The art of missing is a mysterious and fine craft. It comes from nowhere with no warning until you’re dizzy with remembrances when just a second before you were wondering what to have for lunch. I find myself in a missing state today even though I’m not really sure how I got there.

Old memories and kindnesses pop up and explode like confetti raining lightly and tickling my arms and eyelashes. They come without warning and disappear in a flash leaving you wondering if it all was just a dream instead. It went as quickly as it came, but its presence was nice and kind.

The older we get the more these tiny moments of buried nostalgia trigger a smile or a wink or perhaps just a feeling of joy. And today I was visited by one in particular like it was brought in by the wind at random. All I can say is that it was a nice visit and remembrance of softness and smiles and surprises. It was nice.

Finding these photos was a nice surprise, too. I was there just a few days ago on the West Coast and am now here way over on the East. Strange how travel, like little remembrances, can remind you that life is happy, unexpected and often beautiful.

Beautiful like this past weekend when I went to Oregon for the first time! Yay! This past weekend I went to the Portland, Oregon premiere of Handmade Nation where I was on a panel with Garth Johnson, Jill Bliss, Faythe Levine, Kate Bingaman-Burt and Susan Beal, who was my lovely hostess! Being on a panel with your friends just may be one of the best things ever, and how crazy is it that we all met online?

I also got to meet some other crafty internet people in person which was so exciting! People like: Diane Gilleland, Kim Werker, Josh and Sarah of Sewer-Sewist.com, Jennifer Worick, Heather Mann, Lee Meredith, Teresa Sullivan, Rachel Hobson, Michaela Murphy, Kathy Pitters, Torie Nguyen and Amanda Siska. I also got to meet Susan’s wee little daughter, Pearl, for the first time!! She is absolutely beautiful and such a little rockstar!

For a complete round-up of the weekend, please check out Lee’s amazing write-up, Susan’s super craft roundup and Diane’s Post #1 and Post #2!

And there is a Flickr pool of everyone’s photos here! One of the best things about the weekends was that there were so many photographers I didn’t have to worry about not capturing anything!

So go and make beautiful things, laugh too loud and savor those moments when the past comes back to you and you shiver and giggle in the bittersweet deliciousness of it all. x

The photos above are from the Flickr pool as my camera is still sadly lost somewhere in my suitcase. The first is by Kim of Rachel showing off their amazing Craftgasm (our group Lee made for all of us!The second is by Diane of Knittn’ Kitten.