This weekend was filled to the brim with activity, most of it with the scoobs up in Boston. So much activity, in fact, that I am dragging and tired on this sunny Monday morning, and feeling slightly congested like I might get a cold at any moment. But it was worth it, because I had so much fun! It almost makes up for having to attend nine solid hours of classes while everyone else enjoys their Columbus Day.

First, I received two very important packages in the mail on Friday: both my Spoonflower order and my Ponoko order! Great excitement. I haven't photographed the fabric, but I went a little nutso over my fancy yellow stars:

On Friday I headed up to Boston and, among other things, had lunch with the ladies of the scooby clan:

Then on Saturday Matt, Lizzi, and Julie came into town to see Waterfire and get a taste of the RISD atmosphere. I was running around a little crazed for a portion of it, but eventually got all my to-do items checked off, and we enjoyed a delicious dinner at the Red Fez before walking over to Waterfire. I even managed to get us all onto the roof of the Design Center so that we could see the whole thing! Very cool, and we only had to climb out of one window to do it!

And then on Sunday I drove back up to Boston to attend Charlotte's first birthday party. She started taking her first steps just this week, so of course there had to be repeat performances for all the grandparents. And a huge pink piggie cake to be smushed and consumed. Lottie didn't really know what to make of all of it, but she was pretty cute anyways! I drove home and went immediately to bed, I was so exhausted. Birthday parties take a lot out of you!

After this image whetted my curiosity, I had to try out this photomerge thing for myself. I happened to have a set of photos I took of Roger Williams Memorial Park for research during one of my studio projects, and so I plugged them in to see what came out. Pretty cool!

Click on the image to see a larger version. This is still one third the size of the original, actually, because it creates a layer for each image that its trying to stitch together. I can only see a couple of really obvious places where the image doesn't match up, but otherwise I think it came out really well!
(This image captures pretty much all there is of the park - its one of the smallest national parks in the country! It marks the spot where Roger Williams made his first settlement, as well as the location of the freshwater spring that supported the community.)

When I left my apartment last night to head to studio, it was sunny and clear. But by the time I had driven the two miles into downtown, this is what the weather looked like:

It was bizarre how fast it came in, and how violent it all looked even when you could still see clear skies on the edges of downtown. Many a reference was made to the end of Ghostbusters as we all craned our necks to see out the studio windows.

My friend Marcos made this panoramic image with photomerge in cs3:

Despite being completely mired in schoolwork this past semester, I somehow managed to start two small flats of seeds and keep them alive until they turned into cute little herbs! I think it had something to do with running to Home Depot every two days for supplies for this project, and I just kept walking past the seed starting supplies. Whats a girl to do?

I started basil, dill, and mint. The dill isn't doing so hot, but the basil is rocking out. I'm very lucky to have three huge south-facing windows, which might have something to do with it. I've been giving away seedlings to fellow classmates, but of course keeping the best ones for my kitchen. :)

Its barely June, and I am sitting in studio already, taking advantage of the air conditioning. Why? because its 97 degrees outside, and my apartment doesn't have a/c. While I get ample cross-breeze at home, that just doesn't cut it when the temperature gets into the 90s. I used my studio in this way last summer, but that didn't start until mid to late August, and then only in the evenings after work. To have it get this hot, this early, is unusual. Cross your fingers for rain!

Otherwise, I am enjoying spending my summer here in the Prov. I have a huge pile of books waiting for me to read, and for the first time in my life I am in a reading club! We're meeting every three weeks during the summer, and have a great list of both design-related reading as well as fun stuff. Here's what's on the schedule so far:

Air Guitar // Dave Hickey
A Box of Matches // Nicholson Baker
Looking Closer, Volume 5 // Beirut, Drenttel, Heller
At The Same Time (Essays & Speeches) // Susan Sontag
Seeing is Forgetting the Name of the Thing that One Sees // Weschler
Learning from Las Vegas // Venturi, Scott, Brown
Within The Context of No Context // George W.S. Trow
Shaping Things // Bruce Sterling
Invisible Cities // Calvino
The Crying of Lot 49 // Thomas Pynchon

We probably won't get through all of them, but its nice to have them collected for those little snippets of free time. You know, during thesis year. Ha. :)

Our soon-to-be president has been busy these last few weeks, touring the campus and producing a series of ad-hoc podcasts of various final crits across campus. Its a neat way to experience the unique atmosphere of this place, and perhaps explore what motivates so many people here to become relentless creators:

My First Podcast
Crit Week, Part 1
Crit Week, Part II

This morning I started a week-long stint dogsitting this little hellion. Sources tell me she is a very sweet Beagle mix named Eve, but I have yet to be convinced. But we've had our first walk, and she's now asleep on the floor with her head on my feet, so maybe we're getting somewhere.

Eve belongs to my friend Angela, who flew to California this morning to begin her pursuit of global domination as an intern for Apple. Eve is the daughter of her childhood dog Marcie, who had several puppies last summer. Eve came to live here, and her sister Peanut went to live with her sister in Florida. I think Eve got all of the beagle characteristics, while Peanut (who is the size of a teacup Chihuahua) got everything else.

As promised, Providence got almost a foot of snow yesterday, which caused havoc all over the place for its speed and timing. Like a good designer, I stayed in studio way too late and ended up having to walk home, in the dark, uphill, without shoes. Well, not the last part, but the rest is the truth! :)

The hill on Waterman street, which is unpleasant on a good day, was truly tortuous. But once I was at the top, the feeling of walking at night in all that snow was really peaceful and beautiful. I took a few photos with the RISD camera I was lugging with me, and they are all up on flickr.

I had two final projects due this morning, but now I am blissfully school-free for the next two and a half weeks!

I just wish it wasn't supposed to hit on the day I have to finish two final projects!

Update: If my own mother has trouble figuring out where I am in this photo, I assume it might be difficult for a few others! I am in the second row, just up and to the left of George McFly (the guy in the dress shirt). :)

(I'm trying this new widget that displays images from my flickr account - let me know if you have issues seeing them!)

The Halloween Extravaganza was last week, and it was a hit! There were the inevitable glitches, but overall the students had a good time and the audience enjoyed the show. I had the privilege of wandering around taking pictures of everyone as they worked. By far the most ideal job I could think of for the day.. :)

One of the most surprisingly pleasant parts of having a studio in downtown Providence is that Grace Church is two blocks away. They have a set of 16 bells in a lovely gothic tower, and on Sundays at 10am they play a carillon that I can hear from my desk. This morning I was out getting a cup of coffee when it started, so I walked over to see if there was a real person in there, or if they were being rung with some sort of machine. I couldn't tell, but it was lovely to just stand and listen.

Their website contains a neat history of each of the bells:

Tower Bells of Grace Church in Providence

The chiming of Grace Church's tower bells is a tradition nearly as old as the Church itself. Each of the sixteen bells has its own unique history and sound, and the beautiful music they make has come to be a regular and essential feature in the life of the City.

Erected in two decks in the tower, the bells were cast by Henry N. Hooper and Company of Boston in 1861 and were used for the first time on Easter Sunday of that year. The bells' aggregate weight is more than 8 tons, and their original cost was approximately $6,000. The bells have an unusual character in that they were founded on the proportion of the Spanish bell, which is longer in the waist and gives the minor third in the harmonics instead of the major third that is commonly used.

The largest bell, the D, is the Bishop's Bell. The second bell, the E, is known as the Rector's Bell. The third bell, tuned to F-sharp, is the Brown University Bell, which was presented by John Carter Brown of the University's Class of 1816. A member of Brown's Corporation for 46 years, John Carter Brown was a direct descendent of Nicholas Brown of the Class of 1786, whose benefactions led to the naming of the University for his family. This bell was presented on the condition that the chimes would be rung on the morning and afternoon of every Commencement Day. Thus far, the bells have played the Brown “ Alma Mater” each year for well over 100 years.

The next bell sounds the note of G. This was a gift of Alexander Duncan, a public-spirited citizen remembered for his benefaction to Butler Hospital, among other services to the community.

The G-sharp bell carries an inclusive and egalitarian inscription, “from the Citizens of Providence.”

Dedicated to “the Constitution and the Union,” the A bell was the gift of the Providence Marine Company of Artillery, chartered in 1801.

Another military organization, the Providence First Light Infantry, contributed the A-sharp bell, dedicated to “Liberty Protected by Law.” This bell, like the Brown University Bell, has a special date of its own. It was requested to be rung each year on the 10th of September, “forever in memory of Oliver Hazard Perry of Rhode Island, the Victor of Lake Erie, 1813.”

The B bell was contributed by members of the Rhode Island Bar Association.

The next bell, a C, came from A.D. and J.Y. Smith and Company.

The C-sharp bell is inscribed “from the Physicians of Providence.”

In tribute to the wonderful tradition of music in Grace Church, the D bell was given by the Church's choir.

Three individuals, Thomas Burgess, Elizabeth H. Burgess, and Frederic B. Burgess, Jr., gave the D-sharp bell.

The E bell was contributed by the Sunday School of Grace Church.

The F bell was given by the personal staff of William Sprague, Governor of Rhode Island in 1860.

The F-sharp bell was given by Walter S. Burgess, Attorney General of Rhode Island in 1860 and later Judge. His grandson was the distinguished Senator Theodore Francis Green.

The last of the 16 bells, the G, was given by George M. Richmond, Frank E. Richmond, and Walter Richmond of Woonasquatucket Print Works .

While serving Grace Church, the bells recall industry, education, government, the professions, patriotism, and the vocation of the devout. In over 100 years, their pealing was interrupted only once, in 1940, when some of them were recast and retuned through the generosity of Rose Anne Grosvenor, who provided their endowment. Grace Church observed the Centennial of the chiming of the bells at morning service on Sunday, April 14, 1961, when their history was recalled and each bell was singled out for identification. The bells were turned and the housing restored in 1989.

Its not often you get to play tourist in your own (temporary) hometown, but thats exactly what I got to do last week while my family was here visiting. We took tours, went on drives, tried out restuarants, and ogled at countless home, buildings, and churches along the way. And I craned my neck and snapped my camera enough to make even the most shameless of tourists proud. Here are a few of my favorites:

We explored a sculpture installation on the Brown quad:

And walked around the canal area before Waterfire:

We saw lots of fire, intentional or otherwise:

There was a pilgrimage to see the Corbu:

And a burning desire to eat seafood by an actual body of salt water:

We took a road trip along some amazing, time-forgotten highways:

And stayed in a Revolutionary War-era inn:

There was a lovely state park:

With spectacularly picturesque ruins:

We ate at an equally photogenic diner:

My parents capped it all off with a stay at the Renaissance Hotel Providence. Their view was also not too shabby:

View the whole collection on flickr.

It has taken me a long time to adjust to the idea that I am within easy traveling distance—by some combination of bike, car, and ferry—of all those places people talk about when they talk about New England. And when I find myself in these quaint little towns or infamous beaches, I can't quite digest the idea that I can come back again anytime I want.

This weekend was no exception. A friend was staying with me for the weekend, and at about 11:30 Saturday morning we decided we wanted to go have lunch in Newport. Not one hour later, we were sitting at a table at the end of a pier, looking out into Newport Harbor, sipping margaritas while a band played Jimmy Buffett cover songs. We took a boat tour of the harbor, dodging the hundreds of sailboats competing in the Newport Regatta, and ogling the impressive array of summer mansions (including two summer White Houses) dotted along the southern end of the island.

On our way out of town we drove along Ocean drive, which took us through more mansions and out to the really gorgeous coastline where there was evidently a kite festival in full swing. There were tons of beaches and shops that I didn't even get to see, so I want to go back early one morning and spend some more time exploring. And the lovely thing about living in Providence is that I can!

I just got back from watching an outdoor screening of Monty Python's The Quest for the Holy Grail, which was projected onto the side of a building in downtown Providence, which just happens to be next door to my studio. It was a great night for movies, and that depends-on-your-mood Monty Python humor felt fresh and zany even after seeing it dozens of times before. Tonight was one in a series of movies scheduled for Thursday nights, and are all part of the Rhode Island International Film Festival taking place later this summer.

I'm very excited by a recent announcement that Providence is going to get its own weekly open-air market this summer. Modeled after the South End Open Market in Boston, this one will operate at Westminster and Union street - the same block as my grad studio (but the nicer side). How fun! It seems that booths are quite inexpensive to reserve, but you have to commit to at least four weekends to secure a spot. Not too shabby!

I got in.