the first silk screen

i've been wanting to learn how to silk screen for some time now. well, camp has finally provided an ideal opportunity. here's the first... of many, i hope.

birds, worn by my lovely model, alasdair:

her name...

is: sekoia.
i call her koia.
a love, she is.
here are she and ben on her first day home. i told you he fell in love... immediately, as did she.

that's a good girl, girl

... crazy. wild. crazy. twas yesterday. and, in the end, alasdair and I (yes, he was an accomplice), brought home a very lovely lady friend---a sister for morley, puppy for alasdair, white love for ben and good friend of mine. we have yet to name her, though we're searching, so if you're inspired--let us know. she is a great pyrenees, 2 years old, rescued from the pound.
the "crazy" story, in short:
(phase one) a and I went down the the pc market yesterday. while cruising the streets, I saw many many dogs, but one dog caught my eye. beautiful. brindled. big. after three attempts to let his owners know how wonderful I thought he was, I tried once more. "I really like your dog." the guy turned, caught that I was talking to them, finally. we chatted about the breed (pyrenees, something and golden retriever mix). of course his name was marley (our sweet boy of many years is morley). I loved him so because I know how ben adored his old dog, pushkin, and I've been slowly searching for another dog that somewhat resembles push. anyway. after some talk, I asked where I might find a dog just like that. turns out that the owner works at the pound, and though there wasn't a 'marley' there, there was a beautiful white great pyrenees, whom she had named summer.
(phase two) a lady at a booth was selling beautiful, artistic, great photo frames. I ogled over them for a bit, then realized the friend I was with is friends of the artist---a girl whom I had met at the fourth of july celebration. a girl by the name of summer. turns out that summer cannot meet the demand from retailers + others wanting to buy her frames. I asked to work with her. she told me to email. could blossom into something great. remember, her name is summer.
... the great pyrenees (was) summer, too.
(phase three) and not a very important phase, but worth mentioning: twice, later in the day, puppies were passing. they stopped nearby and I commented. both were from the pound in pc (furburbia, where our girl is from), adopted this past week. I had only heard of this 'furburbia' place one time prior to yesterday... and suddenly, everyone was all about furburbia.
(phase four, finale) after the market I decided to go and visit great white summer. ben wasn't able to join us. a and I went. she was beautiful and calm. so calm. and sweet with alasdair, and while we were visiting in the dog room it occurred to me that the night previous I had a dream about valcor---from neverending story. valcor was so huge and walking along a path, near water, in the distance. that was it. she was coming home.
and she did.
without ben knowing.


... and, he is in love. as we all are.

photos from the beginning

alasdair, my pie. it feels like yesterday that you were nestled on my chest, curled and content as we slept in spurts. fortunately you still like to sleep close. I remember the near terror as we walked out of the birthing center, waved a hand goodbye to teresa, placed you in the back seat... only hours after your transition out of your water world and into our arms. a week of elated bliss ensued, then followed by a dramatic drop in confidence. but we made it through and through and through. survived with family and hikes and the like. today you're more inquisitive than before, an observationalist, a social butterfly, a sharing wee one---many things, developing only more and more. i love you, sweet man. we love you.

I had to 're-cap'...
look at that little monkey. only an hour old, and growing.



the first camping trip + hike at 6 weeks in Stanley, Idaho. Fortunately we ran into a friend of Ben's who was caretaking some property and so we were able to stay in a cabin. turns out we were ill-equipped for a night of camping with a 6-week-old in cold weather.

our mini santa. the morning of departure from boise, headed to our new home in park city to live at camp. he was two months here, and loving life.

a stoked mini at 5 1/2 months. too much. one of my favorite photos. the christmas card.

pretty frightening of mama, but so cute of the wee one.

bathtime. alasdair's favorite time.. aside from what's below.

... good papa lovin. so sweet.

and gearing up for a sledding adventure in may.


which brings us back around to date... and his sweetness, at a year old. crazy. so happy. almost too damn cute.

refreshed

four nights ago, Ben and I decided to 'activate' a new sleeping method... no night-time nursing. we were nervous. a bit. well, it has gone over brilliantly. last night was the fourth night and I'll say this: I was up at 6 am this morning simply because I got almost a full six-hour stretch. incredible! on top of Alasdair adjusting really well to it, Ben suggested that I sleep in the other room for the past two nights so that the boy wouldn't smell me and fight for comfort food. ah... what a lovely man I have. hopefully we'll continue on this track and all get back to a full eight hours at some point.
as I write this, he awakes. as said, I am refreshed.
happy fourth.