Catching Up, or ….You CAN go home

For the last eight weeks I've been either planning for, ON, or recovering from

our three week cross country drive back 'home' to Michigan.

While there we enjoyed

lighthouses,

an abundant harvest of delicious cherries,

corn as high,

 lighthouses,

my happy place, still cared for and loved...

more servings of planked whitefish than I thought I could ever consume,

 did I mention lighthouses?

sunsets over magnificent lakes,

one more beautiful than the next,

and the sacred ground of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore.

we experienced

moments of solitude

white sandy beaches,

clear water…

dense woods

and favorite haunts that continue to impress

and historic establishments that still nourish after all these years….

we drove over….

and cruised under 

the magnificent Mackinaw Bridge 

that connects the Upper and Lower peninsulas of Michigan.

We ferried to Mackinaw Island,

for a perfect 'chamber of commerce day'

sunny and warm,

without the hum of engines and only the squeaks of bicycles and clicks and clops of horses hooves...

and the flap of a flag or more….

we witnessed the full moon rise,

and Tahquamenon Falls….

we drove to the top of Michigan…

to Whitefish Point

home of the Shipwreck Museum

and down again

to the center of Michigan to see the sun set after a powerful storm..….

and rise again over this inland lake…still as glass

back in the Detroit area, 

we visited  

the beautiful grounds of Cranbrook Academy, 

and this

inspiring Nick Cave exhibit at the Art Museum there

then headed back to New Mexico through Nebraska 

where we stopped for respite here,

and here,

before we headed south though the center of Colorado to the quaint river town of 

Salida, Colorado

 my new favorite place,

then through the Valley of Peace to Crestone, Colorado

on our way to experience more sand dunes...

of the Great Sand Dunes National Park in southern Colorado….

and another magnificent God lit sunset as we headed home to New Mexico.

This trip was filled with connecting with friends and family I've been longing to embrace and spend time with, 

and 

delicious home cooked meals

not to mention warm lake breezes and sand between my toes….

….and I am so happy to report that visiting the favorite places of my youth left me feeling that they are more beautiful, better cared for and respected than I remember. 

With relationships loving and intact,

we say a 

HUGE

Thank You 

with deep appreciation for our friends and family who welcomed and cared for us so graciously. 

A change of plans/moving forward...

This week I thought I'd be on retreat in the mountains of  northern Colorado...

(I'd imagined this to be a summer filled with spending time in Nature)

However the Universe had other ideas and enrollment was down for such an adventure...

and as a result, that plan was scratched 'til next year.

So with my calendar clear,

 I decided to brave the inevitable....

And return to Michigan

to walk down this hall...

And address this...

The smaller of my two storage units 

Jammed to the ceiling with

the contents of my studio

that 

(almost two years ago)

 I could not seem to part with

(Goodness, is Dorothy in there?)

I keep asking myself 

"How could this happen?"

But no matter... It did

and now I'm off on yet another adventure to figure out what to do with it

Status report....

It has been re-jammed into what we call a 'pod' of relatively the same size 

And will be shipped cross country in the next several days to be sorted in the blistering heat

of a New Mexico 

summer....

It's always something

Sisterhood of Stone..........

So this is the New Year........and I have been away from my roost for almost a month....

 upon my arrival

I received a package that spoke of friendship and 'home'........

in it was

this.....

I am from Michigan in the United States......

and in this very special place 'up north' we call it.....and even more to the left......

a little harder to 'get to'....

we find these stones...

(if we are lucky).  

They are called 'Petoskey Stones'

named for the region in which they are found.

I have found precious few with the help of others, and gifted precious few as well,

 but most special are ones that have been given to me.......

and this one, from my friend Michelle who is also from Michigan,

 holds the Universe in it...........

and seems almost stitched together, doesn't it......? 

I am grateful. 

For our knowing this depth of meaning, and for our friendship.