Celebrating 5 Years

Tomorrow, Harry and I will be celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary. A collective "Awwwww" is in order.

For gifts this year, we decided to go traditional and get each other something made out of wood (beats the modern gift of silverware - really? silverware?) At first, Harry was like, "Do we have to make something out of wood?" Um, no. I'm not planning on whittling a fife or carving a complete chess set. I'm crafty but not THAT crafty.

Anyway, I started thinking about what I would get Harry back in November. I realized this was gonna be kinda tough, but I love a challenge. I decided I wanted to get him a Honu carving. When we were on our weddingmoon, we spent hours looking at all the different carvings and statues of Honu, only to never purchase one.

I started scouring the internet for the perfect one when I came across this:




A little blurb about this beautiful masterpiece and its creator:

Nyoman Karsa carves the little hatchlings in a suar wood relief panel. Gentle waves wash across the base of the design. Artisan Info: "My name is Nyoman Karsa and I was born on December 31, 1967. I learned woodcarving from my father and the senior artists of my village, for example, the famous Wayan Winten. I have worked in my own art studio and shop since 1987. I usually carve sculptures from ebony, suar, crocodile, and hibiscus woods. Each of the woods has specific characteristics of color, durability, and aroma. Ebony comes from Sulawesi, while the others grow locally. Mass media and the everyday traditional lifestyle of our environment and community are the sources of my inspiration. Some of my pieces deal with traditional dances, the stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata, sports, animals, and abstract figures. When creating a sculpture, I first see it in my mind, making an image of how it would look on a log or a piece of wood. This has been such a great year for me, thanks to people from many different countries. Thanks for submitting so many testimonials about my work. May this year bring you all the happiness and good fortune that you have brought to my family."

I purchased it from NOVICA, a company that unites you with more than 2000 extraordinary master artists around the world. It's an awesome website; check it out.

When I saw it, I knew I had to get it.

Besides the obvious (the three honu symbolize our little family of three), we also have a history with 3 turtles. Yeah, a history involving turtles.

As we were getting ready for our wedding ceremony, getting the camera and video recorder set, where we should stand on the cliff, etc, our videographer happened to look down and gasped. He called us all to the edge and pointed down. Right below us was a family of 3 turtles swimming around. Our videographer was so excited; he asked if it would be OK for him to record the turtles for a bit because it was highly unusual for them to be there. Of course we said yes. He then told us that having them at our wedding ceremony was extremely good luck because Honu is a symbol of longevity. Our wedding day couldn't have been any more perfect.

These last 5 years of marriage and nearly 8 years of having Harry in my life have been unreal. I can't believe how lucky I am to have this man, for us to have the child we have, for us to lead the life we live.