Breaking the Silence

Thank you all for your kind and caring emails over the past couple of weeks.  I apologize for my silence, and I hope you will understand by the end of this post.

My Mom has recovered remarkably well, and we all celebrated her 93rd birthday on Tuesday, complete with a huge birthday cake, balloons, and flowers.  She feels very well, and is enjoying physical therapy twice a week with her favorite male therapist....she's always been a sucker for the men!  LOL

After she was settled back in her digs, C and I spent a few days with family and friends in the mountains of North Carolina, watching the migrating warblers and the wonderful spring wildflowers, like the Showy Orchis pictured below.  This flower is relatively uncommon in these parts, so I find it especially endearing, and with all of the rain that we have enjoyed over the past year, it seems more prolific than ever.

My week studying in San Antonio with Jane Dunnewold, was such an eye-opening experience.  Not only did I learn a ton about textiles, tools, and dyeing, but also a lot about myself and the crummy habits that I've fallen into over the past few years.  For one thing, I spend entirely too much time on the internet!  While I cherish the friendships I have formed with fellow bloggers and you who read my blog, I now realize that I am very easily swayed by the wonderful art works of others that I see and read about.  For instance, I can be deep into planning a piece and then when I read so-and-so's blog and see the lovely piece that he/she has created, I think to myself, "Well, I should try that", rather than sticking to my original plan.  So, for a while at least, I'm going to try not to read so many blogs simply in an attempt to truly find my own voice. Sometimes it's a lonely feeling, but I can already see that it is beginning to pay off!  Thank you for understanding me.........it's not that I don't care, really it's not.....and really I do care a lot about you!


I would like to share a poem from Mary Oliver's "Why I Wake Early" collection. As I read it this morning, it brought back wonderful memories of our time in the mountains last week.


"Trout Lilies


It happened I couldn't find in all my books
more than a picture and a few words concerning
the trout lily,


so I shut my eyes.
And let the darkness come in
and roll me back.
The old creek


began to sing in my ears
as it rolled along, like the hair of spring,
and the young girl I used to be
heard it also,


as she came swinging into the woods,
truant from everything as usual
except the clear globe of the day, and its 
beautiful details.


Then she stopped,
where the first trout lilies of the year
   had sprung from the ground
with their spotted bodies
and their six-antlered bright faces,
and their many red tongues.


If she spoke to them, I don't remember what she said,
and if they kindly answered, it's a gift that can't be broken
   by giving it away.
All I know is, there was a light that lingered, for hours,
under her eyelids - that made a difference
when she went back to a difficult house, at the end of the day."






As always, thanks for stopping by (not just today, but always).  If you are frustrated by my sporadic posting, you might try subscribing to my blog (on the right side of the page) and then you will be notified by email when I do post.  If you don't care to do so, I surely understand.

PEACE