at Maiwa

i left Lopez with considerable reluctance

but warmed by the comforting thought that

i will be back. it really feels like another home.

it's a rare thing to feel so compatible with hosts you've only just met

that it doesn't feel at all out of the ordinary to be sitting over the remains of dinner

reading poetry to each other

and comparing pocket music libraries

+

it was a very good time

thank you Christi

and Patsy & John Sangster

and all my lovely students

the train journey up the coast

was truly beautiful

through dazzling scenery

+

now i'm teaching at Maiwa

[again being thoroughly pampered by my kind hosts]

and there is rather a lot of magic emanating from the dyepots

the pavements provided a clue

as to potentially useful material

prunus leaves

literally scraped out of the gutters

the magic of maple

dogwood over prunus over cotoneaster

and good old sugar maple strutting her stuff

local colour in California

i've just finished teaching two classes in northern California

though only a couple of hours apart [in terms of travel time]

the colours we achieved were radically different

buckeye or California horse chestnut [Aesculus californica], a cousin of the conker [Aesculus hippocastanum]

at lovely Inverness, the local colour for May is very definitely green

from buckeye, wild carrot, nettles and ferns

punctuated by luminous reds and oranges from eucalyptus

[plants which can also be found there, though they don't belong]

...and a few slices of purple carrot 

inland [plotting a course east by north-east] at Loomis

the climate is warmer despite the higher altitude

and the flowering season well advanced on that of the coast

purple prunus abounded and eucalyptus flourish [weed-like] all over the place

 

 

the thread that ran through both classes

[and which runs through them all i think, no matter where they are

or what the exact focus of the class]

is the warmth and community that we share

when we retreat from the busy-ness of the whirled 

to bundle cloth and settle down to stitch

for however many [or few] precious days we have set aside

thank you 

Emma and Sharon at the Tin Thimble ["that could"]

Claudia and Pam [the Gorgeous Grau Sisters]

and all my lovely warm-hearted and enthusiastic students

for welcoming me to northern California

+   +   +

where i am also able to indulge another passion

architecture of the Art Deco period

weStFootwork

looking for a place to stay in Perth? don't put the All Seasons Hotel at the top of your list.

my booking through wotif.com resulted in a windowless dogbox room that i wouldn't have offered my worst enemy.

reception disclaimed responsibility and said it was all the fault of wotif.

not impressed. All Seasons should bear in mind that 'word of mouth' is not only the best but also sometimes the worst, form of publicity. [think of Charles Dickens]

so for an extra $30 per night i moved to a room upstairs to where i could at least stand on a ledge near a window and gaze at the rising moon before dawn

in the upstairs room there was another bonus

some enterprising previous guest had shower-capped the smoke alarm.

highly illegal but rather helpful to one who likes boiling up the travelling dye cauldron

on the bright side, if you're looking for good coffee in Perth, head for Milk & Honey 82 James Street Northbridge

lovely smiles

good service

lovely blooming moth-orchids

and theatrical strength hot coffee on request

for more substantial nourishment head to Mela Indian Sweets & Eats, corner of William and Robinson, also in Northbridge. best masala dosa i've ever eaten [and that includes the real McCoy on the sub-continent]

and for the curious, here's what the surreptitious dyepot rendered...