A few thoughts and links.

Shortest summer vacation of my life. The boy starts school on Tuesday--and also got out of school later than usual this year. I really do wonder what it's like to live somewhere that's warm year-round. To go to the beach whenever we felt like it, instead of trying to fit it in somewhere during two months of the year.

This has been a weird summer, just off in a way I can't really explain. Everything feels a bit messier than usual, or maybe more careless. The situation in the middle east is on my mind a lot. I find myself muttering to God all day and finding solace in art journaling at night. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm afraid and also trying to be brave.

The death of Robin Williams upset me more than I thought it would. I cried. I remember watching Aladdin, and loving the genie like a million other kids did, and I guess I felt like genie died. Like he is gone forever instead of existing quietly somewhere in the world. People seemed so surprised that this funny guy killed himself. I find myself thinking, "Well, YEAH, that's what depression can do." It's a huge, hulking beast that never really goes away, just subsides for periods of time depending on medication and life stress.

Anyway, here are some links to a few "happy" things I've been looking at, for distractions sake:

- These rings by Peg and Awl
- Any and all embroidery by Yumiko Higuchi
- Beth Kirby's blog, which I'm a little late on discovering. Her instagram is quite a feast for the senses as well.
- This video.
- This inspiration filled site.