brattleboro, vermont [photo post]

We're moving, y'all. May 11th! It all happened very fast and, as fate of course would have it, on the weekend that Hanna and I were supposed to be enjoying a communications-free getaway in Brattleboro, Vermont -- our first couples' trip since the honeymoon.

Then Hanna's sprained ankle developed plantar fascitis (which, let us both tell you, is agonizing as pain goes), our realtor called with a potential rental, which we went to see and apply for practically on our way out of town, subsequently had to negotiate the lease long-distance for, and in the midst of it all I developed a three-day migraine! So ... ya know. Our weekend was slightly different than previously planned.

But still lovely in parts! (The not feeling like a railroad spike was being driven through my right eyeball parts or the we-have-to-be-grown-up-and-negotiate parts.)

This, for example, was a nice part. Monday afternoon in Brattleboro was just warm enough to sit out in the sun and read.

We were staying for two nights at the Forty Putney Road Bed & Breakfast, in the former carriage house. We'd booked the Hummingbird Room, but got the classier Maple Room at the same price instead because the housekeeper cleaned the wrong space in a rush to get to her family's Easter dinner!

We didn't complain (and left her a tip).

The property was built in 1929 as the home of the superintendent of the nearby Brattleboro Retreat, a (still!) highly regarded residential mental health facility nearby. The superintendent must have been a decent fellow because we didn't encounter any vengeful ghosts during our stay!

Spring is finally (finally!) bursting into bloom, in both Boston and Brattleboro. I caught this crocus in the lawn of the B&B.

We mostly dined on food purchased from our beloved Brattleboro Co-op, in their newly-built location adjacent to their old (and nostalgically missed!) home on the Whetstone Brook.

They provided us with delicious gluten-free cheesecake!

And an amazing Greek potato salad.

If there's a sensible explanation behind this thank you note on the co-op wall, we don't want to hear it!

We also attempted to eat at the new Whetstone Station on Sunday night, though my migraine got the better of me and we had to stage an emergency evacuation. Their sweet potato tots with choose-your-own dipping sauces are heavenly.

The innkeeper, Rhonda, provided us with a delicious breakfast every morning in the main house, as well as fresh-brewed coffee from Hanna's favorite Mocha Joe's and tea from a local supplier.

On Monday, I even had the time to write a few notes! ...

... and read the first half of Megan Marshall's Pulitzer-prize-winning biography of local feminist (and fellow migraine sufferer) Margaret Fuller.

We hope to make our Patroit's Day weekend stay in Brattleboro an annual tradition, and look forward to returning to Forty Putney Road in 2015! Perhaps our dear friends whose Christmas money helped fund our stay will join us at some future date.

And at the end of the weekend, we ended up successfully negotiating a twelve-month lease with our new landlord and driving back into Boston to sign for our future apartment in Hyde Square, Jamaica Plain. We take possession of the space on May 1st and next week's post will have photos of both the apartment-to-be and, I suspect, the apartment-that-was, full of packing boxes and questing cats.

michigan monday: stuff & things

I'm not gonna even pretend Hanna and I are fully back in Boston headspace, although we arrived back home mid-afternoon on Saturday. It's been a pretty intense ten days (two weeks if you count from the day my grandmother had her initial stroke). 

So instead of any substantive post, here are a few Michigan-related things for you. Starting with the Detroit symphony orchestra's flash mob performance of "Ode to Joy" at a suburban IKEA. (via)

You may have heard NPR's coverage of the event on March 9th.

On a related note, the city of Detroit is offering free houses to writers looking for a place to live and be creative. I admit that part of me wishes that librarianship & archival science were slightly more mobile professions, since it would be really exciting to be part of a rejuvenation project like that -- and the urban core of Detroit has some amazing, historic spaces.

Within driving distance of Brewed Awakenings, this trip's coffee shop find.

And half a day's drive from Gaia Cafe in Grand Rapids, the visual-sensory display in my head whenever anyone uses the word "granola" as a cultural descriptor. 

Plus, soon enough Hanna and I would actually be married-married there. Instead of Massachusetts-and-federally-married there.

In fact, Hanna and I heard the news about Judge Friedman's ruling overturning the Michigan ban on marriage equality while we were driving through New York (oh, the endless endless miles of I-90) on Friday. Huzzah! 

I read the DeBoer v. Snyder decision yesterday afternoon. Some of my livetweets:

"Michigan does not make fertility or the desire to have children a prerequisite for obtaining a marriage license." http://t.co/wupembjXd8
— feministlibrarian (@feministlib) March 22, 2014

"The Court finds Regnerus’s testimony entirely unbelievable and not worthy of serious consideration." #DeBoer #ssm http://t.co/shaDdgPsvp
— feministlibrarian (@feministlib) March 22, 2014

really hope the #DeBoer ruling ends Regnerus' days as an "expert" witness on families headed by same-sex partnerships. #ssm #shoddyscience
— feministlibrarian (@feministlib) March 22, 2014

also love how Judge Friedman puts "study" in scare quotes when talking about the Regernus testimony. #DeBoer #ssm
— feministlibrarian (@feministlib) March 22, 2014

"Defendants argued that...heterosexual married couples provide the optimal environment for...children. The Court rejects this rationale."
— feministlibrarian (@feministlib) March 22, 2014

Friedman makes point we don't legally exclude "sub-optimal" straight couples from parenting based on group status. http://t.co/PB2lQ7Pjd8
— feministlibrarian (@feministlib) March 22, 2014

"While the justices recognized the state’s expansive power in the realm of domestic relations, they also noted...this power has its limits."
— feministlibrarian (@feministlib) March 22, 2014

Judge Friedman also turned up the snark to full volume by pointing out, in a quote too long to excerpt on Twitter, that:

Taking the state defendants’ position to its logical conclusion, the empirical evidence at hand should require that only rich, educated, suburban-dwelling, married Asians may marry, to the exclusion of all other heterosexual couples. Obviously the state has not adopted this policy and with good reason. The absurdity of such a requirement is self-evident. Optimal academic outcomes for children cannot logically dictate which groups may marry.

As of this writing, Michigan marriage licenses for same-sex couples are on hold until further review, but it's worth noting that Friedman himself didn't issue the stay -- I think it's pretty clear he's had enough of these anti-gay shenanigans.

And finally, for anyone who missed it on Twitter and Facebook, my father wrote a lovely obituary for my grandmother (his mom) which appeared in the local paper this past Wednesday.

the season of the dying grandmothers

moon + venus. norridgewock, maine.

Hanna and I are back in Michigan.

My grandmother had a stroke on Tuesday afternoon and at first they thought it was minor, but internal bleeding developed at the hospital and she slipped into a coma on Tuesday night. My family was able to bring her home Wednesday evening, so that she can die in the home she and my grandfather shared during the majority of their marriage, until his death in 2007. It is a space that has been the hub in the wheel of the paternal side of my family for my entire life.

As I type this, I am sitting next to her bed in the living room. All the children and grandchildren and their spouses have gathered, along with a few close friends,  and my grandmother's golden retriever who circles around everyone, keeping track.

It is cold here, with ice still on the lake that we can see out the front windows. Snow banks are deep alongside the steep drive that leads from the road to my grandmother's house, which stands on a small rise. Out behind the house is a once-landscaped gulch with a creek running through it that, in the spring, will become carpeted with daffodils.

We are entangled with our own watchful waiting right now, but I know others among you are also wrestling with life transitions and trauma. My thoughts are also with all of you, whatever your life-changes and stressors may be.

It is good to be here, and I am grateful to all of those in my life who made it possible for Hanna and I to travel on such short notice. Thank you all.

random access blogging

Montague Bookmill, interior (December 2012)

I'm in the final stages of writing my conference paper, a week behind my self-imposed deadline. So no book review this week. I did, though, get a chance to read Violet Blue's Smart Girl's Guide to Porn (Cleis, 2006) this morning over breakfast, which I recommend for those interested in moving-picture porn. I personally have never done much with the genre, in large part because my interest in porn generally stops where the pay wall begins, and I'm not as willing to weed through the dross for the gold as I am with fan fiction. But Blue's slim guide is a great introduction and guidebook full of suggestions for getting the most, well, bang for your buck in a feminist-aware sort of way.

The reason I had Smart Girl's was that Hanna and I spent yesterday on a field trip to Montague Bookmill for lunch with friends, and then a subsidiary field trip to Brattleboro, Vermont, for weekly shopping at the Brattleboro Food Co-op. At the co-op, I spotted a gardening display featuring my friend Joseph's book on plant breeding!

It is so much fun to know people who write books and publish them.

Spring is just around the corner here in Boston. I feel I can say this despite the fact that I'm typing this hunkered down under two comforters and as many cats because today, for the first time since November, we were able go the whole day without turning on the electric heaters. A real milestone.

Plus, I went out yesterday in just a heavy sweater. Liberating!

(And I can tell I've reached adulthood because my major concern is not how early I can get away with running around barefoot, but rather whether or not warmer spring temperatures will balance out the cold-weather electric bills before a new twelve-month cycle of payments begins.)

The "not renewing" notice to our current landlords is sitting on the table by my messenger bag ready to go in the morning's mail. We have until March 31st to decide, but we talked it over on Friday and realized there was no point in waiting until the last minute: we know we're ready for somewhere new. My colleagues are all gunning for us to move to Jamaica Plain, a serious contender, though we're open to a broad swath of Boston within a three-mile radius of the Fenway where we both work. It's an adventure, our first joint search for a home. I think of it as our "going to housekeeping" moment.

Though of course this spring marks the sixth anniversary of my moving in to this space.

The longest I've lived anywhere except my childhood home.

The rest of the month is busy for us, with both of us attending (with duties) New England Archivists and then the following weekend me presenting at the Biennial Boston College Conference on Religion and History (that paper I'm a week behind in finishing). I'm looking forward to celebrating my birthday on the 30th as a way to mark the end of a hectic season!

I hope all of you are well; and to everyone whom I owe an email (there are about half a dozen of you, I know!) please know I haven't forgotten you and letters will be forthcoming once we're on the other side of conference sessions and such.

oh yes, we're home! [a no-photo post]

Hanna and I finally made it back to Boston on an uneventful Saturday-afternoon flight through Cleveland. We sort of didn't believe it was happening until we actually hit the runway at Logan, but yay! We're home.

We think it's probably a good measure of the good fit of our lives currently that even though we both really enjoyed the extended stay with my folks in Holland, we had good feelings about being back in Boston, in our apartment, and back at our respective jobs.

We're playing catch-up this week, for obvious reasons, but my hope for the winter/spring is to have at least one book review-type post up per week, likely on Mondays. For next week, I plan to write a joint review of Shiri Eisner's Bi and the anthology A Woman Like That both of which I read while snowbound in Michigan.

More soon. Meanwhile, enjoy this videosoothing of our new humidifier, which changes colors and baffles the cats!

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blizzard of '14: black river books [photo post]

Yesterday, in an attempt to re-boot the vacation we're inadvertently having, Hanna and I took a small road-trip to South Haven, Michigan, to visit a bookshop Hanna found via the Internets.

Black River Books was well-worth the thirty-minute drive down I-196. Our outbound trip was punctuated by a stop at Uncommon Grounds, where we refueled with two French Giana lattes. 

We paused at the cafe's community bulletin board to wistfully gaze at the "for rent" advertisement featuring a three-bedroom house on offer for less than what we pay per month for our one-bedroom in Allston.

South Haven was quiet, still digging out from the beginning of the week.

Sidewalks clearly weren't a top priority.

Hanna and I were the only two customers at the bookstore, which made for leisurely browsing. The shop was clearly set up as a sit-and-read business, complete with coffee urns and comfy chairs.

Like all used bookshops worth their salt, Black River Books had stacks of overflow (neatly labeled!) on the floor and steps-stools for easy book access.

They also had two shop dogs, who snuffled us out upon entry and then curled up in their appointed locations by the shop counter, waiting for snack time.

I have to say that only in West Michigan are you likely to find a religion section subdivided by Christian theologian (and "Jesus" shelves alongside [Philip] Yancey and Matthew Fox).

Though to their credit they also had extensive LGBT and Sexuality sections, as well as separately-shelved erotica, clearly labelled and tucked away above the paperback mysteries.

In the Sexuality section, I was delighted to find a 1972, hardcover and full-color edition of Alex Comfort's The Joy of Sex for which a review post will simply have to be forthcoming. Its loving sketchy drawings of the heterosexual couple enjoying intimacies of various configurations are as delightful as Dr. Comfort's opinions about things such as bisexuality are antiquated.

In any event, if you ever find yourself stuck in West Michigan for ten days longer than you anticipated in the middle of a snow storm, Black River Books is definitely a place we would recommend for a field trip!

blizzard of '14, day six [an update, with photos]

Today, our flights were re-scheduled for the fifth time in a week -- pushing us out to ten additional days in Michigan! It's wicked wild (as a Bostonian might say) how far the ripple-effect of cancelled flights and serial bad weather can reach.

So it's time for more self-soothing photography!

Playing with reflections on the dining room windows a couple of nights ago brought out some interesting visuals.

The family Christmas tree, mirrored in the glass against the falling snow.

A neighbor's out-door lights as seen across the church parking lot, drifted with snow.

The "brisk" temperatures of the Polar Votex brought in some gorgeous frost on my parents' windowpanes. This was yesterday's patterning on our bedroom window.

This morning, a strange globe of light appeared in the sky for a short portion of the morning. We took the opportunity to go out on a few needed errands: emergency prescription refills at Model Drug pharmacy, emergency coffee at lemonjello's, emergency trip to Herrick District Library for books.

Shoveling has become a bit daunting.

We've been so grateful for lemonjello's caffeination and gluten-free muffins!

The fierce wind and cold temperatures have conspired to create some fascinating snow sculptures along the eves of many buildings.

When I got off the phone with United this afternoon, first I spent a few moments pounding my fists on the floor in frustration. Then Hanna and I decided an emergency trip to the library was in order.

Because where do two snowbound librarians find peace, except in the stacks?

I like the way the children's room decorates ...

... and, perhaps more importantly, attends to the nutritional needs of its young readers!

On our walk home, Hanna snapped a few wintery pictures as the snow, once again, began to fall.

This has been another update from the Clutterbuck-Cook family adventure of January 2014! We hope all of you continue to be well.

blizzard of '14 [more photos]

Today was a slump-y sort of day. We woke up to yet another round of emails announcing the cancellation of our flights home (scheduled for tomorrow) and no further updates re: when we might actually be able to head Eastward.

(my digital camera somehow did this, and I have no idea how!)

It's not that we're in a bad situation -- we're warm and fed, and have a stellar group of friends and colleagues holding down the fort in Boston -- but it's hard, harder than I would have anticipated beforehand, to adjust to repeated new plans. Just as we adjust to plan B it's snatched out from under us and replaced with plan C, which in turn ... you get the idea.

Hardly the worst thing that's happened in the world since New Year's, but kind of draining.

And we miss our kitties.

(We've been here long enough now that Toby will grudgingly share the blankets...)

So I tried to soothe my grumpy soul by taking photos of some spectacular snow, more snow and colder temperatures than my parents have seen since the late 1970s.

Hope College, where I did my undergrad and where my father works, has delayed the start of classes for (if I recall correctly) only the third time in the past quarter century.

This has been a self-soothing update from the Clutterbuck-Cook expedition of January 2014. I hope that wherever you are tonight, you are warm and well and with those you love.

snowbound in michigan [an update with photos!]

Since last Thursday's post, our flights out of Michigan have been cancelled twice more due to weather, and now we're scheduled to return to Boston Tuesday evening - closing in on a full week longer than we anticipated being away! 

We're thankful to be safe and warm and not paying for hotels or on stand-by at the airport. It's also wonderful to have parents/in-laws we get along with, a flexible cat-minder, and understanding co-workers.

This afternoon, following the third postponement of our departure, Hanna and I were feeling a little punch-drunk and decided to walk down to New Holland Brewery for lunch. I took the camera, so here are some pictures from my snowy home-town!

The obligatory couples' portrait-taken-at-arm's-length on the front lawn. The new knit hats from my mother-in-law have really come in handy!

Hanna bundled up outside the church on our block.

The wind and snow-blowers have combined to make intriguing drifts around the trees.

The iconic Dimnent chapel at my alma mater, in the snow.

The brewery, as one of the few gathering places open on a Sunday downtown, was hopping. The snow was very picturesque from inside the pub!

Hanna and I have been admiring the Christmas decorations on main street this year, which depart from the usual red-white-green spectrum.

There wasn't enough traffic out and about to keep the snow off the roads. This is a view across the intersection of River and 10th, looking toward Centennial Park (dedicated in 1876).

The snow-melt network under the sidewalks was only keeping up with the snowfall under awnings, like here in front of the Park Theatre. No one had been out to brush off the public benches.

And this a view of the Holland Museum, where I got my start in public history twenty years ago. When I was a child, the museum was actually housed in what is now a B&B on the other side of the park, originally Holland's first hospital. The building pictured here was our post office until the late 1980s, and now houses the museum and archives. 

When I was twelve I used to deliver the daily paper to a very sweet, elderly Dutch couple who lived in this house. I doubt they live there any longer, but Hanna and I both agree that its location directly across from the public library can only add to its charm.

Wish us felicitous weather for safe travels Tuesday afternoon as we are scheduled to fly home to Boston!