A little communication goes a long way.

Thanks for listening, Boston.

Seeing more

Travel is a hardy meal of meat, and I'll be chewing on my recent adventure to New Zealand for awhile.

Ahem

Dear Boston,

I have something to tell you, and you know I wouldn't tell you if I didn't care... but it's time for you to grow up. It's July. It's summertime. You know, it's that season which is usually doused in the taste of lemonade, the smell of freshly mowed lawns and the heat of the sun. Time has passed, you are older now, and honestly... I think you're ready to stop spilling rain all over yourself. This undulating and brooding moodiness is increasingly out of place. Own up to your years... maturity means moving on, dude.

Your friend, Heidi

Battles

Choosing them is harder than fighting them.

i finally can pack up my winter coats. now it's time to set goals for the summer.

an annual tradition that i began in 4th grade, this list is a direct result of my love for the seasons and a desire to milk this one for all it's worth. the summer always feels like an opportunity to catch up. especially on all the things i couldn't do during the busy school year or winter. this summer is going to be great!

1. read Maytrees by Annie Dillard
2. backpack in rural new england
3. finish my website
4. pray with people
5. row on the charles
6. take that ballet class

...and then there's the trip to New Zealand in June! Though I'm not counting that as a goal, cause it's already decided/booked/planned. and how can you set a goal for something you've already expended most of the effort to accomplish?

It's my birthday, indulge me

Yesterday I crossed the line into a new year and MassArt declared today a snow day, which leaves me some time to remember my favorite memories I made while being the age I used to be. Here are some highlights, in something resembling chronological order...

1. Community Dinners: irreplaceable.
2. Riding bikes and picking lemons with Katie: the way the sun breathed on everything.
3. The trips to San Fran: especially the one with the sticky stuff on the fire escape and Sara's Popeye impression.
4. Anticipating the move: it was so exciting and big.
5. Haircuts with Angi: they always felt like a collaborative art project and/or the fulfillment of a significant feminine tradition.
6. Send-off party at Number 6: a room of favorite faces I'd never seen together and couldn't get enough of.
7. That week in San Diego: it was so difficult to leave everything behind.
8. The flight: I'm not normally so talkative.
9. Lunch at the Otherside when we decided to become friends: I'm so glad it worked.
10. Standing beside Rachel and Steve in Stockton: I felt so honored.
11. Collecting furniture from all over the city: especially getting my dresser from that couple in Arlington. Talk about a steal.
12. Movie Club at the Gandys: Sunset Boulevard, the Maltese Falcon, Casablanca and homemade popcorn.
13. That rainy night we ran the long way to Matt Murphys: Annie move here soon!
14. The One Home Many Hopes art show: progress was made for the girls that night.
15. The chopsticks night at Pho: it solidified us as a group in my mind.
16. Hiking in New Hampshire and all the leaves: i took in a breath deeper than most that day.
17. River Fire trip to Rhode Island with Charis: the glass installation at RISD and that guy with all the pens and that guy with all the hair with the sword on the boat, so weird.
18. Exploring the speaker project: it reminded me of why I'm here.
19. Exploring Fenway Park: i can't get enough of that place.
20. The rooftop party: a rare treat that I got to share with a girl who gets why its so lovely.
21. That Sunday afternoon in China town with the fried pancakes and that sesame seed ball and the fabric store: frantic frolicking.
22. That afternoon at the Omni Parker house with Casey, Matt and Kerry and delicious pie in all it's forms: the whole weekend was great come to think of it.
23. Head of the Charles: they really did look like water bugs.
24. Avery's first birthday: I would have been devastated to miss it.
25. Thanksgiving: sage infused creme? Booya.
26. That night with the dancing snake: I still laugh thinking about it.
27. The last snow day with all the soup: my house became a cocoon of friends and warmth.
28. Wally's Jazz Club: so glad they made it a historical landmark.
29. Making it home for Christmas dinner with the family: I am so lucky. I like them.
30. The drive up the coast with Katie: something inside me uncrinkled and remembered.
31. Sleep overs and a midnight doughnut run: I like that our newest addition likes Delilah so much.

Thanks for making it such a great year!!

Oops, I dropped my very important thing.

Boston artist Katie Rowley draws with an eye dropper and adds text by writing words backwards on her finger and pressing it to the page. Lovely.




Katie's Etsy

It's back on.

If Boston is my boyfriend, then we've been on the fritz for the last few weeks.


He had gotten so cold. I'm not getting what I need, we've been bickering over insignificant things and I have had enough.


But then today he warmed up and reminded me of all the reasons I loved him in the first place. Brick. Iron. Ivy. Thin alley streets. Lampposts. The black lines of the trees with their thin white snow piles against the red brick behind.


Today was what I needed. Today my boyfriend and I made up.

Baby, it's cold outside

But I've got Bruce Munro's Feild of Light to keep me warm