Pretty Pretty Bang Bang

Yesterday, Steve received a great birthday gift. I’m not talking about all the nice things I gave him, I’m talking about the gift of time. Kevin French showed up mid-morning to mow and trim the lawn as a gift to Steve. I was going to re-pot some plants anyway, so I joined him outside. About 90 minutes later the lawn was perfectly mowed, trimmed and sidewalks were clean. Thanks, Kevin, for such a great gift. Now I can give Steve a whole list of inside things to do this weekend! Just kidding (kind-of).

Before I met Steve I had a list of what I wanted in a perfect mate. It included things like a good sense of humor, getting along with my friends and the ability to let me be myself. I met that person in Steve and, through the years, have discovered so many wonderful things about him that were never on my list. He’s smart, funny, opinionated, able to deal with me on a daily basis, driven, loving and more. His unconditional love has allowed me to become the person I am today and I’m so grateful he’s in my life.

Happy Birthday Steve! I hope to give you a wonderful day and I hope you like your presents!

It was a very busy weekend here at Chez Kirks so, rather than go into extensive detail, I thought I’d sum up some of the best parts. Note: most of them revolve around food.

• Wild King Salmon and sea bass with Sarah and Dennis. 

• Greg’s Coq Au Vin - heaven on a plate.

• Brown-braised pearl onions and fresh sauteed mushrooms - perfection!

• Steve Moore’s crepes with fresh strawberries - a delicious end to our meal.

• Watching Heathers and laughing at all the horrible ’80s fashions.

• Curling up on the sofa with Rufus, Steve M’s adorable Pomeranian/Jack Russell Terrier mix.

• Smoked burnt ends by Matt Kerner - so much culinary decadence in one weekend!

• New socks made by Sarah Kerner - I love how talented my friends are!

• Zesty bar-b-que sauce, spicy salsa, chips and Starbucks Java Chip ice cream.

• Duane’s fresh margaritas - the secret is the fresh-squeezed lime juice.

• Prudy’s gourmet meal - too many goodies to discuss.

• Fresh berries atop lemon shortcake - yum!

• Getting to know Pam and Jan better and laughing so hard our sides hurt.

• Spending a long weekend with great friends.

Happy Birthday to one of my dearest friends, Cindy. Today she turns…another year older. We met the first day of fourth grade and became fast friends. My fondest memories are of sleepovers at her house (she had a pool!), listening to Squeeze Singles (I still have the cassette tape she gave me), Bell Choir performances, yearbook staff (she was a great editor), the 1984 Loverboy concert and coordinating our first day of school outfits. Through the years she has done her share of globetrotting while I stayed here in Springfield, but I always enjoy the time we spend chatting on the phone or via email. She has raised three beautiful daughters and manages to look almost the same as she did in college (damn her!). She’s opinionated, smart and funny which is why I love her.

Cindy, I hope you have a wonderful birthday. I’ll be calling you later to say “hello” and give my birthday greetings.

Saturday eventually got better after the rain stopped and the sun came out, even if it was humid. Sarah and Dennis came over for dinner and the food was amazing. Per Sarah’s suggestion, Steve went to our newest fish monger, Captain Craig’s, for some wild salmon and sea bass. Both were spectacular pieces of fish. We seasoned the salmon with our favorite, Penzey’s Northwoods, and did a Trinidad mix on the sea bass. Thanks to Steve’s amazing ability to perfectly grill, both were outstanding. The Trinidad seasoning made the sea bass taste buttery and the salmon was rich and zesty. I made a mushroom 7-grain pilaf and Sarah brought a spinach salad made with greens from her garden. We topped off the meal with some white wine, strawberry shortcake and a rousing game of Spades. All in all, a great start to the holiday weekend.

Today we’re off to Greg and Steve’s for a late lunch, then a possible dinner/Trivia Night with Matt, Sarah, Mick and Carrie at Patton Alley Pub. Tomorrow is dinner at Duane and Prudy’s. So much for a relaxing weekend at home!

I had plans this morning that did not include rain. I was going to get up early, go to Lowe’s, stop by the Farmer’s Market, come home and plant flowers. Instead, I awoke to thunder and lightening and there’s no end in sight. Steve and I have been enjoying a relaxing morning in our “coffee area” in the kitchen hoping for a break in the weather, but it hasn’t happened. I guess we’ll spend the day working inside which is a good thing as our house is a pit. Hope wherever you are is sunny, warm and wonderful.

Yesterday Steve had a Business to Business thing to attend in Arkansas so I went along for the ride. The event was held at a hotel that was near a gorgeous outdoor mall which meant only one thing to me - shopping at the Gap. I’ve been purging my closet of things I don’t wear and trying to find new items besides black t-shirts and crop pants. I stated earlier in the season that I was not going to wear crop pants, but I had to lift the ban. Jeans are just too hot and I don’t want to wear shorts every day. What I am doing is wearing more of an ankle length pant with a skinnier leg. I just don’t want the baggy mid-calf crop of past years. Because I have such long legs, I decided to buy the ankle length jeans which make them the perfect length for crops. I’m also making Steve’s wardrobe my project so I found some great new casual pants and a navy linen shirt for him. Because I was killing time, I wandered into the Coach store where I found the most lovely burnt orange bag. I strongly hinted to Steve that it would make a nice b-day gift for me, but in reality I think it’s much too expensive. Perhaps if he gets a nice comp check or something, but we don’t normally do such large gifts. Still, it’s one of the nicest bags I’ve seen since, well, last fall when I bought the patent bag. I’ve been disenchanted with Coach since they started all the crappy logo and patchwork bags, but when they do something nice, they really know how to wow me.

Today is errand day and I’ll be catching up on all the things I didn’t do while I was out playing yesterday. Guess I’d better quit typing and get to working!

Years ago my dad gave Steve his old red Craftsman tool chest. It has four shallow drawers on the top piece, and two drawers and a large cabinet on the bottom piece. Steve was thrilled and put it in the garage for all of his tools. Fast forward several years and I have a metals studio started in our basement. Steve had mentioned the tool cabinet a few times and offered to clean it out for me to use, but I declined thinking I hated him to give up such a nice cabinet if he really needed it. Finally, this weekend, Steve told me he really didn’t use it and I could have it. He took apart the two pieces and now I have a lovely four-drawer unit on top of my bench and the two drawer/cabinet unit under my soldering table. Everything is getting so organized! I’m still cleaning up the window installation mess in the basement, but things are slowly getting organized and cleaned. I’m gearing up for what I hope is a creative and productive summer!

School is officially over and I now am faced with an empty schedule. Plans this summer include cleaning the basement and studio, pushing myself creatively and experimenting with enamels. In case anyone is interested, I did receive an “A” in my class, but more importantly, I received some really nice words from Kevin. It was a good end to a class that was often frustrating for me. Kevin and I butted heads in the beginning and many of the students annoyed me with their lack of work, but I did learn some cool new stuff. I’m actually considering setting up a powder coating area in the studio. I swear, my work area gets bigger and bigger each year. Perhaps I should tighten things up a bit.

Speaking of work area, as many of you know I had new windows installed. They are wonderful except now anyone can see into my studio. I don’t think it’s too obvious from the street, but I still don’t want strangers to have a clear view of my tools and supplies. I planted window boxes outside the windows, but still think I need more privacy without sacrificing light. Suggestions?

I recently submitted two pieces to a show and received this email today:

Hello Tammy,  Thank you for your entry in Form, Fabricate, and Forge. I am pleased to inform you that your entry 80 Untitled has been excepted. 

Notice anything weird? Look again. Apparently this email, from a graduate student, informs me that my piece has been “excepted” into the show. Obviously she’s not an English major. Hell, I wonder if she even speaks English. Sad, so sad.

Last night’s crit goes down in my history as one of the longest and most frustrating. We began at 6:30 p.m. and I finally left at 11 p.m. even though it wasn’t officially over. The Intermediate group went first and set the tone for the evening. Not a single piece was done. Over a 4 1/2 month period, nobody had finished any of their projects. By the time we reached the last Intermediate student (a girl who showed up for class half the time), my patience was gone. I, nicely but firmly, voiced my frustration with all the unfinished work. I reminded everyone that deadlines are important and changes in designs can be done on the second or third piece. Seriously, these students change their ideas constantly and don’t commit to a project. I was also frustrated with Kevin for not stating this, but didn’t mention it during the crit. Luckily, almost all of the Advanced students had finished work which made critiquing the designs much more productive.

It’s raining here again and temps have dropped which does very little for my mood. I did manage to drag myself out of the house and to the gym, but have little desire to do much else. After skipping last week (and eating too many chips last night) I decided I should weigh in at Weight Watchers. Unbelievably I lost 1.4 pounds, which makes up for the 1.4 pounds I gained three weeks ago. When I told Sarah, who’s supposed to be my WW buddy and support, she exclaimed, “F%&k you!” I had to laugh. She’s frustrated because she’s back to the weight she started at two months ago. It’s still hard to feel sorry for her because she looks great, but I do understand her frustration. Been there, done that.

We have a busy weekend ahead. My sister and her family are visiting, we’re having a retirement party for my mom, and I have a bathroom to clean! Hope you have a great rest of the week and a relaxing weekend.