June 2005 Archives

We returned from our vacation on Monday morning and have been getting back into the swing of things here in Three Rivers. For the most part (except for a few server issues), things ran smoothly in our absence. Our friend, Nate, managed the store spendidly while we were gone and sales seem to be picking up again.

It's nice to know the world doesn't fall apart when you're gone for a week. Amazing, huh? Sometimes it seems we're able to fool ourselves into thinking we're really important, holding everything together. It is good to be reminded that "We are workers, not master builders."

We're leaving either late tonight or early tomorrow morning for a weeklong vacation in North Carolina, courtesy of Kirstin's grandparents who are celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary this summer. They're graciously taking the entire family (their three children and twelve grandchildren, including in-laws) to a resort they've been going to for several years. No television, no phones ... it should be wonderful.

We just need to finish printing and assembling the road journal before we leave. The next catapult issue is already finished and will appear through the magic of technology right on schedule.

We'll see you in a week!

As many of you may or may not know, Kirstin and I have been doing graphic design and other creative work under the "studio underground" moniker for at least six years. So it is with a hint of sadness that we decided to sell our domain name (www.studiou.com) yesterday, giving up claim to an address that has served us well for many years. We have also decided to go a different direction with the name under which we work, temporarily (though perhaps permanently--time will tell) choosing "the vg-r collective."

So, for all of those who knew about and were using our studiou.com domain name, please change your links and address books to vg-r.com. Everything will remain the same except the domain name. We'll be sending e-mails to everyone in our address books to alert them of the change.

Last weekend, Kirstin and I moved back into the house we previously shared for nine months with our friends, Jeff and Bri, before leaving to repay a debt to Kirstin's grandparents. Yes, it's confusing. For those keeping track at home, here's the timeline:

• Nov. 2002 - Dec. 2003: Grandparent's cottage


• Jan. 2004 - Oct. 2004: Community w/ Jeff and Bri


• Nov. 2004 - May 2005: Grandparent's cottage


• June 2005: Community w/ Jeff and Bri

Interestingly, I hadn't figured out this timeline until just now: four moves in less than two and a half years. For people who really value place and wish to cultivate a sense of home, as we do, this has been a difficult period. We're hoping this will be the last move for at least two years, if not longer.

Tuesday night was a glimpse into what we've been missing as a community since we parted living space six months ago. We gathered as we used to and cobbled together a wonderful meal of refried bean tacos and improvised Spanish rice. During dinner, we enjoyed conversation with our friends and housemates.

We owe a special thank you, I think, to Bri's sister, Morgan, who is also living at the house. She had been living upstairs, in the space we now occupy, and is caring for a cat waiting to be spayed. When she moved downstairs, she graciously took the cat (who is currently in heat) with her and has been living through the cat's ... um ... moodiness for several days. A very nice "housewarming gift," indeed.

And so we've started a new chapter. We're interested to see where this story is going and we're mostly enjoying each turn of the page.