once on a camping excursion there. the time spent outside was restoring. at one point we were near the big sioux river and came upon a farming tilling his field. i guess it's that time again. seeing him troll about made me anxious to return to seedtime & harvest and reminded me that i need to secure my garden plots for this year. after several, "i think it's this way"s we stumbled upon the old oak and admired her for a long time: sitting under her branches, taking a turn about her and eventually mustering the nerve to ascend her as well. after ample time with the oak, we continued to traverse the trails. while on the outer rim of the park, suddenly, a herd of deer came bounding up the side of the hill in front of us. it was liking watching a dance as they leaped about. "what fun they are having" i exclaimed. overall it was a lovely afternoon.

birds, birds, birds

2009-03-30T19:19:00.008-05:00

this spring is for the birds.

the bean's spring look!

they are made from saved cream cheese boxes. chances are, if you had a slice of cheese cake in the last 2.5 years at the bean, your box is up there.

being with friends

2009-03-25T23:29:00.003-05:00

these last few days have been dordt's spring break and i took full advantage of the fact by visiting friends in madison and ft. myers. the times had were good.

in madison, i visitied laura macmillan, with neal vellema and dee bakker. we stayed at her grandparent's house. her grandmother stuffed us royally with homemade food day & night. no complaint, no complaints. we toured the downtown, did a bit of shopping(bought alvin's bday gift!), saw where laura is student teaching, went to the botanical gardens, attended a city-wide worship service, ate some good wisconsin grup (brats!), planted some seeds, and sat on a big cozy bed.

in fort myers, i vistited andrew kroeze, with lynda kuipers. we stayed at ECHO (a demonstration farm for missionaries). it was really informative and casual. while at ECHO i was able to process sugarcane into molasses & bottle it, eat a lot of fresh citrus, saw goats give birth, did some farming, ate fresh fish and met other people passionate about God's creation. for part of the time, we headed south through the everglades and camped in the florida keys on long pine key. it was really relaxing, a totally different atmosphere from the suburban feel of ft. myers. we swam in the ocean, spent a day in key west, ate great cuban food & coffee, and of course had some key lime pie. yum yum.

overall the spring break was really nice. could not have asked for any thing more.

change of recipes

2009-02-28T16:30:00.003-06:00

sometimes i do things that surprise me. today, i was set to make a new soup; one that had real promise: carrot chowder. however, as i was driving to the grocery store and witnessing the beautiful frozen tree limbs glisten and dance in the sunshine behind a crystal clear blue sky, i knew that said "new soup" would not cut it. in fact, it would simply be down right wrong of me to make it. so what was i to do? as i jumped over the slush puddles and almost slipped inside the store entrance, i decided that i was going to wing it. and what did i wing upon.... clam chowder. i think it was the street slush and blue sky that put this boy who has no business making clam chowder up to the challenge. i figured i couldn't fail; that most midwesterners wouldn't know if the chowder was bad... heck they probably couldn't even identify a clam. pretty much the plan was foolproof.

and for the most part it worked.

here's what went into the soup....

clams
creamed corn
mushrooms
artichoke hearts
waterchestnuts
cream of celery
cream of potato
salt
pepper
onion
garlic
cream
water
and caraway seeds

yum. it's pretty good.

ihop 'n go

2009-02-24T10:53:00.007-06:00

today is international pancake day!

so that means free pancakes at ihop!!

some friends and i got up early and headed a hour south to sioux city to enjoy our share.

the final week

2009-02-23T13:00:00.007-06:00

so it's the final week of the art in sioux falls. check it out if you haven't.

dunn brothers is on the east end of town (county road 42). if you are downtown, take 10th street all the way to the new developments (that big "wal" store is directly across the road). it's near hu-hut! it could be a date.... art and mongolian bbq. yum. a feast for the head and stomach.

2009-02-16T03:06:00.003-06:00

i like to take
walks after mid-
night. i like to
be the only
car on the street.

i like to walk
down the middle
of the aven -
ue and count the
strides of my feet.

one. two. three. four.
one. two. three. four.
one. two. three, four.
one. two, three, four.
one, two, three, four.

and if i open
my gait wide e-
nough. and if i
stretch my feet
far enough...

one, two, three, four.
one, two, three four.
one, two three four
one two three four
one twoooooooooooo three!

3 days

2009-01-30T01:18:00.000-06:00

in three days i will be 25!

even more exciting, i'm having my first non-dordt related art show in sioux falls at dunn brother's coffee. check it out if you are there. it will be up all of february. i'll post some pics of the hanging (after the fact though... it's a bit impossible before).

hope things are well.

Soup of the Week!!!

2009-01-24T17:23:00.003-06:00

So, the soup is on again at the Bean. This week's special is borscht. Say that five times fast. It is said like borshch. Brielle Deppe aka Nokomis helped me decide. Thanks Brielle! I'm enjoying some right now.

This recipe comes from my favorite soup book: The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups. It's a book and cookbook about a guy who quit his cubicle day job and decided to sell soup. He delivered the soup by bicycle. He lives in Austin, TX; which is explanation enough.

Ukrainian Borscht
Serves 6 to 8

1 tsp vegetable oil
2 onions sliced thinly into crescents
2 carrots shredded
Lots of paprika
1/2 head of red cabbage shredded
2 potatoes shredded
1 Granny Smith apple shredded
2 beets shredded
3 tbsp tomato paste
6-8 cups of water
Salt
Brown Sugar
Garnish with sour cream and dill

Heat the oil in your soup pot over medium-low heat and saute the onions and carrots for about 15 minutes. Add enough paprika to make a pasty consistency on the vegetables, then a little more. Saute for another few minutes.

Add the cabbage, potatoes, apple, beets, and tomato paste. Add the water to cover the vegetables and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for about 20 minutes (till vegetables are soft).

Season to taste with the salt and brown sugar; use just enough to pull the vegetable flavor out without making the soup overly salty or sweet. Serve steaming hot, topped with garnish.

pictures from down south

2009-01-17T16:47:00.018-06:00

thank you for the prayers. things went incredibly well in nicaragua. had lots of fun, saw a lot of places and yes even did a bit of work.

here's a bit of what we did:
worked at two churches
went swimming in the pacific ocean
climbed part of a volcano
went on an island tour on lake nicaragua
ate some fresh fish
ate lots of tasty fruit
shopped at the market
ate a lot of eskimo ice cream
drank way too much soda
visited a few colonial churches
attempted to speak spanish
played kickball, volleyball and soccer with church kids and my team won all three games!!!

here are some photos:

my friend kevin

an old catholic church in leon

something to big to take back with me

the team & our guide ryan

painting beams

the sandino statue

some ninas

the beach

doing tear down

a perro

on the lake cruise

at the rim of the volcano

fresh fish!

drinks and drinks coconut and papaya juice on Tuesdays

2008-12-30T22:13:00.001-06:00

Well, in a few short hours I will be off to Nicaragua. Every Christmas break Dordt College sends missions teams to Latin America. I'm leading a trip of 10 women, 1 guy and myself for ten days to wonderfully warm Nicaragua. Part of the time we will be in the capital city of Managua and the other part we will be in Chinandega. While in Chinandega, we will be doing construction work on a Christian grade school.

Please pray for safe travels, and hearts open to service and to the Lord. Nicaragua by some estimates is said to be the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Many of the students going from Dordt have never been out of the United States or for that matter the Mid-West. This will be an eye opening experiencing for us all. We return to the US on January 10th, school resumes the 12th and I beginning teaching cross country skiing at Dordt on the 14th (that is another story!).

then he smiled at me, pa rum pum pum pum

2008-12-16T11:50:00.004-06:00

yesterday, as i was shuffling along the slippery sidewalks on my way to the coffee shop, i noticed a person carting bongos across campus. before i knew it i yelled out, "you should play 'em!" the person looked around and then noticed that i yelled at him. he looked confused at first, so i yelled it again, "you should play the bongos as you walk." he looked at me like i was an idiot and continued to go on his not so merry way.

i'm i right here? if you're going to be transporting bongos around you might as well drum along as you walk. how fun would that be?

2008-12-09T01:53:00.003-06:00

it is here.
it can be denied no longer.
the front has been breached.
the streets are barren.
all knew it, the inevitable was coming, but
denial had been forthcoming.

now all hang heads in shame.
now all dart about to take cover.
it is here with reckless abandon.
modesty has been cast out.
whirling devilry is all about.
it is here.

but what is it?

"s" days

2008-11-24T17:21:00.002-06:00

yesterday.... i went ice skating for the first time in six years. it was really fun. i met this little fella there that introduced himself to me by inquiring about where i got my hat (hands around the world, in orange city, of course- but he didn't know where that was). i was with a group of friends and cody (the little guy) came up with a whole host of fun races and games for us to play. it made the hour of skating go so fast.

last night's coffee time at dee's was probably hands down the best one of the year. a sing along soon developed after that crazy vande kraats kid started playing cat stevens on that horiffic piano. soon a guitar and banjo and a three string violin joined in to the chorus and much merry insued.

good times were had on a restful sabbath.

waking up to a covered world

2008-11-22T09:48:00.003-06:00

it's snowing! and i'm excited. i guess my deep minnesota heritage hasn't completely vanished since my seven years spent here in iowa.

confessions of a consumer

2008-11-17T15:14:00.003-06:00

saturday was the inaugural "soup day" at the humble bean. i received a lot of "how was soup day?" inquiries after the fact, but very few customers during the actual soup hours, so that was a bit frustrating. can't sell the soup if you don't come.

what should i have said in reply?

a.) "it was alright"
b.) "it would have been better if you actually came and supported us"
c.) "soup day?"
d.) "no soup for you!"

of course i said "a" because that was the truth, but "b" was also the truth.

in order to have "saturday soup days" i had to purchase some bowls. after looking at the options in town, i jumped at an oppurtunity to go to sioux falls on saturday morning and went to World Market for the first time. that store is really great: such variety; such great prices. however, that was what concerned me. here are all these products from all around the world... how can they be such pretty good deals? granted, it wasn't a heck of a deal, but still i was a bit hesitant about the entire ordeal. i did learn that if one works at World Market they receive 30% off. wow. now that's a heck of a deal.

it's 2am and things aren't half bad

2008-11-12T02:07:00.003-06:00

so i'm sitting here in the apartment with alvin and it's in the wee hours of the morning. i'm attempting to dye burlap with some "natural" juices: beet juice, coffee grounds and india ink. the ink will work for sure, but i'm a little leery of the beet juice and very suspicious of the coffee grounds. we'll see what happens.

today was about baking good things: peanut butter cheesecake, and chocolate, chocolate jumbo muffins (and i mean jumbo).

today was about rearranging good things: the living room and the bedroom, rehanging artwork

today was about retouching good things: painting a friend's bathroom, vacuuming the floor, retracing steps over and over again, looking at old works of art, wearing new to me clothes

today was about good fog.

patterns

2008-10-24T11:03:00.028-05:00

sometimes going to new places gives a person fresh eyes. things that you see in the every day suddenly take on a new meaning when they are in a different setting. a handful of weekends ago laura and i went to visit that great guy elbert in winnipeg. we had a grand time. and while there i noticed patterns. my eyes could not get enough of them.

here's what i saw.

any favorites?

haircut!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-09-10T16:09:00.007-05:00

well, it was a long time in coming but i decided to do it...

before...

and after...

but why?

i mean matthew, you've been growing out your locks since last november. you worked all summer long with long hair in the hot sun and now that it's cooler outside you go and do this. you cut it matthew. some would say foolish, some would say crazy, but i say nice. very nice matthew. it's almost avant-garde.

but why?

i had thought about it for a good month now and this past sunday morning i awoke and decided to have at it.

but why?

because... just because... and that's all i've got.

i'm glad i did both: grew it and chopped it. no regrets. none- well, maybe. maybe just one. there was one extremely hot day on the farm and we had to pick beans all afternoon in full sun (that might be the one exception, the one moment of doubt, the one time i had thought this long hair thing was foolishness but i was steadfast all other times. honest).

last weekend's project

2008-09-10T15:56:00.005-05:00

the kitchen before...

the kitchen after....

thanks goes out to...
- roomie alvin for the idea
- the sybesma's for still having alvin's junk at their farm,
- engineering lab assistant jeremy westra for help with the fabrication
- and of course mom & dad who instilled in me a love of cooking

things of this day

2008-09-01T01:25:00.006-05:00

-today i literally saw caution blow in the wind
-cried with a lady at church
-witnessed a friend eat summer squash for the first time
-baked the 1st cheesecake of the humble bean year
-had a puff or two of a pipe
-spent way too much time writing unread emails
-listened to a five gallon bucket fill slowly with water
-read about art, God, vocation and the church
-was the first to arrive and the last to leave
-almost and i mean almost chopped off the mop on my head
but for now it still remains... but man, i was tempted
-asked if a painting was for sale
-learned that some prefere handsdown grassfed daries over organic any day!

retro fitting

2008-08-12T22:51:00.001-05:00

these past few weeks have been all about moving. two weekends ago, i along with the aid of my willing father moved me out of the "underground" 8plex apartment to my new digs in covenant hall. i'm living where the former bob taylor resided. it's really nice; a huge blessing. after living for two years in a basement, i'm delighted to have full size windows that let ample light flood in, bathing the place from floor to ceiling.

i also had to vacate my loft studio space. here's a photo of my hauling a load of paintings to my new space (the old covenant office). hopefully, they weren't intending to use that.

i've been making the new place a little greener.

clothes lines in the spare bedroom.

recycling sink water
(going to use it in the toilet tank)

produce from the garden and from work.
yum!

here are some flowers leftover from work!
yeah leftovers!

from small farmers with love

2008-07-27T19:19:00.003-05:00

these past two saturdays I've been up before the sun and departed for sioux falls to help seedtime & harvest at the farmer's market. the first voyage there it down poured and i missed the sunrise, this past weekend, fortunately, was an array of colors with dark purple clouds in the foreground. my eyes were tickled, while the rest of my body yearned to return to bed.

the market has been fun. it is truly a delight to help people discover new types of tomato varieties (currently martin, great white & evergreen our my favorites); give them ideas on how to prepare eggplant; tell them the differences between colored beets, golden beets, regular beets and european beets; sell them on the smoothness of swiss chard; and explain how one can use lovage (a very potent tall leafy herb, with hollow stems that tastes similar to celery).

the one downside is that it wears me very thin. it's sunday evening and i still sense tiredness behind my eyes. my head has that slow pressure of sleep deprivation tingling my temples.
and tomorrow the day starts again at 7am, most likely cutting flowers till noon, and then... the possibilities are untold.

there and back again

2008-07-13T13:35:00.019-05:00

it is hard to be believe that is has been two week since i ventured west from sioux center to seattle w/ jeremy westra for his cousin's wedding and a free vehicle.

jermey & i on church mt. w/ mt. baker in the back round.

on a tour of a hydro-electric power plant

photos at pike's place market....

seattle's new olympic sculpture park

(a work by my favorite artist: alexander calder)

one week ago i ventured north from seattle to vancouver by myself to visit sara prins & of course joshua de groot. sara was an excellent hostess, pointing out the merits of every coffee shop along our meanderings throughout the city.

words to live by...

sara cooking

the meal

outside the vancouver art museum

a sand portrait by sara

(which one is the real matthew?)

the trip west was informative, fun and lovely all in one. it's been a bit difficult to settle back into the small town pace and a full day's work at the farm. don't be mistaken, life in siouxland is good, but after tasting something different for a bit, i can't help but yearn for seconds.

i'm gonna mess w/ your stuff

2008-06-30T13:05:00.005-05:00

here are my students from last week's dordt discovery days.

i taught a drawing class.

my learning objectives were to expose them to a wide range of medium and drawing techniques.

we used: graphite, ebony, conte crayon, india ink, willow charcoal, compressed charcoal, oil pastels, chalk pastels, and what every good art instructor should allow, erasers (kneadable, gum and hard)

one day i had them do an exercise in which they drew a still life and then had to swap drawings and continue to draw on top of another person's drawing with a different medium. before i had them start, i had them repeat the following aloud loud (written like a responsive reading, Lutheran style of course):

Hey friend!
Hey friend!
I love you!
I love you!
But,
But!
I'm gonna mess with your stuff.
I'm gonna mess with your stuff!

they all shouted it and it was so hilarious. it was hard to suppress the laughter. but some how, by God's grace, i kept my composure.

in other news... the dekens sisters were in town for dan & autumns' high class wedding. they road tripped here all the way from alberta, i'm sure breaking many a man's heart along the way.

and finally, the latest project to grace the humble bean: flower boxes! i was blessed with excess zinnias, willow branches and sunflowers from work. thanks harriet & alissa! and jw for the help with assembly.

this past weekend in minneapolis

2008-06-23T20:00:00.006-05:00

uncle matt w/ baby peter

rock the garden! outdoor music concert featuring....

bon iver
the new pornographers
cloud cult
andrew bird

sister & i at the concert!

bon iver was the best in my opinion: really simple, and really polite

thanks fam for the great weekend.

at least i wasn't on the way to meet the inlaws...

2008-06-15T21:50:00.006-05:00

the plan, the perfect plan: meet my grandfather, out of town cool californian aunt, and mother in st. james, minnesota for lunch. they would travel exactly two hours south and i, matthew would embark two hours north to rendezvous precisely at high noon. perfect.

the not so perfect reality: matthew starts heading north at 10am. 10:25am dashboard illuminates with the big "!" light and he begins to freak out. 10:30am.... matthew is still driving and finally notice that his temperature gauge is super hot; like past the danger zone red mark hot; like this factory is going to blow hot. 10:31am panic begins to be painted across matthew's suntan face. 10:34am, matthew drives single handedly and with his free appendage flips through the drivers manual only to be redirected to proper care and maintenance .... 10:35am only to be directed to emergency care and trouble shooting.... 10:36am only to be redirected to proper measurements and weights... 10:38am only to finally discover the true problem, which was that his car was out of coolant. duh! matthew. duh!

so to make a long story short.... at 10:45am matthew pulls off the highway into a sleepy little town and has the coolant topped off at a little garage by a very nice elderly gentleman who if matthew hadn't inquired would have probably let him leave without paying a dime.

12:38pm matthew finally makes it to st. james and the four family members have a grand time painting the town red on flag day!

matthew and aunt anne in front of the"Hometown Family Restaurant."

the menu was so Keilloresque that a wellspring of delight gurgled in matthew's heart, kicking aside all woe- be gone! and once again he fell in love with his birth state of minnesota.

lunch specials:

tater tot hot dish
sloppy joes and tater tots
chicken dumpling soup and a chicken sandwich
hot beef and gravy sandwich.
grill cheese

matthew of course had the sloppy joe and tater tots... who could pass that up... seriously.

grandpa regretting ordering the raisin pie. they weren't lying about the raisins. there were so many it was almost like eating granola. yes, that many. due to the allspice, matthew thought it still tasted grand.

third time is a ________________

2008-06-02T20:57:00.002-05:00

Peter David Nash was born today to my sister Katie and brother-in-law Rob.

I'm an uncle again!

Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

the sailor man

2008-05-28T20:20:00.006-05:00

today on the farm i picked spinach: red leaf spinach, green semi-savoy spinach and over wintered spinach. spinach grown in a large hoop greenhouse in 75 degrees and spinach grown outdoors in 50 degrees. Spinach that had been picked before and virgin spinach that had never felt a hand. some leaves were pretty small, the size of my palm, while other leaves were longer than my forearm. spinach here, spinach there, spinach grew everywhere. for eight hours i picked spinach. four hours before lunch and four hours after lunch.

lunch! oh it was so welcome. you'd think i'd be able to escape spinach... we'll your wrong. the night before i thought it would be so grand to prepare a big spinach salad for lunch. so even for a half hour, i could not escape the grasp of spinach. the salad, though was ridiculously delicious: mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, snow peas, red cabbage, salami, sun dried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and even home made croûtons. so the whole working day was all about spinach.

i picked spinach and spinach, well, it picked me.

the daily exchange

2008-05-24T15:30:00.005-05:00

yesterday, i thought i would be able to sleep in until 8am. the summer job at the farm has required an awakening of 7am. it's been a few years since i've had to rouse this early on a regular basis. the coffee shop had set my clock back a few hours; i'd been going to bed around 2am and dawning at 10am or so. so 7am, yeah... it's been a bit early.

i had taken a half day to help a friend, peter sheesley, pick up a moving truck in sioux city. however, my co-boss, lives in the same plex as me and she rang the doorbell at 7. she needed my beloved co-worker alvin's number to phone him that he wouldn't need to work today; it was too wet/too muddy out at the farm to work this morning. such is my fate; such is my luck. seriously, i was really looking forward to sleeping in. oh well. one hour isn't that big of a deal.

the trip to sioux city wasn't half bad. it was a bit stormy and the car was being buffeted by currents of wind. we took a bit of a round about way to the moving center, almost retracing part of our steps, but it worked out in the end. i hadn't expected this to be the last time of seeing sheesley, but i guess i hadn't planned another either. when we arrived at the truck center, he reached over, shook my hand and said it had been good getting to know you this past year... or something equally generic as that. "you won't need to stick around," he said. which was fine- i hadn't intended i would be. part of my motives for going down there was to run a few errands afterwards anyways. but it was strange pulling out of the lot in an empty car that minutes before had been whirling with a decent conversation on the american lifestyle and it's desperate need for transformation. i felt a pang of sadness crawl into my heart as i pulled back onto the county road. we weren't close friends, but friends nevertheless. who was this guy? it seemed like i was just beginning to know him, but now he was, well, gone.

this is weird, i thought. why am i feeling like this? i began to psycho analyze myself. two weeks earlier at grad, i hadn't felt any emotions like this. people, no friends were officially commencing their leaving. numerous friends, i'd probably never see again. perhaps, the shear volume of departing grads numbed me a bit to it all and now that campus is nearly vacant and summer is rolling in, i'm finally realizing it, i'm finally feeling it, the strangeness of this place, this institution that sets up wonderful relationships for a finite time. four years and then gone. or in this case one year and then... stockholm? (well, that's another idea in and of itself).

the drive back to sioux center wasn't half bad. i had stopped at one of the bean's coffee vendors to pick up a few parts/supplies and received a free ice coffee sample out of the deal. i met the lady, sheila, who pesters me every other week for the coffee orders, which was a bit strange. it was like seeing a radio host for the first time and the image you had in your head of that person on the other end, the unknown other side, comes to the stark reality that in the flesh they don't fit your preconceived notion at all.

upon returning to sioux center, i changed clothes and headed off to the other half of the day. i worked the afternoon away at the farm: washed heads of lettuce in frigid water, weighed complementary colors of striated rhubarb, loaded the trailer for the sioux falls farmer market in the strong wind and batched the weekly csa orders.

work ran a bit late and as consequence, harriet, the other co-boss or more in reality the head boss, blessed me with a jug of left over last year's apple cider, unsalable tomato plants, a beautiful bouquet of persimmon painted tulips and week old produce (spinach, oak leaf lettuce and radishes).

upon arrival back in sioux center, i decided to bless some others with the abundance recently bestowed upon me. i pulled up to prof. henderson's abode to drop of radishes because i knew he would love them. as i was walking up to the front door, i could see through the kitchen window that they were concluding dinner. perhaps i should come back a bit later, i began to surmise, but before i could double back, he, roger, glanced up at me from his plate and urgently waved me inside. upon having entered, i was hastily seated down to a cut of steak and a steaming baked potato, while inga, his authentic dutch wife, darted about to make additional green peas for the newly arrived. it was grand; a feast really. after the meal, i chatted with inga for a spell and glanced through the window to see roger gardening outside in the drizzle. it was magical. i went outside and gave him the produce and five or so tomato plants. we talked for a while and he showed me around his garden. soon, i left.

i traversed the vacant street to the bakker's cobalt trimmed house and learned of a little boys birthday and a coming trip to the omaha zoo. they received lettuce and two tomato plants and i was invited to a birthday sunday meal.

what a day of exchanges. an ebb of giving and receiving; goodbyes and hellos.

once again

2008-05-19T19:55:00.013-05:00

after dordt's graduation elbert & myself ventured south to once again be of assistance to the van essen's and their new place of residency. this time all the work was done outdoors. this in itself was worth it. amanda and andy also came down and together we whipped the van essen's 2 acre yard into shape.

st. elbert?

the gang awaiting orders

in the orchard
(i think i'll use this photo for my first album cover)

wild onions found in the wild back yard

walking in the vineyard

the morning after

wild plum tree?