Sunday, February 15, 2015

Yearning for spring

I'm listening to sweet romantic music on Pandora today (Ella Fitzgerald, Doris Day, Patti Page, Etta Jones, Etta James, Eva Cassidy), and it's making me think of spring.  Budding trees, daffodils, the smell of wet earth, not having to wear boots or gloves, outside seating at cafes & restaurants, flowers.  While I always have been and continue to be a fan of winter weather, I am eagerly awaiting spring this year.  I just want to see things green up already! 

Red Butte Botanic Garden, Salt Lake City

my favorite scent - lilac - also at the Red Butte Botanic Garden

the Italian-themed garden at Hamilton Gardens in New Zealand

Sunday, February 8, 2015

A year gone by

I started this blog one year ago today.  I had been toying with the idea for at least a year prior, primarily to participate in blog hops and write about what I like to do creatively.  Because my family and friends are at home all over the globe, I also hoped it would be a means to keep them informed of my wanderings.  The jewelry (and sewing and painting and mobile-making, etc) sort of took a back seat to the goings on of life, both in reality and on this blog.  Those who've read know the subjects have been focused more on personal stories.  All the same, it's been fun writing and posting photos.  

                
What a difference a year makes!

part of the view from our backyard in Montana

At this time last February, I was living solo in our house in Montana.  I had recently started a new job after spending three months in Austria with Tim.  I had an entire room dedicated to being creative that was organized, color-coded, cozy, painted a carefully chosen shade of yellow, and home to various pieces of art acquired on my travels.  Some of my closest friends were again within an hour's drive.   
my old craft room full of fabric, magazines, books, buttons, beads & findings, inspirational card holder and comfy IKEA chair

We're now living in a rented, drafty old farmhouse with a scurrying critter that lives in our walls and an endless supply of ladybugs that emerge, die and continue to appear daily in our bedroom and kitchen.  (Somehow it's still kind of charming, go figure!)   I've another new job that began a few months after we moved to New York.  I still have an entire room for creative pursuits, but it is neither cozy nor sporting fun artwork - things I hope to remedy soon.  As for friends, they are, as ever, scattered here and there - Antarctica, Austria, Thailand, New England, Montana, California, Utah and so on - but family is very nearby.  And that is pretty wonderful.  
the view of our backyard (and our neighbor's yard) in New York
At this point, I'm curious where I'll be come February 2016.  Life's a gamble as they say, but I'm not willing to place any bets on where or what I'll be calling home in a year's time!