new family member

This is my new baby. I had no intention of bringing home a kitten when I went out last Saturday. I was going to go to the dollar store to pick up a couple packs of hangers. As I reached the dollar store, I just felt the pull to keep on driving. SO I did, not really knowng where I was going. I headed into the nearest town and pulled up to one of my favorite thrift stores. This is interesting I thought to myself. Lets see what is in here that the universe is guiding me to. I went in with my 2 year old daughter, with whom shopping in a cartless store is pure hell, I might add... and started looking around, cursing myself for even going there, becuase I know what an aweful experience shopping without containment is... My daughter was tearing thru the store, trying on shoes and rearranging things, and I am thinking WHY am I here? Then from the back of the store, this woman is askng another woman if she knows anyone who wants kittens. Out of no-where I ask, You have kittens?, as if the words were being pulled from me without my consent. After all I didnt want any kittens... Conversation ensued, and I end up following this woman and her husband back to their house to look at their beautiful kittens. The whole drive there, I am thinking, WHAT are you doing GIRL? Having an entire conversation in my head how I am just going to look and there isn't any reason I should take one home with me... Needless to say, here he is. The boys have taken to calling him Titan, and I must say they were all smitten from the moment I walked in the door. He is SO aweet and personable, and super friendly, with no fear. The perfect match for my chaotic family. Welcome to the clan, Titan.
Peace and love, Chella

too much a perfectionist

Hi there ! I have the greatest intentions of writing, and then... I get caught up, in the daily ever incresing responsibilities at home, my chore list, the kids, the day... and when I get to writing about it, if I dont have everything right at my figertips, the camera, the camera cord to download, the time or energy to download and edit, a quiet room, then by best intentions go out the window, and I do not write at all. what is the point to having a blog, if not to blog it? It is somehting I have so much wanted to do for so long, and here I am, slacking. SO I set a goal for myself, to write and post a little, every day, for the next month. Just something, anything, so that I can get used to the flow, the time committment, the interest to myself, to see if this is something I really do want. No more trying to get it perfect. Just putting down what is, and letting go of what isnt. Peace and love, Chella

back again

HELLO! It has been almost a year since I have been onine. What a blessing to be reconnected! So much has occurred that I will just lightly sum up. Better just to start back up and keep moving foreward.


The winter has been lovely but long here in the mountains of New Mexico. We have had tastes of spring with a handful of beautiful days, followed by snow and more snow! This week has been varying degrees of warm and cold. I bought some seeds in anticipation of starting someting. I bought a small rosemary bush becuase it smelled so alive.


We turnrd the soil in one of the garden beds between snow days this week (it never stays on the ground for long), so spring is creepng in albeit slowly to the garden but rapidly in my mind and in my heart. Anticiption is grand. In the days ahead I plan on spring cleaning inside, so on the nice days I have nothing to hold me back from going outside!


Of coarse the kids keep getting bigger. Zaelyn the oldest is now 11, Gabriel and Gavin both had birthdays in February now 7 and 3, and my baby Zari is now 2 as of this April. So much growth and development!




On the sad note, we lost 2 pets this winter, our darling Sugar was hit by a car in January and although we are still missing her terribly, her spirit lives on in her 2 puppies Sirius Buddah and Coco Nibs, whom she left behind. They are nearing 6 months old and a great source of joy.

Blackie, our young catolecent, failed to come in one evening, the next moirning I spotted a bobcat in our yard close to the house, so I assume he was an unfortunate victim of the mountain wildlife. Another downfall to loosing Sugar is that she was our great guardian, and since she left, a pack of coyotes had made our yard part of their nightly rounds. It has been 5 months, and I am still trying to get used to the unearthly yipping and howling as they come up into the orchard. Never a dull moment! Sometimes I go outside and stand in the dark by the back door willing myself to remain calm as their cries echo in the cold night, trying to reconcile my irrational fears and trying to embrace them as my neighbors in nature. I will let you know if and when I succeed. I miss my sugar.

With the kids and pets growing fast, my own world feels pressure to keep up. This whole long winter I have been wanting to put my studio together, it has been a chaos of boxes and bins since we moved in here, for various reasons. But now with spring fever on my heels I have been working hard to get it up and running. The economy has been hard on us, and I feel the deep spiritual need to create, and release some of the winters darkness and the spring hopefulness.

The studio is in a small adobe casita a stones throw from the main house. I have always wanted a place to create away from the house, away from the daily grind, some place I can walk into that is totally mine, with projects able to be left out until completion with out taking up the kitchen table, or worrying a cat/kid/dog will come in and walk, paw,trample or color on... I am excited that it is almost done. I have so many creative projects swirling around in my head, waiting to get out...

Well that is enough of an update for now. Look for pics of the studio later in the week.
Peace and love, Chella