....sick puppies
....escapes to the Columbia River Gorge to hike with friends
....little forays into the studio
....A wonderful visit from my oldest sister
....lots of cuddles

I told myself last month that I would post more frequently. I distinctly remember even sitting down to do so, before getting distracted by one thing or another. October saw a month of rain come to Portland with only 1-2 day breaks between storms. I am used to this kind of weather, but not usually until spring. October is historically a cool, crisp and sunny month.


This year, the pumpkin fields were mud baths but hubby was sweet enough to take a Wednesday off with me while it was sunny to buy pumpkins for our first Halloween in our new home.

We missed out on a cider press party our friends throw each year because a freak storm came in from the coast. There are so many big trees around our house that we didn't want to risk something breaking while we were gone. So we stayed home, cuddled up, and watched movies while the wind raged outside.

With those same friends, we ventured out on a beautiful hike the following weekend that took us to one of my favorite spots in the gorge (and not only because I share the name)--Catherine Creek. We went off trail, as is easy to do in this part of the gorge, and traipsed around finding old glass pieces from long forgotten homesteads, creeks to cross, a bone graveyard, and the wide open sky. When I need to get out of town, this is where I go. (Of Note: I was not aware that there are hunters in this area at this time of year! I absolutely never recalled hunters being there growing up. Luckily we had bright colors with us but it's time to stock up on some blazing orange gear for us & the pup!)


I have had little spurts of time in the studio. The goal is to get in there more often. This summer and fall have seen a lot of visitors coming to stay with us and I have been so grateful for these reconnections with family and friends. I am ready, however, to hibernate and have some alone time with the metal and stones. When I don't get time to create, my creative muscles tend to fade. I am working on a separate project that has nothing to do with stonesetting or jewelry, but I am craving the alchemy that is metalsmithing. Soon.



I have been able to finish a few pieces, and these can now be found (along with some necklaces) at Silverado Portland Jewelry in Bridgeport Village! They are gorgeous and feature cutouts of birds and feathers on the back. I love them. I am embracing my love of stones again, and it feels good.

 
As Autumn tightens its grip on the Northwest, I find myself quieting more and more. Summer was fantastic but by the end, it felt so manic and rushed that I found myself desperately looking forward to the cooler weather and more downtime. It is here--rainy days upon rainy days that find me struggling to entertain the puppy and simply taking him out for wet runs anyway. The way to get through Portland winters certainly is to let go of any fear or distaste for rain. After all, it's just water.


There has been some studio time happening but not much (although I am headed that way now). I am still at odds with my work and conflicting streams of thought. Who knows if that will ever subside. The biggest issue is time, though. Isn't it always?


Streams of creative thought lately....commemorative jewelry, redefining the locket/mourning jewelry, re/using found objects, totems, embracing my love for abstract shapes and clean lines, playing with stones and color, dainty vs large scale.....a lot going on. I often find myself wondering how to balance it all--perhaps the best answer is to give each idea a short burst. Its own 15 minutes. It's all part of questioning myself.


Until next time...

Well, a bit more than a month.
To put it mildly, August was crazy. It passed so fast I barely remember it.




What I do remember, though, is that one of my little furry beasts was horribly sick (which consequently left us emotionally paralyzed for two weeks). Sammy, our Siamese cat, became horribly ill late in July. The doc thinks he has advanced Kidney disease. However, after a week of being on a drip in the ER, all his levels were back to normal and stayed stable after us giving him subcue fluids for a week. We are still giving him medication and doing subcue fluids a few times a week, but the little dude is back to normal. I am convinced he got into something in the gardening supplies the previous owners left behind, or in my studio. We have since cleared out anything remotely toxic and put new safety measures in place.




I have been resuming my usual adventures with Ziggy and am slowly getting back into the studio. I have so many ideas zooming around in my brain, from various different parts of my creative self, that I've just been doing my best to document them and work on one thing at a time.





As much as I have loved the warmth of spring and summer, I am looking forward to the quietness of fall. We are now experiencing this season for the first time in our new home. I love raking (I know, it's weird) so I'm excited to get a new rake and take care of the yard--I officially have a yard that I can rake leaves in! Livin' the dream. We are starting to prepare our garden for next spring by killing off the weeds (suffocating them under a layer of burlap bags) before leveling the ground and covering it with whatever we choose. We'll be putting raised beds in this particular section over the winter so that we are ready to have our own fruits and veggies growing next year. I am so excited! I love this process of getting to know a new place--it's like being in a new relationship or living in a whole new city. We are getting to know the plants, the animals, the neighbors, the rhythms and pace of this new area and every experience feels new and fresh.

When the world is so torn, so filled with hatred and hurt that it permeates every thing around us....when I am aching for people I never knew and so angry, so furious at the repetition of it all....when I am so helpless at the same time...I turn to silence. There truly are no words to encompass what much of my country is feeling these days. The tragedy of the past few days...the past few months...the past few decades. The reality that these deaths, murders, and mass shootings are repetitive--that they have become normalized--that is the true tragedy.

It is all so overwhelming and and heartbreaking, and so, I turn to silence. Not out of ignorance or fear--simply from grief.

Within all the disbelief and hurt, I still hold hope--that one day we might stop murdering each other in the myriad of ways that we do and instead build each other up. That we may love and appreciate the differences in our fellow humans. That we may practice good and patience, love and compassion. If it is within me, it is within you too.

May you be blessed, may you hold hope, may you do good.

On top of buying a house.
On top of renovating the garage.
On top of all this topsy-turvy stuff....

We got a dog.



Not just any dog. THE dog. The dog I have been waiting 11 years for. The dog I have been patiently planning for while dog-sitting to get my "fix."

I told my husband when we were buying a house that the order of things would go house-->fence-->dog. Well....the house came with a fence, so that moved things ahead (yay!).

On June 1, we traveled to a small town in northern Washington and picked out our puppy. A little boy pup who is precarious and mischievous and loving.

Introducing Zig Zag Around The Mountain, aka Zig Zag, aka Ziggy.

He loves taking showers with us and carrying his stuffed animals to and from his crate. He passes out in our laps and desperately wants the kitties to play with him. We do sprints back and forth in our big back yard, and he reluctantly walks around the block with us. We are completely in love with him.

Life is happening at a breathtaking place. We still wake up and say "Babe. We bought a house." In the past few months, we bought this house, one of my best friends was diagnosed with and has gone through treatment for breast cancer, I turned 34, and we will soon be getting a puppy. If I think about it all from a distance, it boggles my mind.


We have discovered new places to run and new little cafes to eat and drink at (although we have also quickly realized that we need to hold tighter to our money.) My favorite is the Mexican taqueria up the road where we seem to be the only white patrons and the girl at the counter giggles when my viking husband places his order.

Flowers are popping up all over our garden. I am happy to say that I love the roses that have been planted here. And the irises. And the lilies. We have big plans for the garden, but they will take years to fully be realized (as it should be!).

We ourselves have changed rather quickly. Dave and I are both more inclined to do chores, to take pride in them...maybe even enjoy them. Just like when we got married, there is more teamwork. We are reaching for the same goals.
 In a matter of weeks, the garage has gone from being very much a garage to having insulation and walls. Our wonderful friends helped us sheet rock the ceiling the other day--how quickly 7 hours can pass! We are scrambling to get it finished before we get our new puppy.
I am terribly excited to have a studio space again (and to not have all the studio furniture inside the house). I have no idea what I will be creating, but the desires and urges to get my hand on some metal is real. I have been thinking a lot about really, truly finding my own voice. Honoring those things that interest me. I have been thinking about abstracted flora and fauna, as well as the creation of modern mementos with Victorian jewelry as reference. It's all in my head right now--I should probably sketch it out or at least write notes, but I have gotten worse at that as the years have passed.

I recently listened to the audiobook version of "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert. Honestly, I think that might be the best way to ingest her story. I feel like reading it might make it seem too fluffy, but listening to it in Gilbert's own voice really gives life to the story and the ideas behind it. I can't wait to listen to it again. She echoes a lot of my own ideas about creativity, such as NOT quitting your day job, and how ideas move and flow. Even if you don't believe all of it, it never hurts to be open to new and different thoughts.

Lately I have been thinking about anxiety (I will tell you a story on that soon) as well as what to do when life stops moving forward at such a frantic pace. More on that soon...thank you for being here!