i want to go to...

there is a long list of places i want to visit. i've had the great opportunity to travel over the last few years and a few of my favorite places:

sonoma valley
san francisco
new york city
paris
ireland
london
montreal

some of the places i still want to go:
florence, italy
tuscany, italy
germany
oregon
amsterdam

looking for volunteers to be my travel buddy :)

"trick or fruit"

so, my niece, lauren, spent the night a couple saturdays ago. one of our activities was decorating treat bags for the cousins, Zachary, Hope, and Leah as well as for Lauren's brother, Matthew. I hope they make it to Connecticut and California in time for Halloween. (Matthew, who lives with his sister in sheridan, indiana, called me from grandma's to say "i love my present!").

Lauren insisted on decorating one for me. she wrote my name and then added her own halloween cheer:

"trick or furot"

That's "trick or fruit" if you were wondering.

Maybe she was swayed by the large supply of apples I had on hand (she had been to the orchard that day with her family and they brought their vegetarian aunt/sister/sister-in-law a million apples):





no matter her inspiration, i LOVE her treat bag that she made for me and I've hung it in my kitchen to remind me of her sweet, humorous heart:

"trick or furot!"

miss bennet

named after one of my literary heroines, miss bennet has been a lady since the first day I brought her home 5 years ago. i swear she thinks she's a person. She always looks like she's getting ready to give a lecture or check to make sure that the electrical appliances are turned off. she gives regular "drive-by lickings," and is as protective and maternal as they come. she's got a howl you wouldn't believe and she's not afraid to use it.

miss bennet kisses on command and her favorite person is grandma.

i think she's the love of my life.

Casey-Belle

I have a lovely, affectionate, terrible dog. I adopted Casey when she was 7 months. She is now 3 years old. She has boundary issues. She has acne. She needs a root canal. She is a loud licker. She gets aggressive with other dogs. She can't be trusted to not eat valuable things around my house.


I couldn't love her more.

clay

ai don't know what it is about clay art. i love it. i'm drawn to it. it's what i buy at every art fair i attend. i live in a 1000 square foot house. i am running out of room for my obsession.

i took a pottery class a few years ago. i can't believe the strength and aptitude it takes to throw clay on a wheel. i honestly didn't have the upper body strength. the best i could muster was a few tree tiles that i have hanging in my living room. these didn't require the wheel!:

A few of my favorite purchases over the last two years:

being aunt amy

last night I had the pleasure of my 7 year old niece, Lauren, spending the night. rather- a slumber party, or "fiesta" as she framed it. I adore this little girl with all my being. especially when she's being sweet and affectionate like last night when we were carving pumpkins. even when she's being whinny and grouchy, like this morning when nothing was going to make her happy (although, I have to admit, the later scenario made it difficult to remember why I agreed to have her spend the night).

the reality is, this little one has been special to me since the minute I heard she was coming. seven years ago I stood looking through the hospital nursery window looking at her and lost my heart forever.

my wish for our relationship is that she will feel known by me. I hope to accomplish this one "fiesta" at a time.

using my words

i've decided to start blogging again. my goal in this is to use my words. more than that- to find my words again. it's been a long time since i've tried. since i've taken the time to commit words to paper (or cyberspace).

so, i'm here.