Rosie The Riveter Breath Mints and Barbara Kingsolver's New Book

Yesterday, I took a very long drive (uh oh) with my 86 year old mother. I know it is very bad form to drive, so far, to buy silk. Yes, I could have ordered it from Asheville. My mom can hardly walk across a room, so for her to see Spring farm scenes with the blossoms on the trees and the green crops beginning to grow was especially meaningful.

The town of Floyd, Virginia, is in the highlands near the Blueridge Parkway. There is the place to buy fabric. Anything you can think of they have, especially if you are a fiber artist. Now, I can dye and marble or do Shibori with enough fabric to be free in what I choose to do with this silk.

I am working on a wool felted Samurai warrior. The head looks like the inside of a brain.  The title for this piece is,  "The Brains Behind It All. . . Karl Rove." This is a series of three warriors. Guess who the other two are? Anyway, I need the silk for part of this warrior. Kumihimo braiding is another element. More to follow on this subject.

In the town of Floyd is the most wonderful restaurant and natural food store. They promote slow food. I had the most beautiful salad, it was so gorgeous, I almost would not eat it. They served the salad on an oriental square handmade plate. Fresh baby spring greens, purple and green, and pale white, the bed that figs and rolled pieces of prosciutto lay along with various sprouts made the composition. The elements were placed almost like a grid with great care. The dressing was a creamy vinaigrette with Water Cress infused into this, which looked like bright green confetti. The flavors were snappy. The sweet of the fig and the salt of the prosciutto with the tartness of the vinaigrette were a wonderful combination. 

There is a nice little gallery which tables are placed in the midst of fine craft. What a great visual experience to bring home to ponder.

Downstairs is where you find the market. I love to shop here. Organic produce and many other items for sale always leaves my purse empty. I bought "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,  A Year of Food Life" by Barbara Kingsolver. And, a tiny tin of Rosie The Riveter mints that declare "YOU CAN DO IT." (These were for my mom) Just what we all need to hear, for what is coming, soon. I am not talking about Summer, either

This morning, the children in my class made trees out of paper saved from dish wrap and then we pasted yellow and white crepe paper blossoms onto the trees. The trees are twisted paper that is torn in two places on the top and bottom of two sheets held together. We pasted the trunk down onto cardboard to hold it erect. I made it a sculptural idea instead of drawing, this year. It was a lot of fun for them. Then, we brought all of their chairs to the front of the puppet theater and they took turns dramatizing made up stories. I talked about using junk to create something of beauty. If we start them thinking of our planet now, maybe they can  learn  to be caretakers of their place in the universe.