Shelf blog?

Before we left for our little vacation, I checked the shelf and this is what I found on it. A little illustration of Peter Rabbit hanging on a nail, a pinkish stone, a little stone in a bottle cap. "Penny" is written on the stone. I added the collage made from a scrap of a German-Russian dictionary. My tile saying "you're welcome" had been leaned against the light pole. Three of my stones with words were still there. I'm hoping that things are coming and going while I'm away. Mica suggested that this shelf is a blog. Or rather a Shelf Log. What can I call it? A flog?

Taxes

Chuck and I are being audited by the Commonwealth of Virginia. We have to justify our claim of $3000 in expenses. So, we copied all of our documentation and have it ready for our accountant. But, here's the thing, We're so small in the scheme of things and there are corporations who don't even pay taxes, and here's the other thing....our tax dollars are going to support a disastrous war that we never supported. I checked the web site Cost of War.
You might want to take a look at it and see what this war is costing YOUR state. I was appalled at the cost to our Commonwealth (and country!) And we're being audited for our $3000 expense claim? This is a big GRRRRR! Besides the war thing, having to spend time and money at Kinko's is SO annoying.

More Shelf happenings

Yesterday morning, Smitty and I found that a small green container (mints?) containing 2 pennies and a scroll, had been added to the shelf. The scroll said "a penny for your thoughts, a penny to buy your wish." The stones I'd placed on the shelf the day before were gone. Last night, after dark, I walked with Smitty, Chuck and some neighbors and, of course, wanted to show them the green container. The container was there and in it was 5 pennies and 2 nickels. I took a penny for my wish. Also, hanging from a nail was a "necklace" made of yarn with two plastic beads on it. Wow! This morning, we found more changes. The green container was gone but the necklace remained. Added was a wire angel and a piece of paper stamped with a fish and some Japanese writing. I added 4 stones. This is so exciting. I can't wait to check it out each morning. I wonder what's going to happen when I go away for a bit of a holiday this week.

Meeting up with Nancy

Today, I met up with Nancy Brand to have some lunch and show her the lapis lazuli beads that I'd bought in Paris last fall. Nancy makes wonderful beaded jewelry, so I thought she'd appreciate seeing the beads. By the way, check out her site, which doesn't do her work justice. We met at the new New York deli, see the yummy really good veggie sandwich, where I showed her my beads. I'm so happy, she's going to be able to create a necklace for me. I didn't think she'd have time to do that. I only thought to show her the beads. Woo hoo, happy me. I've been very excited about these beads. They're from that amazing bead shop, which I posted about last fall. I'd been intrigued by lapis lazuli after reading about it in the Victoria Finlay book, Color, the Natural History of the Palette. Ultramarine paint originally was made from this stone. Now we use synthetic ultramarine pigment. Orange is the complement of blue, so on the walk home, I was drawn to this orange object and was amused to see these little kids shoes by the no parking notice.

The shelf revisited

In a previous post, I showed the little shelf that someone had attached to the light pole by the bus stop around the corner from our house. It was empyy for a long time, then I started to put stones on it. After the shooting at Virginia Tech, I started to write words or phrases on stones and tiles, and place them on the shelf, where they could be taken by passers-by or people waiting for a bus. They would be gone; sometimes, tiny flowers would appear. Once a single silver earring was on the shelf briefly. Lost, then found, maybe. Yesterday morning, I had the biggest treat. I found this little wire "thanks" on the shelf. Wow! someone left me something. This morning, I put up a stone saying "you're welcome." One other thing, the tiles and stones get rearranged by somebody, or somebodies. This is such fun! Sort of like the old PostcardX, Found, and Postsecret.

Pickled pink

Some artist friends of ours have started to make really neat images to put on tee shirts. They package the shirts like a deli sandwich. I got the pickle, which was the vegan option. They offer all sorts of deli meats, cheeses, breads and condiments. Their site is in the early stages, but bookmark it for the future so you can see the cool stuff they are offering. If you're in Richmond, you can stop by their "shop" at Plant Zero.

Ryan's Mim & Chuck

Ryan made a drawing of Chuck and I returning to the U.S. of A. after our stay in Paris. Isn't it wonderful. It's on our 'fridge.'

Nancy's Garden

My friend Nancy has made her long narrow yard into a lovely garden. She invited me in the other day, while I was out walking Smitty. She has a dog of similar size and the two got along well, so we were able to hang out together and enjoy her little haven of a garden.

Beggars Bones

Smitty and I took our walk this morning to get more of his food. What a great neighborhood we live in. We're so happy we stayed and now our Fan District has everything we need within walking distance. How cool is this!?! Beggars Bones is an awesome little shop to get stuff for, as they say, awesome pets. The proprietor is pretty awesome herself. She's helpful and friendly and remembered my name! Just like the Cheers bar on that old TV show. See the Monkey lamp? Hmmm wonder if they have monkey food? Oh, look at Smitty, ready to go home now that we have his food in our bag.

The Couture Doll Bed

While out walking Smitty dog, this morning, I noticed that my neighbor friend, Tricia was in her little showroom/shop. We chatted for awhile and I got to see her creations up close, having only seen them on her new website. They are so lovely. Her fabrics are like something in a Matisse painting, exotic in a way, very lush. Even if you aren't a doll person, check out her web site, The Couture Doll Bed, and pass it along to everyone. Okay, a little marketing going on here, but really, her work is beautiful and her husband makes the beds. The work is all handmade, which is fabulous. If you are in Richmond, you should take a stroll over and see them in person. It almost makes me want to buy a doll, then buy it a bed!!

Sprout CSA market day

Yesterday, I staffed the Sprout CSA/Victory Farms stand at our Farmers' Market. The produce drew crowds, who when they found out that they weren't for sale, jokingly said I was a tease. We did have some produce for sale and that sold quickly. It was fun and I met lots of interesting people, including Chris Mattera, a sous chef, sausage maker, who is starting a Slow Foods group in Richmond, VA. I had to drive around a bit before heading home, so my share looks a bit wilted on my counter, but check out how big the share is...oh boy, lots of salads and lots of cooking. Thanks to Charlie Collins our farmer for such fab' produce.

More about the Library

This is the poster for the current show in the Richmond Public Library Special Collections room. Doesn't it just bring back memories? Well, for some of us it surely does. I think about reading Misty for the first time, not knowing how to pronounce Chincoteague. I was saying, in my mind, Chin-cot-ah-gyou. It was many, many years later, when we'd first moved to Richmond, VA, that we went to the eastern shore and visited the place that I learned how it was actually pronounced. What a surprise.

The Richmond Public Library

We went to the Richmond Public Library, the main one downtown, to see a show of VCU art foundation student work. The students had altered damaged books. While there, we saw other excellent exhibits of art, but the best thing was having someone who works there comes up to speak with us. Her husband had been a student of Chuck's many years ago. After chatting a bit, she offered to take us down to the Special Collections area, which wasn't open to the public at the time. We entered into this amazing space...my heart raced from the fabulousness of it. Okay, so I'm a really big library fan, and this space reminded me of the Legler library that I went to as a child in Chicago. The current display, up through the month of May is about horses in children's literature. The displays are well done and include horse objects. The area is open on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10 to 5, on the lower level. If you're in Richmond, it's a gem to be experienced in person.

CSA...

It's time, once again, for local, organic produce. Our CSA has started again, and we have some lovely things in our share. These are called French breakfast radishes. I used to have some really interesting recipes for radishes but I changed my PC and someone misplaced the files...Did I not transfer them to my iBook? Grrrr. So, if anyone reading this has some recipes for using radishes, please let me know. In the meantime, I'm going to hunt through my books and the internet. By the way, radish greens are yummy.

In Memory of J.W. Phillips

Random art...another one

I'd been down at the university and was walking home on Floyd avenue when I spotted this. It was near the corner of Floyd and Shields. I think it's the nicest one I've seen, so far. Who is making these? Is it one person? I will do the map, Mica. I promise.