Beachcombing Belgium

On our way to catch the ferry in Calais, France, we visited a lovely stretch of beach in Belgium. It was a chilly, sunny day - sounds of seagulls, surf rolling itself at our feet again and again like a mantra. It was wonderful to walk on sand again, to sink into sand dunes, our bodies avalanching to the glossy glow of beach below. 

Hunting for empty razor clam shells -  they look like old Chinese men's fingernails stretching outward  from beneath the sand. Hours later we boarded the ferry with pocketfuls of them.

This is the North Sea, close to the English Channel. Across the water, England. Our new home.

Akychame and Daddy: reminds me of the "Footsteps" poem. 

We watched the barnacles poke out for meals, then hide in a wink.

Little miss celebrity in Hello Kitty bathrobe and "bling"-ful shades.

Windswept, barren loveliness everywhere. Everything buried and unburied by sand and sea.

September Creations with my Two Sous Chefs

Voila! One lovingly hand-picked and home-cooked apple torte (created with apples hand-picked from a little orchard nearby). Every bite is filled with memories of tree climbing, laughter, and ripped jeans (mine, ripped while climbing). Even the executive chef does a little "sous" chef-ing from time to time. Who knew that serendipitously discovering apple trees along a Nordic Hiking trail in the Rheinland-Pfalz counts as dessert preparation?

Deep sweet chocolate and Kahlua brownies with bitter almond-cinnamon cream and toasted almonds.

Love Love Love

Just thinking about our little family today, and all of our happy memories together.

Miniature Family Scrapbook from 1999

This is one of the first miniature books I made (around 2000, in Japan). It's just about two inches tall. I made it from old photo proof sheets, bits of tissue paper, a silk flower, gum wrappers, and (of course) gold thread.

I'm a gold thread junky. Mythology's Ariadne unspooled a golden thread for Theseus as he ventured into the Minotaur's labyrinth. Like Hansel and Gretel's bread crumbs and shining moonlit stones, the golden thread would bring Theseus back to the light of day, to his home, his love.

The word "clue" derives from the ancient word "clew," which means thread. I use gold thread somehow in everything I create. It is my clue, my sign post directing me toward love, light, and family. Of course, these are all the same thing. My lifeline.

A Thousand Miniature Get-Well Wishes from Lvov

The second week that Phil was away, I caught a cold (compounded by allergies). To keep me company, Lvov sat at my desk next to my bed tinkering away for about an hour and a half. This is what she was making, instead of playing outside or watching a movie or playing with the hamster...(please click on this picture to see the little notes!)

My children are so wonderful, they even make being sick joyful. They are my joy, every minute.

My Flower Children

Please click on the mosaic to enlarge

Almost every day my girls bring me little wildflower bouquets and heart-shaped rocks and 4-leaf clovers. There are always flowers by my bed, on the windowsill by the kitchen sink, and on our dining table. Their sweet bouquets make my heart so light and ecstatic. The girls even bring me breakfast and coffee in bed now and again and give me foot rubs! Akychame and Lvov, you are my heart's delight!!!

Daddy's Goodbye Pillow

How I'm Feeling Today after My Boy Left for Korea

Artwork by the wonderful Etsy artist Amy Earles.

Lvov's Birthday Pillow

A Yummy Valentine's Day (the girls were our rollerskating waitresses!)

Our Cozy Christmas 2007

Lvov and Mommy's Favorite Memory of Paris

Lvov and I sitting on the edge of a little dock-island in the middle of the Seine, our feet dangling over the river at midnight, a bottle of French wine after a poetry reading...chilly noses and cuddles...Eiffel tower in the distance and drunkards and lovers stumbling about on both sides of the river...Lvov and I hung our feet over the edge and sang like a couple of happy drunks while Akychame and Phil walked around filming and taking pictures. It was amazing to see everything lit up with white light, and to watch the dinner and party boats cruise slowly past us, waving. We were in the heart of our lives, in the heart of the Seine in the heart of Paris.

Lvov says:

Sitting with Mommy on a skinny island by Pont Neuf bridge was my favorite time in Paris because it was with my mommy and we had a perfect view of the Eiffel tower with the white lights going off on it. Last time we were in Paris last year, we looked down from the Eiffel Tower and on the grass below somebody had carved a huge heart into the grass. Probably for their boyfriend or girlfriend to see when they looked down from the tower. Mommy and I were cuddling and we could see and hear little waves in the water and other people were scared of sitting so close to the water, but mommy held me so tightly. It was really nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Butterfly Necklace for Lvov's Birthday