what's the point

I am a sucker for books. Maybe it's a good thing my discretionary funds are invested in those bindings and the pages held between them instead of the black hole of a stock market, oh so nerve racking to watch it spiral quickly downward, our money falling away like the autumn leaves in a crisp seasonal wind. Hmmm, I am easily distracted, I was not writing about the market, but about books (or was it about sewing and knitting) and my obsession with purchasing them, checking them out of the library, sleeping with them, my wild affair with books. So I picked up the Zakka Sewing volume because I was drawn to the sweet graphics and cute patterns. I took on the smallest project - a cozy for a tape measure. Yeah, its about like the time I knitted hats for Easter eggs. It's quick and they are kinda cute. Well, I actually have taken to carrying the darn thing around with me... you know a designer must be ready to size up something... of course this miniature tape only extends 60". It's still fun to pull the tape out and push the button under the batted fabric and send it whizzing back in. It has come in handy for my knitting - a cap for my egghead - not just eggs. And so until I find that cursed cord for the camera so I can share the trip to Baja... enjoy.

I wish I had a River

Tomorrow morning bright and early I eat breakfast and then dinner with designer Eileen Jones from Perkins + Will. Last month I picked up Vicente Wolf in SLC and escorted him to Logan for a lecture. He was great, had an awesome sense of humor. I am in a bit of a funk wondering how to navigate the holidays this year. This song and this one fit my melancholy mood perfectly. I am frantically looking for the camera cord so I can upload my pics of the magical trip to Baja... so much to do. Whew, enjoy the ride.

time since - six months

I crawled out of my sleeping bag on the morning of the 8th and unzipped the tent that was perched on a thin paradise of sea shells... our own "conchita" (shell) island. The day had been weighing on my mind, another day given a number to mark the passage of time. I was born on the 4th, double it to get to 8 the day my mother was gone, add one and you have 9, a personal anniversary that I mark utterly alone, a reminder of the ugliness of humanity, but also of resiliency. I wiggled my way out of the tent and audibly drew in my breath. The sun was brilliantly peeking over the horizon, a dazzling spectacle dancing on the aqua-green water. I thought of the words of Antonio, a fellow pilgrim on our voyage - "we are blessed to be here". I sat, still, on the beach and whispered, "mom" and that was all that needed to be said. The week before dad had moved into the new home, a beautiful gathering place, peaceful in its own right. The wind blowing gently down grandpa's mountain softly stroking this new "conchita". I heard in it's quiet whistling, "daughter".

mia (mexico in action)

Isla Espiritu Santo, our home for a few days

The past 10 days have been life-changing. Darren and I spent 10 days camping, snorkeling, diving, turtle researching, eating, friend making, stargazing, birdwatching, Obama cheering, and many more (an inside joke) in Baja, Mexico. More to come. Oh, how I love when the planets align and you know you are "blessed".

Live for the Weekend

An Olsen Family Adventure unfolded two weekends ago -- one of my favorite kind. Mom and son. Land and I went to SoCal to visit Aunt Jen, Uncle Tony, and the boys. They had graciously obtained tickets for us to witness the Van's Downtown Showdown. The best part (for Land) was having three crazy cousins for an alarm clock...

"cousins, cousins, here come the boys; chaos, bedlam, noise, noise, noise; get out the star wars costumes, hide the breakable toys; cousins, cousins, here come the boys!"

ps. I'm digging the wig Jen

We went to the Crewest Gallery in downtown LA on Saturday the 11th, before the showdown. The "Z-Boy" show was displayed. (You know the original skateboard art from Dogtown and Z-boys days) It actually was a streetart gallery and we learned why certain spray paint is better than others and that there are over 30 different nozzles for your spray can... who knew. We admired some of the colorful streetart near the gallery. A whole post could be spent on why we were drawn to the 'women against palin' grafitti. Needless to say, both Land and I are not fans.

After visiting the gallery we headed to the Paramount Studios backlot for the showdown. It was quite amazing. We thought it was cool that the set was downtown NY in downtown LA. Each skate team had built an obstacle and then every team attacked the obstacle for a set amount of time and the one to lay down the best tricks won. I really, really, like skateboarders. They have their own set of rules on how to conduct life and everyone was super chill. Land is seen above with Corey Duffel (punk) and Steve Reeves (pro for Creature, that Land has known for years from Concrete Rodeo). Matt Hensley from Flogging Molly and his cool jacket are pictured above as well as a women's adorable fish purse. The Creature obstacle was nicknamed the "five points of pure evil"... hilarious. Land remarked it was one of the best events he had ever attended. Love it!