Memorial Day

"...you realize that grief is perhaps the last and final translation of love. I think this is the last act of loving someone. And you realize it will never end.You get to translate this act of love for the rest of your life."~Ocean Vuong

Honoring Mom today and every day.

West Coast Tour

I just returned from a month away visiting my kids who live up and down the west coast of the USA. (Literally-they are spread out from the Pacific Northwest to Southern California 1,350 miles/2170km apart!) 

This trip's timing was in honor of Isabel's 21st Birthday!

Zack surprised Isabel by joining me for her big day

 (along with Griffin, of course!).

It was so fun to spend a week with her....

witnessing her life in San Diego.

I even spent a day on campus (SDSU) 

and was able to sit in on one of her classes.

From San Diego, I flew to Seattle. 

It's always a bit complex to fly home to Seattle. 

I miss mom so much when I'm there--and there is never enough time.

 I'm thinking next time, I will spend a whole month

 so I'll have time to see everybody.

This visit, I stayed most of my time 

between Aunt Dodo's house in Renton

 and up in Bellingham with Eli.

How can she be 92?!

Bear looking out Erin and Mark's front window, So many different kinds of beauty.

Eli in Bellingham

I saw as many loved ones (humans and pets!) 

as I could but it was still just a teaser, really.

Sheila's cat: Beau

Lunch at the Beck's with Charlotte & Alan

From Seattle, I returned to San Francisco to spend some time with Zack and Aidan before returning home.

In front of their apartment in the Lower Haight.

I love the perks of city living when I visit them. One night we took the bus to see the Broadway show "Chicago".  Everything is so nearby and they are both pros getting around.

A highlight this trip was joining Zack to adopt another cat at the local animal shelter. He's had Chika for 3 years now and she's really needed a friend. 

We told them what we were looking for and they said they had one cat available that sounded like a good match. We couldn't believe it when they said his name was "CHICO"! It felt meant to be.

Chika checking out "Topo Chico". They quickly made fast friends!

(Zack cleverly added Topo as a first name ;)

The SF SPCA is so incredibly well run!

With a full heart, it was time to head home.

Recharged until next time.

@zackgraves

Click here to see more photos from my

West Coast Tour!

Stay tuned for future tour dates, to be announced...

;)

3 years

 I haven’t written here in exactly a year. To be honest, without my biggest fan, it has been hard to find the motivation. Plus, life has felt so complex…beauty, sorrow, happiness, and grief all blurred together for the last few years. But, I really do miss blogging. It has always been such a gift to myself to document life and feel the connection with each of you.

Photo by Zack: 3/28/24

So in honor of this sacred anniversary, in honor of Mom, I am committed to beginning again.

To that end, I have to share this video that has meant so much to me. Out of all the things I’ve come across, this message resonates and comforts me the most.

https://youtube.com/shorts/OdsSMtnsuxQ?si=eFEXZvXMV2DcQ1x_

“So many of our favorite parts of ourself happen when we’re trying to be closer to our favorite people. And I feel close to my mom when I’m doing @#%! I want to tell her about. And I do a lot of things because I want to tell her about it.”~JP Saxe

Gail Ann Murchison Beck

8/21/43-4/1/21

❤❤❤

Finn

 I’m so behind on my blog (which I’ve been missing!) but need to jump in and announce our newest family member. Introducing…..

❤️Finn Kuijper❤️

After much thought we decided to get a dog. After a lifetime of having rescue dogs who we’ve loved so much, this time we decided to adopt an “Australian Labradoodle” from a very caring and reputable breeder. With as many guests as we have, we really needed to be able to count on his temperament and we feel so lucky to have been matched up with this little sweet pea.

He was born on December 20th, 2022….

….to Manou (mother) and Kayan (father), along with three brothers and one sister.

When they were 7 weeks old, we were able to visit for “Knuffel Dag” (cuddle day) 

where we could meet them in person and let the breeder know our top 3 choices.

 It was impossible to pick. They were each so sweet. 

We knew there couldn’t be a wrong choice. A few days later we were told that we were matched with “Gruen” (green)-the smallest of the litter-who captured our hearts with his fiestiness (that you can see in this video as he jumped over his siblings to bite on my coat).

And the next Saturday (2/11), we were able to pick him up and bring him home! 

In the two weeks since, we’ve been fully immersed in all things puppy.

 It really is like having a newborn with all the sweetness and intensity that involves! 

When he is full grown he will still be small (15-16”/15-20lbs), and we know he will be a great motivator to get us out there for walks, rain or shine. He’s already helping me connect more with locals who want to stop and meet him, giving me a chance to really work on my Dutch conversation skills! 

Everyone stops us to say, “Wat een schatje!’ (What a sweetie!). It’s really fun to share the puppy love.

We think he will be a great mascot for the Mill, welcoming guests from near and far to feel more at home and grounded while they’re here.

 He’s already doing that for me in so many ways.

So welcome to the world, Finn!

We can’t wait to introduce those of you reading this to him when you visit!

❤️🐾❤️🐾❤️

Island Hopping in Croatia

After leaving Dubrovnik, we took a two hour catamaran ride to the island of Korcula. It felt like a mini-Dubrovnik, utterly picturesque, full of beauty, and so much history.

Our next stop was about an hour away by catamaran: the island of Hvar.

Each island had a distinct energy and personality.

We loved hiking up to the Spanish Fortress (construction began in 1278!) 

and taking a water taxi to the island of Jerolim (which can be seen in the above photo).

We loved this special spot!

After three nights in Hvar, we took the catamaran an hour away for six nights on the island of Brac. We stayed in a tiny little town on a bay that was just beautiful.

We rented a boat for a day and had fun exploring! 

Such a very special place!

And for our last night, we ferried over to the city of Split (and flew home from here). Another breathtaking city full of mind blowing history. We stayed steps away from Docletian's Palace (built in AD 305!!!). 

It felt so remarkable that this isn't one big museum behind ropes and glass but instead a place where people live, work, eat and get their hair cut (like Han did with a local barber):

How lucky we feel to have been able to experience so much beauty in Croatia!

To see all of our favorite photos from the trip, you can check out our Croatia album on Flickr.