Bellingham! You're so wonderful! We had such a great night last night at the Craft Night, thanks to all who came out to say hi. With gorgeous sweet peas from Erin, delicious snacks from Ciao Thyme, and a most wonderful space at the Ragfinery (wow! What cool stuff they have going on there!). Ack! Bellingham, you're too much!
As has been the case on this entire journey, it was a true pleasure to meet so many "familiar" faces. Whether through the work we do on the magazine together, or blogs of each others that we read, or comments left over the years, or just plan likeminded connection. I mean, I know that there are people out there on the other side of these blog posts I write, but sometimes it does feel like I'm just writing into the box of my computer and I struggle to remember what's on the other side, and why I'm doing it to begin with. Faces - beautiful, shining, happy, heart-felt faces that I meet in the real world are such a treat for me. I bring those faces back home, and back to the things I'm doing in this space and in the pages of the magazine, and it fuels me along like you can't even imagine. I know I've shared off and on through the years my struggle with shyness and challenge in speaking, teaching workshops, or book readings and such. But with age, and maybe a bit of maturity, and definitely some experience (and failures and struggle along the way), I can't tell you how amazing it feels to find my groove with getting out into the world and meeting people - something I really do love so much. And that comfort zone finds me so happy to be hosting in the real world in the same way I love hosting in my home, and on this blog, and in the magazine. Holding a space, setting a tone, interacting one-on-one in real and meaningful conversations, and.... (best part of all, for me anyway), watching the connections between people that happen when they gather in a space of likeminded individuals. Oh, this introverted soul is so happy and filled up in this environment and I'm grateful to each of you for being a part of it, in one way or another.
And yet, I'm ready to go home! Home! Such a homebody, I really am. I can't wait to sink into my home, and my garden, and yes of course my babies whom I miss terribly (and my tomatoes, I'm really missing my tomato plants, though Steve so sweetly did just text me some photos of the garden beds, I was missing them so. He's a good egg, that one).
But first - a trip to the mountains. I can't leave without visiting them. Mnn....I'll share that visit with you on Monday. And then it's on to gardens and knitting and visits to the lake. Home!
