Summer Solstice

With the longest day of 2014 now past us, I welcome summer with open arms and a radiant smile. Humans measure time as a way to quantify passages and changes that are beyond us, and yesterday was just one of those annual milestones that means everything and nothing at the same time. I love scrolling through my weather app at all the places I've lived and traveled to see what time the sun would rise; 5:31 AM in Honeoye, 6:40 in Dakar (Senegal), 5:10 in Canton, and so on. I'd like to think I made the most of my first day of summer. 

The evening before I played pick-up ultimate fribee with a new group just twenty minutes from home. It's a rag-tag group of people who went to high school together, but a few of them play with the Rochester summer league and they were generous enough to let me join. I had a fantastic time because everyone was friendly, hilarious, and skilled enough to be competitive but not egotistical. I also had a lot of disc-handling time which was nice because I need the practice. I also ran into my brother, sister-in-law, and nephew who was playing in a soccer match in the field next to us! Needless to say, the 585 doesn't seem that big once you've settled into a routine. 

Photo credit of this creek that runs along the park goes to my dad.

Saturday we took off to western, southerntier New York where my dad's aunt and uncle live. I've visited many times, though I finally received a full tour of their house that they've lived in since 1960(!) because they wanted to show us the remodeled bathrooms. They're such good-humored, lovely people. Here we have my dad and Uncle Dewane going through bamboo Filipino spears that were gifted to Dewane's father when he was a medic in the Philippines during WWII. The craftsmanship was incredible, I've never seen anything like it. There had to be at least 15 spears, and each one had a specific purpose, which we could only guess.

"I never took them out from the garage rafters because I thought my kids would use them against me!" mused Dewane.

They also have giant, kind cats and ornate gardens that attract golden orange orioles, red-winged black birds, wood peckers and more.

It was a beautiful day. As the sun set at nearly 9 PM, I sat back in the hot tub with a tumbler of Bird Dog blackberry whiskey (my god, did I go to lengths to get my hands on this stuff) and thought to myself: life is good.

Listening: "Tame One" by Your Friend on the Utne Reader music blog.

Summer Occupations

Busy weeks are better weeks.

I have a weekly routine to dine and wine with my two best friends here at home. Two weeks ago, we made stir-fry; last week was zucchini and potato pancakes (below); yesterday was chili. Kristen and Caitlan work full-time, so I'm always thankful to catch up with them and kick back. And laugh our asses off or commiserate about all the bizarre things going on in town.

Then, on Friday I rode with Eric, a classmate, Ruckus Bus teammate, and good friend from the Finger Lakes, six hours east on I-90 and the on Massachusetts Pike to the suburbs of Boston. We crashed at another teammate's house then reunited with the rest of the Ruckus Bus on Saturday morning for a tournament in Keene, New Hampshire. I actually didn't take many photos of the day because my phone battery was zapped from all the Google Mapping, but it was a glorious weekend for ultimate frisbee!

We actually had enough St. Lawrence-affiliated people to field two teams: Varsity and JV Quarters (yes, in reference to the drinking game--!). The tournament is hosted by the Keene State alumni though there were many high school teams. They were pretty ridiculous to play; they have athleticism, but their knowledge of the game, immaturity, and 17-year old egos were something to combat. The sun was relentless and us four ladies basically marked boys for the day, though our loss in the quarterfinals was by a close margin. Man, I've missed hustling around yelling, "Here we gooo, BUS!" That was the most frisbee (and movement) I've played in over a month, so needless to say, my body did not react kindly.

After our other team, JV Quarters, won the tournament and the $300 pot, we split into groups going separate ways. That was hard. Initially it just felt like the end of a tournament, and then we'd all head back to school, loaf and campus, and return to class Monday sore but pleased... so yeah, that's sad this isn't the case anymore. It'll become easier with time.

As for me, I headed to Zach's family house on Mononomac Lake near the NH/MA border. The lake is small, but the properties around it are breathtaking. His family graciously offered hot showers and waited to eat dinner, which was steak with chive-horseradish butter, asparagus, pasta salad, and beer and wine. They also let me sleep on the second-floor master bedroom with the balcony, which meant a rousing 5 AM wake-up for the sunrise and subsequent risings every hour after that, but I am not complaining!

The lake house was a perfect way to unwind after playing. It was another dreamy weekend. I know I'm always pronouncing my love for the Ruckus Bus, but I've played with a few different groups now, and there's nothing like them (us). I loved how Zach explained it to his aunt, when she inquired why and how we all knew each other: "It's because St. Lawrence is in the middle of nowhere, so we all become weirdly obsessed with each other." It's true; we'll go hours out of the way, dish hundreds of dollars, and wreck our bodies for the sake of the sport and camaraderie.

  

Since I was away Saturday night, I missed dinner with my siblings. Luckily I was back for actual Father's Day and my mom saved a few lobsters and grilled shrimp. Hats off to this old (ha!) man who I couldn't love more. Despite my stubbornness (which I learned from him, no?), he has always tried to provide me the best opportunities and advice. I hope everyone had time to appreciate the father figures in their lives!

Listening: "The D Bag Rag" by the Avett Brothers off of A Carolina Jubilee (2003)

Hammertime Work Weekend

Humans need to unplug and get their hands dirty every now and then. It was such a relief to break away from job hunting on my laptop and spend the weekend in Syracuse, where my dear friends Kate and Mike just bought a house and organized a work party. Kate and I have been close since freshmen year, meeting on the cross-country team (and subsequently deserting haha). Mike graduated in 2012 but introduced me to the St. Lawrence theme house community when I moved into the Habitat for Humanity house and joined the Habi family.

They landed a great deal on this house in the Tipperary Hill Irish neighborhood. After a revelatory house inspection, they bargained the price down even further because of all the repairs and remodeling necessary. In the week since Kate and Mike have moved in, they've stripped all the carpets to uncover old hardwood flooring, repainted the kitchen, tore apart rounded door archways--and there's a lot to go to make the quaint house into their home! We joked that we were slave labor for the weekend, but they really put us to work. With the help of family members, we scrubbed, primed, and repainted the entire house all on Saturday, then moved a U-Haul truck load of furniture.

Before (they test-painted the front of the house before we arrived)

During

After! 

The best part was reuiniting with other Habi house mates that I haven't seen in two years, and feeling like hardly anything's changed. School semesters split those four months of the year up and make it fly by, they said. So the guys feel a bit older, but we still "raised the rod" together and partied our way through the neighborhood. We ventured to the city for the Taste of Syracuse festival, watched an Allman Brothers cover band and Blues Traveler for a bit, then went on a bar crawl.

Enjoying craft beer and local restaurant offerings at Taste of Syracuse.

The lead musician of Blues Traveler killing it on the harmonica! You definitely know their '94 single "Run Around."

We didn't make it to all the bars in the neighborhood--four of which are in immediate walking distance--but it was still hilarious. A random man who works for Wells Fargo came over to us and wanted to learn how to play quarters, and subsequently crushed Luke in a boat race (what?).

Bar selfies with the team!

The kitchen was a heinous shade of yellow (and yellow is my favorite color) that they've since toned down with white. The sink is an old-school metal unit they're keeping and updating with new faucets.

Contemplating furniture arrangements. We slept on an area rug and sleeping bag for the prior two nights.

In spite of sore shoulders and dehydration, it was a thrill to be part of this new chapter in their lives. Plus, I'll always have a place to stay in 'Cuse! Now it's back to my career-launching mission (more like stumbling into), though at least tonight I'm starting an ultimate frisbee summer league. More updates, reviews, and summer food cooking to come.

Listening: "Run Around" by Blues Traveler