small celebrations

I mostly let the small accomplishments pass,
often with a throwaway attitude of "well thats the least you should be doing"
some people think I'm hard on myself, and I am, but its borne out of high expectations
(which is one of those good servant but a bad master things)
but I have to admit life is a bit nicer when I do take the time to appreciate the fun things I do and the small accomplishments
and
I'm making an effort to be a little gentle with myself right now because its been tough to get my head in the game lately
so here are some little bits that have gotten done in the last couple of weeks....
Mom sent me pictures of a chair she re-seated with some fabric I sent her

I love it, it just looks cool, a little funky but not over the top,

thats what I love about hand dyed textiles they have alot of life to them, and they don't have to be bright rainbows...

or they can be

these are a mini production run for next weekends craft fair 

onsies,

                                                    baby socks,

                              big people socks, and a few other things
 As long as I was in the dye studio I tried dyeing some more itajime for a prospective client

                                                          blues

                                                and golds

                and played with an idea of overdyeing some woven silk
I actually have gotten a little wrapping done as well on this new stone that is in progress

Today I ran a 5K (the whole thing) which I wasn't convinced I could do, given the sporadic training I've done over the summer.

(thats me!)
Its been a good week, I'm happy to be home

and I've given myself a couple of treats along the way

beads,

                                          a new project to play with,

and Brownies!

Dillon wants one too

Landing

Home again, rediscovering my routines, all the little comforts of home, reestablishing my familiar surroundings,
Everything as I left it.
Everything different.

Passing Time

My visit with Dad was farewell, as I thought it would be. He fought Parkinson's Disease for 23 years. He was tired and ready to rest. I am grateful he gave me the opportunity to say goodbye in our quiet way. He passed on the 31st of August, 5 days after I last saw him.

I am grieving. It ebbs and flows.

My life goes on, blown around by hurricane winds. The part we shared together is over now.

I cannot begin to sum up a life in a blog post, or a relationship, he was my Dad and I miss him. 

The feather as a passage

in the the instant between

in/out
known/unknown
night/day

past/present
memory/hope
life/death

I am heading off to visit my dad and his wife for a week. It will be good to spend some time with them.
This feather is dedicated to him, and gifted to jude

Feather light

Silk gauze, gifted from jude...
as light as a feather

Captured and tied

OMG! did I actually do some shibori?

Bound

So it won't fly apart

outdoor sculpture

Spent some time this afternoon looking at outdoor sculpture made from tree branches
I'd like to add some oomph to the garden and I thought I would see what sort of things other people do
Here are some of the places my finds led me to
this beautiful owl:

or a small city

An intriguing pile of spheres found on Dirt Simple

A majestic duo of horses by Heather Jansch 

and this powerful bull

a Finnish sculptor

 and this work by Patrick Dougherty

Its funny how someone like me who works in such a intimate scale can be so attracted to such BIG pieces of work
But a garden is a BIG piece of work made of tiny moments

Flaws

Sometimes things are less than perfect,

Sometimes it works imperfectly.

fluffing

The dog days of summer are here. We have had plenty of heat and very little rain, I'm really wishing I had gotten the mulching done this spring. In spite of that the plants are doing reasonably well. They have filled in considerably and I am starting to think about expanding the back beds.
These pictures are of the bird garden.
In spite of all the growth it was looking a bit bland. I don't get alot of summer flowers and I haven't gotten the right balance of foliage colors yet (work in progress doncha know)
I splurged last week and went out shopping for some annuals.
I found a half price sale! woo hoo!
I had some big pots to fill so I bought a bunch and headed home, halfway there I realized that I had more pots on the posts that I hadn't bothered to fill yet that would really perk it up so I turned around and went on back for some more...

mmm, my pictures aren't the best, but there is definitely a little more color and it makes me happy.

sitting on the edge

Thinking about starting running again.

 haven't run since May

Maybe run another 5K in the fall.

using the C25K program, like last time.

I like it

 it starts with very small goals and slowly builds up until you can do the whole thing.

A good way to improve at any activity

I've been working a bit with that sort of a program lately as I wrap stones.
starting with small increments of time and then trying to check in with myself, see if there is any further I can go, anymore ideas I want to explore.

                                                Sometimes yes,

sometimes no

improvement in increments

I am trying to use a light touch with myself

I didn't plan this one, it took on a life of its own and I went along for the ride.

Sometimes you have an idea and it doesn't work quite the way you thought it would,

and sometimes its just fun to see where it takes you.

Not too many words tonight, its late and I have spent most of the last 2 evenings at Karate classes, just a couple of images:
some new aquisitions:

and a few small additions to this one: