poor atlas. i do like making things play with him. his kitty cousins sent him some squirrel-shaped treats for christmas, and i cannot help but make every squirrel play with him before he gets to eat it.

i'd write more, but i just started reading your dog is your mirror (kevin behan) and it is so fascinating that now i have to finish it. i barely tore myself away from the book to write this post, and atlas has not gotten his evening walk. clearly 2012 is shaping up to be a year of good reading.

hello, my dear readers!

it occurred to me that you might be in need of some postcards (maybe you want to say "hello! happy new year! i love you!" to your friends).

it also occurred to me that, now that the enjoyable but generally atypical fun december mail is winding down, you might want goodness in your mailbox even in january.

i have a large stack of lovely new postcards, and i am in the mood to pull out my crafty supplies and create cards, so i thought i'd make you a fun and easy offer.

$6.50 gets you 3 {happy surprise} postcards, packaged in a lovely card handmade just for you.

$12 gets you 6 {happy surprise} postcards, packaged in a lovely card handmade just for you.

if the offer speaks to you, just click the applicable button and complete your payment. i shall do a happy dance and start creating your card.

yay! mailbox goodness!

friday update: i removed the buttons because this round is done! yay! thank you!

i went to bed before midnight on new year's eve. yay!

i always want to go to bed before midnight on new year's eve – i am not a night owl – but in the past i have been sneakily coerced into staying awake against my sleepy will.

this new year's eve, i thought about my day and year, spent time with one of my favorite people, ate good food, read most of an excellent book, and went to bed at my usual time.

on new year's day, i ate pie for breakfast, took atlas for a walk in the sunshine, thought about my day and year, spent time with another dear friend, ate more good food, finished the excellent book, and went to bed at my usual time.

life is good. and i am happy.

how are you? really? i'd love to sit next to you and listen.

{my attempt to capture 52 photos that represent trust – my word for 2011}.

i cannot think of a more perfect way for me to celebrate 2011 than with a final trust photo.

when i look at this image, i see a girl dancing. quietly and slowly and softly, but with more trust in herself, and with an even greater sense of connection to the magic and mystery that surrounds us.

i am full of gratitude and apprecation for what my year with trust has given me.

happy merry new year, everyone! may your 2012 be full of daydreams, daisies, and more delight than you can even imagine.

i have a couple of quick announcements. imagine my disembodied voice booming over a loudspeaker. hee.

there are new images in the grab bag! in case you're looking for a wintry computer background, for example. it's still "choose your own price" – which i like to think of as a variation on "choose your own adventure". remember those books? i loved them. (i read them in a very methodical and logical manner, in order to be sure i covered every single possible adventure. now that i think about it, given that, it's no wonder i enjoyed programming.)

there are a few more days for the holiday special on the pause. i don't have any spots left this week, but if it speaks to you, you are welcome to buy a session and use it in the new year. resting and renewing and retreating – in the comfort of your own home – seems like the perfect thing for january.

ok. it's time for the disembodied voice to leave; if you like, you can imagine it singing "whistle while you work" as it goes. for some odd reason, that is the song that comes into my head most often.

i read tolkien's the hobbit yesterday after stumbling across a trailer for the movie version. i love the book, though i always forget just how much until i read it again. (as an aside, i want to live in a hobbit-hole.) this time, i noticed lots of bits that i wanted to write down in my journal. here are two of my favorites.

"Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway."

"It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait."

my friend heidi was here for a visit back in november and she took this photo of atlas and me. it’s four of my favorite things: my beloved foiry (his latest nickname – it was “my beloved furry” and then i adapted it), nature, the pacific northwest, and autumn. love.

i am so happy to have this photo. i have three photos of atlas and me that i love. one is from 2003. one is from 2007. and now i have this one from 2011. interestingly, they were all taken in autumn, they were all taken outdoors, and we both look pretty much the same in all of them.

goodness, do i love this dog. i tell him that i love him more than the sun, the moon, and all the stars, and i mean every word of it. even when he’s saucy. and i must say that since he turned 8 1/2, he seems extra-determined to get what he wants when he really wants something. it’s sort of like he got up one morning and thought, “hey! i’m getting old! we shall do what i want from here on out.” not that we weren’t mostly doing that already ..

want to see the faery circle i made next to my front door?

i started making a circle outside my front door this autumn. i’d gather fallen leaves and arrange them in a circle when i left the house for the morning walk with the pup. the trouble was that my leaf circles never lasted very long – pesky winds.

i brought the stones home from the olympic peninsula in may to live in my bathroom sink. they made bathroom tasks feel calmer and more meditative. (also, whenever i spit out my toothpaste, i pretended the white was foam on the rocks. it was very fun.)

one day, i realized that the rocks didn’t want to be in my sink anymore. they wanted to be outside again – in nature. they now have a new home. and i have a faery circle that actually stays put.

by the bye, if you love mail, and want a fun option, my friend amy sends postcards with messages from the faeries! my year of faery post expired earlier this year and i miss it so. they always sent me the loveliest messages. most of the postcards are in my desk drawer so i can pull them out and re-read them whenever my spirit needs a hug.

i must confess that i am feeling extraordinarily lonely today. though it sounds somewhat paradoxical, it has nothing to do with being alone, and nothing to do with being lonely, and nothing to do with anything in this moment at all.

but it reminded me that while the holiday season can be merry and joyous and festive, it can also be lonely and sad, whether you are on your own, or with a few loved ones, or surrounded by a roomful of people.

my wish for you today, if you need or want it, is that you are filled to the brim with a sense of belonging, with the knowledge that you are loved and appreciated and wanted, exactly as you are, right now, in this moment.

{my attempt to capture 52 photos that represent trust – my word for 2011}.

frost-covered grasses, sparkling in the cold winter sunshine.

there is a thorough sniffing, and then they're done and ready to move on to the next thing.