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ThemeConf in Keswick

I had the pleasure of attending and speaking at ThemeConf in Keswick, UK this last week. It was quite a trip; I think I covered all manner of modern transportation to get there — planes, trains, buses, and taxis — but the conference, the people, and the scenery made the journey worth it.

Black bean burger at the Lancrigg
ThemeConf in Keswick

The conference was generally about forward-thinking web development, with a bias toward WordPress. Attendance was small, but that made it more intimate and easier to socialize. I learned quite a bit from each presenter; the level of each talk reminded me of CSS Conf, but without the massive venue and hefty price tag.

As for Keswick itself, the town is adorable. Small enough to be walk-able, with lots of cute shops and restaurants. People had a lot to say about the weather, but I had no complaints; I got re-acquainted with my sweaters.

(I did not enjoy coming home to 80-degree temperatures and suffocating humidity, but that’s a different story.)

Fifteen

I was going through old photographs after Dad passed with the intention of putting together a photo book, and came across some of my really old stuff.

It reminded me that Tim and I started dating 15 years ago. He was obviously my favorite subject, with a few dramatic selfies (which were not called selfies back then) thrown in for good measure. Man, we were young.

Happy 15 years, love. Let’s make the most of all the years yet to come.

Then and now

Shortly after we moved here, my parents bought the property next to ours and gave it to my brother, so today we decided to take a look around. At the back of the property are three junked cars that have been there for decades – an Oldsmobile, a Buick, and a Hudson. All of them have been stripped for parts, had their windshields shattered, are overgrown with trees and weeds, and are full of bullet holes from bored and/or disappointed hunters.

The last time I explored the land, I was a senior in college. I made these cars the subject of a photojournalism assignment. I think I got an A for conveying a sense of emotion and humanity without directly photographing a person.

I visited on three separate occasions in 2003 and 2004 as well. The cars lend themselves to high-contrast, black-and-white photos. Each time I go, I see some new detail I’d overlooked before.

This afternoon, I went back with my iPhone. The cars themselves haven’t changed much, but the photographs have. My eye probably has, too, thanks to the rebirth of square photography. Welcome to the age of Instagram.

I wonder what these cars will look like ten years from now. I wonder if I’ll still be drawn to them, and if so, I wonder what those photos will look like.

Christmas!

What a perfect day. Quiet time with family, the excitement of opening gifts, fun playing with new toys, yummy cookies and food — we really couldn’t ask for more.

Pyramid
Festive!
The shocked Christmas banana is a thing in this family
Frosting cookies
There’s a cookie under the sprinkles, somewhere…
Handmade ornaments
Cookies and Canadian beer for Santa
Quiet Christmas morning
We were up before the kids!
New PJ’s!
LEGO building
Breakfast with Uncle J
Playing with her new Doc Mobile
Elsa goes for a ride with the Doc
Playing with her sister’s LEGOs
Tim’s new toy
Moar LEGO
Time to engineer with Goldie
Hovercraft as evening entertainment

Santa’s Village

It’s been three years since our first trip to Santa’s Village in the mountainous winter wonderland that is upstate New Hampshire, and when Ellie asked to go for her birthday this year, the timing was right. The theme park caters to the younger set, and both kids are in the target age range, so we headed for the hills.

Then…
…and now 🙂
Teeny!

 

The first time, Gwen was just shy of four months old, and spent most of the trip sleeping in her stroller. Ellie was the hyperactive-yet-still-cautious three-year-old, who didn’t quite get what was going on, but still had fun running around in a sugar-fueled, Christmas-themed nirvana. Also, what I remember of the trip to and from the park (about 3-5 hours from our old house) was that it was mis-er-a-ble, with multiple stops for diaper changes, feedings, lots of screaming, and restless whining (and that was just the kids.)

I notice I didn’t write about that part in my first entry…

Waiting patiently
Hello, Mr. Penguin
Frosty!
Gingerbread family
Selfie while waiting for a ride on the spinning cups
Conversations with Dancer

This time the roles were different. Gwen was more tentative and too impatient to wait in lines, so one of us wandered with her, while the other joined Ellie for rides and activities. The trip was longer (7 hours, including potty breaks) but much less frantic thanks to the joy of iPads and Kindles and the increased attention span that comes with age. There was a fair amount of frustrated juggling, nagging, whining, and overstimulation on all our parts, but hey, that’s inevitable.

Four feet tall
Giddyup
Big bunny
Frosty
Watch out, Grandma!

It snowed the night we arrived, which left a picture-perfect dusting of clean white on everything the next morning. It made winter look charming and beautiful, rather than something to be shoveled through and griped about, and that’s saying something, considering our winter started a month early this year.

Miracles, this way
Santa’s Village
Yum

We stayed at a little motel that’s directly across from the park, and that made for a good experience; not fancy, but the owners were sweet and the place itself was kid-friendly and clean. We also found an adorable old-country-diner-style restaurant that serves breakfast all day; seriously good eats that all of us enjoyed, even the five-year-old aka Miss Picky.

The Water Wheel
Potbelly stove
Ellie’s tower of jelly
Oatmeal
Daddy, barely holding it together after a long night of little sleep
Happy kids
Kitsch

And the park itself was just as fun as we remembered. Ellie especially enjoyed meeting Santa (“He knew it was my birthday, Mama!”) and getting her birthday present of choice from the gift shop (a Frozen-themed friendship jewelry set and tin).

A merry Christmas tree
Gingerbread house
Making snow
Blue lights at night
All lit up

Gwen, well…Gwen just enjoyed the change of scenery. This is the same child who walked into a rest area restroom we stopped at on the way and exclaimed, “Wow, dis is amazing!” She was equally excited about the many different gas stations we encountered, the motel room, and the cheapo toy in her McDonald’s Happy Meal. Three year olds!

Automattic Grand Meetup 2014

Tim and I spent last week in Park City, Utah, for our company’s annual grand meetup. After much discussion, laughter, food, and games, I am feeling both energized and exhausted by the experience — a pretty common post-meetup feeling.

Couple on a plane selfie
Season 1 Agent Scully demonstrates how to access your life vest…
Landed in Salt Lake City!
Not a bad location
Cute General Store in Park City
Construction
The Egyptian theater
Downtown Park City
Downtown Park City
Park City photo walk
Pyrex mosaic at Atticus Coffee
Pre-flash-talk! Eeep!
Beautiful clouds
The making of a company photo
Company photo, complete with drone?
Colorful amuse-bouche
Cami on a gondola
Chris on a gondola
Fun on a mountainside
View from the top
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
(Un)synchronized WordPressing
Cards Against Humanity
Park Silly Sunday
Park Silly Sunday

That time of year…

Autumn appears to have arrived in northern Maine a bit earlier than usual. We spent the morning doing yard work. A large branch from one of the apple trees came down, so we salvaged what fruit we could from the ground; most were too tart for good eating, but perfect for baking, so I decided to make a crisp. The house smells like fall.

WordCamp Maine

We spent a long weekend in Portland for the first WordCamp Maine. It was a small and low-key WordCamp by comparison (I’ve attended others—Montreal and London—that were much larger) but it was great to see colleagues and familiar faces and meet local WordPress users/developers.

Are we happy yet?
Cain & Obenland in the mooooorning!
Post-talk talk
Really good chocolate & coffee keeps us going
Portland Head Light
Contributor day
I’m not sure about this…
…even less sure about this.

Most of my time was spent at the Happiness Bar, but I also sat on and answered questions at the design panel. Underscores got a lot of kudos, and I was even inspired to submit a pull request for Contributor Day (my first in a while).

We don’t get to southern Maine often, so it was nice to have a mini getaway, too. I didn’t realize how much of a foodie city Portland is until I’d spent a few days downtown; there are lots of little places to eat, and there wasn’t a single meal I didn’t enjoy.

From an outsider’s perspective, it went pretty smoothly. I hope that means we’ll have another WordCamp Maine to look forward to next year.

Hello, Miami

Sandy feet on South Beach
Tammie and Michelle at Pubbelly Sushi
Ceviche at Books & Books Café

I just got back from six days in Miami for a work meetup with our squad. This is the first squad event I’ve planned, so I was a bit nervous — mostly about the location, and driving in the city. Thankfully both things worked out (as they usually do).

Sausage tree
South Beach apartments
Ocean Drive

The hotel wasn’t anything special, but it was affordable, clean, the internet worked, and there were a few restaurants and a Starbucks within walking distance.

We drove through the city and out to the South Beach area a couple times, and I was a surprisingly calm and competent driver (this coming from the woman who learned to drive on teeny back roads, and a highway where you’re more likely to hit a moose than another car…) We would have been totally lost without Michelle, my trusty navigator.

South Beach at night
Ocean Drive
Miami style

The food was especially great; a big win, since we had an array of unique dietary requirements in our six-person group. Lots of Cuban and Latin influences, and a couple Japanese restaurants stood out (I have a newfound appreciation for sushi/maki after this trip). It was usually possible to find something for everyone, and a couple of the dinners were particularly amazing. We also did a food tour activity on the last day, and that was a hit.

Breakfast at Courtyard Marriot
Colorful tofu at Black Brick
Tuna tartare on crispy rice at Makoto
Cuban market
Crab roll at Pubbelly Sushi
Salmon Maki at Pubbelly Sushi
Bunniecakes
Dylan’s Candy Bar
Bunniecakes

And there was the beach! We spent a couple hours just hanging out in the sun. It’s been such a long winter, the ocean breeze and sub-tropical scenery were a welcome change.

Tammie’s beach time
Seafoam
Turquoise and blue
Beach time in Miami
Kathryn
South Beach

I completely forgot to take photos of everyone working; suffice it to say we did work, and you’ll see the results in the next couple weeks. All in all, it was a successful, engaging, and fun week.

With that in mind, I’m glad I don’t have to plan another one for at least a year. 🙂