Humm, January 2007 and no posts for such a long time. Lots of things happened during the intervening months.

We added studio space to our house and that took about 4 months but was worth all the wait. It is, as you can see, a wonderful place to relax, create, think....be. Our next project will be landscaping the area off the deck and adding some tropical notes to this Georgia landscape. I've been assured that is not a difficult task and that even palm trees...I love palm trees...will work here.

And, I've done some weaving and finished some projects. Next step is to get some things ready to sell and to get back to some serious painting.

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The last part of this post is about a dear lady and much loved friend, Gretchen Burris, who died tragically over the Christmas holidays. I've known Gretchen since she was in high school. She was my daughter's best friend then and remained so. I thought of her as my daughter too.

The accident that claimed her life was just that, an accident. It is stupid but at times like this it is a temporary comfort to be able to blame some tangible thing for a loss like this. That is not the case this time.

What comfort there is is from the fact that her 6 year old son, Sam, and her husband, Joel, survived. Joel was seriously injured and is still hospitalized but there is growing hope that he will make it. We pray that is the case. Sam needs his Dad.

But for the rest of us, the pain of losing Gretchen will only soften over time when we can reflect on what a joy she was to know and what an honor it was to share a part of her life for as long as we did.

I do believe there is something after this life and I know I will see Gretchen

again. In the meantime, she will remain in my heart forever.




May your spirit be free, Gretchen. Know how much we loved you.



This photo was taken the last time I saw Gretchen. It was a very happy day. Gretchen and Sam and Sara, (Gretchen's sister) and baby Olivia visited us in Santa Rosa.

Some people come into our lives and quietly go....
Others stay for awhile and leave footprints
on our hearts,
and we are never,
ever the same.