I have just returned from Glacier National Park. We had a wonderful family vacation to end our summer break before the girls return to school. How I wish we could have spent more time exploring Montana. Perhaps next summer we will head to Yellowstone. I will share with you a few of the gorgeous views...this is just the tip of the iceberg on photos because around every corner was a beautful view.

We started our family adventure in Idaho and the mission pictured here is the oldest building in Idaho built in 1850...the inside was amazing. Set in the mountains among trees...so peaceful.


We met these mountain goats on one of our hikes at Glacier. They would just wonder over the trail not bothered by people invading their territory.


Who didn't want a horse as a child? Both of my girls and I love horses and perhaps one day they will own a ranch (along with many other animals) and I can come visit and be a "cowgirl". Here is my sweet petunia on her big trail ride. This is her first time on a real horse...not a pony and it was a thrill for her. I was the proud mom watching her march right up to that big horse. This was truly a highlight for her.




I hope you all are enjoying these last few weeks of summer.

The following is a paragraph from "Foolsgold" Making Something From Nothing" that really struck a chord with me....

"When I was finishing a degree in art and writing, my friend Jim Karman suggested I be like the water buffalo. To ford a river without getting stuck, the water buffalo needs only to keep the slightest motion forward. If it stops entirely it gets stuck in the bottom mud."

So for now I will be like the water buffalo and try and keep moving forward. Here is a picture of a piece I finished last week. I use these colors a lot in my work, and I never tire of them. They remind me of the blue blue tropical water.

I created some new pieces with vintage charms I have been collecting for a while now and hope to post some more pictures soon.

Last week we had family photos in Seattle at the locks...so here are the two best things I ever made....





Remeber the lips
where the wind-breath originated,
and let your note be clear.
Don't try to end it.
Be your note...
Sing loud! Rumi

(sneaking in another quote from the book! I just love this one too!)

So today I am feeling in between...not good or bad...not happy or sad. What to do is the question I keep asking myself. Too many questions that it makes my mind dizzy. So I continue to search for my purpose. I have been reading "Foolsgold, Making Something From Nothing and Freeing Your Creative Process" and perhaps it is just making me question my choices. I am not in a rythm...How do you get it back is yet another question...what helps you?

"When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be." - Lao Tzu

Here are some of the beads I am playing with these days. Those cute little hands are not my own, but one of the two elves I have that help me in the studio. Both my little elves love to touch the beads too. It is really fun to have two girls that love them as much as I do. My youngest got to go to the last bead show and was a wonderful little helper. I think every vendor was smitten by her lovely manners. They each gave her a little trinket...strand of beads or chain. Needless to say she can't wait to go again.