Happy Spring!

Happy Spring…

We have had a lot of April showers this spring. Great for all the grass and flowers popping up in the yard…despite the yard still being a mess from winter. Eh, I keep promising to get out there…but then the rain…a vicious cycle.

Well, let’s see. I have a lot to catch up on.

Spring for the Arts...
A couple weeks ago we had the annual Spring for the Arts event in downtown Grand Rapids. Mitch and I went out to dinner with our Friday nite date Sarah & Steve to the Cottage Bar. I partook of fish and chips in pre-celebration of our May trip to Ireland…Then we walked all over downtown GR to look at lots of super cool stuff. We popped into the West Michigan Center for the Arts and also viewed work on exhibit at KCAD. Artists included Michael Ingold's MFA Show “World War IV,” Beth Jacobson, Megan Matthews & Susan Mulder’s joint MFA show, and paintings of Laurie Hogan in the main KCAD gallery. We also walked through the Active Site event entitled “Emerge,” which was in the “flatiron” building on Monroe. Our final art stop was the KCAD Grad Studios where we saw works by Beth Jacobson, Susan Mulder, Molly Pettengill, Tom Post, Jamin Rollin, and Devon Slattery. Check out the slide show below.




To end the night we stopped over to Little Bohemia Too to hear Tim’s band Tokyo Morose premiere gig in Grand Rapids. I think they have a great indie pop sound. Hey Tim, are ya ever gonna get back to writing something with me?!It was a good show! Slide show below.




One week until our Ireland adventure (aka delayed honeymoon trip)!!!

Trip Preparation...
True to form, I have have made my lists, checked and double checked them and done all kinds of shopping. Then there has been the packing, unpacking, repacking, repeat several times…and fretting over looking cute for the Blonde Boy…LOL! In the end, we are doing carry-on luggage only…While we are able to check one bag with no charge, we do not want to risk losing a bag on the way out. However, I think for our return trip we will check one of our bags, that way we can carry on all of the gifty, souvenir stuff.

And Mitch of course has not even started packing…though he has been working like a mad scientist on his super secret creative project…I will be most interested to see what he is up too. Me, I am just taking a small drawing kit with graphite…a little drawing will go me some good.

The other day my gym buddy Theresa asked me what I am most looking forward too on this trip. Here are my top three:

I. Malin Head on the Inishowen Peninsula - County Donegal. It is the most northern point in the country of Ireland, and the least visited. The land and seascapes are said to be breathtaking.


II. Slieve League Cliffs – County Donegal. Last trip we saw the Cliffs of Moher. Annunciated the “shhhleeve leeguh,” these cliffs are said to be the highest sea cliffs in Europe. I am not sure if we plan to hike to the top or take in the scenery by boat. Either way, it should be well worth seeing.



III. Achill Island – County Mayo. Accessible via car over bridge, this should make for a good day trip. With all of these places being coastal, we should be able to partake of some local seafood, tasty & fresh. Yum!


I am also looking forward to our stay in a couple Bed & Breakfast guest houses. This time we are staying at The Barclay House in Letterkenny (County Donegal) and The Boulevard Guest House in Westport (County Mayo). Both are purpose built and modern, yet have a comfortable down to earth appeal. We shall see.


Coming Stuff…
Well in the midst of our mad preparations for the trip, we still have a couple major events at Kendall. The Annual Student Exhibition is next Tuesday and Wednesday night is the return of the much hallowed Beaux Arts Ball hosted by the KCAD Alumni Association.

Masked merriment and magic is in the offering and it should be a fun time. I am just finishing up my mask for the event. I have no idea what is up Mitch’s sleeve. I promise pictures of both events…though probably after our trip to Ireland.

Love, peace & happiness *E
+x*