on the other side

it was a bit hard getting away

Miss Martha was not best pleased

and made no secret of it

cattle class on the plane was even more vile than usual

the tubby gentleman occupying the seat next to me had seven elbows

and an overly liberal attitude to the passing of wind

- thank goodness for the adjustable air thingy

i stitched a lot

to try and get my dress ready for here

not quite Alabama Stitch Style

but i'm thinking it will need those strong surface elements

if it is to carry off a forest floor of leaf prints

 when i finally reached San Francisco

after the obligatory hour-long shuffle through LAX

[not a criticism, i quite understand the need to be cautious about letting gypsies like me cross the borders]

i was delighted to find an exquisite exhibition

at the airport

all about the acoutrements of hand-sewing. 

i decided it was a SIGN.

i headed for the great outdoors

and a glorious day, full of happy bouncing dogs

weather that played peekaboo with the Bridge

between bouts of brilliant sunshine

i wandered a long way

to make up for hours in the sardine can

found a lovely burgundy-leaved form of Agonis flexuosa

which would be a joy in the dyepot

yielding lovely colour as well as a delicious peppermint fragrance

[i think i shall be checking the pavements near here

when i'm ready to dye that frock]

  

found an abundance of rust

 

some lovely stones to stack

and more irresistible images

[using the polaroid filter on the batfone]

words of wisdom from William Blake

and finally

just to make certain that i really was in the right place

i found the 'four winds'

marked on the pavement

near Fort Point