a moving experience

our plucky heroine loves adventures, especially ones that involve train travel... in which a journey is undertaken to the Metaphorest and back again: an incomplete photo essay, because, well, most of the time last weekend I was either busy or sleeping

The train station in Portland has a wonderful red tile roof

turn around and see that the bus station has a very spiky roof

I have a ticket to ride, so I get to go through this doorway...

by the time the train arrived in Seattle it was full dark; there had been a minor delay in Olympia whilst the track through a tunnel was repaired, but not as long as first feared

waiting outside the station for my ride, this map makes many things clear

just past the map, there was a tall curved wall, all textured like redwood bark, but this is what was on the other side of that wall... wonder where the steps lead to?

the Metaphorest (the house where my friends lived for many years)

the old house had some very decorative rafter tails

and interesting woodwork at the peak of the roof...

Mostly I helped with kitcheny things, like washing dishes, and cooking, and boiling up dozens and dozens of hard-boiled eggs (finger food snack of protein)

There was time, and needful, to take small breaks and walk around outside... moving a household is rather like a long roadtrip without being in the car for days...

but all too soon it was time to head back to Portland, and the trip back during the middle of the day was very scenic, in parts, at least the parts I managed to stay awake for...

the train tracks travel alongside the water near Nisqually

and then, back to Portland and my everyday life once again...

thoughtful Thursday

...If I am my only mirror, then any flaws I see will be doubled; but mirrored by my beloved friends, that multiple and varied perspective gives a more true reflection, and that clarity can lead to potential clearer and kinder knowledge of myself...

...that was written whilst on the way home from Seattle on Monday. To be perceived clearly and deeply, to have our own inner truth be known by another(s), and to have that appreciated and loved, that is by far one of the most best things we can do for one another. Somehow, in the middle of the madhouse that moving a three story housefull of folks entails, all kinds of truthful moments managed to exist, the weekend being rather the equivalent of going on a really long road trip together. And happily, the result was that we all came a little closer together (unlike the road trip from Hell, which I went on back in the 90's; yes the Canadian Rockies are beautiful and no, I never want to see those folks again, but that is another story entirely), without having to be stuffed in an automobile. Sometimes, well actually always, you do get what you really ask for...* Various folks had words to tell me that were useful and thought provoking, and our plucky heroine is feeling well nourished indeed, in a way that has not happened for months, and will be mulling over those bits and pieces for a while to come, and looking forward to when life allows another visit north.

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don’t go back to sleep.
You must ask for what you really want.
Don’t go back to sleep.
People are going back and forth across the doorsill
where the two worlds touch.
The door is round and open.
Don’t go back to sleep.
  -  Rumi

*and sometimes, you get things that you didn't ask for, and sometimes that is a treat, and sometimes that is a horror, but like Cher said "In this life, you don't always get what you want, you get what you get..." To which our plucky heroine responds - and what you do with what you get says a lot about who you are....

stitchery progress report

While these are not the most elegant of photos, and will be replaced in the end with hopefully something more complimentary, they do show that there are another two t-shirts finished... What can a girl do when it is a cold February day? The Blue Max photo was taken very quickly before I too turned blue. The shirt will be good everyday clothing, which is what is needed most in my wardrobe.

The cave horse shirt has sleeves that really make me happy, for some reason that kind of triangle pattern always pleases my designer brain. I wore this shirt all day as a third layer over a longsleeve grey rayon t-shirt and an indigo corduroy pinafore; it makes the t-shirt look a little bunchy. Trust me, when worn as a single layer, it fits just fine.

If it is possible to continue with steady progress on both my own projects and on my work for others, then before too long it will be possible to retire the threadbare worn clothing in my closet for sturdy new garments that will be fun to wear for the next several years

highlighted clothing is completed, black denim pinafore is half done...

springtime 6PAC		2013 SWAP
	pinafore	black vertical pique
black denim	pinafore	black denim
	top	black reverse applique
	top	grey/black knit
black floral print	top	black floral print
apron	bridge/third layer	apron
	pinafore	brown twill
indigo denim	pinafore	indigo denim
	top	brown knit
indigo knit	top	indigo knit
brown/blue + Liberty	top	brown/blue + Liberty