Beautiful dahlias from my husband on a monday afternoon...

...in an earthy handmade vase he brought me from Japan...

and two other handmade vases he brought back...the white one has the most amazing aqua glaze inside, and I love the bottom edge of the blue stripes. All are from a special pottery town in Japan called Mashiko, such sweet gifts! Vintage doily handmade.

enjoying making some blind contours- inspired by the ai weiwei sunflower seeds at the tate modern that I saw a few weeks ago. also inspired by the indigo I have waiting to mix up and dye with! just need a good dye pot!

her shop

Since I last posted my life and the life of my family has suffered a great loss, which happened in just one moment. My husband's sister Stacie passed away in a tragic traffic accident. She was only 24. This journey took us to West Virginia where she was living, and now back to Washington. We now find ourselves in the most unlikely of places for a pair of city dwellers to land--a small town in Northern WA close to Whidbey Island, where my husband David's family lives. We have chosen to live here so we can spend time with them and walk this journey together.

The loss of Stacie has led me to a deeper sense of living. I have learned many lessons and dug deep for the strength to support my family. This loss has made me sad, angry, humbled, overwhelmed and disappointed, there have been moments of despair, hope, goodness, darkness and light and I know there are many more to come.

I am more aware now that we all have choices as to how we respond to life altering events and deep pain. This is my hope for my family: "Even the saddest things can become, once we have made peace with them, a source of wisdom and strength for the journey that still lies ahead." F. Buechner.

I am not sure that loss of a beloved family member is ever something that we can make peace with completely in this lifetime ~ because it seems impossible to understand.  But I do know that Stacie's life touched many others and that her beautiful, good and loving free spirit can serve as a great inspiration for living the journey that still lies ahead, and for that I am grateful, and hopeful.

title quote from Alice in Wonderland

Wow. I love this image.

a sunny day and a short bike ride from home. adventures in chinatown  

going to the beach, experimenting with making granola, drinking coffee (always),making monotypes, dropping whatever we are doing to walk down to the beach and watch the sunset every evening. enjoying life!!