We are shifting into fall and  our school routine. I have to admit, I like the pattern. Which is odd.  I expected to really mourn my loss of free time. The last part of summer was completely my own which afforded tons of time in my studio.  However, I’m finding our routine to be a bit of a comfort. It makes for a cleaner house, at least. Because IZ and I share the teaching load and alternate days, my teaching days create a perfect opportunity for getting those pesky loads of laundry done. Which, is a good thing. Right?

Lately, though, what free time I’ve had has gone to creating. While the rest of the house is starting to look livable again, my studio is an absolute disaster. I have piles of projects waiting, mounds of fabric, and sewing debris an inch thick on the floor. I don’t dare walk in there barefoot for fear of a brash encounter with straight pins. Ouch. I’d like to think of it as creative chaos. It’s probably just messy.

My goal is to have it cleaned by next week when we leave for our annual trek home. A trip home that is about survival for me. We didn’t go in May, due to the wedding. So this is a necessary a sanity break, if nothing else. A planned “summer”. The weather here for the past few weeks has been glorious, but it’s not enough. So, we schedule a pilgrimage to all spaces holy at least one a year. In this case, Anaheim, Santa Barbara, and Marin make up the trifecta necessary for me to endure another winter here. It’s been too long since I’ve been home.

This trip promises to be interesting, but I’ll blog more on that later. In the meantime, we’ve been busy entertaining. Typically, I like to spread these things out–I’m so intensly private, to have three social encounters in my space in one week is usually overwhelming. But with the trip, we’re trying to touch bases before we go. You know how it goes. What’s that old cliche? Strike while the iron’s hot?? Anyhow, it’s made for clean spaces and that makes for a peaceful space I really crave.

This post has been a bit random. Right? I really thought I’d be blogging more in September, but I’ve been so busy with Mireio that I’ve barely brought my head up. It’s a good kind of busy, but I’m going to try to rectify this bad habit. There has to be space in this new pattern for finding my way here.

Before I go, though… I have to show you these:

I’m absolutely giddy about them! They’re so beautiful and I can hardly wait to send them out. If you want a little love coming your direction—you know, not a BILL, let me know. I’ll pop a note off to you.

And this is for Cap. I’m thinking about you. BELIEVE