salmon, fleece, granola, evergreens, rain, coffee, and airplanes...not really.

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WOW! It’s good to be home. Or, it was good to be home. I brought my crutches home with me, although I ditched them in the garage on arrival. I was finally home and in the final stretches of recovery. Well, I was until I opted to get a long overdue orthoscopic job on my right knee. (BTW, thanks Dr. Scranton, it’s feeling great!) A few more weeks of hobbling around would give me reason enough to stay in Seattle for a couple months and see what it is like to be stationary for more than 10 days. (Which since June 14, 2006 hadn’t happened.) Not to mention I got to the live the life of luxury. Mom was around to feed me. I found myself behind the wheel of car again. What freedom of movement those damn polluting vehicles provide! I found myself engaged in a myriad of art projects. From making my own apple wine, to crafting a ‘space needle’ costume, I kept myself plenty busy and plenty happy. A special thanks to everyone who drank my apple wine. I’m glad you enjoyed it. (Perhaps in too large of quantities but we’ll chalk that up to a steep learning curve.) I spent Thursday evenings going to the McLeod Residence happy hour parties in Belltown with Kelly. (For those who don’t know, McLeod Residence is an art gallery and bar with a core group of fun Seattle artists and creatives on 2nd near Blanchard. Check it out!) And now likely you can guess who threw the party I used the Space Needle outfit for…which I even won a prize for! I was very proud. (I lost out to someone dressed as the Pink Elephant car wash sign. Brilliant!)
I also got to go up to my cabin on Whidbey Island on a couple occasions. One magical day was spent shooting the nearby barn and wetland under a fresh dusting of snow. These ended up being some of my favorite photos of my travels, as much for their personal significance as their atmospheric beauty.
It was great to be around friends and family again after so long. I was reluctant to leave after 2 months but knew it was time for the final stretch of my Round The World sojourn. I had 6 weeks before I would find myself back in New York and so I decided to head south to revisit warmer climates. So up next are quick summaries of time in Mexico and Guatemala. Thanks for reading!!

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Photos

Seattle by Night
Seattle Art Museum/WAMU building is a nice addition to the skyline. Best picture of Seattle ever! (if I may humbly say so.)

Seattle by Day
We don't usually tell people this, but Seattle looks like this everyday.

Seattle Notables Party
at McLeod Residence. Kelly(!) as a 70s Steve Pool, and yours truly as the Needle!

Dinner Partay
Some tasty food and some tasty apple wine! And one hell of a hang over.

Welcome to Whidbey
A spontaneous art piece with found ball, complete with love letter to Wilson the volleyball.

Self Portrait
sort of. more like I jumped into an interesting landscape. i like it.

Whidbey in Winter
the solitude of whidbey in the winter makes a wonderful retreat. This photo represents the calm belonging I experience.

The Black Lagoon
the thin layer of ice just under the surface of this shallow black lagoon created the perfect mirror. And for this day it became the beautiful blue lagoon. (turn your screen upside down for original orientation:)