moving, exhausting...

so, we continue sorting, recycling, donating, offering things to friends
shredding
wishing recycling came *every* week in September and October.
we are on track though.
my studio is very nearly done (I'll take pictures this weekend - for now I'm just putting up anything I have in the computer that I haven't posted yet - I hope I have a photo to share, because I so don't appreciate a blog post without photos)
I've completed all of my projects due to folks - going to mail them all out this week.
Starting training my replacement at work today. Wonderful woman. Very exhausting to spend the whole day training!
Participating in what will be a *fabulous* chapel service tomorrow.
More packing. More trips to Half Moon Bay. More dolphin sightings (I've tried to capture them on film - no luck - it is magical to watch them though)
Soon and very soon we'll be finished with packing. and training. and good-bye parties, teas, lunchs, dinners. And we'll be spending a week on the road, taking the slow lane to Seattle - with a few scenic stops along the way. Room service. Hot tub. Gallery exploring. More beach time (in Oregon this time). We so need that. Only 15 more days!

n is for ....

new york: When I lived on Long Island I went into Manhatten as often as I could to see all the musicals I could knowing my stay there would be relatively short - I was there two years and saw over 40! Went to every museum I could find. Only went to see the "tourist shows" when friends and family from Oregon came to visit. Tourist shows are the ones that native New Yorkers never admit to seeing (Cats, Les Miz, and the like) -- fortunately I had many friends and family come to visit, so I saw them all. I had the opportunity to see many 'famous' people in the musicals - Nell Carter, Joan Rivers and more. Often waiting for them at the stage door with my friend Chris (he knew all the right things to do theatre wise). More photos from my 'scrapbook' on my flickr. I took them all before I tossed them all into recycling (I love moving!)

nest: Don't actually have a photo of a nest. So looking forward to creating our next nest in Washington. The more we pare down now, the prettier the nest will be :) This photo is from a bunch I took of birds at Half Moon Bay. Doing a bit of drawing for another bird project.

natural: Huge fan. Hiking. Organic foods. No GMOs. No copyright on food. No corporations making 'special seeds', bankrupting farmers. Heirloom fruits and veggies.

neverland: I'm not an obsessed person about Peter Pan. However, I do love the description of Neverland.

Packing, sorting, recycling papers, taking bags of things to Goodwill. New goal -- finishing boxing up all but two boxes worth of things from my studio by this Sunday night! Any guesses on how many total boxes that'll be?

Your Birth Month is December

You love life and exude an outgoing, cheerful vibe.Blessed with a great sense of humor, you can laugh at adversity. Your soul reflects: Celebration, success, and wealth Your gemstone: Blue Topaz Your flower: Narcissus Your colors: Indigo, green, and blue-green

What'>http://www.blogthings.com/whatdoesyourbirthmonthmeanquiz/">What Does Your Birth Month Mean?

m is for....

my interpretation of journal prompt via dawn sokol:

and back to the alphabet.

magic: Don't you love it when you encounter magic on what seems to otherwise be a normal, everyday experience? Like finding a meter with time still on it. Or going to the coffeeshop to find that it's free latte afternoon. Or really hoping to learn enamel skills and finding a class tomorrow available to me!
messy paper: One photo sample of the messy paper I often have on the messy table of my studio...I swirl around bits of leftover paint, then when it's full, cut it up and add it to art projects.

moon: We always look to the sky at night to see the moon. Make wishes upon the moon.

martha stewart: Found her again on the Fine Living channel. I so admire her.

metal clay: Love experimenting with this magic medium. I have a bunch of new pieces, but am packing them up for the move, I'll show you all finished objects later (late October, mid-November?)

merry christmas: The holiday season. The only early display I love. In fact, I like that places are filling with red, green, blue and glitter. It is a constant gentle reminder to keep working on those gifts. And advent - what a glorious time to be in community. I love all the family photo cards that come in the mail. Those christmas newsletters! The variety of cards, the colour of the envelopes, the re-connection with family and friends from around the globe. The christmas lights (we are of the all white light camp), the gift wrapping, the baking, the open houses, the spice-y smells in the air...

maker faire: If I was able to take any one thing home from the Maker Faire this year...it would have been this camper! For as long as I can remember I always had this dream of living in a tiny cabin in the woods along side a river. So incredibly efficient and beautiful. Maybe someday we'll have one of these beauties. I love the awning in front too.

l is for...

luscious: I just love the way this word sounds - try it. (pause) Doesn't it sound decadent and yummy? Luscious yarn, luscious fabric, luscious gardens...love that descriptive word.

latte: Love them, ration them now that i've learned that dairy isn't my good, good friend. Still trying to find a good milk substitute that works heated (soy, no; almond milk, no - any other suggestions?)

lamott: One of my favorite Christian writers. So much of what she writes resonates with me, love to hear her speak too, one of the great benefits of living in the Bay Area for the past four years is that we've had the pleasure to listen to her in person half a dozen times - at her home church, at our chapel, at graduation and as fundraisers. Love her!

let's do lunch: The beginnings of a new friendship, the ease kindred spirits. A slowly sipped coffee while chatting about our families, our jobs, our home, our life, our art. Meals while we lived on campus during seminary were such a treat, theological discussions, full-tilt life conversations. I will *so* miss those. We're moving on - to explore new places, learn more about new people, new communities, and still (hopefully) theological discussions.

lawn: Maybe at the next house? Not a lot of lawn (it's very ecologically unfriendly), but just a bit at our feet (because isn't a lush lawn so fabulous on our feet?) by the Adirondack chairs, under the Sky Chair, or near the hammock. The rest of the yard full of native plants that require whatever water is provided naturally. (This lawn is at Chateau Ste. Michelle, these peacocks were totally into me!). When I lived in Pullman, I developed a lovely habit of going to this great park with a quilt, and a pile of stuff - books, art supplies, letter writing paraphernalia - the grass was so soft, fragrant and deep green, I'd lay down and nearly immediately take a glorious nap.

luau: always wanted to attend an authentic luau, is it possible, or are they all hotel sponsored tourist traps these days?

k is for...

koala?: not sure. Did see them though when we lived in Australia...will have to see if I can find a photo from one of our wildlife sanctuary visits.

kismet: fate. i do believe that we have the larger hand in our fate, faith, belief, hard work, all come together in kismet.

kris kringle: love the English, old fashioned pre-Coca Cola version of father christmas.

x's (and o's): hugs and kisses. love this shorthand. Sculpture seen on the grounds of Chateau Ste. Michelle, beautiful, peaceful sanctuary with great views of Mt. Rainier

krispy kreme: one of the reasons i love krispy kreme is the big, big machine you can watch make the donuts. An engineering marvel in my opinion. Tasty donuts too.

kayak: so looking forward to trying out some of the available designs. Found a sweet little lake in our new 'hood and we are excited to try out a new way to explore nature.

kindred spirit: we just know don't we? the instant click when we meet someone who we get, we feel they get us. And then we get to know these folks better, cookouts, coffee, hikes, knitting nights, just chatting more. Found some folks I'm looking forward to getting to know better in the Seattle area...hope to meet you too, if you live in the area, send me a note :)

what are your k's?

j is for...

journey. What a wild ride it's been. And the journey continues! We are moving to the Seattle area! We're thrilled, house hunting and enjoying exploring the area for a bit. Late yesterday afternoon we wandered the Chateau Ste. Michelle grounds for a bit, encountering these two peacocks. Also found the heart leaf -- what a weekend full of love and joy. A great community has embraced us, we cannot wait to settle here. The photo to the left is one of the outdoor seating areas at the home we have been welcomed into this week. Beautiful!

journal. My visual journal has been getting a lot of time these past few days, I haven't been writing much down, maybe because I'm blogging quite a bit?

joy. Feeling the love these days. So full of joy!

junk. I *heart* little treasures, the thrill of the hunt, the anticipation of finding one of the things on my list. The dusty nooks and crannies at the yard sale, the thrift store, the antique mall.

jelly beans. One of the first day trips we did when moving to the Bay Area was a trip to the Jelly Belly factory. Wild. Great fun. Haven't had any jelly beans since (they have seconds in these huge bags, I think we bought two bags - we shared with friends, but still...a lot of jelly beans!)

what are your j's?

i is for...

ice cream. Did you ever make ice cream as a family? Have any of you tried the super brightly coloured plastic spheres that REI (and probably other camping/sporting goods places) sells to make ice cream at your camping site? I'd love to try it, but don't really want to add to the kitchen gadgets unless it is really effective. Anyone? Tell us your ice cream making stories....especially if they involve these ice cream making spheres.

imagination. In college I had a full on crush on Albert Einstein (who didn't) - I mean the hair! the smiles and smirks, the fluffy 'i'm too busy to conform to the close cut cropping of men's hair in this era' wild hair. His commitment to many social justice causes. One of my favorite quotes of his: "Imagination is more important than knowledge".

intuition. I need quiet and alone time every day to replenish my intuition. Hey, another 'I'...because I am an introvert (well, borderline, I can be an extrovert, and am in some situations, at the beginning of the school year when new people are all around, when I start a new job, most coffee hours (though sometimes, I sneak out the back :))

inspired. By nature, truly. I just don't know what I'd do if I didn't live near enough to water to get to it regularly for day trips, hiking, picnics, photographing birds, fences, trees, other plant life. Also inspired by colour, the writers of blogs, architecture, yarn, thrift stores, garage sales, the women in my family - mom, grandma, aunts, sister in law...strong, beautiful women!

I titled this piece 'Innocence' because that's the name of the paint chip snippet on this quilt. It'll be on etsy soon.

artfest & sleepless nights

struggling and struggling with the artfest registration form!
some days have 5 classes i could pick for #1
having a hard time with one day trying to pick first choice.

meals are about as good as any cafeteria (would rather make my own), but *so* much happens in the dining hall!

gotta pick those final classes and complete the rest of the blanks to get it out in the early a.m. mail! so excited. i've started making trades too.

h is for...

hot coffee. It really wasn't about the caffeine! I love the rich, deep flavor of coffee...now I have decaf Americanos, with occasional 1/2 lattes (half the milk, double the decaf shots) yum! Seriously, if you love coffee and haven't tried my friends coffee yet, please, give it a try - *so* good!

home sweet home. I'm such a nester. I love 'corners of my home' on flickr. (If you haven't yet discovered this corner of the internets, watch out, you could spend *HOURS* looking at all the fabulousness in 'corners of my home' alone). I love HGTV! Love, love, love! These are my teeny tiny collages I make into little pendants. I have lots related to the home, lots of hearts and lots of winter imagery. hmmm.

hearts. Love the symbol, I love the anatomically correct heart too (I just haven't really explored using it in my art yet...though now I'm completely inspired to do so).

handmade/homemade/handcrafted. Love, love, love. It truly is the thought that counts, isn't it? When you know someone really thought about you while deciding what to make you, what colours to make it in and then thought about you all the while they were creating it...isn't that the best?

what are your h's?

g is for...

granny squares! I have been making granny squares for years. The 'christmas blanket' i made in grad school (ahem, more than 15 years ago). The silver granny square is one of my most proud art pieces (available here, with custom colours or inscriptions)

i love this hat! Seen on a poster at one of our favorite shoe stores in Bend. Soon, i'll be needing hats, so i'll have to try to figure out how to make this.

gift wrap. I love to do extra special wrapping for my etsy people. Usually i forget to take a photo. I was always the gift wrap person in our family. My dad owned a mail business (Handle with Care) and one holiday season he had a space at the mall - so people could wrap, box and ship moments after purchasing. When I finished my last final in Eugene (U of O) I drove straight to the mall and begin wrapping gifts. I *love* wrapping gifts!

go write. I love this collage and the reminder to squirrel away and spend time with my journal, jotting down blog notes, etc.

giggles. In high school I had to leave the classroom a couple of times because I couldn't control my laughter. As an adult, I have had to leave meetings on occasion. Laughter is the best medicine.

growth. A beautiful word, brings to mind spring, wonderful smells, earthy. A favorite of folks who frequent the library (or bookstores), schools, lifelong learning.

go to your destiny. A favorite phrase between us.

good earth tea. Has saved me since giving up caffeine. My favorite break tea. So, so yummy.

grace. A mantra for me when I am confronted by folks saying and/or doing hurtful mean things.

goldberg, natalie. If you keep a journal or a blog, if you love to read, especially books about writing, self expression, living your dream, etc. you must read Natalie Goldberg!

'good conversation is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after' anne morrow lindbergh