Just returned home from my print class, and it's finally beginning to make sense. I can now appreciate all the endless possibilities.

Linoleum print of bronzed baby shoes

I just had a lovely walk with a friend and our dogs, and it left me peaceful and full, and it reminded me of these words written by Dianne Hanna: 

The old trees tell us to sink our roots deep enough to slow dance with the wind, to matter to the earth. They tell us to be home to eachother, to build our nests with enough chairs for grandfathers and wayward cats. They tell us that time is something we learned before we knew better...that we can stretch a moment all the way to the sun, live a lifetime in one afternoon. They tell us that we are shaped by light, born to it. 

Charlie at the barn

One cow a day? 

PATCH

STAR

STAR

I AM TAKING A 6 WEEK COLOR CLASS, AND THIS IS THE PAINTING THAT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON. I JUST REALIZED THAT I MAY HAVE TO PAINT IT 100 TIMES, INTERPRETED IN 1OO DIFFERENT WAYS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M DOING. 

My mom just surprised me by sending me these lovely little bronze shoes. The one on the left was my mom's baby shoe, who was born on June 22, 1929, and the one on the right was my grandfather's babyshoe, who was born on August 14, 1896. I absolutely love them and I will cherish them always. These simple little shoes remind me so beautifully and perfectly of the child who is still present inside of all of us. Thanks mom! I love you!

The house is quiet again with only the rumble of the washer and dryer beginning to make its way through the piles of dirty clothes and linens. Now I can hear the wind and the sound of the bird feeder hitting up against the kitchen window. Sarah has gone off with Elizabeth to do a food shop, the boys are in by the fire watching TV, and Anna is sick in bed with a cold. I took this photo right before Christmas in a small shop in Marblehead. I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone, but thankfully, the warm images that inspire me will remain.  

"We are nearer to Spring Than we were in September, I heard a bird sing in the dark of December."    -Oliver Herford

-quote taken from the front page of a December Vineyard Gazette

This is a rare albino ruby-throated hummingbird taken by a 15 year old photographer in a park in Virginia. Isn't it beautiful! 

"A Place to sit"

A small group of women and I just got together last week for the first time to talk and share creative ideas. I suggested the theme "Open" prior to our gathering. This month's theme is "A place to sit". I had to force myself to sit down, in order to do this  little gouache painting of Romeo this morning. I wasn't even connecting the theme at the time. It was all just a happy coincidence that the colors and composition of Romeo on the chair were beckoning to me to photograph them. It's that time of year when my head is spinning with all sorts of things i want to make and do for people. I love christmas, but it is easy because I am so blessed. So many people are struggling in the world. In racing around, it was nice to take 50 minutes to sit and be creative. I felt refreshed. I hope, like Romeo and me, that everyone can find a quiet moment and a peaceful place to sit.

                                                   SOURDOUGH BREAD

This bread is so incredibly scrumptious. Thank-you Toni for sharing your mother's recipe with me! We smeared it with butter hot out of the oven tonight, and now we are dreaming about having french toast for breakfast. You have to plan ahead because it takes a week to prepare, but it is so worth the wait. 

Starter food: 1/2 cup sugar, 3 tblsp instant potatoes, 1 cup warm water

mix the starter food ingredients together and leave in a bowl in the fridge for 5-6 days. Then, the day before you want to make the bread, make another batch of starter food and add it to the refridgerated batch, but this time leave it out overnight.

Bread: 6 cups bread flour(unsifted), 1/4cup sugar, 1 tblsp salt, 1 pkg yeast

mix the above in a big bowl

1/2 cup mazola corn oil, 1and 1/4 cups warm water, 1 and 1/4 cups starter

add the above ingredients together and pour little by little over the flour mixture stirring inbetween.

Let rise in a bowl in the oven for 8-12 hours.

Knead well (10 minutes) on floured surface and then divide dough into two greased and floured pans and let rise again for 8-12 hours. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.

If it wasn't so late now, I would paint this compostion of Romeo...maybe tomorrow. 

On the Saturday following Thanksgiving, Pumkin Island's unprocessed beauty provided a restorative stillness to the pace of modern day life.