Jiggity Jig

June 29, 2011 by






I’m just back from taking a quick holiday in RW’s arms, 
up in the Methow!
For those of you who are new, RW is not in prison, he does this for a living, three states away from here.  Actually, the highlight of this trip was when I told a barista in Spokane that I had been visiting my husband, she gave me a terribly strange look and I told her this very thing:

He’s not a felon.
He’s a smokejumper.

I don’t think she believed me.

Anyway, we did all sorts of lovely things:
lake swimming
hiking
eating
driving
live music-ing at the brewery
cooking with the boys
smoochin’
gardening
cabin shopping
coffee sipping
climbing
sleeping in
parachute packing…




…or at least RW did a bit of rigging…
…I was a mustard-wearing distraction.  
I do my best, ladies, I do my best.


We shine so bright.
I feel the beautifullest when I’m with him.


All in all it was a truly beautiful and fairly restful trip.

I rolled into The Gables last night at midnight after a full, 15 hour solo drive (well yes, I am a trucker).  I meant to stay over in Missoula for the night but I arrived there at 6PM and the daylight was eternal and I didn’t feel like hanging out alone for hours until the sun set.   I wanted to sleep in my own bed so I pushed on in my swift, silver chariot.  Thanks to the besterellas who connected with me by telly and helped keep me awake in the final hours of that drive — I know I didn’t make a lot of sense but it made me happy that you were laughing so hard.  

This morning, Plum woke me up at 6AM, and we just spent a full 8 hours gardening, pulling weeds, planting extra beet rows, cutting fresh flowers for the house, harvesting the chamomile blossoms, irrigating the yard with the spring creek and guess what?!!!  I just heard from RW and he’s going to be here tonight!  Apparently those smokejumpers get around and they’re running an errand down in New Mexico for the next few days.  Life swirls in mysterious ways.
Scratch that.  They’re headed direct to Provo via the Twin Falls cut-off.
Drat.
Sometimes it’s such a pain when the heart hopes…

I hope you are all well.
I missed your souls.
xx

PS  I have a confession to make:  I really.  REALLY.  Really.  Like the Methow Valley.
Filed Under: smokejumping, trip, washington

Two Weeks In Rapid Review

November 21, 2010 by
It’s home again home again jiggity jigg!
Here’s a quick review for you!

I spent two weeks in Long Beach taking workshops at Studio DeLucca
with the magnanimous Khobe (mother to the world).  Her teaching studio hosted a pair of peeps from NC Black, a tool company from North Carolina.
Days were spent like this.
And it was lovely.

Of course, there was more of this:




And then November 15 rolled around and I spent the day with a dear friend before having her drop me off at the airport to fly home.  Little did I know, RW was planning this:
[you’ll probably need to turn this up, he’s slight of voice in this video]

Which resulted in this:
[As you can see, I was very confused…]
NOTE:  I do apologize for how high pitched my voice is in this video.  I was shouting/squealing to be heard over the sound of my truck.  Apparently, I sound like a hyperventilating chipmunk which I am mortified about but RW has demanded that this video be shown so put in your ear plugs and try to enjoy it…oh…hang on…RW has now told me that he feels like he sounds just as horrible and dorky as I do in this video.  I guess that settles it.  We’re the captains of Dorkville.  Love us or leave us.

So now you know that RW is the king of surprises!  I mean it.  I was so confused and bewildered even after he told me that the truck I had been riding in all day was MY truck.  Wowee.  That man can plan a surprise! 


We hopped in our new truck and detoured South to San Diego where we played with our dear friends for a few days:

We delighted in their dainty little barn house. 
We ate some sushi, met their puppies for the first time (one of their dogs is actually a niece to Farley), romped about on the dog beach in San Diego, ate some Thai food, stayed over night at our sister’s home in San Diego and then made the long trek home in our little, big, growly, silver chariot.  I slid over on the bench seat, up front, and snuggled my mister all the way across California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho.  It was a perfect detour.

Now.  Let me tell you about my new truck.
I love it.
You’re probably scratching your head since at the moment most individuals seem to be downsizing their vehicles to save on gas and emissions and oil wars and the like…we went bigger and have been planning to go bigger for a couple of years now.  Our new rig gets the same gas mileage as our Tacoma on the highway and it is capable of hauling, pulling or dragging absolutely anything we throw at it which will be very handy when we put a cab-over-camper on it this spring and even handier when I get a horse or two that need to be towed around from time to time in a trailer.  It’s ten gazillion times more comfortable to ride in than our little Tacoma and the dogs can sit up front in the cab in bad weather.  I’m smitten.  Smitten as a kitten. If you put a stethoscope to my heart you’ll hear it say vroom vroom.

All this is to say, it’s very good to be home!
I missed my wardrobe, my yard, my mountains, my boofie woofies and meow paroww, my chickie babies, my studio space and man-oh-man.

I’m through with traveling for a while.  Just simply and completely spent.  I’ll not be going anywhere for a while and there’s so much to do in these days before Christmas!  I’m looking forward to this holiday season with all my heart. I hope you are too!  
I hope you were well, whilst I was away.  
I missed you to smithereenies, dear pudding pops!  
xx
Plume
Filed Under: travel, traveling, trip

Truth Be Told

February 1, 2010 by

I didn’t expect to have such a feeling of coming home
when I set out to visit Parker, Arizona.
RW and I lived in this little reservation town, alongside the Colorado River,
for four years, nearly.
Coming back to visit dear friends and
to stake a claim on some sunshine
has been soul balm.

…despite the prickles.

It helps that it’s not 130F at the moment.
It’s easier to love the sky, the earth, the wind.
It helps that despite the directness of the sun,
the light is gentle.

The wind is cool.
Cool enough.

And then there’s that Colorado River;
that wide spine of blue rushing through
the thirsty red of weathered stone

Desert dogs lick up the light,
contented by the feel of the wind in their ears and
sand under their feet.
They catch the scent of bird on the breeze,
strap wings to their heels
and follow their noses;
there’s a steady rhythm of:
bird to hand
bird to hand
bird to hand

Pene and I lean out the window and watch
the reservation roll by in a rush of alfalfa, irrigation canals, dove wings and
rusted souls
(mine’s just been polished up with a careful, foggy breath
and some divine elbow grease).
Oh
that
desert…

…despite all of her prickles.
Oh that bending, wending light, just as ubiquitous as the fine
dust that itches my eyes
and coats the dashboard of my truck.

I wander
up canyon
into the cool of thirty foot vertical walls
and the crumble of red, conglomerate earth
wearing away beneath my fingertips (AM I ELEMENTAL HERE?).
The wind toys with my skirt.
I kick a stone.
A quail calls out.
MORE PHOTOS
Filed Under: Arizona, desert, trip

Bon Voyage

January 26, 2010 by
I’m leaving. AGAIN.

I plan on packing tank tops and bobbypins.
And maybe a pair of pants.
I know.
The packing plans sound awful but more importantly
it’s practically painful to be leaving home again so soon. I just returned from the tropics
and now we make pilgrimage to Arizona, just when I was
settling into work and life nicely. Just when a fresh layer of snow
fell in the night. Just when I had my new stationary arrive. Humbug.
I woke up this morning before the alarm rang, at 6AM. My mind was reeling. There’s so much to think about right now! So much has happened this week — and some I can’t tell you about, quite yet, it’s suffice to say life is so good and it’s amazing who will find their way up those twisty, turny paths of my existence and notice the work of my hands. I’m excited. I’ve got a steady breeze under my wings and the earth looks beautiful from this birds eye view.
I’m going to Arizona and I’m going to delight in the time away from my studio and my life in Idaho. I have wonderful friends to meet up with along the way and some lovely scenery will flicker past the truck windows as I make my way South. When I come home, I’ll have new fodder for the flame.
Before I go, in case I don’t say it, quite often enough:
Thank you so much for dropping by.
Thank you for inspiring me.
Thank you for pushing me, for helping me to blaze new trails and to test new concepts.
Thank you for reading my words, enjoying my photographs and most of all, thank you for wearing the jewelry I create.
Thank you for liking me.
I like you too.
Scratch that.
I love you.
See you soon with adventures from the road,
THE NOISY PLUME
Filed Under: Arizona, HOLIDAY, trip