We Live Where We Are

Back in Action, or, Maryland Schmaryland

To compress two years of history into a few sentences, here's what happened: Before leaving Japan, we decided that we'd move to rural western Maryland. No, I don't know what we were thinking either. As it turned out, Maryland was a bad idea. No, worse. A quicksand pit that proved nearly inescapable. Nearly. To put it very bluntly, Julianna and I both wish we could get those two years back. We wish we had had the foresight to come immediately to Seattle after Japan. We cringe at the naivety of some of our decisions. That said, we're done shaking our fists at our regrets, we're finally back on the west coast--feeling like proper people again--and we're beginning to see the good that came out of the two dullest, least productive years of our twenties. We had some good times with great friends. I got to know my grandparents in a way that I never had before. Juli started designing and selling kick-ass jewelry. I wrote my first magazine articles and got a job as a film critic. It wasn't all a total loss.

And now? Now we're back in action.

We've decided to wake this blog up from its electronic dormancy. Things are happening--career advancement, writing projects, music with friends, imminent possibilities. Life is good. We're hungry bears who have just woken up from a long hibernation, and it feels good to stretch and get back into the practice of living.

And so. Yesterday we took the ferry over to Bainbridge Island with Miles and Danielle:


The ferry was slightly creepy in a distinctly Pacific Northwest, Twin Peaks-meets-The Ring kind of way:

When we got to the island, the rain started and we basically walked around with our hoods up all day, looking like water-logged serial killers. We ate at a little cafe with a confusing men's room--I couldn't figure out how to open the door--and poked into the various shops that lined the main drag in town. Tucked back behind the cafe we found a tiny shop dedicated to local arts and crafts. It looked like a brick and mortar Etsy store. Juli got talking to the owner, and less than five minutes later, they had a consignment deal worked out. Juli's going to mail over a dozen pieces of jewelry sometime this week!

(Oh, and please check out Juli's Etsy shop, Mystery & Manners. She doesn't like to put in plugs for herself, but I'll do it proudly.)