salvaging, part one

The family recently discovered Franklin Heritage, Inc. in downtown Franklin just a hop, skip and a pancake down the way from our monstrosity of a home. We happened upon them whilst searching for skeleton keys on ye olde craigslist and thought it might be a trove of treasure just waiting for our grubby little paws to sift through. After spending a great deal of time staring at schoolhouse lights on the internets, Miranda Jane was delighted to find a salvaged globe and fixture that i purchased for a few bones. "Happy birthday."

We then decided to spend the afternoon touring several antique shoppes along Jefferson Street right in the heart of downtown Franklin. We're still living amongst quite a bit of chaos in the house which makes it difficult to know what might go where. Also, having two curious, can't-look-without-touching youngsters along makes antique shopping slightly trickier than a run to the grocery store. Though we weren't ready to commit to any big ticket items, we did grab a few flashcards bearing the kids initials and some avian-inspired illustrations. 

Purchased for fifty pennies each at Salvage Sisters' Antique Market. 

Suitable for framing.

happy thanks, y'all

Celebrating with family the Rockey family during the holidays has always been a daylong event brimming with a whole lot of food, a whole lot of people, a whole lot of noise, a whole lot of laughing. This thanksgiving, we sat around an amazing meal with grandparents and great grandparents at the home in which i spent my high school days. We heard my grandfather tell stories that my dad had never even heard before. We added a new moniker to his already long list of nicknames: Grampa Junie. It was such a quiet, joyous affair that eventually turned into creative wonderland. 

Just when it looked as though the evening would be drawing to a close, we were joined by my uncle Conrad, cousin Becca and some new friends who immediately found themselves lending voices to a surprise recording session taking place in the family room. After warming up our guests with a sing-along, i passed the baton to Olivia Jane who passed out paper and crayons to everyone and invited us all to make drawings.

Here's one of Olivia's incredible drawings paired with a lyric sheet that she requested of me.

My contribution to the collection of drawings. Old friends being thankful.

Olivia's great grandfather delighted us all with his masterful rendering of a horse.

Olivia then had everyone who contributed drawings (and vocals, by the way) sign this cover sheet for the collection. We continued to laugh and eat chocolate-covered delicacies while dreaming up nativity-inspired colors for an idea-pitch to Crayola. Possible crayon colors include "soft manger", "star of bethlehem", "donkey grey", "gold", "virgin white" and "becca's favorite".  It's difficult to imagine that this idea won't make millions of somethings.

Holiday traditions have come and gone over the years, but i'm thankful for children who inspire me and invite their family to create colorful memories together.

satellite's gone

About twenty years ago, as a young college sapling, i discovered a misplaced cassette tape in a parking lot. Printed on the plastic casing of the tape were the words “Walk On The Wild Side - The best of Lou Reed”. At the time, my familiarity with Reed’s work may or may not have begun and ended with the words of that title. Regardless, I took that tape home and quickly secured it into the winding wheels of my sony walkman. I spun the wheels backward until the tape ran out, pressed play, and heard the words, “Satellite’s gone up to the skies. Things like that drive me out of my mind…” Everything that followed melted my mind.

The music was a little weird, a little gritty, a little funky, a little sweet.

It was poetry. It was honest. It was rock. It was roll.

The following is the first proper recording from the new far-from-renovated studio of The Mustard Room. It is a precursor to a forthcoming album of cover songs democratically selected by friends. It is a disheveled yet affectionate tribute. Dig it.

housewarming

Let's be honest, folks - it's supposed to be chilly in autumn. We're a good week into october and thus far the weather has been unseasonably warm as we've been counting down the days until the new furnace is installed at the rockey home (or as i'm now calling it: The Madness). This week, the climate turned on a dime. After wearing shorts all day sunday whilst installing more ductwork, we all woke up monday morning and immediately pulled on the cosby sweaters and knit caps. While preparing breakfast, Miranda and i even enjoyed a romantic moment by warming our hands over a boiling pot of oatmeal. These are the days.

If i may say so, we're getting pretty good at running ductwork. Our friend mike (whose friendship, skills, and generosity have been invaluable to us in our home renovation endeavors) helped us construct a piece of ductwork to run through a pesky ceiling joist. I've discovered a hidden tin-snip proficiency that has proven very useful in these duct-running days. Peep this collar installation on this near-perfect circle that i fashioned in a scrap piece of sheet metal.

still got a long way to go

It has now been about three months since our little family took up residence in this beast of a home in old towne greenwood. Quite honestly, it feels like much longer. For the most part, we've done more destruction than renovation thus far. One of the biggest deconstruction projects has been ripping out the wall between our kitchen and dining room. The previous pic shows how our gorgeous dining room appeared when we first looked at the place before buying. The following pic shows the doctor helping with some cleanup after demolishing most of the dividing wall.

After about two months, we finally secured the floor being semi-supported by that wall remnant and opened up that space completely. Now, at long last, we have decided to begin tearing out the less-than-desirable carpeting throughout the house.

Although the hardwood floors underneath are in need of some sweet sweet lovin', they are much more pleasant to look at and walk upon than the questionable-stain-plagued-animal-piss-smellin' carpeting. It's the little things that provide small glimpses into what we hope this house to become over the course of who-knows-how-long. Bit by bit, little by little, we are making this home our own. More to come.

problem child

beautiful, beautiful zion

we now return to a rockey home companion

It's been a bit since i've given any updates regarding the house sitch and/or otherwise. The fact of the matter is, summer times have been just plain crazy pants. Things have been slow-going as we attempt raising the sag in our first floor with a couple of car jacks and evicting old insulation between our ceilings and roofs. We've gotten all kinds of intimate with our crawlspaces and attics. Bow-chicka-bow-wow, y'all.

In the meantime, baby jane started her third semester of preschool before the summer was even half over. We celebrated her fifth year with a string of parties and a slumber party with her pal bella. The two stayed up late eating popcorn and watching a movie about a girl named Saige who makes paintings of horses and watermelon-coloured mountains. Baby jane got inspired to continue pursuing the arts with a reignited passion. A few days later, we surprised her after school with some new paints and turned our front porch into a makeshift painting studio.

The doctor even got in on the action...

While he was discovering his inner pollack, baby jane dazzled us by unveiling her newest masterpiece...

Voila!

shine on, you crazy diamonds

Sometimes when sifting through the morning papers over coffee and chicken, i feel compelled to honor those who are now waiting on the other side. Sometimes we're left with memories of them wearing large hats. Other times the paper gets the aspect ratio of their photograph wrong. Here's to you and the lasting impressions you've given us all!

i was wrong, i'm sorry & i love you

Guys, when an artistic hero invites you to help create something, sometimes you just say yes and lend a hand. Enjoy this clip from derek webb's forthcoming album. It features my ugly mug lip-syncing and baby jane's lovely penmanship. Holla.

a homely home less homely

We've been two weeks at the new home and it's starting to feel somewhat like, well, a home. The place is still very rough around all edges as we're focusing all of our attention on the practical workings of plumbing, pocket windows, and demolition. Fortunately, we have our hot wax to keep us sane.

The second floor bathroom is first on our list of large scale overhauls. We've been pulling up stick and peel tiles, tearing down walls, and building floor plans. The next step is to strip the room of all amenities in order to lay new plumbing in the floor. 

We're in it - in it to win it.

Goodnight, Harvest Moon.

After nine and a half years of transforming a less-than-exciting house into a home, we've said goodbye to harvest moon drive. After a weekend of moving our earthly belongings two miles north to our new home, we returned one last time to say our goodbyes. Things got ridiculously emotional as baby jane sobbed on the floor of her empty bedroom mourning the loss of her window. The tears spread like wildfire, y'all. We've now been in our new home for a full week and things have been equally weird and wonderful. Our neighbors are fantastic beautiful people. Our house is in need of a few dump trucks of love.

More to come. Until then, let us take a moment to reminisce all the precious moments shared in the house on harvest moon.

Family = A Big

Nice try, champ

Tis once again the season for designing artwork for and printing t-shirts for the annual Southminster Presbyterian Church camp at Camp Olivet. Here is my favorite idea so far which was quickly rejected by MJ as she informed me that the Muppets aren't as cool as they once were. She has never been more wrong about anything ever.

Nature freestyle

An aural supplement, episode 20

Running Time: 1:13:39 | File Size: 68 MB

Download: .mp3

To subscribe to this podcast: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ARockeyHomeCompanion

Six years and twenty episodes later, the ARHC is moving on. This little cast from the top of the stairs has given Laveta something to keep his gross hands busy on occasion, but everything put together falls apart. While no one could ever take the place of the dirty doctor of digital files, just hold on and keep dancing out in space to the dogs running free in the... oh for crying out loud; this is ridiculous. Au revoir, comrades. 

1. The Raconteurs "Five on the Five
2. David Bowie "Dancing Out In Space"
3. Seu Jorge "Queen Bitch"
4. Richard Swift "Top of the Stairs"
5. Finn Brothers "Eyes of the World"
6. Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins "Run Devil Run"
7. The Who "However Much I Booze"
8. Bob Dylan & The Band "Bessie Smith"
9. Paul & Linda McCartney "Ram On (Reprise)"
10. Talking Heads "Memories Can't Wait"
11. Fleetwood Mac "What Makes You Think You're the One"
12. The Beach Boys "Angel Come Home"
13. Prince "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"
14. Paul Simon "Everything Put Together Falls Apart"
15. Tom Waits "Hold On"
16. Guided by Voices "Blimps Go 90"
17. Bob Dylan "If Dogs Run Free"
18. John Wesley Harding "When The Beatles Hit America"
19. Pearl and the Beard "Black Hole of Calcutta"
20. Crowded House "Time Immemorial"

Neighborz 4 lyfe

About ten years ago, MJ and i had a household's worth of stuff packed up in various places whilst living with a kindly family who welcomed us into their home for a couple of months. Occasionally, we would ride the rails and eat beans from a can. I became quite skilled on the blues harp as the two of us would dance outside small cafes and dive bars whistling for pennies. The judgmental ogling of the passersby effected us not; we had a song in our hearts what needed to be sung. Time wore on as time will often do and we finally settled into the house on Harvest Moon - nestled in sunny Summerfield Village - that would serve as our home for the next near decade. 

About a year after our move, the allure of vacant strip malls, struggling mexican restaurants, and the ever present aroma of deep fried cod would bring our newlywed pals, the Hymans, to a new home just down the street in our lively neighborhood. Over the course of those next nine years, we would share many meals; make new friends; watch neighbors come and go; watch their houses become rental properties; celebrate the births of children; mourn the loss of children; house family members for extended periods of time; drink a whole lot of coffee; edit VBS videos; plan retreats and vacations; rant about the state of CGPC; talk about Jesus and the bible and tapeworms; watch Lost; eat kebobs and white chicken chili and pizza; fall asleep with bellies full of cantaloupe smoothie while Dirty Rotten Scoundrels played in Spanish; watch our sons and daughters become friends and go to school together and hit one another with pvc pipes; sell lots of junk for hundreds of dollars year after year; and support one another as we made tough decisions and hard transitions in jobs, family and life in general. 

Through all of it, our friendship has remained in tact as we've shared life together.

Nine years later, just a couple weeks apart, our homes in picturesque Summerfield Village have both been sold by a realtor who gets shit done. And while our families are respectively excited about the possibilities of where we will make our homes next, it's all rather bittersweet when we realize that we'll not be living just a few doors down from each other very soon. 

As i write this, neither MJ and myself nor our friends the Hymans have closed on a new home. We've been helping one another pack and move and clean - along with a few other friends who have also caught the moving bug - trying not to think too much about the distance that will find itself between us. We should all be so lucky to find neighbors who are as caring and generous of friends as the Hymans have been to us over these last nine years. Now, as we all pack up our kids and take to the rails to whistle for pennies indefinitely, we imagine opportunities for new neighbors, and creative ways of sharing life together, and one day celebrating our children's children all while reminiscing of those days on Harvest Moon Drive when the kids would climb the fence and run each other over in the Barbie Jeep and learn how to love each other.

Free market economy

Don't speak to me when i'm eating breakfast

Prelude to an oral exam

Oh, if only this building could speak.

Smoke 'em if you got 'em.

Parables from portland

A few weeks back, me and my crew spent a weeklong holiday in the pacific northwest with my aunt and her family. 'Twas gorgeous and lovely and delightful and all. It was my first time ever on the west coast. It was the doctor's first time ever splashing in the ocean. We hiked a mile up the side of a waterfall. We were given free coffee by locals. One of us had a rock dropped on our foot by some kid messing around the side of a cliff. 

Living on the edge, y'all.

Side note: My aunt makes some fat coin selling antique dolls and such on these here interwebs. Somehow, because of that, these poor ragamuffins ended up in my notebook.

A kiss to you, my friend

Read all about it

Sometimes, you reach in to the magic cauldron of the morning paper, accompanied by nothing more than a pen and a styrofoam cup of coffee, and you receive a special gift.

Everybody wins.

Just tell me what it is that you want

“I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” -Walt Whitman

Several week ago, i made a drawing of a blase feline accompanied by the word “Yawp”. I immediately posted a photo of the drawing to ye olde book of faces asking who might be interested in trading currency for a snuggly t-shirt featuring this untamed beast. Apparently, i wasn’t alone in finding humor in the juxtaposition of a domesticated animal and this word of wild abandon from Whitman’s famous poem. The response pushed the project forward and forward it went.

Not only did i print a short run of t-shirts, but also a few handsome totes that are perfect for carrying around big fat records, books, and so forth to and fro. Everything can be found – in limited numbers, mind you – in my ONLINE SHOPPE.

Asking friends to participate in the decision-making process for this little project was super rad and i hope to do it again soon. Thanks to everyone who gave their input and to all those who continued to bear with me whilst my tendency to procrastinate kept these shirts from being printed for far too long.

Love, The Mustard Room

Giving credit where credit is due.

Mad props.

You know who you are.

Non-negotiables

Designs for sale

Baby Jane's getting into the family business. There needs to be no explanation when you consider that she's creating work far superior to that of her old man.

This guy is her version of something that i was working on. I know. It's so totally rad and much more interesting to look at than the original. I don't even want to do a side by side comparison. Her drawing is that much better.

This is what happens when you show up two minutes late to give a proposal at a meeting and you realize that you're really about fifteen minutes early. I think it's the logo for a new campaign to promote letting go... 

or grabbing hold... 

or both.