and there's no place like home, either. happy to be sleeping safe and sound in my own comfortable bed with my little dog, of course. yet i know the tug in my heart towards this amazing, beautiful, serene, quirky, magical place called lesvos island, greece...that will always be present. even though my command of the greek language is about four words, on a spiritual level, i felt a sense of homecoming that was deep and satisfying here. this photo is from molyvos, my first destination on the north shore of the island. it's a traditional village of about 1,000 people with a pretty harbor bobbing with colorful fishing boats and a crumbling castle perched on the top of the hill. cobblestone streets and wisteria in bloom.

with the flowers in bloom, it smelled like heaven walking down this lane, browsing in the small shops...

i stayed at a lovely place, nassos guesthouse, run by tom, a gracious dutch man and his adorable sidekick, ricky the dog. ricky kept stray cats out of the courtyard and as a team, both made me feel welcome. the view from my room (top windows in the photo below) was fantastic and i spent many relaxing hours on the balcony, staring at the sun sparkling on the blue, blue water in the harbor. from this village, you can see across to the shore of turkey.

the guesthouse had a sweet little kitchen, perfect for making my morning tea and a bowl of yogurt. the fresh sheep yogurt was so delicious, dressed with thyme honey and a handful of walnuts. shopping just around the corner at the grocery and a fabulous bakery up the lane for perfect, flakey spinach pie! 

down at the harbor, a couple fish resturants could be found, even in the off-season. and cafes full of old greek men, drinking ouzo and coffee, smoking and talking. living the life...in fact, i think in my next life, i want to come back as an old greek man on this sleepy island!

stayed tuned for more in the coming weeks as i sort my 600+ photos and report on my experiences. i have returned inspired, excited and ready to create, so there will be lots to share! 

my ipod is loaded with comfort music for the plane, my bag is packed...i am ready to depart of my trip of a lifetime! i'll check in here if it's possible while in greece, but it will be good for me to have a break from the computer. i promise pictures galore and stories to share when i return at the end of april. check back with me then, as i'll be recreating my travel journal here on found object. thank-you readers, for all your support and cheerleading, it makes all the difference!

 cutting the papers for my travel journal this week was fun. i did a little over several nights, dipping into my stash of art paper, some of which i made years ago. when i travelled through europe 20 years ago, i was deeply interested in paper and old handmade paper mills. a few still existed as working mills at that time, so i sought them out in tiny towns in sweden and italy. the swedish paper makers were all old men nearing retirement, actually offered me an apprenticeship and let me make paper with them for one magical afternoon! when i returned from my year abroad, i got serious about studying paper making and learned to make japanese style papers as well. some of the paper in this journal i made in my early 20's and i actually beat the bark into pulp by hand. it seems incredible to me now - the amount of time i had to give to art in those days!

for this journal i used some drawing paper, writing paper, watercolor paper, handmade rice paper, vellum, and the cover is handmade kozo paper, with the afore mentioned hand-beaten pulp! making your own journal is so satisfying, you get to have just what you want and as you design it, you dream about what you will want to record. i like to draw, paint and write in my travel journals. this one is made in such a way that the book opens flat, which is nice for making a drawing that spans across two pages. i'm such a organizing geek (and was really having fun making this) so i made a tiny companion book to record my budget and track my purchases. it's nice to be able to keep track of what you spent and later, you can look up how much a spinach pie cost and such and such wonderful little pie shop!

and here is the finished book inside, ready to record my adventure. and my feet in new comfortable sandals for walking all over the streets and paths of greece!

so here's a little project from today! i went an looked at those passport pouches you wear under your clothes and they were all too bulky and made out of awful nylon fabrics. ugly, as well. and i thought, why shouldn't the secret document pouch be as pretty as vintage under garments? i've had this little piece of vintage printed silk for years, just waiting for the perfect project. today, it became something fun. and, i got to use my darling little tailor ironing board, which is excellent for small project and tight corners. a wonderful thrift find for 6 dollars. this took no time at all and was so nice to do. it's been ages and ages since i sewed anything. i almost forgot how much i love doing it!

the pouch will go around my neck, and hang inside my shirt, under the breastline. making it custom is great, because it not only looks cute, it fits me perfectly. i couldn't resist adding a little trim after i got the grosgrain ribbon on for a neck strap, it looks sweet and does double duty by reinforcing the seam where the strap attaches to the pouch. it will only need to have my passport and my large bills, so it's trim in size, just 4 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches. i'm nearly ready to go!

tonight i'll finish up the travel journal i've been hand-binding. it's a mix of papers and really lovely. i'll try to post pictures of that if i have time this weekend.

 i am so excited and distracted and busy getting ready for my trip...i can't blog. but here is that same holly from a post a few weeks ago and it's bloomed! maybe it wasn't holly after all? who knows? look at how the tiny flowers look like mini daffodils! incredible. this color is how i feel right now. bright, full, bursting with happy!