Lee Thomson

Dec 11
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

We have had two snow/freezing rain/ice storms this month, and another is bearing down on us even as I type. This is a picture from the first one, of part of a grape vine coated with ice on the driveway.

I love having weather, but only if I have a good safe, warm place to watch it from. Aerin and I were admiring the ice coated branches of the basket willow outside the kitchen window this morning, and she mentioned the soft quiet snow that piles up in tiny clouds and puffs on each branch of the trees in the windless storms. There are moments when I feel as though I am doing exactly the right thing with this child, if she both notices and appreciates something like that, and can describe it so beautifully.

Dec 10
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

This looks like the terrain today. Low light, coated with ice, gray skies. I think I failed to incorporate a non-gray color, but I’m not adding anything to this one. Unless you count the extra color in the sky. I am very pleased with it.

Aerin skated off to the school bus on a solid half inch of ice. I took Alice and the car pool through rain and slush. I couldn’t make it up the driveway for the barn, so I stomped up the hill and mucked out stalls. It was too icy to ride – outside the front and back doors were solid ice.

Alice wanted fudge, so we had to make it. It was awesome.

Dec 9
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

finished last night, overwhelmed by tiredness.

Dec 8
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

white velvet on stringy black/grey background stitched with red

Today was the last class for the Quilt Journaling class. I had a good time with the class. Part of what I liked best was seeing what different people were doing and being inspired by their work. That is the same thing I love about the internets and other people’s blogs.

I am working on getting some of these people signed on for some small ongoing group. I want regular meetings, critiques, brainstorming and laughing. I also want other people to play with. I like responding to challenges, part of why I signed on for SharonB’s Next Step Challenge for next year. We’ll see who I can rope into this. Online members would be welcome as well (jude? Anyone else? We’ll talk)

I have some journal pages to show, but they’ll have to wait.

Dec 7
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Friday’s card.

Nice lunch with my mum. She tipped over on my sidewalk and I haven’t heard yet if she broke her wrist. I hope not. I feel hideously guilty for breaking her – again – we have a bad track record for ankles.

solid hour and a half of laughing at the Capitol Steps, political commentary at every one’s expense. And there is such a lot to mock… My abs feel like I did sit-ups for half an hour. I laughed til I gasped.

Dec 6
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I was noticing how many different patterns came from cutting into a shape and flipping the cut shape out. Patchy white silk background, black wool square with elaborations.

Wicked was fun. I was admiring a Dale Chihuly chandelier and fell head first over a granite bollard, smacked my knuckles, dropped my purse, flew out of my shoes. It was pretty dramatic. I’m OK now, but still startled at the reaction I got from falling. I think I might need some martial arts training to help me fall better.

Al says he learned two fun things about Wicked. One is that the author (Gregory Maguire) named the protagonist Elphaba after LFB or L Frank Baum. The best one is that the first 7 notes of the song Unlimited are the same as Over the Rainbow. It is a musical joke from Stephen Schwartz, in honor of the Oz most of us grew up watching. Seven notes because eight notes is copyright infringement. The rhythm is different, but the notes are the same.

Dec 5
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

I was thinking of how branches seem to hover in front of deep woods, and trying to get at that feeling. The embroidery disappears into the grays, making me think I need to do something brighter for the tree or something quieter for the grays of the woods.

Went to the barn, but couldn’t get up the driveway, so I hiked in and cleaned stalls and emptied and refilled water buckets. She has electric water buckets. They have heaters in the base, and they keep the water from freezing. I am smitten with the theory and practice of electric water buckets; it is such an improvement over hammers to remove ice.

We are all headed to Alice’s Wicked tonight. She isn’t in it, we are just making up for missing it in NYC. She said Al and Aerin could come too. So they are. Aerin wants to actually see what is happening onstage, since for her Wicked we were in the back row of the topmost balcony. Al just remembers Pippin with pleasure and wants to see what Stephen Schwatrz has been up to lately.

Dec 4
Originally uploaded by Dancing Crow.

Yesterday’s, delayed on account of adverse weather conditions at sea.