i've been trying to work on being present in my life. while taking a class at the zen hospice guest house last year, we learned the importance of being present and finding life in life. 

this has been such a crazy week...i didn't get a job i interviewed for and really wanted, my parents were in town, and news of the incredible tragedy of the death of our vp of engineering and his family

but i started taking bart to work, which involves a 1.7 mile stroll around lake merritt. i don't know if you know this, but lake merritt is the oldest wildlife refuge in the US, so the birds there are pretty amazing. several times this week i saw a group of white pelicans eating their breakfast. 

sorry, it's a bad phone photo. 

walking is so much more pleasant than driving. i'm able to notice things like this rather than stressing about traffic on the bay bridge. it makes me feel like i can be present in that 35 minutes.

anyway, i was very happy for saturday to come so i could get my hands on some silk. it's amazing how when you're doing something you really love doing, time flies by and you forget to eat and you can just hunker down and work. this is how i feel about restoration. i can be engrossed in silk for 6 hours.

this is the main dress i'm working on...a silk charmeuse wedding dress from the 1920's. i wish i had a before photo. someone had added some chiffon to the waistline and then cut it off, so i went in and took that off along with the sash. 

i then reapplied the sash, but there was a lot of damage from previous stitching.

so erin and i picked out a beaded trim that i'll apply around the waistline to conceal the pin pricks. it's great because she's letting me make some decisions about what to do with the garments. i picked the beading over a couched champagne ribbon because when i took it out in the sun to test the coloring of the beads with the dress, it was just magical!

silk + cotton tulle!

and this is what i have to look forward to. i love being able to give new life to these beautifully and painstakingly made dresses.