march 30

today i'm thinking about evenings spent outside with lukewarm air. i'm thinking about freedom and hope and what those words mean in my life and why we are brought to remember them yearly, at a passover seder. i'm thinking about memories. of holidays with all my family, of special people, of loved ones.

hope this isn't too sappy for you, it's just what i'm thinking.

**
seattle friends, some of my photos will be hanging in the fremont place book company for all of april. join me there at the arts walk this friday! (feel free to email me for more details).

remnants of the holidays

 

is it weird that i'm posting holiday pictures in january? hmm, i seem to have had this problem before, where i get a back log of film and time rearranges itself. oh well, i can't not share this pretty eucalyptus wreath and fun packaging. the first present photo is my wrapping. i bought 3 yards of blue-gray kraft paper and red tissue paper, then i used my stamp set to stamp out names and added some cute letterpress cards i got at the urban craft fair. wrapping is so fun!

i don't mind taking a moment to look back. it feels nice.

oh, and by the way, i did end up succeeding in my goal to  buy all of my gifts from a local business and/or handmade! i am very pleased with how it made me think about my shopping decisions and i am happy with who i gave my money to. success!

the year in reflection september-december

looking back at 2009, in pictures.

fall to winter:

a photo show at blue saucer cafe, a trip to the boistfort valley farm, meeting new friends and sharing an amazing meal at delancey, many walks through the fall leaves, a pentax k1000, the first frost, gingerbread, apples and winter celebrations.

happy new year to you. may this year (and decade!) be filled with much joy, health, laughter, peace, and inspiration. and, always, thank you for visiting me in this space. your sweet comments bring me little bursts of joy everyday.

the year in reflection june-august

looking back at 2009, in pictures.

summer:

using the holga, expired film, summer solstice party, flowers in full bloom, walking across the brooklyn bridge, montreal, french, quebec city, 107 degrees, the ocean, farmer's markets.

*it's really overwhelming to look through all my pictures of the last year, but i think it is a good thing to narrow down one or two that sum up a moment or a time. it is also really nice to post pictures that never made it online. here they are now.

the year in reflection january-june

 

 

looking back at 2009, in pictures.

january through june:

a visit to new york, making new friends, visiting frog hill farm, seattle loses a newspaper, buds sprout at first sight of sun, picking the first crop of chives from the soil, getting a new film camera, the seattle tilth edible plant sale.

the ways i have celebrated hanukkah

 

one year, i was probably 14, i went on a field trip to vancouver, b.c. for marine biology. it was during hanukkah and i, of course, was the only one celebrating. with the best of intentions, i brought three votive candles (it was the 3rd night, after all) and lit them in our hotel room (why 14 year olds got hotel rooms on a weekend trip is beyond me).

when i was young my auntie madeline would host our whole family at her house. cousins upon cousins running around, crawling, playing and lighting candles. we had a table full of menorahs that our grandmothers or grandfathers would help us light (see super cute photo of me above). and at some point, all nine or ten cousins would pile on the couch, get ourselves looking pretty and have a picture taken. those are great pictures.

for the past seven or eight years my mom and i have been invited to a family friend's hanukkah party. i swear they invite every person they've ever known and ask each person to bring a dish of their tradition. they provide the lattkes. we sing a round of songs, fill our plates with food, cram ourselves into some sort of sitting position amidst all the people-on the ground, on the piano, on the arm of a couch-and catch up on the past year.

i always celebrate with my dad and light the candles on his beautiful menorah that was his mom's.  it is ceramic and i love it. it's one of the few times i get to hear my dad say the blessings with his yiddish tint.

last night my roommates invited a few people over and we made an impromptu dinner all together. eating at the dinning room table, next to the hanukkah lights is special.

i remember hanukkah parties growing up, where women would be grating onions and squeezing out moisture in piles of potatoes.

tomorow is the last night of hanukkah for this year and i feel like i've celebrated well.

***

i have been really enjoying emily's hanukkah posts, they make me happy.