Time bending

Found this old photo of myself — a toddler with a Buddha smile. Could she be having a sweet vision of wine on a lakeshore, in the distant future? Technical: composite photo; 2019 selfie (camera on tripod, remote shutter); 1949 layer colorized.

The other bees

When we moved into a log cabin in June 2015, this city girl stressed out over the fact that carpenter bees loved our wooden home as much as we did. They are belligerent and territorial. They poop liquid sawdust and it dribbles yellow down our red exterior. The pest guys sprayed with little effect. Then […]

Easter: annual do-over

This year Easter coincides with the late lake spring. It’s a moment to think about starting over, regeneration, second chances. Blooms are on their way, but today we have buds and sprouts. (Click on the images below for a slide show.)

Flowers, April 19

I went out with an extension tube on my camera lens this morning. The flowers still scarce, I like crouching down for a close-up, letting their color fill my gray-weary eyes.

Rosetsu: Boy on Elephant

Between winter cocoon projects and outdoor summer projects, while workers buzz and grind their way through our bathroom upgrade, I putter around in the files and come upon the little stack of catalogues where Jim’s stuff has been exhibited — back in some superheated era before I arrived on the scene and Jim retreated into […]

“Gotta Go,” cont’d.

[Cont’d from here] How did I wind up here, drawing “paper dolls” to add my fabric designs to? Maybe in old age I’m simply circling back to one of my first loves — 1950s paper dolls. Rita Hayworth. The Maguire Sisters. I could lose myself for hours dressing them and having them act out their […]

April = Anxious

I’m looking hard for evidence that the dozens of bulbs I planted lakeside are sprouting. I’m trying not to look at the shifting and settling and possible disappearance of stones along our rebuilt bank. Life is change. Sometimes too slow. Sometimes too fast. The wind blows.

Bullet journal, not pretty

I’m fascinated by Bullet Journals. From what I gather on YouTube, they gloriously combine calendar, note-taking, reminders, goal reviews, and art journalling in one gorgeous, playing-with-my-new-pens package. This winter, when my digital apps failed to let me lay out a week’s work, I decided to go old-fashioned and use paper. But turning an organizer system […]

Shirt sleeve mending

“Visible mending” has been a thing now for a few years. I enjoy it. It’s great for long evenings in front of the TV. Or when an audio book is too good to stop listening. Last week I patched the sleeve in one of Jim’s favorite old shirts (above). Another shirt (below) had a forearm […]

Punditry Break

During my walk I listened to a podcast about the occasional need for a break from social media. Social media is not my problem. Politics and so-called punditry is. When the Mueller Report was filed ten days ago, I decided it was time to direct my eyes and ears toward beauty. I do this now […]