THEY'RE HOME!

Celeste took this brilliant photo of Max
looking at his mobile while still at OHSU

Hello all. Ah, it feels so good to report my nephews are home... and on their first month birthday, too! They came home from the hospital (what day is it?) Saturday. Yes, it is a whole new world with the twins here... and yes, that world is a lot of work, a lot of love, and very very hard to leave when I had to go to work! What a joyful time this is, and Celeste is absolutely beaming through the weariness.

So here we are in another time of change, learning, and thankfulness that I'm living in a city that really appreciates a good cup of coffee. At some point before the mobile I finished some other sketches as well, like this one here:

I can't really express how grateful I am for the comments recently. Honestly, I'm doing a little overtime at work, bouncing between Auntie K's house and my own, and since I've got little experience with kids (luckily, just with babies) I'm taking in quite a bit right now. Once I sat down at the laptop tonight my mind went a nice fuzzy blank. I'm just catching up with all of this, overwhelmed with even just the thought that a year ago all of this was going on in a pipe-dream phone call between New York City and the suburbs of Philadelphia. Unbelievable. So, my friends, what an extraordinary highlight your sweet words are. This place seems so far sometimes from everything I've known, its delightful to have you with me here.

Shoghi having some breakfast with me
on his first morning after coming home.
Thank you, Celeste, for recording this beautiful morning for me!

crafted

It was a mobile: yay! For my sister and her baby boys. After a rough week, how lovely it was to see Celeste with a sweet smile on her face. I'm glad you liked it, sister! No pictures by the bedside (cribside) yet, as we had hanging issues, but as a first attempt at a mobile, it looks like it was a success.

crafting

Sometimes I'll have these little bursts of creativity that end up putting me in somewhat of a fog for several days. During those times, the entire curve of a project, painting or drawing will take up main focus in my thinking until I've finished whatever project it is. I am grateful for having a job where I work with so many artists who were interested in what I was in a wild tear about and offered good advise on it's completion. Some of my coworkers were working on their own projects, too, off the clock last night as I wrapped mine up~ such great energy to be a part of once again. I'll post pictures tomorrow!

Autumn

Autumn is beginning to knuckle the sleep out of it's eyes around here. Summer is still around, yesterday became bright and sunny, but for the preceding two days we had cool weather, goosebumped mornings, and fingers clasped around steaming mugs. It will be my first season change here on the west coast, and I am eagerly looking forward to each and every sign of it's arrival.

Here in Portland, signs of Portland-ness... like the seasons... come and go, rise and fall. For weeks now living here has been no different than other places. Well, some other places. A few. But several nights ago I was heading off to slumberland when hearing a mysterious singing. My window looks out over the street where a young man drove by on his bike, a headlight flashing, singing in operatic bombast, "I'm riding my bike in the neee-bor-hooood, out on the neeee-boor-hoooood watch!".
Evidently this man is keeping me safe at night.

Last week a member of our neighborhood community stopped by with literature regarding a tree planting project the city funds that plants a tree in your yard. Sweet! And that same day, on the bus coming home from work, I had been sitting in front of a little 6-ish year old boy and his mother discussing his ideas for a solar-wind-electric powered vehicle... maybe a bus? It was hearing this child say the words "carbon footprint" that really blew my mind and reminded me, yes, we're certainly living in Portland.

Here, in closing, are some adorable pink tiny toes:

Shoghi (right?) and his mama