I helped my parents move this weekend… in the snow. They are moving to the Sierra Mountains, up by Yosemite. So we dragged my mom’s paintings and my dad’s tools through the muddy paths lined with three feet of snow.…

There are a lot of spectacular hikes in Sonoma County. Maybe that’s why I never paid attention to Helen Putnam Regional Park in Petaluma. I had read it was an easy 2.8-mile hike, and because it seems like it is…

In between all the other things I have been doing, I’ve been experimenting with wire working. Above is part of a necklace I made this week. To make the necklace, I cut 50 pieces of copper wire at 6.5 inches,…

Oh New Cup! So fresh and clean. Yet to have coffee stains, yet to have cracks and chips. How I enjoy drinking lattes out of you. How I enjoy looking down at your cheerful-yet-elegant design. I thank you for brightening…

It is the holiday season. That means parties! In particular, my 30th birthday party, which we held here at our house. Most of the people I wanted to come came, which made me happy. There were good appetizers and good…

I was going to write more Italy entries, but I feel like it’s dragging on, so I’ll just tell you about the difference between Florence and Siena. In the 1200-1300s, Florence and Siena were in stiff competition with each other.…

Of all the art I saw in Italy, Michelangelo’s David was my favorite. I never realized before how it tells a story: It’s David right before he throws the stone at the giant Goliath. David’s face, looking up at the…

I heard that California is supposed to have the same climate as Italy, but that didn’t seem to be the case when I was there. Italy in October is more like California in February–everything is lush and green. There was…