When we found the Maple Leaf family home for Mom, everyone felt it was a great place...except Mom. And who could blame her? At that point, she missed her art, and all the tools and implements that fit her hands so well. She missed Angels Camp and the good friends her and Chuck had down there. I felt like dirt, but knew that with Parkinsons, it would be invaluable to have their help and care. 

When I would visit, the thing she always wanted to do was what she wanted to do in life - get out and see natural beauty. She couldn't move around very well, so I would put her in the car with a many step process. When we were ready, we would hit the Silver Lining coffee shop and pick up a couple cookies and a coupple cups of coffee and go tree hunting. We didn't start out looking for trees, but that was what she noticed as we drove around the north Seattle neighborhoods.

When we found a beauty, I would take pictures and print them out for her. She would then sketch them. I got her water colors, brushes, sketch pads, but most of the time she would just sketch out views on whatever paper was around. So be it.

I'll never walk by a beautiful tree the same way again, you know?