Monday

Boy, it was a Monday wasn't it? Nothing tragic here thank goodness. Just a series of events that when strung together make for one messy and tiring day. [draining work situations, power outages, cat pee on the floor, a poo on another kitty bottom (that I had to um, take care of), etc.] By the time my water bottle broke all I could do was laugh. I mean really. And also think about how I could have handled these things better; with more grace, more prayer, more deep breaths, and even more laughing. But then getting Erin's beautiful camera strap in the mail, chatting with a friend this afternoon and then going on a nice long walk with another friend helped turned the day around. You know I never feel worse after a walk or talking with a friend, it always helps.

Every day is a lesson isn't it? In being a better person. And thankfully tomorrow is another day.

There's a little interview I did at the new issue of Cupcake Magazine, (my piece starts at page 142.) Thanks Amy!

evenings

These two images with the evening light of late summer and early autumn remind me of something I might take if Alicia and I were still doing the Noticing Project.

Last night I made a walnut Pâté from a recipe in the October issue of Vegetarian Times. Yum. The pâté is a blend of toasted walnuts, cannelini beans, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Then we spread it on toasted sourdough (recipe called for whole grain) with thinly sliced tart apple (recipe called for pear), roasted peppers and arugula (from our garden). It was tasty and easy to assemble after our bike ride and walk, which we sneaked in just before dark. I imagine as the days get shorter we'll begin eating dinner a bit earlier.

Did you see Erin's patchwork camera strap shop update today?

And I'm really looking forward to the launch of Martha's Scarf Shop next Tuesday.

achromatic inspiration

top: two thrifted glasses (that if you ask me, need to be filled with chocolate pudding), browsing the early work of William Christenberry;  bottom: found photograph of a smiling girl holding a bouquet of flowers, detail of a black and white sketch I made today.

Still nostalgic over here. I've been reading Wendell Berry's book of poems Given, listening to Ella Fitzgerald, working in black and white, stretching canvases for the first time in years, and am intrigued by these photos by native Kansan Gordon Parks (wish I could find the original source).

a few sweet things

Today would have been my grandmother's ninety-first birthday, which may be why I'm suddenly feeling nostalgic about apples and pink flowers.

Have you seen Tara & Tim's new online store? Tara's book of polaroids looks beautiful.

There is a lot of good stuff, a lot, in the new Autumn issue of Sweet Paul Magazine. The section on cakes looks incredibly tempting and I like the simply clever googly eyes cards.

Christy has some news coming out this week, and I am so curious to hear.

Hope you have a nice start to your week,
H

color palette inspiration

My inspiration wall, with work by Rachel Saldana, Shari Altman, Emily Gaines Demsky my sister, tear sheets, and my own photos.

The reclaimed cedar siding that we took down over a year ago, board by board from another house 2 1/2 hours away, drove home, planed, and are installing on our house this week.

of course, the ocean (on film)

Yesterday, along with my order of soaps from Oakmoss, Amber tucked in this card, one of her beautiful photos of her spoon collection.  Thank you Amber.

I'm drawn to these neutrals and textures and am in the brainstorm stage of planning how to implement them in my work.

A movie to see : 180 South.

An article to read : Your Brain on Computers. (This article has be thinking about declaring my studio days as computer free days.)