inspiration tuesday. Sea.

we spent sunday afternoon at Golden Gardens, one of my favorite spots to watch the sun setting over the Olympic Peninsula. since then, i've been dreaming of a week at the beach. not the fun-in-the-sun beaches of Southern California (though i do love those), but one of our wind-swept spaces in the northwest. i want a sea of stars. i want cold waves at first light.

{image credits, from top to bottom: La Push at Night, by Rob Golkosky; The Nighttime Aruba Sky, byth.omas; Every Cloud a UFO 2, by Alexander Kesselar; Ghostly sea at night... all the while the lights shine so bright, by Tobias Hoffmann; A Firey End, by Ryan Alexander; Sea in the Night, by Klearchos Kapoutsis; and Ghosts on the Beach, by Abnormally Genetic.}

out like a lioness.

this weekend, i...




savored seattle,
saw eaglets learning to fly,
finished the taxes,
bought a crock-pot,
drank mock-tails
& had an impromptu dinner party for our friends next-door.
how about you?
peace. & LOVE.

happy monday.

hi loves,

hope you had the loveliest of weekends. the sun is shining here in seattle, and we woke up to a fast-melting blanket of snow today. 'tis beautiful.

this weekend, we...

happy-houred.

celebrated the one-year anniversary of one of the studios where i teach.

desserted.

brunched.

re-watched one of my favorite movies.

tinkered.

how about you?

{p.s. i'm blushing... Modish featured my newly cleaned studio this morning along with one of my sweet online pals, Yokoo. check it out!}

{p.p.s. i'm painting. photos tomorrow. xo.}

joy to the world.

i'm not sure what to write.
words do not seem enough to convey the pride, hope & joy i have today.
elizabeth alexander's inaugural poem moved me to tears, so perhaps it's best that i share that with you.


Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

la la la monday.

when i woke up this morning, i thought i had been inflicted with a case of the mondays. you know what i mean, mourning the passing of the weekend, starting the week without clear direction, and on and on. it turns out, however, that i most decidedly do NOT have a case of the mondays. in fact, i have had a most productive day. hoorah for that. there is nothing like starting the week on a high note, i say.

this weekend i...
ate sushi at our favorite spot.
took in the chinese exhibition at the seattle asian art museum.
washed shyla. (she's so fluffy now!)
explored our neighborhood and discovered many new gems.

happy friday.

i love today.

my first bike ride since the storm was quite glorious.

and both yoga classes i taught today were full of heart & soul.

we are off to the gym & then our second spanish session.

seattle is basking in her greyness.

life is good.

light + love.

{dancing in light.}

{drawn.}

{i see my light shining.}

Oh neighborhood, how do I love thee?

Lots and lots and lots. Here is just one of the many splendid secrets my daily walks contain.

{and happy monday, too.}

i'm on a marathon teleconference, darlings. i miss you!

love from the pink powder-room,

hello monday.

and hello darlings.

this weekend, i...

danced around like a crazy-lady just to make my husband laugh.

conspired, planned, woke up early, and succeeded in securing phish tickets to a show that sold out in seven minutes.
rode my bike all over town.
had the delightful opportunity to attend a photography workshop with a local teacher.

finally got a full night of sleep. {bk couldn't even wake me up to tell me that someone won the million dollar prize on wheel of fortune saturday night. yes. i just wrote that and each crazy part of it is the absolute truth.}

ate a delicious burrito at my neighborhood burrito stop.
***
how about you?

weekend. la la.

dears, it seems as though i've been away from the blog for so long! i've missed you. we planned a big backpacking trip for the weekend into the week, but our plans for a long and winding trek through the wilderness were thwarted partially by washed out roads and trails and partially by me feeling like a pile of dog poo. we *did* take a nice 7 mile hike with all of our gear. and i got to practice a new moving meditation i've been studying. it was delightful. once back in town (i just love calling what-ever city i'm living in "town"), we watched an episode of Felicity and ate vegan take-out. also, there was a swell bike ride or two and we finally hung the big Obama poster in our front window. it's back to work.
big loves to all of you.

sun in my soul.

the sun came back! oh yes it did. and i am feeling it. the weekend was lovely.


i
meditated.
rode my bike.
walked the dogs.
played in the garden.
cooked up yummy foods.
watched princess mononoke.
listed new goodies in the shop.
ate a boca burger with the kids next door.

bliss.

la la la.

the weekend is over. i'd be sad, but this week is too busy and wonderful to even look back. here are a few images from our adventures.
*

moon-rays.

the view from a tire change. the tire was not ours.

the sun.

brunch.

le friday.

happy friday, darlingests.
such a great week.
so much to share.
i'll tell you everything
when i come up for air.

happy. happy.
tschussie!

happy happy monday.

Dears, I hope you had a truly glorious weekend. It was amazingly beautiful here, and I got to do all of the things I love-- ride bikes, listen to live music, hike with my dog, make art, do yoga, watch movies, eat yummy food-- all good things.

I've mentioned the Avett Brothers before. BK is friends with their bassist Bob Crawford from years ago on Phish tour, and I can't say enough wonderful things about them. They are like pure magic for the ears. And the energy of their shows is nothing short of breathtaking. AND...they are getting so famous! We barely squeezed into the venue they played this weekend.

Pounced! Catch & Release Design.

I'm totally excited to be POUNCING a local gal today. Nicole Stanton is the talent behind Catch & Release Design. She just opened a shop on Etsy featuring her fabulous cards and sketchbooks. And when I say sketchbooks, I mean like super-turbo-dynamite-out/of/this/world sketchbooks. Seriously, forget everything you know about sketchbooks and look at these.

As Nicole describes them,
The cover is a screen printed record with multiple prints. The inside is a blank sketch book containing trace, graph and drawing paper with random screen printed pages from cookbooks, coloring books, old 80's dress patterns and other materials scattered in between.
They are rad.
In addition to the Etsy shop, catch up with Catch & Release on the website, the blog and around Seattle at Nancy & I Heart Rummage.

I need a shot of Southern California... or Mexico.

Dears, I don't mean to sound like a total drag, but...dang! I'm ready for summer. It has been cold as heck here for the past month, and I need some heat!! To make myself feel better, I planned out a perfect so-cal outfit for a Saturday of fabulousness.


Meanwhile, here is what I'm actually wearing these days.