June 27

The slow stitching has begun.

Practicing Gratitude

Dear Josh, thank you for wearing the tie I gave you to Mikey's Bar Mitzvah. Thank you for not giving me a hard time for refusing to go too. I like that you don't have to wear a suit very often, but you look good in one when you do.

Dear prickly pear, thank you for reminding me of my homeland. Eucalypts remind me of Australia in general, but you are all about Queensland. I am glad you are not a pest here in California.

Dear leaf caught in a cobweb, you and your captor are both so fragile and beautiful. Thank you for hanging there, waiting for me to come along and appreciate you.

Dear Christine, thank you for coming hiking with me, and for taking this photo.

June 19

My newest project is all about slow stitching. Or it will be, once the drafting, stencil cutting, and painting is done. I've had Natalie Chanin's books for a long time, and I'm excited to be actually starting on a garment. Stay tuned!

June 18

Man, fake body parts are soooo realistic these days. Which one is Josh's arm?

This might give it away.

June 13

Next up on the birthday list: 4 year old George. I used Jill's tutorial but changed it up a bit, putting a racing car on the front and using two twill tapes so that the car wasn't obscured.


Buffy inspected it closely and declared it to be good.

June 12

Josh and I had a lovely (kid-free) day, complete with a tennis lesson, a few hours spent at a Civil War re-enactment, and a slow game of Scrabble after dinner.

We learned about the Zouaves from this Union soldier.

The Yankees march onto the battlefield.

Casualties were many, but the little drummer boy stayed at his post.

It seems like forever since we've had a day like this. No rush, no work, no demands. So nice.

June 8

Lizzie and Karen left, but Dawa came to stay.

Made by Helen Priem in the Netherlands, this little Tibetan boy was a total impulse buy. His peaceful demeanor spoke to me on a night when I needed some serenity. Gazing at him, my breathing slows and I realize that everything.is.fine.

June 7

Between visits to Michael Levine and the FIDM Scholarship Store downtown, I took the girls to visit Josh on the Dexter set.

Karen was VERY impressed with his 40 ft truck. She wants one.

Josh explained some of the finer points of propping, including the operation of rigged handcuffs ...

... the joys of man-eating (or, in this case, woman-eating) alligators ...

... and the necessity of stocking a good variety of body parts. It's all in a day's work for Hollywood's 'blood guy'.

Yep, that's what my peace-loving, easy-going "other half" does for a living. Who'd a thunk it?

June 6

Dinner at Cafe Bizou tonight. Good times.

June 5

My high school BFF, Lizzie, and her friend Karen, are visiting me from Australia. It is so SO good to have her here. It's the third time in the last ten years that she has spent a few days in my home, and I'm always glad to see her come, and sad to see her go. Karen eased her headache.

Another cool thing about today: mushrooms at the farmer's market. We bought a clump of maitaki 'shrooms and put them in the dinner salad. YUM!

June 4

Look who came to visit us tonight.

June 3

I linger over the photos of our Arizona road trip and tingle with excitement, knowing that Dad is planning an Aussie version for September. Can.not.wait.

June 2

She quickly discovered that crutches are not fun after all.

June 1

Thank you, treadmill, for giving me the opportunity to start the day with 30 minutes of sweaty self-love. And thank you, Josh, for buying it. I was skeptical at first -- we've had our share of unused exercise equipment -- but this was a good investment.