New work on my table

Over the weekend I began a new series of bracelets. They're for my niece's bridesmaids.
The wedding is in May at the Princeton Harbor in Half Moon Bay, so the bracelets will have a beachy feel.

The colors the bridesmaids are wearing are a periwinkle or teal.
Of course, there are silver shell charms, pearls and swarovski crystals.
It's a very happy time in our family.  Friends and family will be here from all over the country. My young men will be home.  
I'm so excited and honored to be a part of our dear niece's wedding
Lucky me! I get to make jewelry and celebrate love while I'm at it.

xoxo

27th Anniversary

Last week my dearly beloved celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary in the Napa Valley.
We ate wonderful food, sat by the pool and enjoyed the scenery.  
Before we left I made him a card, thinking of the August theme of fire over at CED. 
The thing about being with your partner for longer than you were alive before you married (I was 26) is that the fire of your relationship really becomes like embers in a very hot fire.  
The kind you stare into in the dark of night and see things and tell stories around. The kind of embers a shaman would weave tales of fortune and folly around.  There is a history and a warmth. And most importantly, love.

Twelve hundred miles of Spring

Spring came roaring in this year, somehow I just missed the arrival. Suddenly the world is green! It seems like only last week it was hailing and cold.

My Dearly Beloved and I traveled twelve hundred miles round trip to visit our our sons. First up to Humboldt County. Through cities, through vineyards and then the huge swaths of Redwoods. Everything was alive and green. All the coastal hills that will turn golden in a few months were like velvet. After Eureka we traveled north along the breathtaking coast of northern California and Southern Oregon.

The Oregon coast is always wild and untamed. This trip we stayed in Yachats, OR. It was a still and warm day, a miracle in itself. Offshore there were whales spouting on their journey south and it could not have been more beautiful. We collected agates and driftwood from the beaches. Then headed inland to Eugene and had a lovely visit with our UO student. We had a great time doing what he likes best, eating out. We took a walk along the river and enjoyed the weather.

My favorite part was our hike to the top of Spencer Butte. It was a warm clear day with a 360 degree view of Eugene and beyond. While we were sitting at the top I was reminded of the song 'Landslide'. My favorite version is by the Dixie Chicks.

Three years ago I was sitting in the University of Oregon Basketball Gym at the Parent Orientation session. There was music playing and the Landslide song came on. I burst into tears, it expressed so much of what I was going through.

"Well, I've been afraid of changin'

'Cause I built my life around you

But time makes you older, Children get older

I'm getting older too"

The whole song was so true.

Up on Spencer Butte, that song rang in my ears, again, every verse so true. But this time I wasn't crying. There was joy and fresh air and the ones I love with me. We've come a long way....

"Oh, mirror in the sky

What is love?

Can the child within my heart rise above

Can I sail through the changing ocean tides"

Can I handle the seasons of my life"

Well maybe..

XOXOXo