Spent the weekend with my daughter in Minneapolis.  Whenever I have the chance to have my daughters model for me I take it even though there is some reluctance on their part - sometimes.  She looks great in the linen and silk over-shirts.  I have a hard time figuring out what to call these garments - jackets? over-shirts? vests?  They are what you think they are.  Anyway she makes them look great.  If you are interested in seeing more check the ETSY site to the right of the photo posts. Another lovely thing is the art on the walls of the apartment house where we stay, all local scenes painted by local artists of the Twin Cities area.  

Close to Home

                                    What do you get a man who has everything for his birthday?

A Man with a Cat, of course  Local artist Amy Arnold was our guest artist at VIVA Gallery for the month of April.  She makes these whimsical, classical characters out of felted wool.  I love them and so does the man who now really does have everything!

In pondering other things around the house:

This post is in the exact center of our living room.  I once asked a feng-shui 'expert' what do you do with a post in the middle of a room? - his answer after much thought was plants, make it like a tree.  So - OK- that works but space for chairs y'know, comfortable chairs in a 'conversational area' presents a problem.  We have lived here for eleven years and the post and I still have issues.  The thing is though - it, the post, is not going anywhere - it's holding the place up.  

Paper Weaving

I recently took at class from Jennifer Moore who is a well-known weaver, she weaves beautiful pick-up doubleweave.  See her work here.  The class I took was titled 'Math-magical', we studied lots of geometry, symmetry, angles, the golden proportion and more - I'm still trying to figure out how to apply
what I learned to my weaving.  What I did get from the class is a  new way of looking at the world.

The last day Jennifer showed us these paper weaves she had made.  They are amazing.  I would love to know how she did this.  Maybe someday she will teach a class in paper weaving.

Earth Month and More

Good idea --

near the 'el' in Oak Park, IL

Colorado Rocks

We took a little trip to Colorado last week.  Anyone living in these parts is pretty sick of winter by this time.  A change of scenery is a perfect anecdote.  We caught the Amtrak Zephyr in Burlington, IA.

Think of it -- getting somewhere not being squished in like a sardine, not having to be x-rayed, walking around while traveling, seeing beautiful scenery out the window and talking to other travelers.  That's what you get when you take the train.

Pretty city Glenwood Springs

The preceding photos were taken on our way out of Glenwood Springs.  When we arrived there a week earlier it was sunny -- no matter what the light or weather, it's a  pretty special place.  The train ride takes you through miles of awesome Glenwood Canyon before pulling into the town.

On to the high desert city of Grand Junction.  The Grand Mesa, Colorado National Monument, the Book Cliffs surround this city on the Colorado River.  Peach tree orchards, sadly bare this time of year, and wineries made up the scenery along the tracks.

While husband spent time with his brother downhill skiing - I got to explore the spectacular landscape surrounding Grand Junction with my friend.  This landscape humbles you, it's so big and old, breathtaking and purely glorious.   Imagine, at least two oceans covered this landscape in the long past.

Outside of Grand Junction in Monument Canyon we hiked to  'Independence Rock or Monument'.  I can see a face at the top of this time-worn rock.  The next picture is "Kissing Couple".

We did other stuff while we were there, like some cross-country skiing to an inn where we had some delicious chocolate pecan pie and then there were the Thrifts.  Designer Thrifts I'd call them -- both in Grand Junction and Aspen - nuff said about that!

When it was time to leave we caught the train again in Glenwood Springs - the trip back was as fine as the trip out and the in-between vacation time was fun and so appreciated.  We had great hosts!

Ahhh -- Some Color

The snowy photos have lost their luster -- pretty then but now I am wanting to see color.  A new grass reppweave and  some dogs and a kat that are living in my studio.  I haven't named the dogs yet so they live here -  after all, they aren't ready to be in the world until they have a name.

weather events

While snow events can wreak havoc in the city and seem harsh; out in the countryside, especially by this stream, nature seems a bit more gentle, artistic.  The winds were wild overnight but in the morning sculptural handiwork is evident, glistening, beautiful and still magical!

morning shadows

One morning last week a yearling deer along the stream.

Today the sky is blue and the sun is shining, I'm off to find my snowshoes.