Preparing for Flight

As the time grows nearer for me to leave, my excitement is becoming laced with anxiety. I can't wait to get a taste of my new life, submerging myself in my new culture, meeting my new friends and family, and exploring a new land. As much as I have to look forward to, I am unprepared as always to say goodbye to those I love. Back when I only dreamed of the wanderlust I was to one day experience, I often thought the tightly woven family I was a part of was a curse, something keeping me on a short rope, only allowing me to go so far until I once again returned to where I was tied. Now as I have grown older, and that rope has lengthened quite a bit and I have been able to see more of the world, I realize that I am one of the luckiest people in the universe. I am so blessed to be surrounded by a loving, caring, strong and sturdy support system. Each person in my family is unique and amazing in their own ways, and after several years of moving around and living away from home, I have been fortunate to come home and spend the past five months surrounded by them and soaking up their love. I'm pretty sure I have absorbed every drop of it, and I am hoping that will be enough to last me this next sum of time on the opposite side of the world from them. In all of the time that I have been away from home since I left the first time nearly eight years ago, the separation never seems to get easier. In fact it gets harder. The farther I go, the longer I am gone, the sweeter it all is when I return. I have come to accept that this push and pull will always be my life. This desire to leave, to wander, explore, make a difference, will be balanced by what I have to come back to. Just as the swallows gather to leave our farm each fall for warmer Argentine skies, I pack my bags for my next journey. They find their way home each spring to feed in the bounty of the freshly mowed grass and bask in the warm sunlight. I am one of them, certain to leave, and certain to return home again.

7 Billion

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Manifest Destiny

It has been less than a year since I expressed the desire to travel to India. It started out as just that, an expression, a thought, a distant dream. I thought that maybe, someday, I might travel to that side of the globe, explore the culture, the people, the geography of this mystifying faraway land. In the past 12 months, desire gave way to some interesting 'coincidences' and things have gone from dream to reality. On February 1, 2011, I will start a journey towards the colorful subcontinent. It is hard to believe in just over a month, I will be moving to India. I will be living Bangalore, the capital of the state of Karnataka, and the third most populous city in India. There are millions upon millions of orphans, street children, and child laborers in India. Many do not have a roof over their head, food to eat, or family to turn to. I will be working in New Hope Children's Home through Helping Hands India, helping to care for and teach english to some of these children. I am so blessed to have had such a privileged life and have felt for a long time that I want to give back. Through a series of unpredictable events, this opportunity has fallen into my lap and I really feel I am being called to do this. I am so lucky to have so many people encouraging and supporting me as I decide to make this life changing move. I know when I return I will be a different person. Bring it on!

Last Minute

It may be too late for custom orders, but there's still time to purchase last minute items from HannahRuth Designs before Christmas! (and just in time, there's plenty of new etched cuffs and money clips for your accessorizing pleasure)

Around the World

Holiday Shopping Extravaganza!

My sister Jane and I will have a booth at the Holiday Shopping Extravaganza selling our one-of-a-kind handmade jewelry and clothing from vintage textiles. Please come check it out!

Here's a sneak peak of some of my wares..

eclectic sterling earrings

a variety of handmade designer etched cuffs

handmade sterling necklaces and bracelets

money clips and cuffs etched with local maps

one-of-a-kind mixed metal pieces