gumbo z'herbes

er, not quite.

more like windfall gumbo 

[minus the roux and the trinity and the rest of the usual suspects]

 it smells quite fragrant but

i'm not planning on eating it

if you're curious about what might be going on in the image

and you happen to be in New Orleans next week

you may like to swing by the Joan Mitchell Center, 2275 Bayou Road

where i shall be telling stories and showing pictures [and also some work]

on Thursday November 29 @ 6pm

in the meantime you might also like to visit with Ted Kooser, Poet Laureate

and listen to him read some of his beautiful poems

a day off

first day off since June 13th

[ie not travelling or teaching]

pootled around the Tower Grove Farmer's Market

bought blueberries for tomorrow's traintrip

there were lots of dogs

catching up on the week's news

some of them looked like bears

there are other bears in St Louis

later i went in search of the oldest skyscraper in the whirled

the Wainwright building

designed by Louis Sullivan

i nearly wrote "the first skyscraper"

but i understand the Tower of Babylon has that reputation

unfortunately it's no longer with us.

some of the detailing reminds me of Hiapo

St Louis has quite a collection of architectural artefacts

including of course The Arch

designed by Eero Saarinen

but i didn't expect to find a monument to Schiller

in the park children splashed in the fountain

and then there are other unexpected delights

i swing by Riverbend to try the other gumbo

even better than the first

retreating to my helltell just in time

to watch a splendid lightning show 

from my comfy nest on the sofa 

tomorrow i'll be taking the train

at

the

crack

of

dawn

it's a wrap, folks

this sample by Pat Vivod

time to head west again

we've wrapped up [literally]

and 

folks have packed a last bundle each

"for tomorrow"

they were a great bunch

gathered from all over the country

from California and Arizona in the west to

Pennsylvania and Virginia in the East

Colorado and Kansas as well as 

Missouri, Illinois and Louisiana

it was the first 'adult' intensive to be held at the Craft Alliance

and i suspect it won't be the last

the organisation is located in a wonderful district

extraordinary buildings and exciting possibilities

 wish i'd had more time to wander about there...

but

i was a bit

busy

photo [and below] by Nikki Jackson

one thing i can tell you about St Louis

is that the Riverbend restaurant and bar

in Soulard

serves the best gumbo i've tasted away from home