8.6.06

The beach is crowded, although it is a little cold and very grey. It is the first time I have heard this west coast surf in several–four?–years. I remember the last time was in Santa Cruz, when Eden was small enough to wear her cherry pajamas. This week, we passed those pajama’s down to our neighbor Luna, who turned three on Wednesday. Eden is eight now. Five years then.

The waves roll in evenly, the seventh of each series breaking frothy and white – large enough to be seen over the sand’s soft rise. The family behind me is of Middle Eastern origin. They speak to each other in their own singsong tones. Only once do I hear an English … {read more…}

4.21.06

I am driving a car through a coastal highway along high cliffs. I am helping someone escape. The car can barely make it up the hill. We creep along, urging the car to gain speed. Finally, I realize the emergency break is on.

Later, I in the dream I realize I am trying to help women escape from sexual slavery. They are being forced to work in a big, expensive club. A friend who is a children’s minister is bringing children into the club. She thought it would be a good opportunity for them – that somehow they would be safe there. The babies in the group were all trussed up on serving platters. They were alive and squalling. It … {read more…}

A Dream
3.23.06

I am in college and rooming with Karen Ward and the young scientist from the television show, “Bones.” We have a huge loft with a big enclosed porch. The porch is filled with tons of left-behind furniture – a set of huge metal filing cabinets from some office, a futon, a sofa, red Christmas lights, a sewing machine, and crystal cut-glass candy dish which are small and fussy.

A bunch of foreign exchange students come to our door. They are doing mandatory volunteer work and have come to our place to move most of the stuff out. We didn’t know they were coming and we’re caught off-guard, rushing around to put sticky notes saying “KEEP” on some … {read more…}

6.17.06

I am giggling with delight that Paul and the girls will be here soon. I spent the morning in my pajamas, watching The Hunt for Red October and IQ (the only remaining available movies) while I finished the last pages for the LuLu journal. The final page – seafoam origami paper with temporary tattoo mermaids and seashells from magazines – gave me fits. I transferred one mermaid image twice, and then decided to scrap it all together in lieu of the origami background, which was also a transfer but took forever to reveal. I think I rubbed my fingerprints off in places trying to get the ink to release from the paper!

While I rubbed away the paper like … {read more…}

8.16.06

My body is still warm from the bed, which is so soft and heavy with quilts that it holds me like a cupped hand. I have taken in as much sleep as I can absorb. It is nearly nine and the quiet of a solitary house surrounds me – there’s only just the hum of the refrigerator for company.

Before I came here I had begun to notice the jangling noise of city life: voices on the dark sidewalk after we’d already to bed; the Blue Angels searing past the back porch during three days of practice and a weekend of festival maneuvers; the constant low hum of traffic punctuated by the brakes of a metro bus or the impatient … {read more…}

8.12.06

Be Glad, Be Glad, Be Glad

The Jolly Roger is flapping outside my window as I awake. I’ve slept solidly in a bunk bed with a red coverlet and a one-armed sock monkey as my bunkmate. My extra blanket is yellow with bright tassels all around. The curtains are old grass skirts stretched wide across the windows, and though there is an entire bookshelf full of vintage wind-up clocks, I don’t know the time.

We are both ecstatic to be here. Jen is dying to throw herself into the sea, naked and raw, in devotion to a life of art. She scurries about – ebullient, buying a kite, meeting the ranger at the tide pools, making plans to roll down the … {read more…}

You know it’s a bad parenting day when your most luxerious thought is:

“Oh thank God! The babysitter is here and I can do the bookeeping in peace.”

Yesterday, I hired the Wolfpup to come and play with the girls for four hours so I could work. I finished four pages for an art journal which I want to publish on Lulu in the fall. Here’s a little preview of a few of the pages….

what i need to sing.

a handful

simple things

Lan´guish`ing
1. Becoming languid and weak; pining; losing health and strength.
2. Amorously pensive; indicating melancholy; as, languishing eyes, or look.
3. Suffering neglect, neglected.
4. Continuing in a weak or deteriorating state, lingering.

I’ve been languishing this Summer. I don’t hate Summer or anything. As a matter of fact, here are some of the many things I love about Summer in Seattle:

• Playing on the beaches.
• Listening to the girls singing the songs they learned at Bible camp
• “No rush” mornings.
• Vitamin D (great for migraine prevention!)
• Dinner outdoors.
• Sprinklers.
• Picking the entire salad out of your garden.
• Freckles.

But there are things I don’t like about the Summer too. For instance, the kids are here all the time! Lest you think I’m the only one this bugs, … {read more…}