Since moving here in June of 2007, I've had many visitors, including lots of interesting birds. These are a few of them....Dove - don't know what type. A mating pair visited spring 2008 and hung out for awhile. I found them interesting because they were much larger and more elegant than a typical city pigeon. 
Red-Tailed Hawk: Has been visiting me since early October 2008. I've been very impressed with this one! This hawk is so huge and majestic. The first visit, I was raking leaves and not enjoying it very much b/c the gutters had just been cleaned and there was black sludge all over my deck. I stopped to rest and looked up and there she was! She was looking at me but it was obvious she was really there for my chickadee friends who were flocking to the feeder. Yesterday she snatched up a chickadee from right next to my deck! "Oh well," I thought "it's the cycle of life." I'll miss you little chickadee!
Black-capped Chickadee: These little guys visit daily and are so sweet! I have a feeder that I fill with their favorite black sunflower seeds. When I sit out on my deck to watch them, I feel like Cinderelly in the scene where all the birds and mice join forces to make her a gown - yes, my deck is that idyllic!
Steller's Jay: These little buggers love to make trouble! They dive-bomb my feeder and chase all the lovely chickadees away. I can't really keep up with their feeding needs, but will occasionally line my deck railing with almonds, peanuts, or walnuts which they love. They stuff them down their throats and take a few at a time back to their nests or other secret hiding spots.
The Barred Owl: I've only seen this guy once. I think it was November 2007? It was late, I had all my lights off and was getting ready to watch a scary movie when I saw something big flash by the window next to my tv. Not being a scaredy-cat, I lept up and flew outside to find this wonderfully noble creature perching upon a limb above the holly tree that guards my house. The Owl seemed to be as curious about me as I was of him - his head was bobbing around as I starred at him in disbelief! Please remember, I am only a 20 minute walk away from downtown Seattle! This was really the first indication to me that I was going to have many interesting visitors at my treehouse on the edge of the ravine...
My best friend, Camille, had a birthday recently and I decided what she really needed was a bag to hold her Tarot Cards in. So I set out to the local fabric and craft store, Joann in Ballard (where there is always a sale going on!). I can spend hours in this place touching pretty things and dreaming of my next projects! There were so many fabrics to choose from, but I wanted to get just the right ones to make Camille's gift with. There were several cool Halloween textiles on super-sale, but they were all to cartoony for sexy-witch Camille! I had to find something deep and tactile, soulful and mysterious... and then I saw it, the indigo velvet that haunts my dreams and that Camille needed in hers. I scooped it up and set off to find the next fabric for her Tarot Spread Blanket.
Since Camille has been digging on skulls lately, I went back near the Halloween fabrics where I had seen some, but again, they weren't cutting it. This star fabric sparkled at me, and it matched the velvet perfectly! I was so excited to get started on this project!
Now, I'm not a big sewer, so I was a little intimidated, but figured I could always pick up a bottle of wine as backup. It actually turned out to be very easy once I got going - it was mainly all about pinning and sewing the edges together. I sewed a little pocket into the inside of the bag containing a crow feather and lavender for protection. And as a finishing touch I added beads - spirals (which seem to be Camille's talisman as of late), and blue glass beads to match all the fabrics.
Last Friday, Camille had a birthday party at The Capitol Club, an old hangout of ours and we had a wonderful drinky time! I saw a bunch of old friends who I haven't seen in ages - including Jason Waskey (go check out his paintings, stat!). Thanks for being born Camille, I'm so happy to call you a friend. Now, go embrace your inner Hierophant!
A few Sundays ago, I went on a field trip with my Knitting Group to Churchmouse Yarns & Teas and a delectable Ice Creamery called Mora. This knitting group of mine is wonderful - full of super-smart, crafty, and hilariously dirty minded women (and the occasional guy.). It was a perfect sunny fall afternoon, we met up on the Ferry to Bainbridge Island and walked up to the shopping district where we were greeted by a sign out side of Churchmouse welcoming our group to the shop! Isn't that sweet? 
We filled the tiny shop to capacity and spread out like rabid little bunnies to scoop up yarny treasures that we could then knit up into something cozy and beautiful. I settled on the Chunky Malabrigo, a kettle dyed pure merino wool in varying shades of blue and green. My brother, Lucas later pointed out that these are the Seahawks colors which did not thrill me. I still like it though, and will make myself a scarf. Yes, I am still at the scarf stage of my knitting adventure, but am constantly motivated by my Capitol Hill cohorts who have skillz you wouldn't believe - Yeah, that's right, I said it - skillz, with a z. They are that good.
So, then up at Mora I got a scoop that I was allowed to split in half between 2 flavors. I got a half scoop each of Mojito sorbet (Pure summer - lime, mint, perfectly icey!), and mint with shaved chocolate (minty, creamy, melty!). These 2 went really good together because they both had really fresh and sparkly undertones.
It was a great day!
After the field trip, I drove over to my Mom and Dad's house for a special Sunday dinner to celebrate the closing of a house we sold. My brother Matthew remodeled it and I designed the landscaping. It sold back in August, but we were waiting for my sister-in-law Erica to give birth so she could join in the champagne imbibing! This was my first experience with Dom Perignon, and I gotta say it was delicious.
1. Mother Annie, 2. Tomatoes, 3. Untitled, 4. Tibet, 5. Javier Bardem in Jamon, Jamon, 6. Day 262/365, 7. Three Sisters, 8. The Shape Of My Heart, 9. Okunoin Graveyard, 10. Eyes of the hunter, 11. DolorosaComfortedByAngelsLove, 12. The view I awoke to...
Ooooooo, this was fun! Like doing a Tarot spread - what is the deeper meaning of these images, and what's up with those spiders? I will be pleasantly haunted by that image of Javier Bardem... Now, go try it, have fun, and let me know how it goes for you!
The Concept:
a. type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.b. using only the first page, pick an image.c. copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.The Questions:1. What is your first name?2. What is your favorite food?3. What high school did you go to?4. What is your favorite color?5. Who is your celebrity crush?6. Favorite drink?7. Dream vacation?8. Favorite dessert?9. What you want to be when you grow up?10. What do you love most in life?11. One Word to describe you.12. Your flickr name.
Thanks GoodKarma!
I'm taking a class called Spiritual Intuitive Development through Shamanism. Basicly, it's teaching how to get in touch with your own intuitive powers - you know, that funny feeling you get when something is not right? Or maybe you get a feeling when something is going right too. Even better!
Last week our homework assignment was to notice the symbols in our homes and draw them. These are mine. Or, at least the ones that stood out to me. Even though I've never followed any religion, I am totally attracted to religious iconography - I love crosses and Guadalupe and pictures of Jesus - on the cross and bloody, and as a baby with Mary. I also noticed I have a lot of angel symbology in my home, but I don't consider myself and "angel person". I have lots of feathers and pictures and figurines of all kinds of animals. So what does this tell me about myself? Who the fuck knows. I'll tell you when I figure it out!
Check it out! A humongous bee's nest in a Katsura Tree! It was bigger than a basketball and the bees were still active. I was walking home, admiring people's houses when I spotted this big-boy dangling from the tree right next to street parking. The whole area smelled like cotton candy thanks to the Katsura Tree - when the leaves change in the fall, it emits a very sweet cotton candy scent that lasts until all the leaves have fallen. I love this tree - it's one of my favorites!
Welcome to Life In The Treehouse! The "Treehouse" refers to where I live - teetering on the edge of a ravine, so it feels like living in a treehouse. I will probably post pictures of some of my woodland friends in the future.
Here's some more stuff I plan on sharing through Life In The Treehouse: the cool stuff I'm doing, the cool stuff I'm interested in, stuff I pick up off the ground, plants and animals I love, art and craft stuff (including attempt to become a knitter), garden and home design stuff, recipes, and of course - adventures with my family and friends, especially my new little nephew, Felix. Hope you enjoy it!
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