Supposedly it’s turning to snow at 11:00. Probably snowing out past 495 and south of here. Everything closed: schools, courts, municipal buildings.
Really? Even if it came roaring in as predicted, what happened to shoveling out your driveway as a completely routine part of winter?
Meanwhile, I love that quote about flying from a Faith Ringgold story quilt (which is actually silk-screened on cloth with machine stitching). We got out to Worcester to see her show at the Worcester Art Museum. What a treat!
I’ve had to piece some letters for the baby quilt commission which means bumping into my own spasticity. Getting angles wrong for the corner of the “P” and reversing background and foreground. Stupid stuff. Anyway, I like my “H’s”.
The week slid past. Some sun. MORE RAIN. More jackhammering (including right now). K “bricked his phone” (don’t ask) and I continued to work on a number of small village quilts and the Barn Storm (below).
One FB friend called it “Cabin on a Lake.” I can see that, but to me it is a barn in a field.
I didn’t like the Moon Face in this one (which was unintentional), so I added some stripes to hide.
Face was too goofy
There was also turkey soup with kale and a walk around Crystal Lake.
Missed the exit for Route 2 on the way home but the Pike was faster so it didn’t cost us, time-wise.
During the writing retreat at Stump Sprouts in Hawley, Mass (led by Maureen Buchanan Jones), we had little sun. It hardly mattered given the indoor focus, but it did mean I didn’t get the same quality of photos as other years.
This year I walked A LOT. I finally got to use one of the many emergency ponchos I’ve purchased over the years (and for which I have taken much shit, BTW). That was a vindication of sorts.
The retreat numbers shrank for Covid and did not scale back up, probably because it’s so much nicer to bunk alone. It made a nice difference. At night, it was so quiet and so dark. Quite delicious.
It’s hard to characterize the retreat experience. People made me laugh. Some cried while reading. We were silly, intense, thoughtful, and there for each other. It’s true that when you show up for another person’s writing, you are showing up for them.
I also did Tarot readings for about half the group which added a little extra intimacy.
I “got” a couple Lucy Audubon scenes (even though I keep saying I don’t want to write about her) and interestingly, a Salem witchcraft scene. That was unexpected.
QUESTION: thinking about my upcoming trip to Montgomery, Selma, Birmingham, Jackson, and maybe Memphis — any recommendations?
Another QUESTION: Are any of you interested in writing with me and others once a week starting in September? It’ll be ten weeks on zoom.
Yesterday, I made a cake and it is delicious. It combines two almond cakes from the NYTimes cooking app. That makes it a bit of an effort but since my not-hungry-for-three-weeks brother had a wedge, it was worth it.
If you haven’t read Maggie’s comment from yesterday, do. A vivid description of her aunt.
Another day of grey here. What can I say?
I tried to walk Lila just now but a pop went off and she immediately turned around. Done. We trotted back to the house. She is scared of loud bangs and if too loud or prolonged will hide under the guest room bed.
Rescue dogs often come with shadows of trauma.
Trauma came up in my writing circle this morning. As a prompt, I posted a writer’s description of coming home to a completely wrecked house after Hurricane Andrew. I wondered if it would be productive. Was it ever!
So much insight in that group! It is the best thing in my week, week after week. I hesitate to gush, as if doing so would jinx things, but the most amazing words have come spilling out so regularly that I now think of these fellow writers as unstoppable. Unjinxable.
I’ll close with this Apple TV drama recommendation. Eight episodes. Incredible writing. Beautiful cinematography. It has: family secrets, betrayal and redemption, bad parenting, and lots and lots about wine. I love too that a lot of the show is in Japanese or French.
One of the writers also contributed to CALL MY AGENT. That’s the one about a talent agency in Paris. Also very good.
