Rambling Sparrow Talk (RST)

Pinterest has got me hooked. I love it. I hate it. I love it. I hate it. I love pinning all the things. Recipes, crafts, clothing, hairstyles, home decor, travel photos, vintage photos. I like making the boards and naming them, then renaming them. It's like making lists, which I also love. It seems to me, that making these boards is somehow proving to myself what I am all about, because sometimes on a daily basis that gets lost in the shuffle of packing lunches and helping with homework and just putting on whatever smells less dingy. Now, mind you, there is HUGE discrepancy between what I pin and what I actually do on a daily basis. You would think I am a creative fixer upper junkie with all these craft projects. I think I have wrapped a couple of gifts with a smidgen of thought given to presentation in the last year, but no I have not made that reading nook or those burlap flower pins. I also find it really funny when I compare the recipes I pin with the type of clothing in my Daydream Closet. Note to self: GIRL. If you eat Crabmeat Mac and Cheese and Pecan Pie Brownies, GOOD LUCK with that vintage swim dress. Well, I don't make the recipes much either. Or buy the clothes. It is just fun to think about. Like a little escape.

Are you all hooked on Pinterest, too? Do you make the crafts, recipes? Do you ever go buy the clothes? Sigh. I have a few friends at work who I know make the recipes and do the crafts, but they are superwomen who should not actually be compared with the likes of ADS. That is my acronym for my blog. I have kind of a weird affection for acronyms that only really make sense to myself. Do you have any weird acronyms you like to use? I, personally, hate LOL and WTF and OMG. This is getting off track now, but if you read this blog or get letters from me, you know already that I veer around a lot. This is why I should never, ever drive a vehicle.

Things are going well with our IndieGoGo campaign.The website is scheduled for some updates, but HERE. is the link to the page in case you would like to contribute or share! Yo Espresso is definitely going mobile, ready or not! This dream will be realized. Sometimes we just do it without having it all figured out, we still move forward. If we love our own decisions, we don't really always need everyone else to love them, too.
I appreciate all the love and support I have gotten from family and friends. One of the nicest perks for Yo was hearing all the kind words people said about him when they were reposting the link! My cousin called him a Cool Cat and if you think he hasn't been trying to figure out a way to incorporate that phrase into our daily lives, you'd be wrong. I think maybe there will be an iced drink at the new mobile cart called the Cool Cat.

Clay is headed to Camp Adams tomorrow with the other 4th graders for the Oregon Trail overnight field trip. He's super stoked. He forgot his lunch box today on the kitchen counter and Yo had to give him $ to buy school lunch, LIKE A SURVIVOR! You can do it! Pioneers would eat an Uncrustable if they had to!! Noah took his ACT test and thinks he did all right. That probably means he blew it out of the water. He's kind of subtle, that one. He also met his lady friend at the fountain this weekend and they walked all over town and took the streetcar and got ice cream. It's so PORTLAND and cute, I want to die. He has a lady friend. He'll be 17 this summer. No, it's okay, I'm okay. HAND ME A DAMN HANKY.

That's all for now. I need to go find out why Martha is squawking so much out there. I think it is just chicken communication and there is not so much you can do. Sorry neighbors. They are laying eggs behind the bamboo in this teeny little space where I have to do some crazy contortionist type poses to get them out. Martha and Louise both like to follow me and I swear they look at each other, like, "HA! She's going to have to really squat and reach for that one! In her nightie!" Thanks girls.

xo

IndieGoGo Launch! Yo Espresso is going MOBILE.

Wow. What a weekend this has been. My dear husband decided it was time to launch our crowd funding campaign on Indiegogo for a new business idea we have been thinking about for some time.

Here is a little background. He has been working for the last 12 years at our former art school PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art) as the coffee man extraordinaire. His coffee shop, Yo Espresso, is located inside the main building of the school and students, staff, alumni and friends visit him every morning with their bleary sleepy eyes and he is there, rain or shine every single day. He has missed only one day of work in 12 years, often showing up before the building is even open. The clientele rely on him not only for his delicious caffeinated drinks but for his easy charming stories and friendly supportive way. If students don't have money for a drink, they can pay him when they have it. He trusts people. There is a school psychologist on site, but I believe many of the students come to Yo first, if they are feeling worried about a class or project due or personal issues. He's been there. We were both students in the 80's and though much has changed, many art school life issues are the same. His coffee is the BEST. I love coffee, as you know. We use a local roaster, Water Avenue and their blends are simply delicious. Rich and strong and never bitter. I love Yo's Dirty Chai, with delicous creamy spicy chai and a shot of strong espresso.

PNCA is moving soon from its current site into a new beautiful building at 511 NW Broadway, in the North Park Blocks in Portland. This historic former Post Office will be wonderful for all the new generations of artists to harbor their creativity and inspire great visions. Yo Espresso needs a new location. We have decided to go mobile! Coffee carts are everywhere in Portland so we have decided on a unique vehicle from overseas to make ours fit right in to the artistic atmosphere of the future!

Please visit our campaign and consider donating to make our dream a reality. $5 will help. Maybe you know someone you could share this with. We love Portland and Yo will be around rain or shine. Mostly rain. It is Portland. You need your coffee. We need your support. This is a community effort and we appreciate in advance anything you or your friends can do. Thank you so much!

By the way, did I mention that he also is fixing our dryer and helping Clay with his Indian Village project at the same time?? The man can make things happen.

Yo Espresso Mobile Project on IndieGoGo

HERE is the link http://igg.me/p/390985/x/3013778 to the full campaign.

My cup of tea, your cup of tea?

I took a little jump yesterday and decided to make a page for my blog on Facebook. I have hesitated in the past thinking it might not be everyone's cup of tea. But that is for them to decide. I think for me, I did it because I wanted to say, hey, I have been on here almost a year now, posting at least a couple times a month, I still have things to say and though I don't have lots of readers, I still enjoy the feedback I get from writing in my own way. I am proud to say it is all me, nothing copied or pilfered from anyone else. I read lots of blogs and there are writers so much more refined than myself, but I am honest and there are no mysteries, here. It's not going to be drama filled or ask you deep questions or give you the how to's for designing your own underpants from nature but maybe it will make you feel nice or feel something or just be friendly feeling. That's really all this is. It's like sinking into a cup of tea. For the most part.
Thanks for playing new Facebook followers! I'm glad you are here. xo

In other news, second Soup Club is going to happen! What is a good springy summer soup? Something fresh and light to get us all in the mood for warm weather which is, ahem Oregon, coming soon! Also, I am reading Spook:Science Tackles The Afterlife by Mary Roach, which my friend, Sarah, loaned me and I highly recommend it.  I don't read a lot of non-fiction because it makes my brain feel like it is in school and it says, hey? I thought there was a story, Anne. Well, this reads like fiction but she is tackling the afterlife. Asking questions, but in a really humble, friendly and relatable way. Also she is quite funny! It reminds me of listening to my favorite podcasts of late which are the Stuff You Missed In History Class series. I really enjoyed the Real Al Swearengen series! Deadwood fans! Check it out. I like learning new things, but it has to be in small doses, sweetened to my liking, in a nice teacup. There is nothing wrong with that. I am no hardball player, life.

Okay, back to your business. Have a good day.