Making home

When I left California at age 17, I never imagined it would take me eight long years to make my way back. 

During that time, I've lived in 12 different places in 7 different cities, 6 different states, and 2 countries: Williamstown, MA; New York, NY; Dhaka, Bangladesh; Orange County, CA; Baltimore, MD; Jefferson County, WV; and, finally, Pittsburgh, PA.  In the course of all these wanderings from place to place, every move precipitated by factors beyond my control (school, work), I was continually obsessed with the idea of home and where I might finally find it or make it.  I feel incredibly lucky to have had so much practice and so many diverse examples, all of which have contributed indelibly to my idea of what makes a home.

So, for the first time in my life, I've made my way to a new city entirely by my own choice.  A few months ago, I gave away most of my belongings, packed up what I could in my trusty Toyota, and headed West, to the place I've always called home in the back of my mind: Southern California!  I've been more than a little homesick for the friends I left scattered in various cities, who in the abbreviated scale of the East, always felt within arm's reach as long as I could scare up a tank of gas.  But I'm starting to get settled here, and I find myself relishing the task of crafting a home from scratch, entirely on my own for the very first time. 

This is a place for me to record some thoughts and experiences along the way about the things which feel important to me in making home: sustainability, beauty, FOOD, friends, family, gardening, art.  And this time, there's no ticking clock: I'm here to stay!