a mouse story

when you teach at the morgan

they ask you to supply a sample

something for their table that exemplifies 

your work or what the workshop

will offer.

fair enough.

 so when i went into my library to get a stamp

to mail my bit to aimee 

at the morgan.

this is what accosted my eyes at 6:45 a.m.

 this is my stationary drawer

about 12 x 16

it had been 

apparently

 appropriated for a nest

 while i was away.

i open this drawer quite frequently, 

since stamps live here

as well as envelopes.

 i was puzzled by the bright threads

until i examined the rug in my kitchen

woven by the amazing susanne arens

and much used and loved by me.

and now nibbled by a mouse momma to be

 she also shredded only handmade paper bits

from my stash.

the favorite was from 

the yahoo papermakers

stationary swatch swap from long ago.

this was how the fringe looked after the last wash 

(i had cut it down over the years

from a generous six to three inches).

sigh.

farmhouse living is definitely

NOT for the faint of heart.

weekend in maine

 and so

i went to maine

for the book arts bazaar 

at the

university of southern maine

 but before the fair

which was sunday

 my amazing and beautiful daughter

 hannah

 and i had a play day

in the big city

which also happens

to have some wonderful waterfront

we ate and walked and talked and even napped(!)

we visited the portland art museum,

south street linen

a wonderful restaurant

where we feasted with a brunch

and a mimosa (my first!)

 out the window at the museum

we watched a peculiar cyclist

 it was really grand to see

all the "stuff" of a city

with a big arts emphasis

 even the signs

in the coffee shop were cool!

there was a difficult part 

when my car wouldn't start

and bill came to fix it

and left me with a plan for making it home 

safe and sound 

and i did just that, albeit a bit nervously.

(those nerves kept me wide awake

after a late start to a long trip)

~~~

and then there was the bazaar.

not

one 

picture

but some things to remember: 

susan gaylord who makes the spirit books

nancy leavitt the amazing calligrapher

our host rebecca goodale

who is documenting maine's endangered ones.

in her wonderful books.

previous students checking in (and hugs all around!)

merike van zanten and shanna leino and deborah howe

david wolfe and oodles of others

but it was so very very VERY

crazy busy!!!

there was merike's book…

shanna's treasure of tools…

papermakers with their stacks and stacks

letterpress printers, printmakers, and students, too

something i treasure in all of that bus-y-ness

besides all the wonderful people who liked my work

and purchased my work 

was the amazing luna moth book.

i will wait until the maker 

(ok, you know who you are!)

sends me a photo 

so i can share it with you.

when another artist honors you

by using the work you make 

in theirs

a wonderful circle is completed

and a new level reached.

so someday, my papers may be honored

by a few more makers

who purchased from me,

and i hope to be in maine again, soon!

~~~

leaving early

tuesday, 

april fool's day

 i left school a wee bit early

to have my broken tooth seen to

 for the second time in two days

(the temporary filling having proved

too temporary)

my dentist is very good!

this subaru wore a coat

of sticky note armor

i happen to know the owner

but not the story behind this blatant display

of student approval.

HCS: our small-town school.

 and the snow piles that were over my head

 were melting

those tiny sparkles

are melt drops.

 melting

 melting into mud season

 some strange pathways

but spring is definitely here

 somewhere

 the last full pot

before the book arts bazaar in portland 

this sunday.

 and some results

 color in winter

is visual relief

from the vast white

which is becoming vast slush

before vast mud.

in other news

besides my pesky tooth

taxes.

done

by myself last night

with a nice return this year.

for a change.

again…

woke this morning to another 10 inches of 

SNOW

yep!

mother nature loves to play tricks

or

as my wise nephew once said

back in the 80's

"we don't know

what we've done to the weather,"

aunt velma.

anyway,

it is a snowy morning.

 this is friday

 the ladies are looking

 a bit disheveled.

 work at the new place

 continues

studio space 

 see the snow was melting!

 and thaw was everywhere

 until i got up this morning

 10 inches or so 

of new snow

yep, 

but the birds are singing,

and spring is coming.

i am beavering away

getting ready for the

book arts fair in portland.

this fair is fun.

and, weather permitting,

i'll be there next sunday!

traces

tuesday morning 

again 

i heard the same robin sing

a distinctive voice

for sure, this one.

 turkey tracks and wiggly sign

over on the hill

 trace a way

 through march snowpack

 and then i saw not one

but five robins

 by the time i struggled to get

my NEW camera out

 they were on to me.

but 

turkey left a down-shafted feather

 and a card came 

a bit late to welcome me home from oz

and it did, smile.

 a phone call from a friend

a batch of prints to tend

and then a strange sound from the little front porch

and on my window

a young and foolish racoon

 caught spraddled on the  window

apparently trying to find

a way up the glass

i made a hullabaloo

because i don't want 

any

(hear that furry guys?!)

any rodents or small

furred guys 

too close.

sunday thinking

 the snow continues…

it snowed yesterday

 and today it's quite cold

 and it's beautiful

 my usual walk was shortened to a walk around my house

 so much beauty

 this old house…

 and the young porcupine

 under the cedar

 chipmunk

 subsnow passages

 spring is trying

 fire and ice

 so i came back in

to try to warm up.

over at judy's blog

i heard her words about mothering

i remembered my mom

and cried.