Dorothy was right.

there's no place like home.
[that photograph was considerably tweaked. cos it was dark.]

stillness.

los angeles to goleta by train

baker beach baptism

gone

i'm off
to my special place.
you might find me here

or here

looking for 'stone folders' for my students
or
stacking rocks
or
applying seawater-as-mordant to my dress made of Alabama Chanin organic cotton [which i have very nearly finished stitching together]
or

just looking out for this schooner i first saw
in 1976

i was on the headlands
and the Aldebaran [i'm pretty sure it was the same boat]
passed under the bridge
- there's proof in my slides, if only i could find them -
[images above thieved from a Bay area sailing site]

i'll be back sometime
with stories
and
perhaps
the odd splash of colour

cold in them thar hills

"there's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong choice of clothes'
thus spake Billy Connolly
waxing lyrical about the land of his birth

it's so cold here in the Deep South that things need to be dried by a fire

even books

and having made a fire
i figure i might as well use the warmth to heat a dyepot

luckily it has been raining
so i don't need to go far for water
it's provided right outside the workroom
in bowls that aren't too heavy to carry
[thank you Dogs Above]

some contain mordants as well
[not of the canine kind, quiet in the stalls!]

while i'm watching the paper dry
and feeding twigs to the flames

i can stitch another book

knot a fringe

be grateful for small treasures

play with amusing filters on my pocket pinhole camera

and be grateful i woke up breathing on such a lovely day
or
any day, really

in quiet retreat

it is time for quiet retreat in the cool of the Deep South
a time for wordlessness and mindfulness in the season of mist and fog
preparing for summer days in various parts of the North

and of course for the Natural Dye Symposium taking place in Melbourne [AUS] in a little over a month's time [where i think a couple of places remain available in the classes i have been assigned]

the class planned for Santa Barbara [USA]
has filled, as have those in Cleveland [USA] in the Fall

the class in London seems to be getting some interest [despite a certain large sporting event vying for attention] and there's a possibility of two days in France early in September...pencilled but not permanently inked at this stage

so i have some things to think about
materials to gather
marks to make on paper
and marmalade stains to apply to maps