Tea Party Day

Come to my neck of the

woods for a Mad Tea Party!

It's time for the annual Mad Tea Party, the 3rd Festivity of Madness!! Hosted by A Fanciful Twist on June 26th.

I had a shot of Chester from last summer, here in our lucious green woods, and decided he needed to come to the tea party! He wore his best tie and glasses, and is enjoying a lovely cup of tea. He needed a very long straw!

Deeper into the woods, here at Camp Schumacher, is a magical bench. You have to step over many elves and large toad stools to find it. Not everyone gets to see it, so you are very special.

Today is even more special, it has a sweet cake and a little tweety bird visiting, just in time for the Mad Tea Party.

So pull up a log, prop your feet up, and enjoy the sounds of the forest, the sweet fragrance of the evergreens, and the damp, fresh feel of the woods.

If you go to A Fanciful Twist, you can see who else is having a tea party at their place. Enjoy the wonderful journey!

Spring trip home 2010

Our Voyage Home

The California to Washington State trek

Home again, home again. Ah yes, when the temperature starts with a six, in our home state of Washington, that's the time we load up the buggy and bikes (motorcyles), and begin the voyage north, up I-5. It is normally a race to see how many hours we can knock off the trip, which is normally about 2 1/2 days. But like I said in the last post, we spent an extra day in Ashland, OR, heaven on earth.

I took a few shots to share. Here's WH loading up the truck with Riki's workshop stuff, a few clothes, golf clubs and of course, my Vespa, Mia, and his Suzuki. Its a kick to ride around our islands on the bikes. I'll miss the windy vineyards of Central Coast California, but we'll be back in no time.

This is a picture of WH and me, along this amazing stream trail, that runs for miles, down the center of Ashland, OR. The sights are a feast for the eyes, the intense evergreen smells are a reminder of being back in the northwest woods.

A beautiful scene along the groomed trails. I can picture the American Indians living here, along the stream, fishing for their needs. Living off the land, taking only what they need.

And of course we did cocktails and dinner along the stream. The temperature was so comfortable, no coats. It was the perfect place to spend one extra day. And of course I had to go shopping, so I found the greatest boutique clothing store called 250 Main. I bought a ton of amazing, cutting edge, some european clothing. And after explaining what I create, the owner asked to see my wares. So I went back to the hotel room, loaded them up, and high tailed it back to her beautiful shop. We struck a deal, and you can now find some pieces there. So if you're in the area, swing in and take a look, after your lunch by the creek!

Then the next night, while in Tumwater, Washington, we devised a way to do the etched box drawing! I told you we used a coffee pot, hey, you use what you have, right? And that's when lucy Studio Sylvia from Australia won the contest. Again, congrats Sylvia! I have it packaged, and will try to mail it tomorrow!

It's great to be back at the cabin in the woods on our little island. I'll get some pics of it and post about our sweet paradise, "Schumacher Camp" as visiting friends call it. I wish you could all visit, we would build you a campfire, and roast some marshmallows, after a fun day of walking trails, making jewelry, and watching the deer drift through quietly.

Everything is perfect here except for the empty little doggie beds. I can feel Chester's presence, see him happy and running to mark every corner of the property, scouting for deer smells, running from bees getting too close. He is here in spirit, we envision his wagging tail and smiling face, as he plays hard at catch, then cools in the lush green grass.

There's no place like home Toto.

The lucky winner!

WE HAVE A CONTEST WINNER!

I am happy to announce, that we have a winner of my etched bird box. I would love to post pictures of how WH and I just wrote out all the names on tickets (we bought a roll from Walmart today), put them in a coffee pot, and selected a random name, from my followers. BUT, the cord for the camera is packed away. Duh! Didn't plan that well.

Studio Sylvia...congratulations!

Email me with your address girl.

Now why, you might ask, did I use tickets and a coffee pot? Because I am sitting in a motel room in Tumwater, WA, on our way back to our little summer hang out, in the San Juan Islands. I said I was going to have a drawing on the 15th, and by golly, we did it! I didn't want anyone disappointed that we missed our target date, so I was happy to make it happen this evening.

The trip has been a rather uneventful one, which is a great thing! We left CA on Saturday morning, and have been making our way up the coast, enjoying ourselves. We're trying to slow down and smell the roses a little bit more on this journey, and can stay anywhere we like, since we are between doggies right now. Yes, I said "between" doggies. We'll see, I know another angel is in our future, just don't know when.

I can't thank all of you enough for your warm, loving and caring comments and support through my loss of my sweet fur baby Chester. I can't believe how many others have experienced this same loss so recently. Almost like a wave of losing our fur babies. I am so sorry for each of your losses, recently, and in the past. I really get that I'm not the only one hurting, or who have experienced the same pain from loss.

We all have wonderful things to look forward to. Life is good and rich with bright colors and love, I can just feel it. We are all so lucky to have found each other in this wacky blog land, and can continue to lend support, love and comfort.

A HUGE hug to all of you.

Box contest!

Announcing a Giveaway!!

I am so thrilled to offer one of my little boxes of inspiration as a giveaway. This little sweetie has two darling swallows breezing through the air, surrounded by a solid nest for the resin covered quail egg. The egg is lovingly resting on a bed of soft spring green moss, complete with a little feather.

This contest is for my followers only! You know, the ones listed on the sidebar with your cute pictures. This is my way of thanking you for following me through my travels in life.

And you know what I've been through lately!

I want to thank those of you who have left comments, regarding the loss of my little yorkie, Chester. He was my

studio doggie, my confidant, but most importantly, he was

my best friend.

Today has been one of much reflection. Over the past 30 days, I have learned so much about grief, learning more about how you grieve, what you do to deal with that pain and loss, and how long does it last? Many of you have asked how I'm doing, how I'm coping. And the answer is...great.

What occurred to me today, was that I had never lost a best friend. I've lost parents, many sets, grand parents, many sets. But never a best friend. I still have best friends from junior high, high school and college, thank goodness. But I have never had pain like I experienced recently, when losing my sweet dog. I have even had other dogs, but not this pain.

So what can be good about this? I'm learning it is what you do with the pain that is so important. I would like to share my lessons with you if I could? If you internalize pain, your body becomes broken, somewhere. That has happened. So try not to do that. It hurts, and hurts only you.

Exercise like you did, regularly, or more so. Meditate, if only for a minute, maybe even on the toilet, where ever! But take a deep breath, and don't forget to breathe. I've been saying that all year, then remembered to do it.

Let others help you. Don't block people out. This network of blogging land has been an amazingly supportive group. Thank you soooooo much. I've always tried to be strong, and do everything on my own. What a lesson this has been, the outreaching of kindness is startling, and loving.

Let grief knock on your door. Welcome her in, let her share in your tears while you wrap yourself around the couch and weep. It's okay, that is a natural, human feeling. Don't be ashamed, don't fight it. Don't focus on how many days since you lost your loved one, just let those feelings in when they show up. And when those horribly sad thoughts float up, think of happy times with your loved one, times that made you laugh. Then laugh out loud! Share those stories with friends and family. And if you don't want to create, don't. And don't beat yourself up for not feeling creative. Go with it. Do what you need to do to heal.

I came to another realization that helps ease the loss and the pain. Eventually, I will have another wet nose to kiss, another warm body to hug at night (yes, I am married, but those of you who have animals know what I mean!). When the time is right, it will happen. Chester will never be replaced, but will always have a place in my heart. I've been told that so many times by many of you, and now I believe it.

So this is my longest post ever, hopefully! But if I can bring some comfort to one of you reading this, it is worth it. Chester has been one of the best chapters in my life, and I've enjoyed 12 years of love with him. How can I be sad about that?

So please join my in celebrating Chester's life with this giveaway. It is a form of renewal, spring, life, living, setting one free. If you aren't a follower, please join, it makes you eligible for this box giveaway.

The names of all followers will be put in a jar on June 15th, and the lucky winner will be chosen that evening, Pacific Standard Time, USA.