Topic

familia

A collection of 133 issues

Mountains to cathedrals.

I love this passage about Seattle, written by Christopher Solomon of the New York Times. This is so how we live here! Snuggled with our tea or espresso and copius amounts of reading material; I don’t think I’ve ever read a more descriptive paragraph: When summer comes to

The eldest.

My sister Megan, 1970-something. Purgatory ski resort, just north of Durango, CO. This morning, when I liberally applied my new Lush conditioner, the smell reminded me of my sister, Megan. I don’t know what it was. Maybe the chalky orangeness of it. Maybe the woodsy sweetness in it. Whatever

Things I will miss....

originally uploaded by Neylano. 01. My friends. 02. The downtown YMCA. 03. The coffee culture. 04. The mountains. 05. The sparkling blue water, par tout. 06. Running the dogs on the UW campus. 07. The Pink Door. 08. Marymoor. 09. My ‘hood, even though it is a bit too yuppy

On horses, mental models, and 100-year old metaphors.

Michaela with my friend Katie’s horse, Brazil, at a dressage show on Whidbey Island, WA. Photo by Callie Neylan, 2006. I don’t know if I ever told you this, but I love horses. Growing up in Colorado, you’d think I was around them a lot. Well, I

On the power of hair and semiotics.

Me at about 3 yrs old. Photo by my mom or one of my siblings, 1970-ish. Durango, Colorado. Redheads are genetic outliers, with only 1-2% of the world’s population naturally red-haired. In The Roots of Desire: The Myth, Meaning and Sexual Power of Red Hair, Marion Roach talks about

On forces of nature, packaging design, and the amazing uterus.

AskNature.org is an online source for biomimicry inspiration, a place “where biology and design cross-pollinate, so bio-inspired breakthroughs can be born.” Speaking of births, there’s an impending birth in my family, one that could happen any day now (no, it’s not me. I AM NOT PREGNANT). There

On horses, mental models, and 100-year old metaphors.

Michaela with my friend Katie’s horse, Brazil, at a dressage show on Whidbey Island, WA. Photo by Callie Neylan, 2006. I don’t know if I ever told you this, but I love horses. Growing up in Colorado, you’d think I was around them a lot. Well, I

On Irish heritage and going home.

Fields near the Cliffs of Moher. County Clare, Ireland. Photo by Callie Neylan, February 6, 2012. My maternal grandfather’s name was Frederick Leslie Leopold Neylan. O’Neylan before he emigrated to the US from the Emerald Isle. I don’t know why he left or exactly when, but being

Sugar Darling.

Bria. Photo by Callie Neylan, March 23, 2012. Sugar Darling, you are my sunshine. No, moonshine. Intoxicant, swooning. Down where the wild things grow and the slit comes to life with a flower of flesh and bones and innocence. Lost when he found you, lost when he stole you. Detested

When you're in love with a beautiful house.

On Saturday, after almost five years on the East Coast, I left Baltimore. On the plane ride to Seattle, I penned a love letter on my iPad to my house on Lafayette Avenue, my home for almost four years. It’s a beautiful 19th-century rowhouse – tall, stately, well-crafted and elegant