the kids

these two are not the kids,

they are friends

(this irresistible photo appeared on facebook)

jeff and isis.

(last year when she was 89)

these folks are my neighborhood,

sadly neglected by me of late.

so is this my neighborhood,

time to make hay

if the weather holds.

(it's not) 

 and this mysterious new addition,

plunked neatly into a field.

i can only imagine...

 the newest neighborhood

down the road 15 miles or so,

my new place 
on an old farmstead

 had one foundation now buried

and bits of stone wall.

 (lots of deer flies)

 jean has written about love of tools--
 i find deep pleasure in making tools--

this is the big stump loom

with a whitetail deer

bone folder

doing double duty as a weaving stick

 weaver's sword
holding the shed
a placekeeper.

 just for fun

and utility.

weaving shifu pages

continues

as i wind down my final teaching year.

/one more class day/

/three days of exams for one student/

/a few more days after that/

/to put my room to rest/

this class is all done.
my class will disappear and not be replaced.
i find this to be surprisingly sad
for my students
who must find other placements.
i have had two retirement celebrations,
one with a pretty cake,
one with a cheesy certificate. 
i'm ready
and i will miss you know who you are,
i won't miss
what is happening now in public education.

over 777, geesh!

this morning's post

all about drawing with 

barbed wire on snow

was number 777.

besides that, what i didn't tell you

was that today was almost wendy's last.

but she rallied.

i stayed home making preparations

but the day became 

just a day (though i am very tired)

outdoors

i found one of my favorite funny wintertime things

snow fleas.

yep.

ski print, detritus,

and snow fleas

 i haven't figured out the new zoom 

 on the repeat of my old camera

 walking wendy later on

we found a curlytop

(i love my tools)

this came in the mail 

a couple days ago.

i'm rich in friends.

new tools

she always wraps things in this thread

 i knew they were coming

two new tools 

little fat leather weights

just the right size for my small bookwork 

so i scattered some of my stuff with them

just for fun 

they smell delicious

thank you shanna. 

www.talasonline.com

www.strikemetals.com

tools

small fiskars

the disappearance of tools from our common education is the first step toward a wider ignorance of the world of artifacts we inhabit. 

matthew b. crawford, shop class as soulcraft

a squared end (deer leg) bone folder

i have a sort of tool lust or hunger, a need. i have relatively small hands for someone my height (5'6"). i like small tools that fit my hands, so i am always on the lookout for things that feel good, work well for me.

blunt folder, elk bone

my bonefolders are some of my favorite tools, but in the category of small tools, i would also put certain needles, drills, camera, barrettes, spoons, ruler, cutting mat, scissor, brushes, and pens and pencils. it's maybe no surprise that i loved crow quill nibs better than standard ink pens when i was drawing a great deal. they were harder, but fit me better.

a tiny folder

some of my most prized possessions are tools. i have given to a couple of friends bone folders that i made after learning how from jim croft, in a sort of exuberance of knowledge: i MADE this!!!

a blunt ended folder

teach someone, maybe yourself, how to use a tool. maybe something as simple as to sew a button back on. do it soon. before the skill disappears. before all we have is velcro.

  my little stump loom, totally funky and functional