Iām home from a glorious trip to Hawaii. For the first 5 days it was me, Blue Eyes, and The Peacemaker celebrating their 60th & 30th birthdays respectively. Last week was spent with my mom, step dad, my brother GQ, his wife, and The Princess. My mom turned 80, and The Princess turned 9. For … Continue reading Family, and anxiety
sunset
For the love of road trips, part 3
I spent January in Ojai, California where I found a little mid century bungalow fixer upper to buy as a winter home. I spent February in Ojai solidifying purchase of said bungalow, a hellish experience for sure as the sellers needed to sell, for financial reasons, but one of the sellers really didn't want to … Continue reading For the love of road trips, part 3
Iām still in Ojai š
Oil Painting Still Life practice in my little Ojai studio. A visit that was supposed to last a month, is now well into week eight. Blue Eyes visited me for a weekend in January and unfortunately he arrived on the day Thich Nhat Hanh passed, so, much of his time was spent watching footage of … Continue reading Iām still in Ojai š
A pleasant surprise
In search of a new spot in Hawaii to experience, I honed in on the Hilo side of the Big Island. This would be the wet side! Hilo gets approximately 143 inches of rain on about 236 days per year. Compare that to where I live, Portland, Oregon, which gets maybe 43 inches of rain … Continue reading A pleasant surprise
The American Southwest, part eight
It had been 34 years since Blue Eyes and I had stayed in Sedona, Arizona. Our two spots for getaways while we were at University in Arizona were Palm Springs, CA and Sedona. About a 2 hour drive to Sedona, and a 4 1/2 hour drive to Palm Springs, both having cheap motels in a … Continue reading The American Southwest, part eight
The American Southwest, part five
Traveling with The Peacemaker does make for a more exciting trip. For the most part, I drove, my son was my co-pilot, investigating every town we drove through, Yelping restaurants in every city.... with Blue Eyes working (or napping) in the back seat. Our destination after Moab was all the way to Taos, New Mexico. … Continue reading The American Southwest, part five
The American Southwest, part four
On Day 5 of our 16 day road trip we drove from Salt Lake City to Moab, Utah just in time to get checked in to our hotel and head over to Arches National Park for sunset. Blue Eyes and I had done this before, five years ago, so we knew how beautiful it could … Continue reading The American Southwest, part four
The American Southwest, part two
We commenced our Autumn Road Trip on Blue Eyes' 57th birthday, October 23, 2020. We drove from Portland to Boise, Idaho. We left just after lunchtime and drove straight through with the consolation prize for Blue Eyes being a birthday dinner out at a Boise restaurant, with proper social distancing. The restaurant, walking distance from … Continue reading The American Southwest, part two
The American Southwest, part one
As I wrote on my Instagram and Facebook the day after Election Day... Our country may be broken in some ways, but in other ways it is filled with beauty, kindness and graciousness. Thatās what I want for my babies, all grown up, but still babies in my heart and in my desire as their … Continue reading The American Southwest, part one
Shelter in place, part 1
We feel pretty comfortable sheltering in place at our beach house during these troubled times. When the architect commenced his drawings about six years ago, he dubbed our home, Shelter House, and thatās what it is. With its massive foundation and heated concrete floors, gorgeous 12ā tall storefront windows, yards and yards of pristine cedar … Continue reading Shelter in place, part 1
try not to cry on my rainbow 