foggy morning, and blah blah blah.

Soft Sunday morning, waking in mist. Fog is such a gentle  ease into the day. Wrapped in Icelandic wool, cup of Joe, I personally love foggy mornings. matching reality with my  actual shite vision.  do not attempt to adjust your screen- fog is real.

On the fuzzy deck, Raccoons sleep , away from traffic and dogs and anything else that might disturb their slumber. Humans, the worst, deck is  quiet and safe.

I have put my old flower press to task . It takes about two weeks for some of the plants to dry and flatten completely and if the plants are fat, like French lavender , it takes about one month. I vacated what has been pressed from spring, Dusty Miller leaves , in the spring they are tiny and cute. I did so with the intention of making more fairy chairs, out of Russian sage and Dusty Miller. Possibly will use  moss for cushions next time. Not sure I will even hold to this plan, it is fiddly and I am blind. 

I think that I can do better especially if I go to the store and buy patience ,  and quick setting glue.  

I thought I might put a few leaves in an envelope and send them to 
Annie for her  gel plate printing art- though Annie has acres of botanicals at her doorstep, dusty miller is probably the last thing she needs.

What would you do with them?

This is my old flower press given to me  at least 40 years ago ,  Smith and Hawken  when they actually offered handmade quality gardening supplies.  Before China/Target . 

 It is large. It does a good job. It will last at least another 40 years. 

I won't. In case I face a botched execution- I now know what to expect when I am hauled off  in a wagon-There is a list of procedures after Christa Pike's failed execution, that the hospital follows to (maybe) bring her back ,  brain damaged, only to be "executed" again. Jesus- humans are  cruel and Tennessee is a shite state among many. 27  more compassionate states have abolished the death penalty. Bulgy Diaper Butt, Kankles loves executions , attempted executions a fave-  defiant fist -owie on  ear. Great publicity adding to his seemingly  immortal  water- off -a - ducks -back divinity.  Will  kill but not be killed sort of contract.

We  think about death - ways to die. We hope to go to sleep and not wake up, comfortable and cosy under comforters , silk sheets  a gentle breeze brushing our cheek , lifting the Burano lace window curtain. A soft foggy morning...Ideal. Lyrical. 

I was talking with Jan F. about writing our own Obituaries. Serendipitously, just then on NPR, they were talking about this very thing . Write your obit focusing on "being best"- the better attributes that you would like to have achieved- an exercise in creative writing. An opportunity , perhaps, to be an outstanding human of incredible moral character- a no fear adventurer- not too late, they claim, at least in writing.  

I was thinking more to write several  self obits each one more ridiculous than the previous. Mundane or extraordinary .  " She liked jam. She liked  toast.  She excelled in  preparation of sumptuous dinners of Jammy Toast . She will be missed not a lot by many" .   You're fine being dead, especially having written your own glowing obit,  but your beloveds  are left  bereft .   So - don't die, is my logic or, if that is inescapable,  make it joyful, leave "post- its" around the house , curious messages,  leave  crumbs in the bed,  plant bulbs, hundreds of them , that will bloom in spring after you have exited. Stick googly eyes on documents , kept in the file, that will only be fished out after you are dead-(the will,  birth certificate- your marriage license)... the left behinders will appreciate your  "adios"  ,  may even even feel a sense of relief after  too many of your  shenanigans.   That is what I reckon , but no one is allowed to die before me, OK. Deal?Pinkie swear! 

Fog lifting-

 Adios.

 

 

 

 

 

 

do you prefer cleared surfaces, can you hear me?

Put your house in order, make surfaces, clear drawers and closets get rid of things. Great advice for the coming months when cabin fever can undo the best of us.  Advice not taken here, however, and off I go to the thrift store bringing back a couple of things but mostly leaving stuff on the shelves. Not because it is not great, mind you, but because I must change my habit. Some things are useful- some are just too good to leave in the shop. I don't knit but had to have this exquisite merino hand dyed yarn, the colors, the softness, the fine,even  spin. Pretty sure i will find a use for this yarn even though it may be unconventional.  I may just hug it, it feels delicious. 

Generally I avoid the clear glass section. But there sat a cut crystal celery dish gathering prisms, shooting them all around. Hit my eye and landed in my basket. Jumped right in along with a tea strainer, silver plated at one time in its life , now worn thin.

The new fence has not detoured the animals, the deer are still in the yard , the raccoons  using it for their playground. The issue is -by a tree nearby the raccoons have started a latrine. Easy enough to clean up but the neighbor is fraught about it and was quoted by the city a $3,000.00 clean up. The two mothers with their children came this morning harmoniously- no  mature males...The neighbor, out on her deck ,taking photographic "evidence" of raccoons on our deck. So...I am expecting to get reported, fined, sent out to clean up after the raccoons and making the neighbor a happier person. 

She is the twin sister of our state senator so I am sure that  her photographic "evidence" will land squarely on my bank account- another reason to NOT live in a neighborhood of humans.  Still a small price to pay for the joy I get from my little family, and not nearly close to the price of having a dog  or a cat or a bag full of hamsters. 

We received a text from grandson in the morning asking us to meet him and his grandma at a cafe in Fairhaven at 5:30. We were on time but they were a no show.

-turns out that the text was from September 6th, and somehow got sent  this morning, Grandson in Seattle getting set up for Uni, Grandma ensconced in her house by the lake...Weird. We didn't take time to have a bite to eat , not our favorite cafe though it looks charming.  I was one of the original staff, with my friends,  when it first  launched nearly 41 years ago- of course it has changed , not for the better. 

It was a pleasant  little wander through Autumnal colors at dusk,  the changes in the area are startling, especially  when one has not wandered there for  a while. It is  geared more for tourism now than  for folks who live here, exorbitant rents, shops struggling.  No hardware store, no post office, nothing that sustains a community, just fluff.  All of the reasons that we initially moved from the Beach   to town  are no longer applicable. We sold our cabin on the beach , there is no going back, not that we would anyway.

That is that- I won't even bother mentioning national news, what is the point, we all are sorely aware...

I will ,however, address  a more local , pressing problem, hearing loss , and the problems surfacing as a consequence. Problematic for those suffering loss also problematic  for those not quite there yet.  Relationship with the world limits capacity to understand, somewhat isolates the sufferer and contributes too much to misunderstanding, mishearing, or hearing not at all- nodding as though engaged . Dennis got his "aids" at cost co. They only work well when he is plugged into blue tooth on his phone , so If I phone him he can hear me. I encourage him to go to a specialist audiologist but considering  his devotion to Cost Co that  suggestion seems to be an affront. Anyway, when people suffer loss of hearing the tendency to blame the world around them - "not  speaking loud enough" - "mumbling" -  results in getting mad at the world of people talking in a normal manner because  THEY can't hear them. Frustrating for everyone. Fix your problem- I say, reckon with  loss and limitation, there is help available. It is always something, mobility issues, hearing loss , vision difficulty, on goes the list. The difference being that if one is going blind, or has compromised mobility , there is no blaming the world and demanding that it step up to brighten lights and offer clear paths - Help and gadgets are there to aid. That is my rant of the day. And Yes, it costs a  BIG dollar but that is the way of the USA. This is where we live. 

Would rather be with Roy riding  under western skies on my cayuse.

 A fence , nicely made but totally unsuited for purpose.

 Sassy walker, from a bin. Raccoons will soon slack off in winter months going into semi hibernation, the deck will no longer provide. 

See ya! Wishing you well, unplug from ALL national/world news for a few days, gather your wits. Go for a wander, find a red leaf!

 Green square.

 

 
 

 

Miracle Bandit, penises in the compost

 

 

 

As I was emailing Jan F, and reading her expressed "sorry about the little raccoon" . After more that two weeks, and suspicious coyote poo in the yard, pretty sure that Lil Stumpy was a goner, convinced  that the coyote had a Lil Stumpy  snack.  And just like that- Lil Stumpy showed up with the whole family, using his stump very well, eating kibbles as though nothing had ever happened.  Back to his old self , causing a ruckus, tipping over the bucket of water , rolling it around the deck, wrestling with his siblings.  

 

Good things always happen with Jan F. nearby. Her emails brighten the day every time- I reckon it was her sparkling energy that brought my baby racoon back to the land of the living. She's got the magic and brilliant timing.  

 

 I tried to take a photo through the window  of the  begonia - my camera can not quite "get". The color is the best pink I have ever seen but camera sees Pepto Bismol . 

The last of the boy blossoms for making Zucchini - Dennis kept them  in the fridge, just in case a girl happened to open her willing petals. Chances are no longer feasible as the temperature has dropped , the sun is lower in the sky, the girls have abandoned the deck altogether.  Perky little penises were composted.

Keeka sent a photo of Kuala Lumpur  that is quite lovely. She spent a month in Japan, the photos are A- Mazing! She stayed part time with a Japanese family there whom she had met on her travels. Kindness all around. 

She is of the generation given an iffy future. Some curl up and grumble and some are making the most of this beautiful life - getting out there spreading joy and dollars. Away from monkey business, corruption and utter insanity- smart child is our Keeka. She is a great little ambassador. 

 

As the sun was going down, a timid knock on the door- Too timid for the knocker I must say.  My first thought was "the God squad" and I didn't answer. Dennis did and there stood Luke's dad!

The little neighbor girl, showing us who she is going to be  for Halloween .  As serendipity  goes- I had a music box by the door to go to Habitat or V V that played the theme from Star Wars. She has it now . Perfect! One time she showed up as Santa and another as a teen age mutant  ninja turtle. She was keen on Spider Man for a brief period, glad that one did not last.

Leaving you with two photos-  one, of the best inventions ever invented by a man- an artist , of course, fully understanding the dilemma- a woman's urinal.  YES, must have, please, on every corner!

 

 by Alex Schweder.

And two- My collapsible wire basket - it fits against the wall , flat and out of the way until some one wants to use it for onions and  pine cones?

 

 

 

 

 

 This morning I opened the door and winter smacked me right  in the face.

Rain has come and it is 49 degrees. Probably had too many cups of tea during the day. I have run out of biscuits because two cups of tea require at least six biscuits on a day like today.

Yesterday I had to go to the post office so naturally I stopped in at the thrift store. See that wooden hand holding an orange? That was part of my splendid purchase .

This tin  box was another. The top is divided like a picnic basket , with little knobs for opening. It is roomy , a practical storage tin for ALL of the biscuits I need as winter approaches. 

There were  six Matryoshka  dolls in a bag on the things-in-bags- wall. They came home with me as well as a collapsible vintage wire shopping basket, coolest portable carrier I have ever seen. In another bag on the wall hung this Mexican angel, made by Wixarika person in the Sierra Madres. Mexican art- either you love it or you don't. At the moment I am loving it - it seems to find me  -  jumps right into my hands! I have no control over these things.

This form of art is done with tiny beads and wax, The face is a  hard mache-ish  material. Chubby cheeks- having eaten too many clouds, probably. 

Marjolene is back at Mary's for a couple of months , she arrived on Tuesday  bringing  tulip bulbs from the Netherlands, chocolate and cheese. I gave her salmon. I love when she is here.  Weather having shifted into bloody cold all of a sudden- I will take one of my Norwegian sweaters to her- the chill doesn't stand a chance. Norwegian sweaters are armor.

Yesterday the flowers were still pumping out blossoms, today not so much. Interesting to watch them react. Cosmos turn upside down shedding the rain- the sunflowers toppled to the ground where they are not so exposed. The other flowers are just bobbing around like a dance party.

 A cosmo being held up by mint... Getting a face full of rain against it's will. 

 

I will wait until  after the freeze to do anything about the deck flowers. I scooted the fuchia baskets close to the house in a corner. Sometimes they come back if winter is not too wild. Leaving you with a few of Annie's installations on her land-

Giant clam shells lining the path-

enormous nest made of branches,  housing huge eggs-

driftwood-

 Going to curl up with yet another cuppa . Cosy.

 

 

Squirrel Cafe, Danger Reef, Art CampWith Annie and Our Stella

Woman with stuffed shirt, waiting to walk onto ferry.

 ride to San Juan island on a decent day.

Another ferry, going about its daily business.  
 

 

   

Annie picked us up at the ferry landing because she lives too far away for us to have walked-  off we went to Danger Reef-Squirrel Cafe -Art Camp, to stay over night at Annie's . The best holiday I have had since London. Annie and her husband built their house on 3.5 acres, along with a large shop/studio and a vintage  cabin that her father owned. 

This the view of her front yard from the bedroom window. The large enough reef directly in view, easily watched all day every day due to  activity of sea birds, eagles, nesting birds and seals. 

Sunrise. During the night the moon rose and brightened up the island like daylight. This. is Annie's Danger Reef, all day entertainment!
 

Sat with coffee on her deck wrapped in a comfy blanket, watched as an eagle dined on eggs, somebody's children.

Gulls watched over the grown up seals on one side and the  four baby seals on the other, giving moms a break, I suppose.  

Annie's husband, Michael, died not long ago, the house has become hers entirely. 

What a grand life she lives. 

She and Stella fished together on Annie's commercial fishing vessel out of Sitka Alaska when they were young pups.  Sitka is an island community of about 8,500 people, once the capital of Russian Pacific. 

It can only be reached by sea or plane. 

Anyway, that is where they met, and worked and formed a strong bond. 

The house, now hers is pretty much an artists delight- production stations throughout.And that is where we learned , from "Annie's Art Camp". Collage and printing.

We walked her 3.5 acres finding small, interesting,  botanicals that we wanted to print on our collages. I found a feather, likely eagle plumulaceous. I made a stand alone print of it , Used it a second time in a collage, which was too busy. Editing is important in collage. 

We arted all day, learning as we went, 

Annie is a patient , effective and generous  teacher, though I came away with inchoate results, it was rewarding and  SO enjoyable. My attempts are-

         The Feminine. 

Earth marrying itself

More earthy bits- and  Red bird, wearing big boots , in neon light  .

   Sea

 

Those are the only ones I am willing to show because they are not hideous. I have several that are. For printing we used a gel plate, a brayer, and acrylic paint. To affix the lot we used loads of liquid medium. Fascinating day! Annie's world is extraordinary. There are not enough superlatives. 

Annie's stove-

with a clock built in-

Annie's onions -

 

A young Annie on her vessel catching bloody fish!

See you tomorrow!