Where did February go?.....

It was a veritable blurrrrrr! I can't even remember parts of it!

The month was mostly consumed with thoughts and energy devoted to my father who at age 80 (3 days past his birthday) passed away Feb. 12 after a battle with mesothelioma...asbestos-related lung cancer after a lifetime of work as a master craftsman carpenter. Dad was diagnosed in Nov. of '06 and only given a few months to live. He beat the prognosis and was doing very well (still chopping firewood, gardening, and canning his famous pepper relish) right up until this past Jan. when he began to deteriorate. The disease can vary person to person, and many linger and suffer for a long time. I guess we can consider Dad blessed that his deterioration was accelerated toward the end and he was spared a protracted and lengthy amount of discomfort. He was able to die at home. The day before he was to die, I had an instinct to get up to see him quick, and hopped a plane the next day up to the Sacramento area. I feel gifted to have trusted that instinct and spent Dad's last 10hours with him and see him off...his famous humor was intact till the end.

I then stayed with my Mom several days to help her and help arrange the Memorial Service to take place a couple weeks later. I later flew back up again for that and just returned this past weekend. It was a wonderful service and celebration of Dad's life, a rebonding with siblings, all of us coming together to help Mom out and reconnect. We all agreed that if we had to celebrate a life, we did it the best it can possibly be done and came away with many wonderful memories not only of our Dad, but of our family. I am very lucky to have the family that I do!

And now it's time to get back into the cycle of life and work. Many of the projects I was in the midst of before Feb. were put-off, but I trust you understand the priority that family is. I have several large soap orders I'm working on and of course, taxes to get prepared before April. My nose will be to the grindstone for a bit but when I come out the other side, I hope to get those new promised soap lines revealed finally and on the website, as well as some new art in the works!

Thank you to the many of you who have sent remarkably kind notes of condolence and support to my family and myself...it is greatly appreciated! I wish for you the kind of love and family strength that I feel blessed to have.

I saw new buds on many trees today, loads of blossoms on my lemon tree with busily buzzing bees, and the sun's warmth felt like a preview of Spring. New life.....feels good!

Be well...
~Carol