Not a bad way to spend a Monday

I usually work on Mondays. Sunday night, we discovered a serious leak coming through the living room ceiling. Waking up on Monday and going downstairs, I sat alone outside drinking coffee enjoying the few moments I had before getting ready for work, before sitting in the windowless office for the next eight hours.

The morning was the nicest we have had here in Philadelphia in some time. It was not the usual muggy, overcast and humid type of day that all of us on the east coast become accustom to, but rather the crisp, clear summer day that one might experience on the West Coast. I thought about how Beto would need to deal with the leaking ceiling alone and about how I would really love to be home to help him and about how I would really like to spend the day outside. As time pushed closer to when I should have been leaving for work, I decided to send an email to the office letting them know that I would really like to have the day off to take care of some things.

As it happened, we received a call from some friends asking if we would like to join them on a trip to the beach. I was then so happy that I had the day off. Our housemate, Prince drove, Beto made us laugh and I read the paper and ate lunch for the hour it took to get to the shore. Nice time was had, we returned around 11:30pm just in time for Prince to close the bar.

Needless to say, we did not fix the leak. We are acquiring a small list of house upkeep items we need to take care of between that and the whole that the "scratching animal" has left in the hallway, however the house and garden look better than ever. The garden is in full bloom, save for the various wildflowers we had sewed early in the spring. The small, sprouting potatoes we buried in the ground have now all but taken over the garden, growing so tall that their stalks were lowered to the ground under their own weight and are now creeping across the pathway and crowding out even the mint.

Macro Peppers

When cutting into some vegetables to make pasta salad I was inspired to take a picture of the beautiful, untouched inside world of the pepper.   

Yet another wonderful Sunday at Penn Treaty Park

Amanda and Nico's wedding

Inspiration

Douglas Kirkland, what a unique, kindhearted,  and inspirational human being. He had a passion, a talent and a fun life.

Wednesday

Beto went to get his haircut yesterday, he looks great.

I ordered a trail version of Adobe Creative Suite lV, a collection of graphic design, video editing, and web development applications made by Adobe Systems. The collection includes Adobe applications, Illustrator, Flash, Photoshop, Fireworks, and Dreamweaver among others. The trial version will arrive in the form of a downloadable DVD that will expire within 30 days of activation, by that time I should be in a better position, financially to purchase the actual package. I hope to be able to buy the software online with a student discount which will provide significant savings (around $400.00 vs. $1,799.00).

The Longest Day

Today was the longest day of the year and another great Sunday spent at Penn Treaty Park. A friend brought a new kite to the park which proved to be entertainment for the rest of the day. It was a large, beautiful kite however required more wind than the day provided. We thought that maybe if we could just run fast enough with it, we could lift it into the sky. Turn after turn was taken until Beto had the idea to hop on a bicycle and pedal while flying it. This approach did not really work but was a lot of fun to watch.
After the park we went bowling where, in the midst of a game we were approached by a magazine photographer who asked if he could capture our game for a Danish travel magazine.

Saturday

Saturday was the Second Street Arts Festival in Northern Liberties. Although the rain was pouring down, there was a great turnout. After having the infamous chicken pie for brunch at the Standard Tap, Beto and I headed home to get cleaned up to go out for the evening. He and I had parties to attend. At the end of the evening, Beto had informed me that we have one more wedding to attend this week. This makes for three weddings in three days, one on Friday, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. I can hardly believe it, but am quite excited. I hope that he and I are able to pick up a few good ideas for when he and I get married in the spring.

Scratching animal

Beto and I woke up to the "scratching animal" again this morning.  Around 6:30 AM we hear the sound  of scratching coming from the same spot in the ceiling, Beto gets up and gives the ceiling a thump thump with a stick, which quiets the noise.  This morning I saw a pile of dust on the floor below the scratching spot and looked up to see a small whole in the ceiling. We think that it may be the squirrel that has been the nemesis of the garden. 

Beto and I have had a great weekend so far.  Today he and I spent the day in down town center city.  We stopped in to DiBruno Brother's, bought some delicious cheeses, tortas and a grilled sandwich and headed to Rittenhouse park.  I bought two new bright cotton summer dresses at the thrift store and a fun pair of glasses.

Softball, weddings and parties

Beto has been playing on the Johnny Brenda’s softball team since we returned from California.  After the game, the team and friends of the team usually go out to Johnny Brenda’s for drinks and a late dinner.  It has been a great opportunity to meet some really nice people.  Last night, the game was cancelled because of rain.  It has been raining or overcast at least every other day for weeks now.  Instead, Beto and I went to Johnny Brenda’s for a great dinner, during which we met up with several friends and team members.  Afterwards, we went to North Bowl.  Beto won both games.  

This Friday, we may be going to the Phillies game.  Saturday, I have a bachelorette party to attend.   I am glad to finally have a fun and genuine group of ladies in my life to spend time with.  

The weekend after this, we have two weddings.  One on June 26th and June 27th. We also have a third wedding sometime around July or August which will be in Texas.  I am very excited about this.  I will get to meet some of Beto's family as well as see Texas for the first time.  Beto and I are also hoping to swing down to New Mexico while in the area.  I cannot wait for Matt, Teri and Beto to meet one another.  

We have decided that the wedding will be in the spring.   We had gone so far as to pick a date in the fall.   October 17th, the date of the would-have-been autumn wedding.  At first, I was a little disheartened, but after Beto mentioned that he would love to go to Europe for our honeymoon, and after agreeing that it would be ideal to go without hesitation immediately following the wedding and reception (as opposed to spacing them a few months apart in order to save up some money), this put a new light on the situation.  We are pushing it back not simply because of lack of resources and time, but rather because we are planning something very exciting and have a desire to do it right.  After returning from our vacation in Europe, we will then have the Philadelphia wedding reception.

After the Rain

Leo

Another illustration created from a photograph of Leo. This one is my favorite.

The Garden

Space Cat

Tonight I created this image from a photo of Leo.  Beto is learning flash and working with it to redesign his website.  

http://www.betoalvarez.com/

Another nice day at Penn Treaty Park

Saturday

It's Saturday night, around 10:30 pm. Beto just left to go to a bachelor party.

I am at home with some 1950's jazz, working on a practice drawing that will be dropped into Illustrator to trace and create digitally. Up until this point, I have been using graphic illustrations online and tracing them for practice. This will be the first instance where I work from my own drawing. For fun, Beto suggested that I create an illustration based on a current news article.

I have really had the traveling bug lately. Things are going very well here, but traveling has been on my mind. Now, with more flexibility at work to take off, the only thing that is stopping us is a little bit of money. This has been my strongest motivation recently to learn these programs and bring in more income for the two of us. Other than that, my motivation comes from wanting to work side by side with my best friend everyday, wanting the sense of fulfillment that comes with working in a field you enjoy.

Leeks

The leek may be one of my favorite vegetables to cook with.  This evening we prepared dinner at home, on the grill.  We grilled asparagus, small potatoes, and a tuna steak.  I prepared a healthy, light and flavorful leek based sauce to accompany grilled fish.  

To make the sauce, I stated with a large, heavy pan.  Adding just a splash of water, salt and two handfuls of sliced leeks.  I covered the pan with its lid.  After a few minutes, the leeks had cooked, I added some Smart Balance buttery spread (vegan, heart healthy butter alternative) and chopped garlic, covered the pan. I let that go for a few minutes at a low temperature, being careful not to burn the garlic.  I then scraped the contents of the pan into my blender, turned the blender on high and let that go for about 45 seconds.  I returned the sauce to the still warm pan, thinned it out with a little olive oil and kept it covered until the the other food was ready.  While I paired this with fish, I think that it would also be delicious on asparagus or on crepes or in a sandwich.  It makes a healthier alternative to cream sauce.  It will be slightly green in color depending on how much of the outer green leaves of the plant you use.

I should mention that at breakfast today, as Beto and I ate our egg sandwiches at the local market cafe we saw a funny site.  Rolling down the sidewalk in Kensington, in his power-chair, was an old man, with a dog on a leash beside him, and a large parrot on his shoulder.  Yep.

A Walk in the Woods

After several days of overcast, grey skies and spending most of my time indoors I started to get a bit down. Taking the day off work, I told Beto I would love to spend some time with him outdoors, maybe a drive through the country ect. A change of scenery, fresh air. I love the city but now I also understand why, from time to time a person has to get out of it.
We drove out to the Wissahicken woods, and went hiking down the trial, great time was had. We say a really spectacular looking mushroom growing at the base of a tree. We saw old stone structures that looked like castles walls covered in moss.
After our hike, we drove back through Manayunk, and stopped at an Irish pub for fish and chips. I have been thinking about Ireland allot lately. That is one place that I would really like to go.
Beto and I have given the planning of the wedding a little more thought. We have decided that we will take our honeymoon in Europe. We have also been weighing the idea of pushing the date farther back. This is by no means something that either one of would be happy about doing; however our finances may not allow us to marry in the fall. Winter is out of the question, as we would like to have the ceremony outside, that leaves the spring.

Tuesday

Didn't do much today. The day was overcast and the air was heavy with humidity. I can't say that I like days like this.

Since shifting my hours to part time I am making less than half of what I was one month ago. I have to keep in mind that this is just a transition phase. I am doing this so that I can have the time I need during the week to learn new programs and skills that will eventually lead to a more fulfilling career, a situation where Beto and I can work together, have the freedom to work from home as well as travel together. The harder I work now, the more quickly this can become a reality.

Tomorrow and the day after, I am back in the office. As I don't have much to do there, I am trying to start using the time I have there to take tutorials and become more familiar with Illustrator. Beto has been an incredibly patient and attentive guide, working with me on practice illustrations, answering all of my questions. We did work on another illustration today. It becomes more familiar every time.

Lastly, Leo has been picked up and brought home. It was certainly a joy to have him while we did. We will both miss that sweet little cat.

The Weekend

On Friday, Beto and I went to the Audible show at Liberty Lands, then to Kung Foo Necktie to see Sunshine Recorder, then to the 700 Club.

Saturday we went downtown to Old City for the 5th Annual Belle and Sebastion Dance Party, DJ'd by Joey.

Sunday started out with a nice brunch at Standard Tap for Megan's birthday.  Shortly after, we went to Penn Treaty Park for what looks like the beginning of a Sunday tradition.  We met almost nearly all of our friends there, roughly forty to fifty people showed up with blankets, a grill,  food, music, yard games, children and dogs. We stayed until sundown.  

We may have chosen a wedding date as well!  October 17, 2009.  This is not set yet. By the end of this month, we hope to have the "save the date" cards designed.  We plan to design and fabricate our own invitations using a portable silk screen machine.

First Illustration Exercise

An illustration by artist, Lisa Speroni that I worked to replicate in Adobe Illustrator with Beto's help.

Soup

Beto just bought me a new blender. I used it to make puree of asparagus soup from a recipe found in the New York Times health/recipe section. While it did take almost an hour to make and was a bit messy, (as it required pouring several batches of hot soup into the blender-steam building up and spewing hot soup everywhere) it was very delicious and very healthy.  I would recommend trying this recipe.   http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/04/health/nutrition/04recipehealth.html

I have not been feeling very well, I have had an ongoing sinus infection.  I will not let up, it just keeps getting worse.  I have the feeling that it may have something to do with Leopold.  I may be allergic to this cat.  We will see how I feel once he has been picked up in a few days.  

Work!

This illustration is the latest of his to be published in the Philadelphia Inquirer.  (Illustrating a story on how students are finding increasingly creative ways to ask one another to the prom.) 

Beto and I have been quite busy lately at home.  He more so than I, although I have made some headway in the process of getting myself set up to use different graphic programs etc.  I have installed a Wacom pad, a trial version of Adobe Illustrator while I save some money to purchase Adobe Creative Suite 4 (CS4), and am learning how to use iMovie.  

Earlier this week...

Our dear friend Taryn left for New York.  Party was held at the 700 Club. Good luck Taryn!