trekking with s en route to our neighborhood shop for some winter ale. I have to remind myself to pause and look up sometimes. I run in the snow with my big boots and s stays on the path with his little boots.

Snow is accumulating as I continue working while making some cocoa.

Daily aphorism:

"I would rather sit on a pumpkin and have it all to myself than to be crowded on a velvet cushion".

Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)

holding on

These photos above were taken just days ago, no more than weeks ago in England, so I am not too completely out of step. Though, this will sadly be my last autumn post of the year.

Those tate trees still have me charmed. This photo magnifies my memory of them. I admit my memory always serves me best when I close my eyes and imagine them, in the chill of London's winter, walking past them in a bit of a rush to the tate, with s, to meet with friends, the warm tea cupped in my hands at the cafe, the dimness of Rothko's red room, Cildo Meireles's many rooms and the many details within. Its all there when I close my eyes. Im glad I took the tate trees home with me though. I think they are worth staring at and admiring as well.

s and I had a very fun late night out with friends in Clerkenwell, London last saturday night, but we are so glad we peeled ourselves out of bed in time to head down to the Borough Market Sunday morning to enjoy the most delicious montgomery cheddar, leek and scallion toasty we have ever tasted. I think I can speak for s when I say we will both be having dreams about that toasty for some time to come. And who said there was anything wrong with indulging in mulled wine before breakfast? The Borough Market was a feast for all senses. I couldn't help but stop to taste the cheeses at every turn, attracting me with their pungent aromas and in fact finding them all with my nose. I would grab a few curds for s and me to try and force feed him cheese samples walking from one crowded corner to the next with my constant and only response from him being a huge grin. For a couple of vegetarians we were seriously tempted to dive into a sausage, they looked and smelled so good.

my feet in london

I have to take pictures of my feet wherever I go. Don't we all? Maybe I do it as a way of reminding myself to never forget where my feet have been, all the small details of steps taken or perhaps to remind myself to never forget how I have been grounded in each step. We are home. It was lovely cooking a vegetable pot pie together and toasting to the last weeks of this busy year in our home last night. S made us our version of mulled wine, warmed Glögg with his choice of red, not quite the mulled wine we tasted at the Borough Market last Sunday, but every bit as delicious in its own rite. S just put on a record and I am knitting gifts and going through photos from our trip. Having just returned it feels silly to already be on the hunt for ale chutney or even better a recipe for ale chutney so we can make ploughmans at home, clotted cream to spread on a warmed scone with black current preserves just like it was at the patisserie.. ornate wallpapers, dark woods, candle lit pubs, the liveliness of Farringdon, Clerkenwell pub fun, Lancaster's medieval charm and friendly faces; I miss England.. our England.

bits and bobs

Above are a few snaps of Lancaster, England. We are in Leeds at the moment. Just arrived in fact. We'll be away in England for a little while longer, about a few weeks. Cured meats are legal in England and really quite the prized possession. The Christmas market in Lancaster is small but lively and the town is so charming. Its a medieval town, with cobble stone streets and just so happens to be the home of the cutest stray kitten I have ever seen. She followed us back to our flat the other night, walking home from the bar. Just about melted my heart. I wish we could have kept her. My Earl Grey is calling me... that, and ploughmans sandwiches. so...so...delicious.

Finding the time

Sometimes its just really necessary to force oneself to make some time for knitting. I love how autumn does this to me every year. This season just isn't the same without a couple of good, even challenging knitting projects under the belt to pass the time and settle me into the season of layers and coziness.

my open studio show was this weekend. we had a really great time meeting and greeting lots of people and seeing familiar faces too. I am busy and have something fun in the works. Indian summer in chicago is delightful though most unexpected. I am anxious to settle into my studio with warm tea, smooth flowing pens and piles of inspiration while all wrapped up in scarves and warm sweaters. i can think of nothing better.

ode to autumn + sniffling

As an ode to autumn Ive posted pumpkins and corn stalks. Autumn is my favorite season. I am actually thrilled to bundle up with scarves and layers once again.

a very intriguing collaboration.

open studio

Above, is a window for you to peep into...taken in gradec, zagreb, croatia a few weeks ago, now... coupled with a photo I took of my favorite street in zagreb, frankopanska. I walked Frankopanska everyday from our flat to the town square and on to the market. Oh, that city...

I've been busy preparing for an open studio which will take place in my studio space next weekend, Saturday, October 11 from 4-10pm. New works will be on display so feel free to stop by to say hello!

I will leave you with this lovely video for now. (via this is a recording)

croatia

We are away on holiday/working abroad. See you back in the space in a few weeks!

A few notes: We attended an interesting lecture earlier that will stay with me. Work by Paul Clarke of uninvited guests focusing on the idea / act / decomcracy of archiving..

under construction

leeda

leeda berlin 2006 :: collection inspired by films from W. Wenders and berlin architecture. photographer M. Novotny, film director T. Lunak and graphic designer O. Benesova co-collaborators.

Looking out our back porch at a chicago sunset. I received the most perfect words to wake up to this morning in my inbox. I cannot wait to be on a beautiful, peaceful, quiet island. Now I am just waiting patiently for more perfect words, from s. its so quiet. the quiet always covers me like a heavy blanket the first few days. I received some wonderful gifts as of late and plan to put them to good use.

crossing my fingers

hoping this room is available for our stay in vis. its perfect.

holga love

thinking and rethinking what i use to capture moments while we are in transit and i cannot help but love how my holga makes each image look so alive. we are still in the mountains, resting, hiking, eating.. loving the company and the rest. These images were taken in london last summer.

on our hike

holga snaps of london last summer...

oh! and just in case you didn't see, my website went live!

comforts of home life

while enjoying the comforts of being home for a few days we are also in preparations for a trip. These last few weeks flew by awfully quickly.. and I know these next few days, even weeks will be filled with much to digest. Growth is all around us, in our hearts and minds and in our hands... All of this growth brings so much joy.

flew somewhere for a few days

With people I love, in familiar places. I was enamored by the sky on my way home.

this is me working in my studio and shopping for breakfast at alliance. Ended up with some fresh fruit, croissant and some tea. I did some running around out and about today. i had a really lovely and productive monday. i think mondays are becomming my 'get it done' days. well, except for the monday S and i were camping in wisconsin. that was the start of one of the most relaxing weeks ever. its nice to start off your week in the woods. we need to do that more often.

Yes. I think so.

Thats more like it. I love these summer colors.

remembering berlin..

bolsadeosos via eat your carrots

la push...

Rialto beach.... I cannot wait to see this place again.

wee ones...

And yes! we made the pesto. We did use mostly garlic scapes for the pesto, but threw in some lovely home grown basil from our window sill as well. We'll have to be sure to pick up a few big handfuls of them next weekend to experiment. If we get a thunderstorm soon (which we are really hoping for!) and it cools down a bit, I think I'll look into making a garlic scape soup.

little beauties

Our farmers market had these in abundance today. i think we will make green garlic pesto with them. They are so beautiful and so delicious.

morning still and calm

I love visiting our plants out on our porch in the morning; eating my breakfast out in the elements and sounds of the neighborhood. Here, our neighbor though briefly disrupted by the phone, is enjoying his scotch.

Cannot stop listening to this playlist today. Every song seems perfect and fitting my mood, as i sit here working at home. About to wrap up the day and head to my studio. Breezes coming through the windows are taking my breath away.

I found this little piece of writing that made me smile today. I wrote this while in college in a journal I kept at the time.

'i sat down
to my meal
of tofu vegetables and
couscous and tea...
sitting before me was my
cup of tea.
stirring in the honey
my mind wandered
and i immediately
had such a thirst for something..
something sweet.
i got up from the table
to search the refrigerator
and realized that we had
nothing but milk
and flat soda..
but I couldn't
have milk
cause Matte needs it
for his morning coffee
and besides
the milk would absorb
all of the spicyness
out of my meal...
still searching for something
to drink
I closed the refrigerator
and thought..
a cool glass of water
would be most refreshing
..water.
..a glass of water.
..my tea!
and sat down
where I sat before
and drank my tea.

nosh

coffee break; tea break.

growing green.

Our basil sill is back and growing inches every day it seems! Our dill is doing well too! We are growing tomatoes again this year as well (of course!), but no fruit has graced our garden just yet. I cannot wait to indulge in their sweetness for breakfast in the morning!

Did i express enough how much I love having my own studio?

Loving the new week and the wonderful warm weather. I feel like I am still catching up a bit from being away, but am looking forward to a busy week in my studio.

Happy summer solstice everyone.

Remembering Paris... above are a few snaps of our flat in Menilmontant.

We've been away for a few days! Catching up a bit today. Wisconsin is drenched and in some spots under water, but we found a wonderfully dry and extremely beautiful spot to spend some time. Will hopefully have some photos to post of the LumbART show that was this past weekend. The show was fun and chock full of fantastic art and music. A really beautiful space.