Arthritis Walk

Saturday morning, I joined with my friend and his team of walkers for the Arthritis Walk. It was only 3 miles and it appeared to be a cool morning, which as things go here, got to be a hotter moister morning. But look at the lush view as we started our walk. Beautiful. See my feet, with striped socks and comfy shoes, ready to go? The quartet of women were getting their official photo taken. Lots of walkers brought their dogs, but we didn't. He'd want to smell every new smell and the walk would be three times as long for us. We walked from a medical park, under a roadway, and around the parking lot of a shopping center, which is set in a wooded area, with some slightly hilly places, adding interest to the walk. We didn't time ourselves but moved at a nice clip. It was a good walk.

Knit news

While I've taken my knitwear off of Fritzi, my Etsy shop, I'm still knitting. I got a wonderful organic wool (O-Wool.com) at The Yarn Lounge .
I made the jacket for Zelda, my Blythe doll, finger-less gloves for myself, and am now working on a scarf. I love the pale "sage" green color.
I worked at the farmers' market yesterday, selling lovely organic produce grown by our friends, the Collins, from their Victory Farms. We were so busy that I had no time to take pictures of the gorgeous produce. Someone said to me, "did you see the yarn for sale?" Oh dear, danger! I took a brief break and checked out the stand. Lovely hand spun, from the sheep on the Nordt Family Farm, which is in nearby Charles City. I was NOT going to buy any yarn, NOT, but I did. I got one hank of singly ply, merino. I'm not sure what I'll make with it, but it feels and looks so wonderful.

Last night, I finished a pair of finger-less gloves out of mercerized cotton, the color "viola." I love the way they feel. It's the first time I've used cotton to knit and want to do more of these.

I just love knitting. This summer, I'm determined to learn how to knit socks. That's the goal.

Earth Day

I love the image of earth from space. It's so beautiful and a reminder that we all live on this great blue marble in space. Notice that there are no lines separating countries or states. We're all in this together. I'm trying in my little way, in my little space, to help my home, the earth.

I've been encouraging people to use re-usable bags to tote their groceries and other purchases. I'm making my totes out of surplus fabric, either from a company that makes outdoor furniture, or people's upholstery or quilting projects. I'm making my collages using paper that comes my way via the mail, old maps, or however I find it.

We recycle as much as we can, cut off lights we're not using, use energy saving light bulbs as much as possible, drive less, walk more, I know it's just little bits and pieces of a bigger picture. I'm elated to see that there is more in the media about how we can all help, and in bits and pieces, maybe just maybe, I'm hoping, it'll make this marble in space last a bit longer.

Spring in Richmond

My dog and I enjoyed seeing all the flowers on our walk the other day. Huge purple irises planted by an apartment building, a single yellow tulip in my neighbors' yard, big pink blooms on the...oops, forgot the name of the flower, on the bush at the end of the alley, my deep fuschia azalea bush in the back yard, which I trimmed back a lot last fall and now has bigger blossoms, though I'm not sure I did the pruning correctly. It's raining really hard today, with thunder and lightening earlier, I think the blossoms will either be very bruised or even better looking next time I'm out on a walk.

The amazing SHELF: the last elflog update

Last night, about 10:30, Chuck and I took the dog for his walk. I didn't bring my camera or cell 'phone. We got to the corner and Chuck said, "look!" The shelf was gone. On the pole was another note on a large sheet of white paper in a plastic sleeve. Having no camera, I knew I'd have to come back early in the morning to get a photo. I hung my little offering on a nail, a small collage labeled Real Small Art.

Chuck looked around and saw the shelf down on the ground by the front yard of the house on the corner. Leaning against it was this note, which references the note I'd written on the previous notice when the shelf was first "taken" down the other day. I put the note in my pocket. Chuck leaned the shelf against the base of the pole. How interesting, eh? This morning, camera around my neck, my dog and I headed out on our walk. The shelf was still at the base of the pole, my Real Small Art collage was still hanging up, but the big white piece of paper was gone. I wish I'd taken it home last night so I could tell you exactly what it said, but here's the gist. The shelf had been appreciated, the writer thought that whoever took the shelf down was mean-spirited and should be ashamed of them self. I'd prepared a little piece to put on the pole, giving my blog address in case anyone wants to see the documentation of this shelf, which began 29 March 2007. I'll keep posting small notices on the shelf with this blog information for awhile. And I'll put little art pieces on the pole, as the inspiration comes. As for the shelf itself, I brought it home and put it on my garden fence. Wasn't this a good run for something so random? Over a year. And here's my thinking, maybe it wasn't an act of destruction, but rather, a small child trying to see what was on the shelf, accidentally pulled it down. I'd like to think that, so I will. Thanks to the anonymous shelf builder, thanks to the anonymous (and not so anonymous) shelf elves. I've really enjoyed documenting this wonderful, magical, neighborhood community art project.

Elflog update.

On the 7th of April, the shelf looked very sweet, with fresh flowers, some tiny art in a plastic bag, some lovely sentiments. During the week, it changed a bit. Saturday morning, I did a bit of rearranging of the couple items on it, some stones, a piece of small art, but didn't visit it again until last night on our evening walk. I was shocked to find this big note on the pole. What had happened!? All I could think of was that someone smashed the shelf down and someone else found it and put it back up. I took the photos with my cell phone, since I didn't have my camera with me. Today, I brought my camera on my walk and took the picture of the shelf and a side view, which shows that the shelf was, indeed, tampered with. The note was no longer on the pole. I discovered it, still in plastic, by the alley half way up the block and brought it home with me. I'll write a thank you note to the person who re-installed the shelf and leave it for them to find, hopefully. Whew!! But isn't if fabulous that someone says that the shelf meant a lot to a lot of neighbors? I love that. Truly wonderful.

The bench and pot garden

Chuck made the nicest arrangement of plants that he bought and I potted. (Except he did pot the calla lily) This makes the corner by my bench, which he gave me two years ago, look really special. The squirrels have pretty much left this corner alone. Well, they may have been responsible for two calla blooms being bent over, but maybe not. I love sitting out here and reading with my cup of coffee, or tea. It's so peaceful. If you want to see more of my bench, you can check my archive, May of 2006. Happy spring!