this is a hard post to write

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “this is a hard post to write” above

my last post was on tuesday, 3-21-23— i thought it was such a cool date because i love palindromes and i thought this one was extra cool because it was a countdown and a get set! all rolled together

we had a terrible storm here that day

i got an alert for dangerous wind and then richard, a fellow artist here in building 3, told me he had brought my sign in from the street— it had blown over, the arrow was broken off and it was all battered :(

but that wasn’t even close to the worst that happened that day

the storm was all cleared up on wednesday and i headed over to the schwan lake open space for my afternoon walk with finny

I was walking one of the side trails through the far meadow, admiring the sun through the new spring leaves on the oak trees, but something wasn’t looking right

because something wasn’t right— something was irretrievably not right

the matriarch had fallen— this gorgeous, gorgeous huge tree with so much presence and grace had split in two

it was like a body blow— i couldn’t really wrap my head around it— but i think of course her life would change direction so momentously on such a unique date— the first day of one of the hundreds of springs she has witnessed and gifted with her bounty of greenery, growth and generosity

in the first days after it happened there were good numbers of folks around her whenever i was there

i brought two of my tree clooties and draped one on each side of her recumbent form

there are less crowds now— people are moving on into acceptance

and she is moving on into this new phase with no less calm dignity than she stood with for all the uncounted days she has lived— she is so much more accessible now— the dogs and kids can run right up onto her— you can really get close to her branches to wrap your arms around her and hug her— you can whisper into her canopy where before only the birds and squirrels could— you can learn something about “leaning in”, as they say, to the hard things

i am offering a tree mother workshop at the end of this month to make tree clooties and we will visit her on our lunch break— check it out on my events page

the only thing for certain in life is change— this change was a rough event for me at first— but i’m trying to be like her and figure out how to “lean in” to my next things— which in the most general sense is more change— but more specifically i feel like we have a lot more in common now!— we have both been torn asunder from the way we used to live and are in process of learning how to live differently with our new normal

one side of her will surely keep growing with roots still firmly in the ground— the other side maybe not, just like me— but we can’t keep carrying everything all our days— part of life is learning how to let go of what you lose so you can keep moving forward

her sister tree nearby lost a huge limb three years ago— she is still standing, growing and there to support her sibling— she can say to her, “i know it hurts at first but you will heal as best you can— we are still here together to live another spring!— so let’s enjoy the sun while it shines, the stars as they sparkle and the laughter of children and the joy of the dogs— it is still a beautiful world and we are still a part of it!”

3-22-23— another palindrome :) 4pm

one of the tree clooties i offered to her— someone “borrowed” this one— i still hope it will be returned to her and all of us who love her

it’s world puppetry day!!

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “it’s world puppetry day!!” above

of course i have to post about this!

the first official world puppetry day was 3-21-2003— the idea came from UNIMA— union internationale de la marionette at their june 2002 meeting in atlanta

from marionettes to sock puppets, life is so much better with puppets!

so put on a puppet show for someone you love :)

or come see a puppet show here at tiny house theater!— i’d love to see you at my next performance

hi from wee willie and tiny house theater to you on world puppetry day!

national quilting day

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “national quilting day” above

quilts are a long time love of mine— i know my paternal great grandmother was a quilter

early on i discovered the spare beauty of amish quilts

i first tried my hand at making a quilt in college but it didn’t turn out so well— i appliqued butterflies by machine onto squares of muslin with a blue floral border but it was really difficult to quilt the horrible polyester batting that was available back then and i became very half hearted about finishing it

my next project in my 20’s was a small, elaborate decorative wall quilt from a pattern but in the end i felt it was too fussy, with so many small shapes to cut out and lots of painstaking hand quilting

i didn’t attempt another quilt project until my daughter was 4 years old and she wanted to make a quilt to give her best friend for christmas

i pulled out all my fabric scraps and she chose some— i cut 6 inch squares and we arranged them in 6 rows of 5— i stitched them together then went to the fabric store for a border, binding and backing that would harmonize with the look of the squares— and it was a big hit!

i then made one for my daughter, and for a storyteller friend— i eventually started a cottage business i called color quilts and made and sold these through family, friends and the occasional craft fair

i then started making bigger quilts with the around the world pattern that were about the essential nature of a person, place, season or other theme— i called these spirit quilts

now i’m part of the local pvqa all stars quilting group, making quilts for kids in foster care or shelters

my next quilting endeavor is a red, white and blue “quilts of valor” for one of our men and women serving or veterans in our military

so just taking a moment on national quilting day to appreciate quilts, quilting and my love of both!

using the simple formula from the quilts i made with color quilts for this all stars project

the dragon cave

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “the dragon cave” above

story ideas come from lots of places

at our adult puppetry troupe meeting on sunday, lynette brought out a fantastic collection of fabrics

some of them are like liquid jewels— blue sapphire, pink sapphire, aquamarine, gold

some were actually jeweled— gorgeous bedazzled indian silks in shades of emerald, garnet and midnight

i just got so excited thinking that these would make such a magical representation of a dragon’s treasure cave

my imagination really got going with a story about the craving for aquisition, how that can trap your soul and the remedy for that

it will be another story in my collection of “wisdom tales” along with “the woman who loved birds”

i can’t wait to create the dragon!!

coming to tiny house theater later this year!!

all that glitters…

the dusky footed woodrat

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “the dusky footed woodrat” above

i am not sure when i first learned about the dusky footed woodrat— it could have been when i was a volunteer ranger out at henry coe state park in the early ’90’s— they had a fantastic and very comprehensive training program for the volunteers

i do remember actually seeing a woodrat scurry into her house at rancho san antonio back when i was hiking there very regularly when my kids were at the waldorf school of the peninsula— that is sort of rare because they are nocturnal

they have the most amazing dwellings and i love looking for them on my hikes— once you spot one there is almost always at least one more near by

awhile ago i thought about writing a story series about woodrats called “tanglewood tales”

when she was in the early grades, my daughter really loved a story series about mice called “brambly hedge” by jill barklem and i love those stories too!— they have a very english country vibe and i think it would be fun to have a similar kind of imaginary world for woodrats with a california vibe

so now i am starting to research woodrats and starting to write these stories!— i am calling the first one “adventures in twig town” since many woodrats build their homes with huge collections of twigs

another long held dream i am starting to turn into a real thing— a book!

this woodrat home in schwan lake open space is 3-4 feet high

adult puppetry troupe

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “adult puppetry troupe” above

having a group for other adults to join me in creating magic with puppetry and storytelling has been something i’ve dreamed of ever since i started tiny house theater back in 2017

and now it is finally happening!

with my new bigger space i’m going to work with a small group to create a solstice “story forest walk”

if you are in the santa cruz area and want to join us there is plenty of space for more chairs around our table

in regular meetings each participant will create a solstice themed vignette with a song or verse, background scene, puppet characters, silks, and whatever props and add ins are right to create the special beauty of your individual idea

our next meeting is sunday, may 12— you can find the event on my events page

Questions?— contact me with my contact form or call me! 831-535-8838

join us!

there is coffee and tea through the french doors…

i found her!

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “i found her!” above

the you tuber i listened to about change and possibilities i mentioned in my last post— her name is connie reit and her main focus is on minimalism and mindfulness :)

outgrowing my old self

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “outgrowing my old self” above

when i was in the planning stages of my vardo and i was talking out vardo lifestyle choices with wes and savana of tiny watts solar, one thing i was really worried about was my blow dryer

i really thought i had to have it!— but of course, an appliance like that is a real energy pig

back then, wes and savana were talking to me about things to consider that were just so hypothetical to me while i was still living in a “sticks and bricks,” as they say

i have lived through my second winter in my vardo now— granted it’s a santa cruz winter, but hey, it is still a real winter in terms of solar because the sun is so low in the sky, and there are lots of cloudy days

i have my awesome van life tech hydronic heating system that keeps me soooo cozy on cold nights, so i am not relying on my solar for heating my interior space or my water

i am super tuned in now to how much charge i may or may not get on any given day, and about how to park to get max exposure— definitely north-south aligning!

my vardo uses approximately 1% of my battery charge per hour unless i am using my toaster oven— or a blow dryer!

i have switched to using a single burner butane stove in the winter to save battery charge, and will switch back to my electric cooktop in the next couple weeks when i will be able to rely on the sun to fully recharge

and i have actually never used my blow dryer since i moved into my vardo!— so i think i can free up the real estate it is taking up in my drawer— but it feels like a big move

i like to listen to random uplifting, “positive thinking” stuff on you tube— louise hay, abraham hicks and this woman who popped into my feed and had some really valuable insights who i haven’t been able to find again— or not yet as of writing this— i am sure she will turn up again sooner or later

i have a little piece i compiled with a bit of her stuff and some bits of louise hay that i have been reading every morning—

As long as i believe in possibilities and myself i can begin again

Sometimes life had a certain trajectory i had to adapt to

I outgrew my old self— but sometimes i’ve held too tightly to the person i used to be or the life i used to have

I believe in my own ability to change

I choose positive change toward happy, joyous and free— i choose positive change toward loving, supportive people, experiencing abundance, and manifesting my full presence, gifts and abilities— i choose receiving from spirit and accepting with my sacred self

I acknowledge negative thoughts and then go beyond them

I float in total support in the sea of life

the part about holding on too tightly to my old self resonates powerfully for me— and i think the blow dryer is really a symbol of how much i have let go of— it’s been almost 7 years since my daughter attacked me and the world as i had known it came to an anguishing and seemingly irrevocable alteration

The phase of my life when i was the absolute embodiment of the american dream with my corporate ladder climber husband, stock option home, 2.5 kids, a coffee maker, a minivan and my blonde, perfectly coifed, blow dried hair

it feels like living without a blow dryer is another life trajectory that i need to adapt to— but this time it’s initiated by me— out of belief in myself and courage and a desire to live a little bit more fully into the me that i am becoming

when i was searching around online for the mystery you tuber, a bunch of stuff about outgrowing friendships came up and how and when to end a friendship

so i guess i can say— blowdryer— it’s been real but i’m ready to move on ;)

i think i will still keep blowdryer in my studio for now— it may come in handy for a crafting project!

the great emptiness

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “the great emptiness” above

since i have been living in my vardo, when not on road trips i spend most of my nights locally, close to my puppet studio

on wednesday when i got back to my parking place at the end of the day an absolutely horrible thing had happened on a property nearby

trees that i have loved were gone

one whole row along the street, and 4 more farther back

i have so many images in my mind of these 4 trees— seeing the moon over them, seeing the crows flying home to them, seeing the fulness of their foliage and feeling happy they looked so healthy, hearing owls talking to each other and wondering if one of them was in one of those trees, seeing a hawk landing in the top of the tall redwood tree behind them, taking photos of the pink sunset clouds above them…

now where those trees lived there is just a great emptiness

where did the crows who lived in those beautiful trees go?— do they feel as sad as i do?

i haven’t been able to sleep well the last two nights— where their quiet presence should be there is just an awful silence

all i keep thinking is why? why? why?

i wrote this little poem back in 1997, when i saw another beautiful tree culled—

i passed by

and there was an awful wound in the sky

where there used to be a tree

oh great being, green and tall,

giving shade to all

you had no voice except the wind

who spoke for you in gentle whispers

and unrequited roars

now the squirrels are crying

and the birds are flying with heavy hearts

they have lost a friend

please whenever you can, save a tree

oh how i will miss you dear trees!

wet felted eggs

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “wet felted eggs” above

on sunday morning i hosted a class at my studio to wet felt eggs

every time i work with wool, i am amazed all over again at how versatile, forgiving and gorgeous this fiber truly is

this is a relatively simple activity that gives such diverse results— everyone has a unique style that emerges as they work with the wool

kids from 4 to 94 can do this!

i know anyone can see how to do this online, but doing things together in an in-person class is a completely different experience— coming together with people you may not know, creating something beautiful, and admiring one another’s results

when you go home, you take more than just your egg— shared experiences create community

learning or experiencing something new with others gives us something in common— and gives us the chance to give and receive encouragement and direction— to share who we are and what others may know without a screen in between

that is why i focus on providing experiences, not things, for folks to spend their life energy on

i believe experiences enrich us much more than buying things— being with other people matters

just sayin’

the beauty of these eggs doesn’t need commentary!!

i got some stacking stools!

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “i got some stacking stools!” above

i have wanted some of these for awhile

i’m figuring out the seating options in my expanded studio set up— i got some cute little benches and i had robert cut the legs down so they are just the right height for kids

i also have half a dozen regular size dining chairs in mixed styles, plus a beautiful old rocking chair

i needed some more seating for adults/bigger kids that could go behind the low benches but in front of the chairs— but somehow i had kind of forgotten about my stacking stool fixation

but then suddenly i remembered last week after my first friday show— so i ordered them!

now i’m going to make some spotted felt toppers so they look like mushrooms!

i think shades of red, orange and brown for the mushroom toppers

costanoa

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “costanoa” above

i made reservations to camp at costanoa for the new years weekend, from new years eve night through january 2— finny gets super freaked out and anxious about all the things folks are blowing up to “celebrate” on new years eve

it tuned out new years eve was the beginning of the terrible storms that came through california in january— it was a bit dicey driving up, but i really enjoyed my stay— new years day was gorgeous and sunny and we went on 2 really nice hikes— the following day was raining again so i stayed in and made split pea soup, read, worked on a felting project and watched top gun maverick again!

costanoa is about 30 minutes north of santa cruz, just past ano nuevo state park, where the elephant seals hang out in the winter

costanoa has cabins and a lodge as well as camping— there is a small general store on the property as well as two places to eat— there are hiking trails and you can schedule a massage— in the summer you can rent horses— they have a playground for kids and bikes for borrowing— it’s right across the 1 from the ocean so it has amazing views

i just love it up there!— i went back this past weekend and was shocked to see the change in the beach across from the campground, which has turned into a 10 ft cliff!— it was raining again but just like last time the next day was clear and sunny

i’m thinking of going back again in march!

we got caught in a sudden downpour but the reward was this gorgeous rainbow

diving in

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “diving in” above

once i was back in santa cruz last august i jumped into re-opening tiny house theater

i got my slab wood delivery for the first phase of my “story forest” i’m creating in my studio, and robert installed them so beautifully!

i figured out all the content for my fall/winter events, wrote the text, took all the photos and got them up on my website and other event forums— squarespace, my website platform, has a new (since i was last updating in 2020) feature for listing and booking events that makes the process pretty easy for website users

it is a bit limiting with character restrictions for event descriptions and i can no longer change the listing from “session” to “event” which is annoying, but overall it is a good feature

i got bookings for birthday parties, holiday events and a family picnic at the Live Oak Green Grange!

i created a “sacred days of winter” personal insight series using guided meditation, journaling and collage to discover our inner wisdom

feels so good to finally be back sharing all the things i love!

made this adorable unicorn for a unicorn themed birthday puppet show

fun with frogs

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “fun with frogs” above

this was the theme of our first session of puppet time for tots story circle

a limited number of these darling story sets will be available on the shop page of my website next week

this is the perfect set to gift for a birthday or put in a spring basket— it even comes with a little handmade booklet of the stories and rhymes from the story circle

ribbity ribbity ree!

santa cruz at last

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “santa cruz at last” above

when i left the rest stop outside red bluff i had it in my mind i was going to overnight in winters

i stopped in winters on one of my other road trips and thought it was a really cool town

we arrived there early afternoon and took a walk around blue oak park— i munched on some almonds and a sliced apple— finny took a good long roll in the cool grass

then i just suddenly didn’t feel like figuring out someplace to stay— there are no harvest hosts, hipcamps or boondockers welcome sites near there and i didn’t want to go to a regular campground

i decided to do another long haul and get back to santa cruz— i arrived pretty late and to my dismay a car was blocking the entrance to my home parking area— so i ended up having to find another place to park— but luckily i was in my home turf so that wasn’t super difficult!

it was a pretty warm day but we weren’t the only ones enjoying the park

i’m getting a sidewalk sign!

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “i’m getting a sidewalk sign!” above

last fall when i re-opened tiny house theater for classes and performances here at the 17th avenue artists studios, i got feedback from some attendees that i should have some sinage out on 17th avenue because i’m a little hard to find

so here is step one!— a sidewalk sign with my logo, contact info and a big orange arrow pointing the way that is visible from both sides

as always, it’s been slowly coming along with baby steps— ordering the logos, the sandwich board, the arrows, painting the sandwich board and the arrows, and finally putting it all together, which as usual involved some little unexpected twists— like worrying whether someone might try to mess with my signs and should i get tamperproof screws? bolts? both? should i get a lock???

yes to tamperproof screws, forget the rest and trust in the idea that my little sign is clearly not that important in the grand scheme of things

today i touched up the screws with paint and will put one more coat on tomorrow and it will be ready just in time to put on the street for puppet time for tots on wednesday!!

i have another sign waiting in the queue…

i finally have my cab to camper boot!

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “i finally have my cab to camper boot!” above

back in 2021 when i was working diligently to get my vardo move-in ready, one of my priorities was a cab to camper boot, along with steps at the “front” door— which is actually the back door— but anyway

both of these things turned out to be extremely challenging to find

since the configuration of my vardo is so unique, standard solutions often turn out to be unusable in my set up

i ordered several sets of stairs for example, only to figure out they just couldn’t be mounted on my rig in a workable way and having to return them

i finally settled on a bike platform rack that serves as my “storch”— step porch!— it’s one big step instead of several smaller ones, but it works for me

for my cab to camper access, there is a bigger distance to be covered than standard boots are made for because of the headache bar on the flat bed i have— a full 8 1/2 inches at the top and 6 1/2 at the bottom

the cab of the F550 is curved at the back, hence the wider opening at the top

after a lot of searching around i found this excellent you tube that addressed everything i was having trouble with— i ordered a big block of closed cell foam and it sat in my studio for at least a year and a half!— but now it’s finally in and a huge thank you to my ex for using his special fishing knife to help me carve it up!

what i learned was next time, when i need to replace the foam, i am not going to try and  use one big chunk of foam— that closed cell foam is incredibly dense, which gives it excellent insulative and water repelling properties, but it’s not that compressible

the dimensions i figured out with goleta foam were just too big— we ended up cutting the foam into four sections, (after laboriously angling the cab side of the foam and cutting out the center) and reducing it by a few inches on the top piece and an inch on the side pieces— the bottom piece worked as it was

one more thing crossed off my wish list!

i love that cute little foam fat roll on the left side ;)

heading home

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “heading home” above

as i was heading out of crater lake national park i stopped to have lunch at a roadside pull out

that is when i noticed the drivers side window in my sleeping loft was broken!

while driving around the lake, at one point i heard a strange sound but couldn’t identify what it was— now i knew it was the sound of the glass breaking

fortunately only the outer pane was broken so i taped over it to keep more glass from coming loose

at that point i decided i really didn’t feel like driving an hour and a half back to the campground only to have to repeat 2/3rds those same miles in the morning— i checked to see if my fave harvest host mt shasta brewery had any spots open that night but they were full— so i decided to just stay in a rest area somewhere along the way south— i was leaving crater lake about 3:30pm and figured i would drive for 3 or 4 hours

maps told me i could arrive in redding/willows in 3/4 hours, but i have learned to cut distances in half for the same amount of time, meaning i could reasonably expect to reach weed in about 3.5 hours— so we headed south!

i was amazed at how big and beautiful klamath lake is

and i was sad to see all the burned forests along the way

i was really tempted to stay at the grass lake rest stop on highway 97 it was so pretty, but i decided it was too remote— i’m always super aware of not leaving myself vulnerable by overnighting in a place where i could be isolated

i decided to make a push to get to the rest stop at shasta lake— i have so many good memories of houseboating there each year when my kids were growing and imagined it would be a really nice rest stop

wrong!— it was cramped and super full of super noisy trucks!— by this time it was 8pm and almost sunset

i try to never drive at night because in low light or darkness i could be unable to see road hazards but i kept going all the way to just north of red bluff and stayed in the rest stop there— it’s a nice, pretty big rest stop and spread out so there is plenty of space— and grassy walking paths, all lit up, so me and finny could stretch our legs after driving for so long

my room always has a view!— i just open the door

crater lake

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “crater lake” above

when i went to oregon in november of 2022 i had really been hoping to visit crater lake— i found out though that i was into the winter road conditions window which begins november 1

i spent a bit of time reading up on the rules for being on the mountain roads and discovered that my weight of vehicle would need to carry chains and i would need them for all 6 of my tires

i just wasn’t up for that, the idea that i would have to put on all those chains so i regretfully skipped crater lake— but didn’t fully understand the situation

because driving home after thanksgiving i realized that i could have gotten stuck at any time in the numerous passes i traveled returning home— i started to notice the frequent chain up pull outs and knew that i was really lucky it hadn’t snowed yet!

the same thing happened driving my vardo home from colorado in early january 2020— there were many places i could have gotten stuck but didn’t because there was no snow

very hot and very cold weather are issues for me when i go on road trips with my vardo— but i know that over time i will figure out how to deal with these situations so i can expand my travel opportunities

but in july last year heading south from redmond, it wasn’t too hot or too cold, and i was headed for crater lake!

i used the recreation.gov website to find a primitive campground relatively close by— i took crescent cut-off rd off highway 97 out of crescent, oregon and about 30 minutes later i was at crescent creek campground

it was a small campground right by the creek with no hook ups and no good hiking but just right for what i needed which was a place to sleep— and only $15

early the next morning me and finny headed for crater lake national park which was about an hour and a half drive from the campground— i was so excited to see the lake and it wasn’t a disappointment

it was so unbelieveably blue!— so rich and tranquil!— so awesome!— we drove all the way in to the crater lake lodge, stopping at numerous vista points to see the lake— i popped into the visitor center and the gift shop— but everything at that end was super duper crowded and congested— it just completely undermined the feeling of reverence and humility i had seeing this incredible manifestation of earth’s beauty

we turned around and started the drive back, enjoying some of the vista stops we hadn’t seen going in— at one i found a small trail that led up to an amazing vantage point where no one else was— me and finny just sat there for a good while listening to the wind and the birds and just soaking in the literal magnificence of this sacred place

a bit farther on we stopped and took an hour hike on a section of the pacific crest trail that passes through the national park

if i think about it, i can still feel the power of being in the presence of that place, that water, inside me

Klamath Indians called the lake Giiwas

redmond

to like this post or to leave a comment, click on the title “redmond” above

leaving government camp i was headed south to redmond to meet with wes watts of tiny watts solar

wes and his wife savana were so crucial to me having such a functional and luxurious living space!— early on in my build process i connected with them and they gave me really invaluable advice on my power systems and my set up

there were a few fix it things wes took care of and we also figured out how to get an air conditioner installed

i had realized in the last year and a half that not having air conditioning in my vardo was really going to limit the times and places i could plan summer travel— we decided on the cruise n comfort which gives good power and cooling and wes can install it in one of the flat bed bins and run the ducting up into my vardo from underneath

i visited bend one day while staying in redmond— i had never been to bend before and thought it was a really great city— i went to see top gun maverick in the afternoon and after the movie me and finny went for a walk along the deschutes river trail which was right next to the shopping center

it was a gorgeous afternoon and throngs of people and dogs were out enjoying the water with every imaginable type and size of flotation device— it was a spectacularly joyful scene

we stopped and got some sorbet, then headed back to our hipcamp just in time for the sunset

we saw stunning sunsets and moonrises from our hipcamp parking spot

finny approved of the marrionberry sorbet ;)