free

(anacapa island, part of the channel islands, and a place that seems like heaven on earth to me)

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing. And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb. And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

The Prophet
Kahlil Gibran



To everyone that knew and loved Renee, and to those that didn't, (i want to include everyone!), I'm sending out the biggest hug I can and all the love I have too. For that is the most important thing she showed me, the time for loving and telling those we do, is now. I love you.



Dear Renee, you are free. You are loved!



♥ lori

a good week

owen finally finished his puppy shots and we could start introducing him to the wonders of the world. chuck and i both knew the first place we'd take him would be the ocean. i think i was more excited than him, he was cautious. looking at it through little puppy eyes i saw big birds, big waves (well, when your only inches tall :) everythings potentially frightening. he ran and hid between my legs more than once. but i think he had fun. oh owen.

i recently bought some wool made from local alpacas, you can read about it here if you like. i knit it into these two hats. the pattern can be found at the purl bee here. this wool was incredibly lovely to work with, it's beyond soft.

there was a tiny bit left so i made this teddy bear for the mother bear project. if you'd like to know more about this non-profit group go here , these are simple to make, using only the knit stitch.

he's so soft and warm!

here is the beginning of my international garden!

two lovely blogging friends, janet from south africa and natalie from australia, sent me seeds. they germinated and this week i see little sprouts coming up through the potting soil!

see these australian daisies? so exciting. i have an image of an international garden, seeds representing friends from around the world! maybe we can figure out some kind of seed exchange? we could all have global gardens!

i don't have a photo of the most important thing that happened this week, the last of my children got her drivers licence. there were a few reasons why she didn't get it until age 19. one of them is she likes riding her bike. even though a car is handy for some things, all of us (the kids, chuck and i) walk, ride bikes and take public transportation as well as drive.

she also received an acceptance letter from the college she applied to. here we go again. :)

it was a good week ♥

i hope you have a wonderful week ahead (we've got a small trip planned!), and i'm really sorry for being a bad blogging friend, i'll be by to visit you all soon!

♥ lori

things to love

thank you for all the birthday wishes for my son, they were much appreciated!
i had to take photos of the treasures i found last weekend and of course share them here. see the three little gnomes? they are like little rattles, someone long ago filled them with rocks or seeds to weigh them down. i think they'll add so much charm to my garden!

this is a one of a kind plate by susan branch! it is a series of three. i love the soft colors and the little mouse. can you see what she's written? it says: now i see why people like to paint these adorable creatures...i had to stop myself from putting little clothes on them ♥

and these books by sharon lovejoy. i can't say enough about them, if you love nature, gardening and children, you will love these! there is so much to choose from, projects and ideas, i don't know where to begin. thank you sharon for the inspiration, you truly do spread love and joy!

my finds: the books, the plate, a stack of old martha stewart gardening magazines, the gnomes, an old tablecloth and an old victorian finial with old peeling paint, and the color, pink! and more pink ...

my shawlette, all blocked and done. i'm not sure this is the best way to photograph it. stretching it out on nails is probably not a good idea, but lacking a model, it'll have to do.

i like to wear it as a scarf, wrapped around my neck, the wool is so soft and smells so good, it's my favorite. thank you sally anne, again, i loved this yarn. i even have enough i think to make a tiny pair of baby booties!

here is another scarf i made this week. it's a scrumptiously soft one piece scarf that you can wear long like this or...

like this, wrapped twice around your neck for a cowl. the colors don't really show, it's more of a pinky mauve. i used plymouth yarns baby alpaca grande yarn. it took two skeins on a size ten needle. the pattern was based on a mobius cowl scarf but i couldn't get the hang of the cast on for that so it's simply a continuous scarf instead. i cast on 150 stitch's, placed a marker, then purled for 4 rounds knit for 4, continuing like that until it was about 8 inches wide. that's it! so cozy and warm.

photos are taken with the softest early morning light, but it was brief since another storm is on the way, let's go outside next, owen is waiting!

bulbs are coming up! these were here when we moved in, what a fantastic discovery every year, these gorgeous yellow blooms!

owen likes them too. here he looks all mild mannered, smelling the blossoms. right after this photo he shook them all apart. oh owen.

fallen camellias make a pretty still life arranged on a mossy stepping stone...

with a little help from me!

and our oranges are almost ready. i wish you could smell this tree.

the last thing i want to remember of this week, is the thing i'd also like to forget! i went to see my dentist last monday. it involved all the shots, drills and other torture devices they treat you with. i am still numb from one of the shots, apparently there was a little muscle or nerve damage, i hope it goes away soon! my dentist mentioned that it might help me to relax if i closed my eyes and imagined a place i love. somewhere i'd like to be. i did and here is what came into my thoughts...the seventeen giraffe i saw gracefully striding across a grassy plain in zimbabwe. i love giraffes and i love africa. this image played through my head making the time i spent in that chair not so bad after all.

where would your favorite place be?

have a lovely weekend everyone !

♥ lori

february twenty third

twenty four years ago

a child was born,
baby number three he'd be
for me.

best brother, uncle, friend
and son,
he makes my life,
this one.

happy happy birthday erik
love forever,
mom
♥


p.s. so hard to choose photos to make this collage, i love all the millions of photos i have of my keikis. umm. make that zillions.

kindred spirits

this post is dedicated to our friend renee, who loved to travel (vicariously) with me on my adventures. i loved her company and she'll be dearly missed. she'll be leaving this world soon as this life as she knows it is coming to an end. bless her beautiful heart. safe journey my angel kindred friend.

i invited my eldest daughter to come with me on saturday, up to the small town of arroyo grande. there was someone i was hoping to meet at a special antique sale & book signing.

here we are, at branchs farm, i am sure the weather couldn't have been more beautiful, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, people were smiling...

we looked around, me enjoying more the scenery than anything else. after our recent rains the hills and fields were green and lush, spring feels like it's arrived...

this pile of books represents heaven to me. this is why i came almost two hours (although i would have come four, to meet this kindred spirit, author and illustrator...

Sharon Lovejoy!

what a thrill for me to meet her and her husband, that's Jeff standing behind her. I've been collecting and reading Sharon's books for 19 years now. that's when her first book, Sunflower Houses:Inspiration from the Garden first came out. She's recently released her seventh book, Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars. another gem i treasure.

there is no one that's inspired me more in gardening and watercolors, except my own granma rose. and i am so happy to say that she was even more charming in person and i didn't think that was possible if you know her books. this was one of those days that i'll never ever forget.

thank you sharon, i can't wait to meet again someday! until then i know we'll stay in touch via blogging, if you'd like to visit her go here. (see my new scarf?, finished, well, it still needs blocking!)

susan branch was there too, and many of her books and patterns, stencils and calendars. i met her also and although she was lovely as well, it was brief, there was a long line!

we'll leave the farm now and go explore the town of arroyo grande...

we stopped for fields of blooms...

and antique stores...

we walked (tentatively) over a swinging bridge, with a running creek below...

we went to farmer's market. at one booth my daughter kimberly and i stopped to admire tiny watercolor paintings, all of different scenes of the central coast. a couple was there also asking the artist about the various locations. he said your not from around here are you? they answered no, we're from winnepeg.

winnepeg is renee's home.

my daughter and i had just had lunch and i told her about the latest news with renee and her own daughter angelique. we both had tears as i shared what i knew.

when not an hour later we heard this couple say winnepeg, kimberly and i both stopped. and hugged. and i am sure i saw all the trees and flowers sway suddenly in the wind as if they knew and she knew she were here with us. and i had tears again.

after we crossed the bridge we found yet another antique store, i could keep this up all day, but i wanted kimberly to enjoy it too, she said she was, so on we went...

"be careful with the words you use, they create the world around you" a native american saying i love. isn't this a sweet and simple sign?....

more beauty everywhere, in thoughtful displays...

and soft fabrics nestled in baskets...

new blossoms appearing on a painted sky...

and funny chickens and roosters that mind your business on the streets of this town...

thank you for coming with kimberly and i, now it's time we started making our way home, safe journeys to all of us...

♥ happy sad lori

(i can't seem to leave off the back to the beloved ocean going home photo,

however blurred and an antenna filled it is.)