Hello Again

Yes, I am back. Well, back for a short time before I head off on more travels. I have had an amazing past few months with trips to Nantucket, Alaska, Vancouver Island and Art & Soul in Portland, Oregon. Now I am enjoying a few weeks at home. Home is wonderful. Home is, well, home and I think my recent gallivanting has made me treasure my own cozy nest even more. And my cabin...oh, how glad I was to see it last weekend. The leaves on all the maple trees were just starting to turn and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing if they are much farther along in their annual color display tomorrow when I return for one more weekend to enjoy that particular little cozy nest before I pack my bags and head out again.

Next week I head to Port Townsend and the first ever JournalFest, brought to us all by the amazing Teesha and Tracy Moore. I have all my supplies packed up, ready to head out next Wednesday. The week after that I head down to Southern California to visit 2nd daughter and her family with son and his family in tow. All five of my grandbabies will be there, under on roof, a gramma's dream come true. It will be a glorious mini reunion and I am so excited!

And then, a week to prepare for a BIG family party to celebrate my DH's SIXTIETH birthday. Both of my Cali girls will be coming home (one with her special friend in tow and the other alone as it's just too much to bring her husband and their two babies for two nights) and my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and their two children from California will be here, and cousins and my mother-in-law and another sister-in-law (my travel partner Nonie) and and and and AND!!! We will be having a wild family rumpus! Cake will be eaten! Wishes will be made as candles are blown out! Gifts will be given and, most of all, we will gather together to celebrate DH and his many, many years (and--oh!--many many more, please!) and we will just bask in the joy of being together for such a happy occasion. Lucky us.

So very lucky me.

My eldest granddaughters had birthdays last month and are now FIVE and FOUR and where does the time go?

I will try and update this blog every few days, Dear Reader (if you are still there!) with some photos from my travels and a few little snippets of my most memorable travel tidbits, but tonight I want to share a poem that I discovered while visiting the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, Alaska. I hope you like it as much as I do.

There Is No Word for Goodbye

by Mary TallMountain

Sokoya*, I said, looking through

the net of wrinkles into

wise black pools

of her eyes.

What do you say in Athabaskan

when you leave each other?

What is the word

for goodbye?

A shade of feeling rippled

the wind-tanned skin.

Ah, nothing, she said,

watching the river flash.

She looked at me close.

We just say, Tlaa. That means,

See you.

We never leave each other.

When does your mouth

say goodbye to your heart?

She touched me light

as a bluebell.

You forget when you leave us,

You're so small then.

We don't use that word.

We always think you're coming back,

but if you don't,

we'll see you some place else,

You understand,

There is no word for goodbye.

*sokoya : aunt on mother's side