Reminders

Found this on Etsy during my "research"....   Jacquelyn Fletcher 

Shilshole

Red sail against a vibrant diminishing sky.  Four generations walking, skipping, cradled, on the beach. Smell of a cigar or pipe. Maybe a Swisher Sweet. Rain. Mussels.

Geese grazing and hissing at passerby. Me on a bench, peaceful. I could almost nap but everything is so alive and beautiful. Mutual smiles with folks who become non-strangers in a shared moment. An understanding. An intimacy.

Wishes for thunder and lightning. The most faint of pinks against the water.Clouds on the horizon that are raining to the earth.

Tracks

Australia has the largest feral camel population in the world.

Tracks. A book. A movie starring Mia Wasikowska about a woman who walked 1700 miles across Western Australia with 4 camels and her dog. True story. Quote at the beginning of the move...

"And there are new kinds of nomads, not people who are at home anywhere, but people who are not at home anywhere. I was one of them."  Robyn Davidson

September Rain Flowers

Zinnias rebloom. Fuschias are delighted, Violas grin. Me too.

Had Me A Little....

....Magic in the Moonlight. Woody Allen at his classic best and who couldn't love Colin Firth being supremely arrogant and dim witted in his prevailing genius. And of course, Emma Stone, uncannily innocent as a fox. (and I gave in to popcorn. consequences are in my future)

What a great walk to Seven Gables. Streets alive with the sound of rain drops and tires swishing the puddles close to the curb. Neon reflections in dizzying dance between the stones in the concrete. Miraculous. I've waited eons for the sun to let the clouds have their turn to shine.

Click here for the Sounds of Rain

Tuesday

mmmm a day of errands, wonderful rain, a few insights, almonds and apples, dreaming, and laundry. Excellent. Oh, and there was that talk that I've been expecting. The talk with my boss about how my life within the store will change and not change now that they really believe that I'll retire in the Spring. Underneath my feet and in between the cells of my skin I can feel a kind of ocean. At the helm and still carried away by the tides and this unknown before me, it's all exhilarating and terrifying. It's more than change. It's about confidence and esteem and love. All I know is this, the choices I have are about direction. The possibilities are endless. More things will become clear. Then more decisions will take place. Oh yeah, and remember to breathe.

Maybe I'll go to Tasmania.

Runes

These dear ones sold today. They've been with me for quite a long time and they'll be missed but now there is room for more. I have one other set that is beautiful but I always know that just the right person will take them home.

The weight of these is gorgeous and there is a sensuousness as the glass fantasizes about being stone. Quite remarkable. 

Vibrant Day

Wonderful day, Much solitude with walks and sitting quietly. Then studio time. Creativity has been funneled so many other places. Places that are vibrant and important but I've missed the kinds of ways she manifested today. Exploration and learning. Making "samplers", as I always call them.

I purchased a tutorial from a woman on Etsy on how to make things out of tin. In the past few weeks I've been gathering old cookie tins, lunch boxes, platters, and anything else colorful and made from tin.

Then awhile ago my friend Erika and I biked to the studio and she gave me a lesson on soldering. Turned out I didn't have the right tools for the job, so that had to change and so it did.

Then of course there were the tools that had to be found to make little domed shaped thingys like you see here. These are practice for dapping (the doming part) and soldering.

But wait, there's more!! In order to make those little perfect circles that will be dapped and soldered.... a disk cutter needs to be purchased along with a big brass hammer. (I think I've mentioned this in an earlier post)


So all of this preparation to create these 4 little do hickeys of which I'm not sure have a purpose at this point BUT in my minds eye I see earrings, and bracelets, and pendants, oh my!

Oh yeah, there is also the 3 classes I signed up for at the jewelry school across the street. Beginners and intermediate enameling, and a cold connections class. I'm really not sure where all of this is going but I know it's relevant and extremely exciting. More details as they arise.  : - }

Morgan Brig

She has been one of my most important influences and inspirations for a long time. I love her work. Her blog is listed here on this page with the blogs I follow and whether you are an artist or an artist lover you might want to take a look.

"Some Days She Is Nuclear"

This Made Me Laugh And Cry

Story People. How do you send me the perfect story every week????

Morning With Friends

Breakfast was wonderful. I'm starting a new nutrition plan, not completely different than what I've been doing since November but more disciplined, which makes it harder for this undisciplined one. Yet, after 2 days I can see it's going to be a really beneficial thing for me (in many ways ) and I'm looking forward to the outcomes.

So I grabbed a hemp latte from Herkimer, a little bag full of almonds and an apple. Before I walked out the door I had this thrillingly dark chocolate bite (100%) and I was ready to go. Sauntered down to the p-patch and sat on my favorite bench. ( Was going to water then realized it's going to rain.) In a few minutes the garden was full of life. (I had interrupted it, at first, with my entrance) My favorites were the hummingbirds drinking from the scarlet runners and the flowers from the dino kale going to seed, and the chickadees who were eating the sunflower seeds from the ones I had planted. It was probably one of the most satisfying events of this garden season, for me.

There were sparrows and squirrels and a hornet that I shared my apple with. The peacefulness of it made me cry these sweet tears.

Then the little walk home and the greetings from more friends that are loving the cool weather. The zinnia, which by the way, are having their second blooming. On each plant has been one flower and the original beauties passed and then gave birth to offspring that are blooming now. I love this.

Miss Lobelia has never stopped blooming this entire summer and she is more beautiful with age. I can only hope to grow old this gracefully.

My Susan Thunbergia probably did not get quite the amount of sunshine that she would have preferred. The courtyard Cedars and Holly's pretty much control that part of the garden. Still, she shines, one blossom at a time, twining up the thin bamboo as high as she can, never letting go. 

Got Game?

Just a little outing with some co-workers to a Mariners game (yay we won). Was a great journey. Bus from my place with a crowd of fans of both the Sounders and the Mariners (as there were, count them, 2 games simultaneously although not in the same stadium, apparently). Then of course there was the rampant male bonding which was fun to watch as I was the only female in the bunch. I see them all every day but several had a "sports event" aura and it was fascinating. I guess the most curious thing was about the pic below. All along the path to the stadium there were varied groups of Christians hawking their wares and promising salvation through Jesus. Usually not very alluring on my journeys but tonight there was one group of them surrounded by a group of strip club advertisers handing out free passes. ooo wee baby. You could cut the energy with a Ginsu. This might have been the best world microcosm of the week, for me.

The Road

I found this quote on an Etsy site of an artist that I follow. I've seen this movie but now I must read the book, no matter how my ADD tries to distract me.

“He walked out in the gray light and stood and he saw for a brief moment the absolute truth of the world. The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth. Darkness implacable. The blind dogs of the sun in their running. The crushing black vacuum of the universe. And somewhere two hunted animals trembling like ground-foxes in their cover. Borrowed time and borrowed world and borrowed eyes with which to sorrow it.”― C McCarthy

Letter

Anke Merzbach

Dear V,

The Universe is always teaching me, or maybe, I am just always being taught. This time it’s, again, about letting go of any expectations because all you have with that way of being is speculation, bouts of impatience, and tedious turmoil within the possibilities of endless lack of gratification. Or maybe I could just enjoy the mystery and the anticipation. I could twist my mind and psyche into little pretzels of euphoric “maybe’s” and wishes and hope for the best. I could even swim in some kind of ocean of desire without mercy or a life jacket for the consummate devil may care thrill. 

Then, of course, there is always this ideal of a peaceful mind. I’m pretty sure you can’t strive for it because that has it’s own pendulum of fears and failure.

So there you have it, one afternoon of wandering with this mind I have. Weirdly enough, through the maze, I'm reminded that every moment is perfect because it just can’t be any other moment than it is… just like me.

I wish you were here. Your words are so much quieter than my own.

Thanks for listening,

D

Work Life Work

It's a good thing I love my job. Schedules change due to co-workers going on vacation and stuff so I'm doing my share the same way they'll do for me when I go to California in October. After some seriously grueling days I have several days off. Also, there are 3 classes I'm taking in the next weeks. Very exciting!! In the "kind"time, not much time for bloggishness.

Downpour

Do you love it when the sky opens up, the wind starts blowin' the rain sideways, and the thunder rolls in?  In about a minute there was a flood of rushing water up to the edges of the sidewalks and people running, laughing, squealing. Wonderful.

Yay Story People!!!

Children

One of my most cherished experiences on my job is the kids. They have such brilliant light. I happened to capture this beauty entertaining herself as her mom shopped the bulk aisle.