all that's past is prologue...

Most years we (or at least Beatrix and I) have gone to a lot of Fringe shows, especially in the years that she was in one and had an artists' pass. Last year's literal sh*t-splosion by the Fringe artist staying at our place kind of turned me off on the whole festival. But tonight was a night off from circus, so we decided on "The Show Must Go On - a Backstage Escape Game" by David Pisa as our triumphant return to the Fringe. And we had so much fun! It was us and one other family of three. We had all done puzzle rooms together before, and worked well together to come up with the solutions and locks (we did need help from the guide with one particularly recalcitrant lock though that even she struggled with!). No hints as to the room, but try it if you have a chance, it runs every slot of the Fringe. Pro tip - tickets have gone up in price at $25, but that is inclusive of fees. If you buy a button you get $5 off, and Melsa Smartpass had an offer where we got ours for hal...

Beatrix has a bad achilles tendon issue and has not been able to perform for the past several performances of Lumiére . It's honestly been heartbreaking, but Tria is taking it super-seriously because the last thing she wants her senior year is surgery on it. She's been going in to the show every day just in case, and to help out with the many quick changes she assists with. This is an 8-show weekend and so I hope she's back in soon. July was a crazy work month for me but I've had a little extra "me time" while Patrick and Beatrix have been at shows. Inspired by my friend Jennifer, last night I took some on-the-edge citrus and made some oven-dehydrated slices for drinks. I think it might have been the first time I actually used a mandolin. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out! I was also inspired by Jennifer's gin collection, it might be G&T time!

So last winter was a beast. The early cold, plus the lack of insulating snowfall, killed off any number of plants. The worst casualty in our yard was the large bed between the patio and the garage, which had perennials I had babied for years. My ligularia, bleeding hearts, the azalea Patrick and Beatrix got me for Mother's Day, so many Solomon's Seals... I mean, it was BAD. The scaffolding is not just for effect, we were also painting the peak. Basically, just that bush on the right remained. I tried to scatter some seeds but it was ineffective because it turns out stomping around on them while painting hinders growth. So basically, it was rebuilding from (literally) the ground up. And I have worked my a** off on it. I ran over to pick up some droopy native columbine someone posted on the free board and nursed it back to health. I dug up goatsbeard from a dry rocky hillside where I was at risk of tumbling down into a ravine. I picked up some other lovely plants that another per...

Lumiére opened last night (more on that later), and today was a two-show day for my tired performer and even more tired rigger, so I had a day to myself. It stared by being given some phlox and some astilbe, which I planted over at Ashland. The back bed is almost done! The jasmine is in bloom over there and I love it so much. I then went over to an open house at the home that had been owned by Sally French, where she had held so many wonderful events. It had been years since I had been there and I had never seen the whole thing, so it was really fun to go explore it. Her spirit is in every inch of the house and it is gorgeous! If you are in the Twin Cities and looking for an incredibly distinctive home that knows how to throw an arts event (albeit one that needs some work), you should seriously consider this one. I'm connected to the realtors, so let me know! (photo credits mainly Dolly Langer, with the first one being mine). I then headed over to my client 825 Arts , where one of...

Last night, I attended a concert by Songs of Hope at a senior center in Bloomington. My friends Jeanne and Tom founded SOH 34 years ago, and kids from all over the world come here for six weeks in the summer to live together, sing together, and perform all over the state.  Not only is it life-changing for them to live together and learn about each others' countries and cultures, but it's equally important that they travel the state and meet people who may never have met ANYONE from, say, Turkey, much less seen a group of them perform a traditional dance. As I left, the Hopers had spread out all over the community room and were talking to the residents, who had loved (and sung along with) the performance. But here's the other thing. I've been on the board for several years, and supported SOH since just about the time it started. This year was an incredibly small group. Often there are 80 kids or more, from all over — a typical year includes China, Vietnam, Jamaica, Ital...

After a successful FilmNorth opening and a weekend of other activities, I was pretty much toast. So yesterday I caught up on my most pressing client tasks, and then completed a lot of household things: some laundry, some clean-up, some returns, and spent a lot of time helping Coya get around  — her age is showing and she keeps on falling over with her legs splayed like Bambi and can't get up. But last night I was also able to make some kale chips, and some pita chips, and get some plants in the ground (more on that later, I'm not quite done yet), and it felt a little like getting back to normal, just as Patrick and Beatrix were ramping up on the first tech/dress and things were getting crazy for them. So then I met my old friend Dan for a drink at Bar + Cart, which was the absolutely perfect way to end the day. A little late night conversation and Necromancer was exactly what I needed.

Cocktail #8 comes courtesy of the FilmNorth opening yesterday. We had about 1,000 people stop by over the course of the four-hour open house. It was a success beyond my wildest dreams. This project has been a fascinating labor of love since Colin from D/O Architects reached out to say the building was available off-market and did we want to collaborate on it, almost exactly four years ago.  From due diligence to initial designs to arranging for the historic tax credits (the first time I have taken them past the application phase and into development), to the funding (including also the NMTCs, the bonding, TOD, and private gifts), to the logistics, it's been a wild ride. I've been integrally involved with every moment of it, from raising funds to planting the patio. And my team, from the FilmNorth staff to consultants we've worked with (special props at Jennifer Halcrow) to our bankers to the board to everyone in between have been amazing. Incredibly big props to Andrew Pete...

This one was a long time in the making. About half of Tufts spends their junior year abroad, and pretty much as soon as I got there I had Robi Polgar telling me "You need to go to London, and you need to go to BESGL." And I eventually did. BESGL was a multi-school program, so there were some of us there from Tufts, and Hamilton, and Kenyon, and Brandeis, and Catholic University, and Trinity, and Oberlin, and Vassar, and many other schools. My roommates, Kristin and Karen Elizabeth, were from Mount Holyoke and Sarah Lawrence, respectively. Karen Elizabeth was (and probably still remains) one of the most brilliant people I have ever known. With a quirky sense of humor and some of the deepest (and sometimes most scathing) thinking I had ever encountered, I felt forever lucky to have her in my corner. BESGL was a transformational year for me — it was the year I learned I was smart — and my roommates and friends were a huge part of that. Living in London was not too shabby either,...

SPA's theory of encouraging kids to read was to make it a reward. If you finished your regular work in class — fractions or diagramming sentences or what have you —you could have free reading time (this was especially valuable as you could NOT stay inside and read during recess). Beatrix founds my grades last summer and yes, pretty much all of them commented that I rushed through my work so I could get to read. I mean, it stood me in good stead. So, I kind of thought my career would be like that. Strike early, fast, and hot. CHECK. I was almost always one of the younger people in the room. Build diverse experience. CHECK. They don't call me a "swiss-army knife of nonprofit skills" for nothing. So here I am, at what is likely the peak of my career (unless the peak is still coming, THAT would be exciting!), and I kind of thought I would get to more of the free reading. You know, big juicy strategic planning and analysis and all. Making big change happen. But no, I seem ...

I've recently done a few small projects at Summit that are not earth shattering, but make things a little better. My friend J gave me a lamp that I replaced the living room light with. The colors are not as vibrant as the shade that was there before, but it matches the picture above the fireplace perfectly! Also shown, some bowls I got Patrick for our anniversary. Any of you who have struggled with the towel in the downstairs bathroom will be pleased to know we have a new towel ring; I had ordered it for the upstairs bathroom but it was too small and they did not want it back, so we used it downstairs. Another friend gave me some pouring paint, so I used it to brighten up some small outdoor tables. They are the perfect size and shape, but looked terrible:  I'm really happy with the first one I did: I ran out of that paint though, so the second one looks a little more 70s psychedelic: We'll see how it looks when it dries.

Working for yourself means you work until late a night, but you can take some time off during the day to dig up some anemones at a friend and plant them in your back yard (thanks, C!) Or take a break from meetings to trim and repot the house plants and move them outside for some summer humidity. Or be happy that your hibiscus and jasmine are thriving outside. I have soooooo much more planting to do (taking care of 4 gardens is no joke!). I need to replant a whole shade bet at Ashland (HMU if you are dividing any ligularia!) I need to weed, and plant window boxes, and so much more. One of these days I dream of winning an Alley Garden Award from MGCC for Summit. But right now, I'm happy that these are doing well.