Darlings. We had an earthquake in Japan.  Maybe you heard.  We were fine in Tokyo, though pretty scared. The north was devastated.  One of my favorite spots in the world, the bit of coast where my family has spent the summers since I was a little girl, is no more. We grieve for the losses, […]

I’m going to confess something to you.   I love beauty.   I love it in all incarnations.   I love the soft curve of my daughter’s cheek, the churn of a coastline, the notched edge of a maple leaf.  I love the magnificence of great cathedrals and the sleek curve of a well-designed fork. I love […]

We arrived from Tokyo with one big suitcase.  It’s been fascinating to create a household from scratch.  To not have a junk drawer.  To not own any nails, tacks, scissors, tape, or little metal twisty things.  To have only my most reliable clothes hanging in the closet.  For my daughter to be playing with her […]

These days are anything but boring.  I am bombarded with decisions, tasks, uncertainty, and heartache.  It’s intense, it’s confusing, it’s terrifying.  And here is the gift of that: I am wide awake.  Life with all its raw urgency is surging around me, and I am open to it in a way I haven’t been since I […]

I am having a love affair with Portland.  It’s getting serious.  We’re moving in together.    Yes, folks, my big news is that I am staying in Portland.      I’m still not sure how it’s all going to play out.  I’m full of joy and excitement one minute, and dripping with grief the next.  I didn’t […]