thank you Bend

Bend, Or. This is the first time that I have ever lived in a city that is a sentence fragment. Try google searching anything within Bend, Or and it often says something about "or" not being included in the search. I have been here for longer than I expected and longer than I perhaps would have liked. I made no attempts to make friends outside of Lebn's family, which is strangely peaceful. Sometimes I find great comfort in anonymity. As my time here comes to a close, my heart brain starts to unravel my adventures here. I am immensely grateful for my time here.

Some highlights:
~Getting to know Lebn's family and becoming part of it.
~Listening to nearly all of the Harry Potter audiobooks, the British version. Stephen Fry I love you.
~Lebn and NPR are my best friends.
~Falling in love with snow. Well, sometimes.
~I discovered Sivananda yoga. It is everything i have ever hoped for...everything i need. you are so beautiful to me. i now know what kind of yoga I will teach.
~i am a landscape designer and plant mommy.
~i am now a fully trained advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault
~oh my gosh substitute teaching. at first terrifying. you remember how you treated the sub right? and now i have renewed inspiration to be an amazing teacher.






Lebn putting together Paulina Springs Books in Redmond, Or. Lebn's dad's new bookstore. Brad is his name.














One of the strange tasks given to Lebn and I in regard to the bookstore. Notice the porch and the ice skating rink. so good.










kaiya. this is the special doggy that has enabled me to love all other dogs. we had to put her to sleep a few weeks ago.












easter at the schuyler-smiths. and these are the mediocre eggs. whoa. egg dying is serious business around here. day long creative magical wonder and beauty.










we put in all of these bookshelves and then put the books on them. so i now have the strange skill of helping to set up a new bookstore. this was back in december. lebn and a man named brian. This is now a very well stocked and beautifully decorated bookstore complete with murals and occasional customers.















Bend. the high desert. it gets cold here. i am not made for such a climate. i need to make additions.




















Carolyn, Nick, and the miraculous head scratcher.
Lebn's cousin and her husband and our only friends here. ;)
They also lived with their parents. And this is only the beginning of the commonalities we share.











On a little hill hike.
Snow capped peaks all around.















love is all around.
even in lava rock.

Lebn, me, Randi, and Brad.