Balboas, beers & goodbyes.

Friday morning I hit the road south for Asheville! A couple of days prior to my departure, I sadly lost my fun, green camera in a tragic drop from a high-top table at Biederman's. One minute it was working just fine. The next minute, I was enjoying the melted cheesy goodness of a roast beef balboa and it dropped to the floor, and the screen shattered. Luckily I was able to save the pictures, and have a new fancy red Nikon (insert Paul Simon song here). Since I have been on the road and my belongings, which were jammed in the back of my van in a Tetris-like fashion, have shifted all over the place in the 1250 miles I have traveled thus far, I couldn't find the camera cord, which I'm sure was irresponsibly packed with my unmatched sock collection or box of unnecessary toiletries. Who knows. I have learned many things about myself in my last week of travel, but my first lesson learned is that I am a terrible packer. There is no rhyme or reason to what I brought, what I left behind, and I have an ongoing list of things that I should have brought, all left behind to bear the New Hampshire cold.
Oh well. All that aside, I am having a fabulous time. And as an added bonus, I just discovered that this handy new laptop of mine has a working card reader on the side, so voila!...I just downloaded my pics. In an effort to keep everything chronological, I will start with the last of my going away pics. Thursday night my friends gathered 'round a huge table at Biederman's (the site of my camera smashing) to wish me well in the best way—over beers and balboas. It was perfect, we shared laughs, and it was beautiful to have my most favorite people all in the same room. Following a few pints and some grub, we went to my place for afters, shared more laughs, and I was able to make it an early night before hitting the open road.

A Redneck farewell

I'm getting ready to hit the road in the next couple of days. Aaaannnnddd, there have been a few roadblocks to say the least. I am stressed, as I usually am when it comes to much-dreaded change, but I am trying to maintain a solid level of denial about all of it. I'm not sure it's working.

I have to get back to packing, but I did want to share some pics from a going away party my friends threw me on Saturday. A redneck theme. Awesome. It was complete with pork rinds, bad music, fabulous costumes, a tower of Little Debbie snacks, a pot o' Spaghetti-o's, Hawaiian punch n' rum, cheap Jello shots and Nascar decor. Thank you to the best friends ever who put on such a fun shindig, and to everyone who made the trip to come say goodbye to me. I love you and I'll miss you. I mean...y'all.

Enjoy the pics! :o)

Fa, la, la, la, la...

I’m down to the last couple of days at my job, and I’m starting to get sappy. I’m cleaning off my desk, and below the blankets of dust (I’m not the tidiest of employees) are collections of lucky rocks, favorite paperclips, pens, photos, post-it notes and knick knacks that I am having a difficult time parting with. Three years of stuff. But I know it’s time to move on, despite the fact that I will miss everyone at MegaPrint (if you are not already following the MegaPrint blog, you totally should…I designed it and its chock full of good stuff!) I have made some of the greatest friends here, who have been the biggest supports and shining stars in my life. This place has afforded me so much opportunity and I appreciate it being there when I needed it three years ago. I am grateful for all of it, and will truly miss it (a rarity these days in the job world). From the cheese/fatty meat days and breakroom festivities to the fish birthday parties (RIP Elroy!) to the fun design work to the recycling adventures to the everyday laughs, I will miss it all. So, thank you to Jay and everyone who have made MegaPrint a place that I enjoyed going to everyday.

So…in 2 weeks from today, I’ll be heading south in Janis (my van) to Asheville, NC. But for now, I am just going to soak up the last 14 days in New England with fabulous friends and family and enjoy the holidays.

Here is the MegaPrint holiday card I designed this year. And…a picture of the tree I made out of scrap cardboard--trying to go green...literally. :)

And I'm off to Woodsville for 3 days of Christmas excitement with the Lucas Clan. Merry Christmas everyone and I wish you all the happiest and healthiest of new years!

Peace and love,
Stacey

Happy Holidays!

In the spirit of going green (and saving a little money for my trip), I created electronic holiday cards this year. Here it is and Merry Christmas everyone! :)

Terra Perma update

This posting is a little overdue, but with all that has been going on in my life, I know it’s hard to keep up with me. On December 6th, Terra Perma Art Gallery held an Open House, showcasing the works of Sarah Cail (a freelance photographer) and myself. They put on a delicious, homemade spread and hired a beautiful harpist to play for the afternoon—it was quite a treat!

So first of all, I would like to thank all those who made the trip to come and support me. It was a great day.

Secondly, I regretfully have to mention that Terra Perma will be closing at the end of 2008. Ana, the owner, has her hands full with the gallery AND Sunflower Natural Foods in downtown Laconia, and she will be consolidating the businesses into Sunflower next year with an anticipated opening in the spring. So while the new location will not have the unique charm and wide, open space of Terra Perma, it will be a nice mix of organic goods and earth-friendly wares. Ana has always been a strong supporter of not only the arts, but of the community, and we all wish her the best of luck in her new endeavor. :)

I would like to take this platform to thank Ana and Sue at Terra Perma...your encouragement has inspired me to keep on truckin'.

Meowy Christmas.

I had to do it...sorry about the bad pun. My (slightly deranged, but very lovable) cat Moe enjoys sitting under the tree for hours at a time. Check out her creepy eyes! Now I just need to wrap me some gifts and shove 'em under the tree...not sure why I am having trouble with the Christmas spirit thing this year. I think I just need some spiked eggnog.

My little helper.

During the last few nights before our (very snowy) open house, my friends came in and helped Diane and I put finishing touches on the place. Hannah was my little helper, and is quite skilled with a paintbrush...for a five year old. :) We watched her diligently paint the stairs a reddish brown, and were taking pictures of her as she painted around her legs and into a corner. All of a sudden, she looks up at me and exclaims, "awww, nuts! I'm stuck!"