Knitting, Singing, the Universe and all....

Rainbow of woolen skeins and The Lantern Moon Umbrella of Socks: Sock Tree and Huge wool winder spinning overhead at the Market place. the Quilt of many sock yarn leftovers The VooDoo DoNuts were a hit!! Famous for innovative combinations, the orange one on the right was Jon's favorite: Mango Tango! a mango puree in the center, topped with marshmallow cream and dipped in Tang-drink powder. The center one with the cereal loop on top was an Apple Jack and the Pentagram decorated donut was just the token pagan-themed nut in the box. We Love the Purl District :-) somewhere in Portland's Pearl District! and here she is - My Pagan-Knitting Heroine: Barbara Walker!!!!! She deserves the star-spangled donut for having written 4 Knitting Treasuries and The Women's Book of Myths and Secrets . One of her best quotes was, "Just as the bird’s wing evolved to fly, the human hand evolved to manipulate. An idle hand is not a happy hand." the Wall-O-...

Stella's dancing fingers have been working on music for a new opera production which PREMIERES this weekend in Portland Oregon. (pssst, she's the tiny blonde concert mistress in the pit!) Here's a little bit about Stella: A student of Carol Sindell, Stella studies violin performance at Portland State University. She is a member of the PSU Symphony Orchestra as well as concertmaster of the New Music Ensemble at Portland State. As an advocate and fan of New Music, Stella is proud to be friends with some of Portland's most talented young composers (Reed Reimer and Ben Larson included), who give her lots of great opportunities to perform their work. Originally from Missoula, Montana, Stella lives in Portland with her partner Marcus. She loves to make art and surround herself with the lovely people she's lucky to call her friends and family. "Ah, music. A magic beyond all we do here at Hogwarts!"- Dumbledore ...

While in Portland last week, Louise, Stella, and I all went to the Korean Jade Sauna in Beaverton - a women's traditional cleansing experience. It is advertised as "no frills" and there is quite a bit of no-frilling about it (see picture - it's a re-cycled 70's rancher!). Still, an exhilarating and refreshing time was had by all three of us - and we agreed to do this as a "Spring Cleanse" every year! First you take a shower, then, still wet, go lie down in the Salt Room: The Salt Room is layered about 3-4 inches deep with Sea Salt and a cloth on top - pillows about the room are also filled with salt. And, it's warmed up to about 100 degrees. You lie down for about 45 minutes, and relax while the salt draws out your toxins. The bags at the top of the photo on the shelf are bags of mugwort - they are also strewn all about the spa - and make things nicely fragrant. Here's a bit of Wikipedia on the properties of MugWort! After the cherry trees bloom ...