*blog*

is it getting harder or easier to see the beauty?

This September, Squam is delighted to be hosting the first ever Taproot Gathering and let it be said, there will be much with the leisurely pace and much with the sumptuous breakfast (and lunch and dinner) as the focus on fresh, organic, locally sourced food will be at the center of this five-day retreat. And of course, as with all Squam events, you will have a wide range of classes to choose from, each more delicious than the last.

Sheesh.  Did I mention I was feeling a bit breathless?

May your new year be a fresh start coupled with old favorites.

And, at heart, isn't that what we are all grateful for? It's what is baked into our favorite pie, it's what greets us at the door, it's what gathers us around the table and then, settles into our lap as we veg out on the sofa groaning in a post-feast haze.

Ha.  As if.  Five years of this has tumbled me like a rock.  I am on completely new ground and have given over to living without expectations of the future.  I could never have predicted any of this.

And you?  What new magic has come into your world?

This month is really special for me and our islands as the current issue of National Geographic Magazine features our little sandbar - in a visual love letter written and photographed by my father-in-love David Alan Harvey.

Michelle celebrates her brithday in style, in Italy of course!  

sometimes, it doesn't matter what the language-- there are no words enough

There are many stories within stories about the squam experience, but one lesser known tale is that quietly woven through the wild weekend gatherings are the mamas who have come with babies (in their arms or in their bellies).

Exactly-- the pressure is on. But here's the thing--- even if I had the time to make really cool things, I don't have that special ju-ju that makes things extra pretty, extra lovely. It's just not one of the gifts I have to bring to the world.

Playing with art supplies, using traditional techniques of knitting or sewing to make cool things— making their home and their lives beautiful with hand-made objects—this was what they were doing as part of their regular lives and I was all in.