my little new england felice brothers jaunt

i had an amazing trip! 

olive came along, 

and she did very well on the plane.

my first stop was boston, which i loved.

 olive and i walked all over the city, even did the freedom trail.

 then i saw the first show in northampton, massachusetts.

diamond doves opened.

it was awesome.

 the second show was in pawtucket, rhode island.

diamond doves opened again.

 my dear old friend molly met me in pawtucket.  

we had dinner and she came to the show with me.

 we had so much fun!

 another great show.

 then i drove to portsmouth, new hampshire.

olive loved the ocean!

this show was part of a singer/songwriter festival and was in a cool old theater.

a band called o'death opened for them and i loved them.

such a fabulous time.
as i have said so many times before, there is no band like the felice brothers for me.  and seeing them live is truly incredible every time. 

and, yes, as always, i feel wonderful and rested and relaxed and ready to take on the world again.

these are all sitting out on my bench,

waiting to be made into wonderful things.

and they will be,

just as soon as i return from my trip.

i leave tomorrow for a new england vacation! i will be seeing three felice brothers shows and also visiting a dear old friend. i can hardly contain my excitement. i cannot wait to relax and hear wonderful music and see beautiful sights... and once again come back relaxed and refreshed and ready to dive into my busy season. hope you all are well!

p.s. i told hazel that i would tell you that she is working on a new blog post. should be published tonight if you'd like to view it here.

(she just looks like a floating head, but in reality, olive is riding in my basket. this makes me really happy.)

and i cannot stop listening to this song.

THANK YOU, emily!

i love them.

as you may have noticed, i haven't been working much. today i was feeling very stressed out and behind. i realized that i haven't really been able to work for about a month now. first the girls were sick, june ended up with pneumonia, and i didn't work for about two weeks. then i got sick, then i unexpectedly flew to indiana to be with dommie. then i got home and spent any available time in my shop crying and making pansies. then it was spring break and i wanted to spend time with glenn and the girls. now i have a few days to catch up on orders and then we are going to denver this weekend to be with my mom for her birthday. two days after we return i leave for my new england trip (more on that later!)

so, after THAT, i really have to get busy. i've got three retailers waiting on new pieces. wedding band season has begun and i've got to get going on those. orders from dogids.com are piling up. plus, i need to start building inventory for the telluride farmer's market again and other upcoming shows. i am reminding myself that this is actually a good thing, having too much work and not enough time. i need to be grateful for the demand and figure out the time. soon. right now i am trying to relax and be with my family, and even get a few days break from everything.

hope everyone is enjoying spring!

spring break

we had a wonderful spring break this last week.

we camped in the desert,

and hiked in the valley of the gods.

hazel is showing off her mexican hat dance.

and june is showing off something else...

olive had a blast!

so did glenn.

i have been very curious about whether or not olive would be a water dog. turns out she absolutely is. as soon as she saw the river she got in and started swimming.

(see june's shoe floating away?)

we truly love the camper.

toward the end it got pretty windy and we were so glad to have it to hide in.

yes, i got a nook.

i resisted for a long time, but, i have to say, i LOVE it.

i hid some eggs for the girls in the campground.

and then we did the town easter egg hunt when we got home.

and, of course, easter baskets too.

remembering Dommie

Dorothy Kentzel

march 26, 1917 - march 29, 2012

my incredible grandmother passed away last week, 3 days after her 95th birthday. she was a truly remarkable woman in every way. (for details on her life, you can read her obituary here if you'd like.) i was able to fly to indiana to be with her at the end, which was amazing; i've never had an experience like that.

she was a huge influence on my life and i will miss her more than i can possibly say. i am so so so incredibly lucky to have had her in my life as long as i did. she was always there for me. when i had a difficult decision to make, she was the one i would call to help me make it. she was loving and strong and caring and kind and compassionate. i am not very good at this; i cannot say what i am trying to say about her.

dommie's favorite flower was the pansy. she really loved pansies. as a tribute to her, and as catharsis for me, i have been making these pansy necklaces for the women in my family.

the idea started because i realized i could create the flower out of four hearts, the larger one to represent dommie, and the three smaller ones to represent her three daughters.

one of the reasons she loved pansies so much is because of the image of an angel inside.

i tried to portray that.

this is the one that i made for myself. the star is a bead from a necklace that she gave me for my wedding.

the ship (with her birthstone on the sail) is because of this:

what is dying?

a ship sails and i stand watching until she fades on the horizon and someone at my side says "she is gone." gone where? gone from my sight, that is all; she is just as large as when i saw her. the diminished size and total loss of sight is in me, not in her. and just at that moment, when someone at my side says "she is gone," there are others who are watching her coming, and other voices that take up a glad shout, "here she comes!" and that is dying.

dommie asked us to read this to her over and over again in hospice. it brought her so much peace. she and i talked about who was waiting for her, and how happy they were that she was coming. and, she told me that she would be waiting for me when i came.

(dorothy, her name, is my middle name. when i was little i never liked it; people made wizard of oz jokes. now i feel so honored.)

before i left, my aunt asked me if there was anything i wanted to take. i took a sweater and a scarf of hers to wear on the plane, and a wonderful amish doll that she had made. i also took this necklace. it was the very first bezel set necklace that i ever made, half my life ago, and i sent it to her.

this world will never be the same now that the matriarch of our family is no longer here. and although i know that she had a very long and incredible life, there is no way i can describe how much i will miss her.