Tuesday, November 2, 2010 — A lovely diversion

Makiko Tada is here for the week to teach Kumihimo and there are twelve enthusiastic students following her every word, doing (or trying to do) all she asks and heartily enjoying the results of their efforts. It is a great group and it's fun for me to have them here at my studio. If you would like to see what they look like and later see what they are creating, just go to the Pacific Textile Arts website. I have posted a few beginning shots taken toward the end of the day yesterday. Today I'll try to get some close-ups and I'll print them in a larger format. We'll just say that today's pictures are a teaser. Do come back each day for more. I'll figure out the right way to do it by the end of the week surely. Website: pacifictextilearts.org

Yesterday I posted a picture of the courtyard that helped to calm us down at Sutter Medical Center. Today I'm showing you Larkin and Leah practicing their music. Music was such a comfort to all of us at that time. It was so good to see the pure pleasure of their smiles and laughter bursting out for a little while during those difficult days. The weather was surprisingly nice and never as warm as one would expect it would be in July/August in the Santa Rosa area. Skip has always been such a weather follower (charts and all) and it was nice to be able to return from the courtyard to tell him how pleasant it was outside.

Back to the here and now. Yesterday we had Chicken tortilla soup for lunch and today we're having carrot ginger soup. The carrots are roasting in the oven and I'm taking myself over to my marudai in the studio to do some work while they're cooking. Last night eight of us went to Viraporn's Thai Cafe for dinner and tonight we're returning to Tacaria Ricarda's. Her soft carne asada tacos with tomatia sauce are the best in the world! Well, that's the food report for today. I'm off to braid and listen to the music of all the tomas clicking around the room.