Hope helps, and witnessing this electorial insanity in the time of a pandemic needs all the hope we can give it.

post #518 

                This week is pretty full, just thinking about Thanksgiving -- and about whether this year's is a one time only happening.  I can tell myself that I hope that's true because it is possible to imagine that a vaccine will provide some cover by a year from now. I also know that improved national leadership will make a huge difference.  January 20 can't come soon enough. 

            Hey, everyone, don't you think it's kind of hopeless to have so many people dying and so much golf being played and so much suffering by essential workers being unrecognized for the absolutely difficult work they are doing?  Admitting the problem and working together to solve it seems a lot more hopeful to me. 

 

            I've chosen just a few photos for today's post which speak to hope for me. I know there are more, but, as I said, it's a busy week. You all stay safe, and love your neighbor --- safely.  

 

 

the almost end, again, of the lavender blossoms, yesterday

a discovery of how a sycamore leaf could use an empty hook in my gallery area! for weeks!

three nearby friends --- two sisters and a cousin  ---- which is which --- all figuring out their lives

                  MaKayla is holding a quilt with a story.  A dear friend of mine, Gerda Wodlinger, whom I met during our two Coast Guard years in Kodiak, Alaska, had become a nurse as a teenager by escaping by train to work in England during World War II.  She was German and Jewish, and the only one in her family to survive.  Near the end of the war she went back to Germany to help with the resettlement.  She took with her this quilt where each block was knit by someone she had worked with while in London.  Gerda passed this quilt on to me, and I have now passed it on to MaKayla. It has always given me perspective about what hardship means and how important it is to hold on to hope. 

                The title of this photo --which I took in West Virginia from a moving train -- is SIDE-TRACKED.  It could also be called THE TRACK NOT TAKEN.  Somehow it speaks to me about always wondering about what the choices mean that we make in life.  Of course it could also mean that it's fun to look out the window on a train to see what you can see!

            Here's hoping  --  I'm saying it one last time -- we don't have to be subjected to this desperate and dangerous election behavior much longer. It makes everyone look very bad, especially the timid Republicans who can't speak up about who has fairly won this amazingly complicated but well executed election. Thanks for reading this blog, staying on track, Ann

rainbows, monarch follow-up, color and stories

post #213
        Two weeks ago, a lovely brief rainbow happened in our county.  I saw it by chance, from our house which is in a hollow (Appalachian speak for the space that's between two hills.)  I just had time to take a few quick snapshots.  Soon after that, I drove to the local fire department fish fry fundraising auction, and, again by chance, had a great conversation with Cynthia McAuley.  She grew up here but lives now with her family in Lexington.  She asked me if I had seen the rainbow!  It turns out she had taken a great photo of it on her cell phone.  So, here are two photos of the same rainbow (sort of) AND another guest artist on my blog!  Thank you, Cynthia, for coming over to talk with me and for being willing to share your amazing photo.  (Notice the double rainbow visible in Cynthia's image.)

from where I was

from where Cynthia was

       Speaking of color, while spending some time last week sitting out in the chill trying to sell my art wares, I met Rosemary Fannin.  She made this log cabin design quilt. We had tables near each other, and I really enjoyed getting to know her. I love the colors she uses.  She made the second quilt using a totally different color scheme.  I can't do what she does, but I sure can appreciate the hard work required. Persistence is a good trait for us artists to cultivate!

just a corner of another of her quilts

These colors are more the tool I need as a photographer. I love Sharpies.  I use them to sign books or write info on the back of photos I give to, say, someone who let me take his or her photo.  This photo was taken in the University of Kentucky Art Store, where I buy most of the paper I use for my photo note cards.  I couldn't resist making this photo.  All those Sharpies!  All that color!!

      

      Now to touch on last week's post about Monarch butterflies.  I had a lot of viewers!  Thank you all for sharing my enthusiasm.  I just heard that two young grandchildren I love, ages 5 and 3, were totally taken by the ten minute video where the Monarch caterpillar disappears into its own hanging green bag.  
     Also, I asked Rachel how she managed to get a sticker label onto the monarch's wing.  She sent me the instructions from MONARCHWATCH.org    I highly recommend this site for those interested in knowing more about these treasured creatures.  Here is a quote from the site that explains clearly about the monarch migration patterns: 

       In all the world, no butterflies migrate like the Monarchs of North America. They travel much farther than all other tropical butterflies, up to three thousand miles. They are the only butterflies to make such a long, two way migration every year. Amazingly, they fly in masses to the same winter roosts, often to the exact same trees. Their migration is more the type we expect from birds or whales. However, unlike birds and whales, individuals only make the round-trip once. It is their children's grandchildren that return south the following fall.
      
      I am spending this weekend working on my note cards (more on why next week), so I want to include one more photo.  It shows how I have temporarily taken over the kitchen counter as I inventory how many copies I have of some of the prints I use to assemble my cards.  I don't have time to make a totally professional shot, but at least this gives a flavor of some of my work. I have posted many of them on this blog over the past four years.
       I feel as if these images are my friends. They each have a story.  Actually, we all have stories and tell them in many ways, gifts we can give each other throughout our lives.

a special quilt

post #151
      I have a quilt that continues to amaze me no matter how many times I examine it.  There are so many ways to see how its pieces fit together and how each piece works within the whole.  The image above is the back of the quilt.
      The woman who made it did it with such care  -- so many corners to get perfectly aligned!  The quilt is meant to be a wall hanging, but sometimes I like to hang it in front of a window to experience still another fascinating dimension of it.
     When our 3 1/2 year old granddaughter spent a week with us last summer, she asked to have it on the bed with her.  This was after she had looked at it and looked at it, in all kinds of light.  At one point she told me that the quilt was "holding up the ball [in the middle.]"  Before her visit, I had thought she might find the combination of light and design engrossing, so of course I was delighted that indeed she did.

      The artist is Debbie Stephens, who lives in my county.  Many of her quilts tell a story or show a scene.  Of course her traditional Appalachian quilts are often identified by the featured shape of the squares.  Debbie has made many, many quilts, but I believe this is the only one that is purely geometric.  Thank you so much for your hard work, Debbie, and for your amazing eye.

    Here is my granddaughter in a rare bashful moment, with her bunny and her bear:

      Then here are some other photos of the quilt.  I don't feel I have managed to show the mystery of it very well, but it has been worth it to me to try.  

the front, resting on the bed

hanging in front of the window, but not well photographed... or at the least the light isn't what I would want

"the ball," in the center

the loop for the rod needed to hang the quilt

 If I ever get that elusive early dawn light shot, I will add it here.  Some day.  Thanks.