Morning Sanctuary

The weekend was busy. The days long and the mornings early. Monday was another early rise and a drive to Sacramento. So.....,

....today I stayed home. Sat on the porch with my dog, Maggie and talked about life....,

....picked some flowers and watched the early morning become brilliant sunshine.

This is where I find my heart and renew the frayed edges of my soul .

What a Wonderful Weekend!

The Open Studios was a great success. Three members of our gourd club(myself included) did a two day show that turned out to be a lot of fun. Christie, Silvia and I spent both days showing visitors what "gourd art" is; demonstrating techniques, telling everyone about the history of gourds and selling some of our artwork. Christie offered her lovely home in Amador City as the second stop on the tour. She has a wonderful studio and garden area that made it really easy for us to display our gourds.


There were steady streams of people coming and going and they all wanted to know about gourds as "art". We were the only site that displayed gourd art and folks seemed very interested in how they grow, are dried and then made into art. They loved seeing what the gourds look like before they become a work of art and most of them wanted to know all about the different techniques and how each of us create our own, very different, art. We talked so much that we didn't do much demonstrating. Everyone was having such a good time.
The weather was wonderful and didn't get really warm until Sunday afternoon. I don't think it ever got above 85 or 90 degrees, though. When we started Saturday it was cloudy, almost like high fog. That was just strange for this time of the year. I was in heaven all day Saturday. When it did get warmer on Sunday we just put up a couple of umbrellas and everything was just fine. This was a lovely place to have a show.

I want to thank my brother-in-law and his wife for driving all the way up here with their family for the day. I was so surprised to see them. Someone should have taken my picture when I realized it was them; it was a true double-take. Thank you for coming and giving me moral support.

I also want to thank my friend Lori for stopping by. I really appreciated her thoughtfulness....., and she was wearing a gourd pin that I had given her. Thank you, Lori.

All in all, it was a really wonderful weekend.

The Big Weekend: Amador Artists Open Studios Tour

This is the weekend of the Amador Artists Open Studios. Three of us from the Amador County Gourders will be in Amador City to demonstrate and sell our art work. This is a self guided tour of 13 studios in the county and will be represented by a lot of varied artists and amazing artwork. Should be lots of fun. I'll let you all know how it went on Sunday or Monday.

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday; A Favorite Season Comes

My friend Karen

My friend Karen will be surprised when she sees this old picture. It's one of my favorites of her because she has always loved our dogs and I think this is the only photo I have of her with any of them.

She is holding Oscar, our dachshund and talking to Brandy, our shepherd. Both of these dogs are gone now, but they always knew that they could get some extra holding and petting when Karen was around. All our dogs know that now too.

This seems like a very long time ago . We were still raising our kids and living "in the suburbs". Both of us were working and our husbands both worked for Pacific, Gas and Electric in Concord, Ca. That was how we met in about 1974 or 75. The four of us went to a retirement dinner together.
We always hit it off and so did our kids. We had dinners at each others houses and took road trips together.
Karen is a great southern cook. The prospector says that she makes the best fried chicken and milk gravy he's ever eaten. She introduced us to sweet tea and coconut cream pie. Whenever they came for dinner , she would bring a pie, sometimes two. Pecan was my favorite. We never went hungry.

Some of you that read this blog know Karen and her family and , to my amazement, practically all the new friends who read my blog and only know her from what I have written, have continuously expressed concern over her illness with good wishes and prayers. For this I will be forever greatful. So I thought that an update was in order.

She has had a very tough year. I think that , for such a little woman ( she's one of those "petite" gals ), she has a lot of strength. It's been one specialist after another for a very long time. I don't think that there is a test that she hasn't had.
Her blood is clumping and they have been giving her transfusions but her red blood count keeps dropping which indicates bleeding somewhere. She had more tests last week and was waiting for the results. This was the last email that I got from her on Tuesday.

" Just to let you know. the oncology doctor called me last evening about 6:30 to tell me that there was NO internal bleeding; that my liver disease has not progressed further, kidneys & all other organs look fine...., so praise the Lord for answered prayers. The problem is the Lymphoma, as they suspected all along...the lymph nodes are swollen in my lungs this time, which explains why I've been having so much trouble breathing.There are several of them swollen in both lungs. Dr M. has scheduled me for more Rituxan infusions which will be; one a week for 4 weeks & usually I feel great afterwards. I am waiting to hear from the infusion center to schedule them. Thank you all for you continued love, support & prayers, it means so very much to me. Much love, Karen"

I'm still here and the prayers are still coming, Karen. Even Mokie and Maggie are rooting for you.

I also want to thank my friend Jo, in Ohio. Her blog( Moodscapes at jonjdsbitsandpieces.blogspot.com ) is a safe haven. This woman is remarkable. She has "sent up prayers" for Karen, so many times I can't count them. She asks others to pray or send good thoughts to those in need and she just does this without question. I've told Karen about her. Jo has her own stories and her own pain but she always thinks about others first. Thank you , Jo. I may not know what you look like but I hope we meet someday. You have taught me a lot about care and compassion, and the power of prayer.

Learning to bargain

Saturday we drove up through another small foothill town. This is Fiddletown. We were going to a couple of farm sales and to get to one of them you have to go through this town. Recently I wrote about Volcano, the town that we used to live in, and I always thought that Volcano was "small". Well Fiddletown wins, hand down, in the "small" department.
I don't know it's history and I don't know why a town developed up here, but there are some very old, very historic buildings on Main St. Some of the buildings are homes that people are living in , but quite a few just seem to be left in arrested decay and some others are being restored by a preservation committee.
It's interesting that there are still towns like this. The pace is so slow and the people seem relaxed and friendly. It's a mixture of old hippy's, farmers, people who have lived here forever and newer people who are referred to as "wine people". They have moved up here to start vineyards and produce wine. Most live in the Shenandoah Valley, to the north. It has become the new Napa Valley. They are usually well educated and have a lot of money. They build large wineries and huge homes. Some are very protective of the area and want a say in keeping it the way it is ,but some tend to throw their weight and money around just because they can..., and are use to getting their way. The conflict between all these different people is fodder for the newspaper. There is always some "conflict" going on in the foothills over who thinks they have the "right" idea. I guess this has been going on for a long time. The farmers, miners, business people and the "big money" have a history of conflict up here. Now the Amerian Indians are a rightful factor in all of this too. There's never a dull moment.

We drove through Fiddletown and across a creek, drove about 4 or 5 miles and found the farm we were looking for. Wow! Shades of the 60's. This place was not your grandpa's farm. I thought I was having a flash-back, especially when this hippy type young thing came out and asked us if we were looking for the "sale". We said yes and she pointed to the big barn on the hill .( That's the first picture.)
There were goats, sheep, chickens and dogs everywhere...., and then we started seeing all these painted trailers all over the place. My God, it's a commune! , and me without my long tie-dyed skirt and sandals. Just our luck they will have a huge marijunna drug bust today( it happens all the time around here) and we'll be in the Sacramento newspapers. What will our children think?
But, seriously, look at these wild trailers! I'm like a little kid in hippy wonderland, only I'm old and I don't have flowers in my hair.
Well, the owner didn't either. She was divorcing her husband, who was living in the house with the "hippy type young thing" and she couldn't wait to get out of there. I asked if I could take some pictures and she said "Sure". Then she told us more than we ever wanted to know about her life and how she wanted to find a place where she could be a serious artist. Turns out that the almost "x" husband has a camp here for inter-city kids who get arrested for tagging fences, buildings and trains. They come up here and paint huge canvases, live with the animals and the elements for a week or two and attend workshops about self- asteem; showing each other the creativity of their art and earning time on their probation. Not a bad idea. I worked with kids like this and some of them were very talented. The woman said that she loved the idea of all this but she needed to be 'somewhere else' now, whatever that meant. We bought some "organic" vegetables, a box of foam paint brushes, some tie-on tags for my gourd sales, one of those ugly light bulbs that last longer and are better for the environment, and a beautiful pumpkin that is pale and bumpy and going on my porch for Fall. Everything cost us $5.00. I took some pictures and we left, waving goodby, saying "Thank you.", hoping the D.E.A. wouldn't arrive before we got down the dirt road to the hiway.

We made one more stop on our way back home. This was one of those "someone died" sales. The barn was old but the house, up on the hill, was new. It's always sad to see all the furniture, books and clutter of someone's life sitting outside, lined up, well used, tagged and waiting to begin a new life with someone else. As I walked through the tables, touching all the plates, serving dishes and old stainless ware, I thought how someone had a lifetime of using all of this and, now, it sits collecting dust. They choose this place and they lived their life here and now they're gone . These are all the things that probably meant a lot to them. It's like a memorial. I needed to choose carefully and have respect for the one who used these things before me. That was when I spotted the kitchen chair.
Shades of my childhood! It was dirty, splattered with paint, rusty......, and in almost perfect condition. The seat and back were not torn. The rubber steps looked new. Nothing was loose and the tag said $15.00. I was so in love that I sat down on it. It didn't even wobble. I waited for the Prospector to come over. He ask me if I was tired. I said "No, I just don't want anyone else to take this." He said "What?" I said "This folding step stool." He took a look and said "It looks like my grandma's. Well, be sure you ask for less."
Now, this is the part of yard sales that I don't like: Bargaining and Bartering. I usually just pay the price and leave with my "find". I knew that I'd pay at least $30 or $40 dollars for one in an antique store, maybe more, so I went up to the man who seemed to be in charge and said I was interested in the red kitchen chair. We walked back to the chair and I said, in a most professional manner, " Would you take $10.00 for it?" He hesitated. Then, (and you have to understand I'm a novice at this) I said, " I have a $10 and a $1 in my wallet. That's it. I'll give it all to you." and I smiled. He said, "Well, I've already got it marked pretty low. ( I KNEW THAT!) I didn't say anything, but I opened my wallet and took the $10 and the $1 out and said "I might have another dollar in change." He looked at the chair one more time and then said, " You don't need to give me all your change. It's yours." YES!...., I'm getting better at this.
So...., I got a vintage "filled with memories" kitchen chair in really good condition for $11.00. The Prospector was proud of me..., and I'm sure his grandma was too.
Last night I clean all the paint off with some vinegar, soap and warm water. Isn't it beautiful? Need to work on the rusty metal . If anyone has any ideas on that I'm listening. What a fun day we had.

I need a vacation....., in the tropics.

I want you to look at this photo (above) closely. I took it from quite a distance up the road and it's not a very clear picture. It was the end of a really hot day and everything was very still and quiet. I saw movement down on the road near my favorite tree, the old druid, and I walked down a little closer to see what it was. As my eyes focused on the road I stopped and backed up. I saw a snake lying very still, not moving except for small vibrations once in a while. At first I thought it might be a big lizard because it's head was larger than a snakes. It was only about 12' to maybe 15' long. I wondered if we had accidently run over it coming home earlier in the day and maybe it wasn't dead yet. I always watch for critters coming across the road. I should have one of those signs that says "I BREAK FOR ......" you know. Mine would have to say "I break for ANYTHING." because I do. The prospector says that someday I'm going to cause a bad accident because of my inability to drive down a road without trying to avoid every living creature that tries to cross the road in front of my car. I don't find this behavior unusual at all., If I'm going to break for some crazy, jaywalking, risk-taking, " Haven't got time to walk to the corner and use the light" fool, why wouldn't I stop for some poor, innocent Tarantula looking for love in all the wrong places. Some people just need to get their priorities straight.
Anyway, back to the snake... I walked slowly down the road toward it, thinking how badly I was going to feel if it was dying because we ran over it. We have had so much snake killing this summer that I just couldn't take one more....., and that's when he lifted his head, switched his tale at me and said, "Chee,chee,chee."

That darned squirrel was just taking a rest in the middle of the road. I took a picture just before he stretched and jumped into the dry grass and flew up the side of the Old Druid. I had been decieved by a squirrel. I'm surprised that he didn't have a little lawn chair and some iced tea. He was all spread out like he was getting a suntan at the beach. I think I'm the one who needs a vacation.

Remembering 9 / 11

I think this should be a day of peace, quiet and honest reflection.

Spooky changes?

I took both these photos of the old druid last night on my walk down the hill. One with a flash and one without. Look at the difference! I tell you: This tree has something going on that has always seemed altered in some way. I know that Halloween is coming. I know that I've been emersed in Halloween decorations for my gourds, but the contrast between these two pictures is amazing to me. The weather is changing and there is a different sharp edge to the evening fragrance of early Fall. I'm drawn away from what it is that I have to do and I'm drawn out into the wonders of this new season that speaks to me of change. I loose my focus and my favorite old oak tree is playing Hocus Pocus.

Murphy's Dancing

I had a wonderful surprise today. On Saturday we got a slip in the mail box that said we needed to pick up a package at the post office. So today, I went down and picked it up and what a surprise it was. Terry Busse (at terrybusse.blogspot.com) sent me the fabric art work that she had done about my goat Murphy. I was so pleased that she wanted to tell his story about the night I caught him dancing. It was a full moon night and he was up on his back feet entertaining the other goats. When I wrote the post about him dancing ,Terry emailed me and asked if I would mind if she did a fabric piece about Murphy dancing to the full moon. I said yes, I'd be honored. She told me that she was having a show at the Davis Art Center in August and "Murphy's Midnight Dance" was one of the pieces of art that would be hung there. Murph' has definitely had more than his 15 minutes of fame because of all of this.
I was able to go down and see the show. It was wonderful! Terry is so talented. I mean there is quilting and then there is quilt art and I'm in awe of what she can do .

I can't begin to thank you enough, Terry. Just know that I will treasure this piece of art and take good care of it. We won't be able to live with Murphy for a while but that's ok. I'm sure he will be wearing sunglasses and struting around here like a big shot, but we can live with him acting famous for a while because...,well ..., he is!! Thank you so much.

It's not a Pumpkin!

These are three pieces of gourd art that I finished last year. I have a few blog friends that are interested in what a finished gourd looks like, so I picked these three because they represent the kind of work that I like to do.
The first one is a Kettle gourd that was stained with a brown leather dye, then I wiped it off as much as possible. I applied acrylic paints with a natural sponge, blotting quickly with different colors to give the gourd a stone look. After the finish was the way I liked it ,I waxed it with clear shoe polish. I made a bead necklace which I glued in place along with a sea shell, a stone, a piece of ocean weed and a "spirit"sign that I made with paper clay. I sold this piece in Amador City at the Wine and Art Festival.





















The second piece is a gourd purse, sometimes called a Ju ju purse. You can use any piece of gourd you have handy, but it should be fairly oval or round because you need to attach a piece of leather to the back of it. Part of that leather flaps over to become the top and closure on the front. I twisted the rough ends of the leather together before I added the embellishments.
I stained the gourd, attached the leather hide with a good strong glue , added a shell, some feathers, agates from Oregon and a leather string for a strap. I will be making more of these. They can be worn around the neck if they are small enough, like a spirit bag. This piece is still for sale.









The last one is a birdhouse. I love to make a gourd into something useful and a bird house is such fun to make because it's ...., "for the birds." Most gourd shapes are ok for a birdhouse. It's a matter of preference. I don't paint my birdhouses but you can. I've seen beautiful drawings, bright colors and really lovely art work on some birdhouses. It's a personal choice as any finish is for a gourd. I burned some cracks into this one and added some small stones for the birds to land on instead of small tree branch or stick. I have this in the flower pot just for the photo, but you would want to hang it safely away from cats and other predators .

Gourds are a wonderful way to express your creative soul . They're organic and the seeds are planted in the earth to grow a product that was the original bowl, plate, ladle, container and jewelry of early man.
You must pay attention to the spirit of each gourd.

The saying goes...., "Listen to the gourd and it will tell you what it wants to be." I like that.

Gettin' busy- gettin' motivated

Yesterday the gourd group met at the library and set up our annual display. We do this every year to let the community know what we do and who we are...., and to just plain show off. We have such fine artists in our club (Amador County Gourders) and we love to show folks what we do. Next Thursday we will have our monthly meeting at the library and anyone can join us, ask questions and find out what it is that all these crazy people do with gourds. We end up showing people that gourd art is fun , beautiful and profitable (well, sometimes). The display case looks really good. Everyone who contributed should be really pleased with it.

So, all of a sudden I realized that I was spending way too much time with the goats, the garden and the computer. With two shows coming up next month I had better get hoppin'. So here's my mess. These are the bit's and pieces of what will become pins, wall hangings, ornaments and gourds of a different color. I have two weeks before the first show : the Amador Artists Open Studios Art Tour on Sept. 20 & 21. For the first time ever, we have been invited to be a part of this tour. It's really exciting! But, in order for this to go well ,you have to have some finished gourds to display and that's what I need to do. ..., finish something.

Right now I have pieces of gourd, leather dyes, drills, sandpaper, my new mask (to keep the gourd dust at bay) and tons of embellishments. I have found the all time best scissors for cutting detail work. The Cutter Bee is great for small neat cutting. I have 3 pairs. I get mine at Wall Mart. They are the least expensive there. About $7.00, ( I'm guessing), and they have a safety cover. If you do any kind of scrapbooking, or paper work you have got to get a pair of these.

Ok! Got my gourd pieces, good idea books, glue, scraps and I'm motivated. Being motivated in your 60's is very important. It helps you keep moving and thinking: because after 60 you've got to put one foot in front of the other and get a little crazy. If you don't, the "powers that be" may think you don't want to be here anymore. I certainly don't want that to happen. I've got too many things to do first. Fair warning to all you "young'uns" out there. You've got time on your side, so if you have something you want to do. DO IT.

Well..., I'm going to start drilling and scraping the guts out of another gourd in the garage. Sounds kind of maniacal doesn't it? But it's fun! Ha,ha,ha,ah,ah! Want to join me? Halloween is just around the corner. Summer is almost over!!!!! Yes! Life is good and ..., Oh no, the chickens are heading for my garden. I've got to go and head them off at the pass. See you tomarrow......

Wordless Wednesday: Sanctuary

Seeing into one's own nature.

Do you know what death looks like? Is it peaceful, beautiful, forgiving or tragic? Is it final or a part of some journey?

If we live long enough we get weathered and tired. Life takes parts of us, physically and emotionally. We should become wiser for all of this,but we don't. We could show someone our scars and wounds,but that only produces pity...., Oh look, she has holes in her skin. I feel so sorry for her."......

Where is that one part of me that holds on and doesn't let go? Can I find that warm, green place that says "Things will be all right.?" I think I have found where to look. It is the place that I always turn to when I am in need. I seek solitude and comfort in a place that is away from the speaking voices of man. Alone and surrounded by nature I find a clearer acceptance and understanding of things to come. It's where I find the silent voice of God.

Cease thy Labor and Relax

Free range isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Oh no...., where are those chickens? Look what they've done! They haven't been out for more than an hour and look at this. We have forty two acres and they found the only part of the garden that isn't fenced. Give them a little freedom on a nice day and what happens...,
















..., this


Ah ha! Feathers! I've found proof. Clear evidence that this was an act of wanton destruction by chickens running amuck; whipped into a frenzy by a feeling of freedom and well ammended soil. All the signs are there.




I find all of them hiding under the tent trailer, looking innocent of any wrong doing. "You can't even look me in the eye, can you? Henny Penny, you're the only one who will look at me and you probably weren't even a part of all this. I want all of you to know that there will be consequences for this behavior. Napoleon, you better get these ladies under control or you and the gang will be spending the rest of the year in confinement. "Do you hear me?"
...., no answer, just a few whispered clucks.

Drive to Volcano

Ten years ago we lived here. This is the little "mother lode" town of Volcano, Ca. We rented a house here for three years before we built the home we're in now. This is the most charming town, in the middle of nowhere, that I have ever seen. I'ts east of Sutter Creek and north of Pine Grove and anyway you get to it is winding, slow and very scenic. I was working at Pine Grove Elementary school when we lived here and I use to joke about the long commute from our house to Pine Grove. It was 6 or 7 miles and sometimes I didn't pass one car until I got to hiway 88. Quite a change from Bay Area traffic and an ugly 40 mile commute.
Yesterday we had to drive up 88 to Buckhorn and Mace Meadows so, on our way back, we decided to have lunch in Volcano. It hasn't changed much. You can still stand in the middle of the street and take pictures without worrying about getting hit by a car. Your bigger concern would be a large Buck or a Mountain Lion. It still seems that way.
It was very quiet yesterday . We had lunch at Humble Pies and , yes, they have really good pies and they are very humble about it. And ...., yes, there was a dog sleeping out on the sidewalk.

It was very hot so we ate inside. We ate and reminisced about the car shows, and crab feeds we enjoyed there, and the summer evenings when everyone would bring wine, a picnic dinner (and friends) and sit on the lawn in the amphitheater while watching a wonderful play.
Everybody knew you and Rosie( that's her bench ) ,who had lived there all her life and now lives in a nursing home, would sit on her bench and wave to everyone who went by. I mean everyone, even if she didn't know who it was.
Such good memories. Doesn't seem like 10 years. Where did all those years go? Where DID they go?
It's a charming little town that the world hasn't found ..., yet. I always thought that the old building ( see photo above) ,that looked like it had sunk into the dirt, seemed to be slowly dissappearing like many little towns in the mother lode area of the Sierra's. I sure hope Volcano stays untouched for a long time. It's like stepping back to the 1800's.
So, if you ever come up to this part of California please drive a little further and visit Volcano. You'll love it!