My boys

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows

here is the root of the root, and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;

which grows higher than the soul can hope or the mind can hide and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart...

I carry your heart - I carry it in my heart.

-ee.cummings

Sisters...

This photo was taken about 25 years ago. This is my sister and me. She is coming tonight on a big jet plane to see me and I am so excited to see her sweet face.

These are some things we may do this weekend:

Ride bikes with little c. in the trailer...maybe to the Barnes and Noble for a coffee.

Go to the Arboretum...yes, a definite must.

Make Valentine cake balls.

Have a SNO (sister night out) on the town.

Take a long winter's walk with little c. to wind chime park.

Do a super cool, very hip photo shoot with my super cool, very hip photog husband.

Or maybe just sit at the kitchen table drinking tea, eat tons of pancakes, stay in our pajamas all day, watch little c. dance around the kitchen, and tell each other all of our secrets...xo.

'Tis a gift...

"'Tis a gift to be simple, 'tis a gift to be free...'tis a gift to come down where we ought to be, and when we find ourselves in the place just right, we will be in the valley of love and delight."

I don't know if this will translate, but it's worth trying. I had the honor (and I do mean honor), this week of taking one of my students who really wants to be in choir to his first practice. It's late in the year, but the choir teacher agreed to let him join, and off we went. We got there, sat down on the cold gymnasium floor, and this song began. It was one of those moments for me where time just kind of stopped, and I was totally present. It just hit me....truly. I haven't been able to get it out of my mind since...I even hear little one singing it. Think about the message, because we are always on exactly the path that is our own...we are always finding ourselves in "the place just right". There are no mistakes and everything has it's purpose. How comforting and beautiful is that? Meanwhile, I continue to strive for the gifts of simplicity and freedom...and of course love. I wish the same for you. xo

What endures?

On this fabulous New Years Day, with a big, beautiful new desk in my life, I find myself sorting and sifting through photos, clips, quotes, sticky notes, and other memorabilia trying to make my writing space more functional. I am a person who keeps everything, and I mean everything. I have finally asked the much needed question...what endures? What do I need to keep? What to throw away? Will I remember the moments and days of my life? After looking through boxes and boxes of things saved, you know what I think truly endures? Love. To quote the Beatles, "...and in the end the love you take is equal to the love you make." Beginning today, I will be simplifying, and reaching for love...in every corner, in every moment. I will box up all that is undone, forgive myself for not having done it, and create a simple plan for one sweet scrapbook for each brilliant year of this amazing life I have been trusted with.

This will endure....happy new year! xo

Happy New Year!

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The possibilities for the new year are absolutely endless...isn't the new year divine? The slate is clear, the page is blank...what will I write?

The Arboretum

I love the arboretum. I cannot believe that we lived in this town for 15 years before we discovered it. I love the seasons there...today I got to see winter. It was divine. I felt like I was at my beloved Oregon coast honestly. The air was misty, the grounds were breathtaking, and the vibe is just so.......so. In the fall the place is covered in pumpkins...spring and summer, there are actually flowers called sparklers that look like the real thing. The best part? Our picnic spot on the hill over looking the lake. This is a hill that little one rolls down, runs down, dances down, falls down...and laughs, and laughs. One day he rolled and fell down it, all while holding onto a homemade chocolate chip cookie from our picnic. Today I'm attaching a photograph of me and little charlie by the infinity pool...another of my favorite things. Love, love, love.

p.s. Yes, that leaf in my hand was a gift from my sweet son and it came from this magical place too, can you believe it?

a merry little dessert

So, big Charlie decided out of the blue that he wanted chocolate pecan pie for Christmas day. He had never had one, but for some reason really, really wanted one. I said okay and found a recipe. I actually found 5 and melded them together leaning toward the most chocolaty of them (this was a good choice...just ask Charlie). I love this pie because while it is extremely decadent and truly divine, it is easy as pie to make. Marie Calendar has started making frozen, ready made pie crusts and they were perfect. We had too much filling, so my mother-in-law took the second frozen crust out of the tin, popped it in the microwave, and we broke it into pieces and began molding it artistically around a few little glass baking dishes. These little mini pies turned out not only adorable, but my favorite of the day. Here are some photos and the recipe follows. Enjoy! xo

Chocolate Pecan Pie

3 eggs

1 cup of Karos syrup

2/3 cup of sugar

1/2 tsp of salt

1/3 cup of butter softened

1 tsp of vanilla

1 cup of pecan (large pieces)

1 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Mix together eggs, syrup, sugar, salt, butter, and vanilla well. Fold in pecans and chocolate chips. Pour into a 9" pie shell (or if you use the Marie Calendar shells, use one for a full pie and mold the second crust into 2-3 mini pies). Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake 50 minutes or until the center is set. (It will jiggle a little, but will be mostly set). Enjoy this beautiful pie.