back and forth conversations and collaborations through the years
wonder | wander | women often collaborate on projects, and our latest is the most fun one so far: an embroidery project! We got some beautiful linen shirts and are designing them together.
If the public knew what is already possible, then they would have every reason to be optimistic about the future that can be built.
Dystopian anxiety is dominating discussions about the future, leaving younger generations paralyzed by despair.
But research scientist and philosopher Samuel McKee argues we are being too pessimistic, placing too much blame on technology.
Futurism: science & technology optimism
Summer is ending before wonder | wander | women are ready, so we're looking back on sunny memories instead. We visited a friend at Greenwich and had a lovely stroll around the riverfront.
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| a prized English edition,1925 |
Art is a muscle and you have to exercise it. wonder | wander | women have gone through a lot of sketchbooks over the years.
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| from our Techo Kaigi post |
Drawing is also an exercise - you don't have to do it every day, but keep it up at least three times a week or it will get harder to do. A week will go by, then two or three, then a month or two, and before you know it you've forgotten how to start again.
wonder | wander | women enjoy compiling and sharing our summer reading and holiday book lists as we read, read, read all throughout the year.
Greek tales are having a recent renaissance with feminist retellings that are not just reclaiming women in mythology but are also turning patriarchal folklore on its head.
There’s something about our oldest stories that never gets old. Rereading classical mythology can be an exercise in surprise and recognition mixed together.
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| The Iliad & The Odyssey by Homer - Emily Wilson’s translations |
Since wonder | wander | women first moved to London, we found and loved the cheeky street art of French guerrilla artist Invader. His tile artworks imitating 8-bit pixel art are dotted around this city, as well as several European cities we happened to visit.
O sweet child, I can't imagine it's been four and more decades since I first held you in my arms - time sure flies!
You are my wild child. A truly free spirit. A divine gift. Miracle baby of mine.
Every single child is a gift. But you, my wild one, have rocked my world.
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| illustration of Max from "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak |
You taught me how to be a mom. To embrace the joys of motherhood.
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| Watching the solar eclipse at Wanstead Flats |
After years of hand sewn personal projects, wonder | wander | women now advocate openly to stitch away our troubles and sorrows, thoughts and dreams, fun and schemes!
Whether a newbie or a seasoned crafter - there's much to dive into and bring out those creative vibes through a world of colorful threads and mindful therapy.
Want to join a sewing bee? Stitch and bitch circle of connectedness? Form a tribe of Tiny Pricks followers?
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| DMC crafts white on white embroidery kit |
There are countless ways to apply ourselves in whatever interest drive or skill level we have at hand. Driven and inspired to use and reuse, recycle and upcycle, reveal and rejoice.
wonder | wander | women love collecting and using up stationery, and between working at a paper store in New York and a bookstore in London we have amassed a library of beautiful journals and sketchbooks. But sometimes the notebooks fill up far too fast and we want to carry around that gorgeous cover a bit longer.
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| Journals from Moleskine, Paperblanks and Insight Editions |
wonder | wander | women are happy to crow about Angelica Urra Berrie - our sister and aunt, who has spent her lifetime spreading much good in many working communities worldwide.
Her husband, Russell Berrie created the Making a Difference Award in 1997 to recognize changemakers and unsung heroes who make New Jersey a better place. They worked together until his death in 2002, when Angelica took on the work that continued and expanded to what it now is in 2026,
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| 2026 Making a Difference honorees |
Since that time, the Making a Difference Award - in partnership and under the management of Ramapo College - has celebrated more than 450 honorees and awarded $4.4 million to advance innovative, community-centered solutions.
wonder | wander | women are paper people. We love notebooks, watercolour pads, stickers, and all sorts of stationery (we even know how to spell it properly). And like so many stationery lovers, we especially love to stick pieces of paper to other pieces of paper.
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| Journal spread inspired by Joseph Cornell |
As we posted last week, birthday retreats are an annual treat wonder | wander | women prioritize. More so this year - to mark a new decade in a rich long life of promise.
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| cosmic meditation |
This retreat was a three-day weekend intensive spent in forested mountain mists and wild stormy weather. Ideal to have the outside environment reflect the interior work we had committed to - Healing Ancestral Trauma and Family Dynamics.
Every July 12 wonder | wonder | women's Bhakti goes on a retreat for her birthday, to reflect and replenish for the coming year. This year is a big deal because she celebrates her 70th!
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| Matching Marimekko for London summers |
From the time of our country’s founding 250 years ago, the story of America has been one of the constant effort of Americans - from all races, ethnicities, genders, and abilities - to make real the belief that we are all created equal and have a right to have a say in our democracy.
We will be telling their stories over the next several weeks because now, as ever, “We Are America.” ~ Heather Cox Richardson
On this 250th anniversary of the birth of a nation, we wrestle with the complexity of America and how we feel about it. It is a timely reminder of the good stuff while not sugarcoating or shying away from the hard stuff.
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| 4th of July, Edgewater NJ |
We are reclaiming American democracy and taking strength from it to combat those who would destroy it in our era. The Trump administration is really complicating a lot of people's relationship with patriotism and America at the moment.
What happens when wonder | wander | women put together the perfect sketchbook kit for travelling... and then leave it behind?
There we were in Paris, the jewel of the continent, beauty in every direction, and we were empty of sketchbook, watercolours, pens or pencils.
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| sunset at Pont Alexandre III |
A lasting benefit our Benedictine education (ora et labora) brought wonder | wander | women were penmanship classes. Before that we watched our parents writing longhand - admiring their beautiful handwriting and eagerly awaiting our turn to put thought to paper so beautifully.
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| "Bayan Ko" chorus in baybayin by Mahala Urra |
Long before studies showed the importance of hand writing and how among other things it engages the whole human being - we were encouraged to write legibly and well.
Being creative ignited our love for cursive early on. Eventually this art form spread into other calligraphic options. Including writing in our own regional native alphabet, badlit - the Visayan version of the better known baybayin, Philippine script of Luzon islands.
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| wonder | wander | women creative collaboration |
wonder | wander | women are lucky to have been to some of the world's iconic cities: Rome, New York, London, Paris. These are cities we have seen in art and media, read about it in books, and otherwise have heard about our whole life.
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| The Eiffel Tower over the Seine |
Another month has come and gone in this year, 2026 - what and where has it brought us so far?
Challenged as we are to look past all the noise and drama that has been parked right up our face - wonder | wander | women are opting for the long view, beyond the currents of chaos and strife. Towards the BIG picture - to where we can find succor, support and sustenance.
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| nature & wildlife images, National Geographic |
