It started snowing today, again. Living on this island has been like living in a snow globe this winter. Just when it settles, we get shaken up again. Not that I'm complaining. It looks absolutely magical out there.

I spent the lovely little storm inside Spruce & Gussy today, working at the jewelry bench. A quote from Annie Dillard kept coming back to me. "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." A thought that made me feel deeply content today, as I worked on a number of custom pieces. Forging new settings for the special stones and tokens of family history that have been entrusted to me this winter, I felt so blessed.

For me, this is creative work at its best. Reworking the drab and worn to bring new life to ancient connections, I can almost feel how much love lives in these diamonds, rubies and coins. While I do enjoy making pieces from scratch (which is what the opals are for), the most satisfying work is this. 

Later this week Michelle and I head off the to big New York trade show, which will be both exhilarating and exhausting. We're really looking forward to finding new artists to work with, and fun new things to bring home to Maine. We'll keep you posted. 

–Patti