One little family’s endeavor to live in the trees, surrounded by the birds and the bees
"Care to join me for a hike?" Dennis Gobets 2009. Since Thanksgiving is not anchored to any particular date the anniversary of my dad's death seems to fall on two days some years. This year is one of them. Black Friday is always the hardest for me. Since he technically passed on the 29th of November,... Continue Reading →
Like so many of the things we see everyday I have rediscovered two of the items in my living room. They have been hanging on my walls for almost half my life- and there are long periods of time when I cease to see them. I have been welding since I was 12, but... Continue Reading →
I wrote this almost 10 years ago now. Sitting on my mountain top back home, looking over Big Basin to the Pacific. Alone. Watching hummingbirds fight like jets, smelling manzanita, reveling in the blooming Indian Paint Brush. It was a good day. Life is wonderful. Whether you take the time to realize it or not. To... Continue Reading →
I was broken, empty and unable to do anything about it. My dad was dead and I was 3000 miles away. I couldn't fly home immediately, because bereavement fairs no longer exist and we could not afford a ticket that costs twice what it would in two days. All I could do was wait; feeling useless... Continue Reading →
One year ago, I drove across town with the boys in blissful ignorance of what the day would bring. We were on a mission to find post-Thanksgiving donuts to round out our holiday gluttony. As we passed the lake; I saw that it was on the cusp of solidity, a magical phase that only lasts a... Continue Reading →
When I was young, my dad used to tuck me in at night and tell me a "Chickie Story." He would make these stories up on the spot with me as "Chickie." Most of the time these stories consisted of him rehashing what I had done that day- only in chicken land. A while ago I... Continue Reading →
"High Ho, High Ho, it's off to work I go." Well, to be honest as a restaurant "lifer" I have been sneaking shifts bar tending down South at a cool historic inn. It has been amazing to focus on the homestead and the boys this summer. My crafts have been selling (not as much as... Continue Reading →
Like so many of the things we see everyday I have rediscovered two of the items in my living room. They have been hanging on my walls for almost half my life- and there are long periods of time when I cease to see them. I have been welding since I was 12, but... Continue Reading →
This time last year I was doubtful that this day would come. All THREE dogs sitting quietly on the couch with the rest of the family. Our two oldest are old pros at the 'relax and cuddle' game but our newest edition has been a work in progress for what feels like forever, even though... Continue Reading →
The snow falling lightly on my window reveled itself to me one day. All the little flakes waited patiently to melt. Momentarily displaying their breathtaking detail, individual beauty and uniqueness. I was there to see it. But had there been no audience-the show would have remained exactly the same. Little frozen moments. Each a product... Continue Reading →
Just a story to bring attention to: More than a decade ago, I was walking to my car in downtown Santa Cruz. Coming toward me from across the parking garage was a man, he was crying. His hair was matted to his head and his cloths hung off him awkwardly. He was speaking Spanish asking... Continue Reading →
I have often heard people talking about activities and situations that they "could never do with a spouse without killing them." My husband and I have done so many of the things others recommend not to I have lost count. For example, we have: -Worked together in a high stress industry (running the front and... Continue Reading →
Almost four years ago now, my partner (now husband) and I found ourselves in the unenviable position of moving to the East Coast. For us, the timing of the move was not something we had expected. In fact it was years sooner than his ex and him had agreed when they split. He woke... Continue Reading →
You shouldn't hate anything but…I hate ‘black friday.’ I despise the consumerism and mania that it encourages. I find it abhorred that the nation can deftly vacillate from heartfelt appreciation for the things we have- to unabashed and rapid accumulation of new things. Things we are convinced we have to get NOW, why? Mostly because... Continue Reading →
The Swell Again and again I tread the same water passing it over my body and going nowhere, suspended between what is and what is to be. Then change comes as a wave out of the abyss consuming everything. Shifting your entire bodily universe and there is nothing anyone can do to prepare for it,... Continue Reading →
Am I beautiful? How can I tell? I could look for the answer in the mirror to see what I need to cover up. I could give myself a number either off a scale or tag. I could look at the the beautiful people that surround; compare and see what I should change. I could... Continue Reading →
Life is wonderful. Whether you take the time to realize it or not. To truly look around and see creation, life, living as it is, is a symphony to behold. The harmony of sky and sea, mountain and sun can not be accurately inscribed in anything less than itself. These words are but hollow reflections... Continue Reading →
