by hand for the holiday

 A home away from home for us- the Eastern Sierra Nevada. My father has a humble place just across from Crowley Lake (this view is looking back towards the house from the lake)which we frequent any chance we get- also the bookends of our Southern CA Christmas. Winter 2011 has been a sort of rogue-dry season, virtually no snow at all yet. The advantage of this is that people can trek back to spaces they would normally be shut out of- namely Yosemite by way of Tioga Pass and Rock Creek (where we ran into the actor John C. Reilly with his family, made my day!). 

 A gift Darrick and I made for Christmas. Homemade skin products with high-quality oils: one encouraging relaxation, one boasting complexion enhancement and one that helps heal wounds as well as amend dry or damaged skin. Darrick cut out a home for each bottle as well as shaped and finished these pieces of black Acacia. They turned out quite lovely.

 The underside of the curves are raw edges of the wood.

Another walk up the hill behind the house that we would have never been able to do without snow shoes if it weren't for the abnormal season.