preparations

leaving you with three images, before i leave early tomorrow for the morgan. 

the last photo is...

guess...

lightning bugs. fireflies. amazing summer friends.
*****
and
my friend carol said it so clearly: 
your finger has cost you a great deal.
my feeling at loose ends and unprepared is 
largely due to 
the inability to function correctly.
i have, after nine weeks,
adapted somewhat. alarming how much
i rely on this right hand.

solstice

old bear paws, almost round, ash and rawhide

yesterday i went to lake placid. my finger will remain in a splint for 6 more weeks. 

damn and blast. it is, however healing. 

and i like my doctor.

 i did what a woman at the birch store called retail therapy. i shopped, only in two stores.

 if any of you know the adirondacks you may recognize this.

 car pics on the perilous drive between some mountains

 cascade, anyone?

i love signage, as the man says

 so i take pictures from behind the wheel, as i navigate the curves "hills"

they don't call them the high peaks for nothing

trying to photograph and watch the road and watch the jumps is impossible

i have seen summer and winter jump practice, terrifying fun.

 lunch in the park on lake flower, and a little education

up from the sign

a glorious day.

therapy

BY THE WAY,

happy birthday, IAN!!!!!


ADDENDUM:
go and look at what jean is doing. 
she is really really making beautiful shifu as well as beautiful everything else. 
morgan students: look at this!!!!!

early monday

 potential paper

 i have this stuff and it spreads like crazy-have no idea what it is-the bees like it's flowers

 this little place has all kinds of potential, lots of violas for happiness and dyeing

 a little black ash basket i made

prepping for the morgan

saturday after the week before

and WHAT a week it's been! 

today, however, after a fine sleep, i woke to many tasks and the heart to do them. i thought about my several baskets, tools for lugging stuff around. 

 this large, soft but strong african basket is my day to day laundry basket. 

i lug this up and down my scary basement stairs and outside to the lines. 

four loads today!

 this is a big round brown ash basket i bought at the native american festival in bar harbor.

i cannot remember the maker's name.

 this black ash basket was made by cindy tripp, a local basketmaker. 

it's a work horse.

 someone insisted on helping me take pictures.

she worries and whines more at the weather changes as she ages.

happy/healthy/teaching

 i washed and froze the bloodroot (finally).

 waiting so long meant i lost some to rot. stupid waste.

 health issues this week have once again surprised me. 

the good news is that the weird dizziness is caused by an inner ear thing...

... that physical therapy has assisted. not an ear infection. YAY. 

lots of driving today to get to p.t. and car dealer and a very long wait (for a little issue). 

good news was in the mail.

 she writes my story

 a hanji gift from aimee

 she's exploring some new book ideas

nifty closures

the inside, cords, dak, hanji

also

the morgan class is on (there's room for you if you'd like to come)

the papermaking class, and the talks in washington (state) are on

and i am looking forward to these SO MUCH!

dry pages

 you can see the pages

 this photo has truer colors

muted

quieter

 the sunlight made them dance

more then they actually were

nonetheless i am pleased

there are sixteen pages

waiting for story

detritus from cbbag fair

i would have put one K down

for george walker's new book about tom thomson

if i had it kicking around

or at very least i want to sit down with it sometime 

it was amazing.

i met some wonderful book people, 

and visited with papeterie st armond folks.

and took my sister claudia to a celebratory lunch

a duck walked by our table

only in ottawa: fine art,

fine food

quack 

a good day

saturday seemed to be a low energy day for me. 
but it wasn't really.

i ended the day by opening up a bundle of shifu pages i had wrapped last weekend.

the bundle included frozen violas and hollyhocks
bloodroot

aluminum, rusty steel, my well water and vinegar.

this shifu was bundled around a bloodroot rhizome 

nice striping 

not a flying saucer 
a bundle of shifu pages, layered with dyestuff
wrapped in old cotton sheeting
and tied 

unwrapped  

the bottom 

the wrapper 

the stack 

not for the faint hearted if slimy stuff is a problem 

spent flowers 

the pages, in order of stacking 

they will dry and wait several days
then i will rinse.

saturday morning i planted my indigo babies,
then my sister and i went to ottawa for CBBAG fair
(more later) 
and we ate at canal ritz

this is how the day ended.