Adventures in Snow.....Part I...........

"Where is Mona?

She's long gone....

Where is Mary?

She's taken her along....

But they haven't put their mittens on

And there's fifteen feet 

of pure white snow......"

- from Nick Cave's Fifteen Feet of Pure White Snow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY8Amv3_z34

We packed the snow coach, and were ready to head out in search of snow and quiet and the beauty of the woods.  Our direction was 3 hours North - Tahoe Land. Route 80. Look for Donner. That was our spot. A big storm had come in the night before, and the mountains of white were stunning.

A puppy was very excited to be traveling. Her paws had not touched snow in a while.

We arrived at Borreal, a SnoPark. 

Packed with snow & people.

We bundled our bodies & our day pack......

The snowshoes were ready to go.......

And we were off..........

A winter wonderland........

We encountered a mighty snow machine....look at the size of that drill........

Serious traction......if only puppy had that traction.......

Pure beauty........

So cold, icicles started forming on Scott's stash.....

We will be back for sure........stay tuned.......

AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

xxxxx

Sea Snaps (preview)

(amazing to me how these look like the Sheet Snap series)

beautiful

I smile o'er the wrinkled blue

Lo! the sea is fair,

Smooth as the flow of a maiden's hair;

And the welkin's light shines through

Into mid-sea caverns of beryl hue,

And the little waves laugh and the mermaids sing,

And the sea is a beautiful, sinuous thing! 

- excerpt from The Sea Spirit, by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Sheet Snaps (preview)

For 25 consecutive days the challenge is to document the history of a night's sleep every morning.
Here are three images from the series:

P O R T L A N D O R E G O N X X X X X

On a whim, we bought tickets to go hear and see Broken Social Scene ( with Sea & Cake opening!)  in Portland, Oregon.

http://www.brokensocialscene.ca/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqqLe9uiLl4&feature=related

http://www.myspace.com/seaandcake

This was months ago....
Suddenly the date of the concert was approaching and we had to plan for our get-away weekend.........
Sadly the place we wanted to stay was booked....see below. Really amazing.

http://www.mcmenamins.com/427-kennedy-school-home

But we booked a spot in great sounding hotel and decided no rental car. Renting bikes.

Portland. It is known as one of the most "green" cities of the world.

It is a vibrant city, near the confluence of two rivers: the Willamette & the Columbia.

It reminds us of Pittsburgh.

We got ready for our big first night out. We were going to rely on Urban Spoon on the IPhone to assist us in finding a place to eat........ (bad idea)

So we ended up dining at Pizza Schmizza.....

The next day was a beauty. Sun shining. Shadows mighty.

And we rented bicycles and were off! 

We saw Dharma's work at Augen Gallery! Hello!

And saw a really interesting show at the Portland Craft Museum.

There we met many sweet people who guided us to all the cool spots.

Thank you!

So we pedaled fast & with excitement!

Hitting an art installation that was in an abandoned high school....super super super.

We played with shadows.

And swirled

to the whirl........

And we were inspired by color.

That night we biked to dinner and then to the show. 

A M A Z I N G.

To wake up in the a.m. inspired by the geography of the sheets on the bed.

And the conversations of light and form on the streets.

And a local greasy spoon made our bellies full.

So we lingered at this record shop....inspired by the range....

And home we went: minds buzzing with image and sound.

Wrapping the World in Beauty.....

There is a new baby in New Zealand that I am thinking about....her name is Minerva.

Minerva was the Roman goddess who the Hellenizing Romans from the second century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, and magic, and the inventor of music. She is often depicted with an owl, her sacred creature, and a symbol of wisdom.

I decided to knit baby Minerva a blanket, to wrap her in love and knitted cosiness.

Her parents are sailors, and have braved the seas in their beautiful boat, Sereia.

http://svsereia.blogspot.com/

So I chose colors that symbolized land and water.

It is amazing to begin a knitting project....hours and hours of love and meditation woven into a creation.

Knot after knot......Stitch following Stitch......

This project traveled many places with me as I was working....Portland, Stinson Beach, Marin, on the BART, over the mountains to Cazaderos.....

The last stitches are like the end of a marathon...heart beating faster, anticipation brewing....excitement to get to the end of an incredible journey......

Ah, the edging....each stitch stitched with love.....

And now it will wing its way, wrapped in layers of tissue paper to New Zealand!

xxxxx