California, Early Autumn

Here it is, fnished, and sent on its way, "California, Early Autumn", which turned out to be 44"high x 37"wide.

Giving Thanks

Altar making is one of my favorite spiritual pursuits, so I wanted to share this with you.
This is one that I made for the recent holiday of Mabon, or fall equinox.
The flowers are from my garden, the produce is from the farm we get our weekly basket. Giving thanks for the bounty of the harvest, what you've grown all summer and are taking in to the darker time of the year to sustain you, til the light returns once more.

And for Poetry Thursday, I'm sharing a favorite poem that suits this season, from the fabulous and treasured (by me!), poetry and prose collection "Sisters of the Earth".

Meadow Turf
by Janet Lewis

Goldenrod, strawberry leaf, small
bristling aster, all,
Loosestrife, knife-bladed grasses,
lacing their roots, lacing
The life of the meadow into a deep embrace
Far underground, and all their shoots,
wet at the base
With shining dew, dry-crested with sun,
Springing out of a mould years old;
Leaves, living and dead, whose stealing
Odors on the cold bright air shed healing---
Oh, heart, here is your healing, here among
The fragrant living and dead.

Porta-Potty Pride

I've always wanted a porta-potty in my front yard...The building continues!

Banned Books

Hey! Did you know it is Banned Books week?? Go to the ALA website and check it out. This is the 25th anniversary of this celebration.

Here is the information about the most challenged books of 2005 from the ALA.
"The following books were the most frequently challenged in 2005:
The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom received a total of 405 challenges last year.
A challenge is defined as a formal, written complaint, filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. According to Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain unreported.

The “10 Most Challenged Books of 2005” reflect a range of themes.
The books are:
“It's Perfectly Normal” for homosexuality, nudity, sex education, religious viewpoint, abortion and being unsuited to age group;
“Forever” by Judy Blume for sexual content and offensive language;
“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger for sexual content, offensive language and being unsuited to age group;
“The Chocolate War” by Robert Cormier for sexual content and offensive language;
“Whale Talk” by Chris Crutcher for racism and offensive language;
“Detour for Emmy” by Marilyn Reynolds for sexual content;
“What My Mother Doesn't Know” by Sonya Sones for sexual content and being unsuited to age group;
Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey for anti-family content, being unsuited to age group and violence;
“Crazy Lady!” by Jane Leslie Conly for offensive language; and
“It's So Amazing! A Book about Eggs, Sperm, Birth, Babies, and Families” by Robie H. Harris for sex education and sexual content.

Off the list this year, but on for several years past, are the Alice series of books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck and “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain."

I think I will go put in requests at my library for ALL of these banned books, they must be great if "they" don't want me to read them.... As soon as I finish 1984, which is usually on this list too.
Our high school library just had a fire (a malicious arson kinda fire), maybe I ought to donate all these to the library??? I hope that they put an Amazon wish list up so that people can help restock the library. Especially since Dear Son#1 is going to be a freshman there next year!!
My feeling is that libraries are precious and a foundation of our liberty.

Poetry Thursday, plus Hollyhocks

Look! Rust-free hollyhocks this year! Wow! How did that happen? Thanks to my Grandma Zaccone for the seeds years ago, the gift that keeps on giving.

And now on to Poetry Thursday which asks us to consider posting a poem in our authentic voice.
Here's mine:

True Voice
by Julie Zaccone Stiller

I am more than one voice
From more than one experience

Playing fast & loose with what is "true"

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Well, so is truth

All is relative to everything else
says I with my own filters,
frame of reference,
and P.O.V.

When I say it is true
It is to me
But the final truth
is to remember yet again
that it ain't necessarily so for you

The real detail

Here is the detail, of Corpus #2.

Self Portrait Challenge

Self Portrait Challenge for the month is to show yourself with those who are meaningful in your life. So here I am with my two beautiful boys and Lady Liberty. I suppose eventually they will both be that much taller than me. So far, just #1 son is, by two inches! And the way he's been eating lately, #2 son is catching up quickly. I love to see how they grow.
(Please note that this picture is taken from below us, so that LL can fit in the pic, I'll admit that I have a double chin, but I'm not quite up to a triple chin, yet!)

Way More than you Ever Wanted to Know

1. FIRST NAME? Julie
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nope. I thought I was named after Julie Andrews for a long time, then I asked my Mom!
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? When I was watching the tv show Angel on DVD
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? No, I have trouble reading it!
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Olive Loaf, on white bread with mayo & mustard.
6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yes, I think I would. But I would wonder why I didn't call very often. heh.
7. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yes, several. And a blog too.
8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope.
9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Heck yes! Maybe it would fix my lower back problems??
10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I'm Cuckoooo for Cocoa Puffs
11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No, and then I ruin the heel cup when I put them back on. Whoops.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Physically, yes, though I've been much stronger back when I did weight lifting a lot. Mentally, yes definitely, although I do have my limits of course, at least I know that now!
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Berkeley Farms' Rocky Road, not the light version, the real deal please. And no syrup.
14. SHOE SIZE? 11 or 10.515 (I gained a shoe size with each kid, used to be size 9).
15. FAVORITE COLOR? Purple (NOT lavender)
16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My tendency to laziness and sloth.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? I miss my Grandmothers, one who is alive yet no longer there, and one who has passed on.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Of course! Tell me in comments if you answer on your blog, or??
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Brown tie-dyed shorts and blue garden MuckBoot sandals.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? An nice cold, crisp, green, organic pear from Camp Joy.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? the whine of my computer, my bird Merriweather singing to the birds outside, construction noises and Air America radio. Multi-tasking ears...
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Purple Mountains' Majesty, which was a color added in1993.
23. FAVORITE SMELLS? My garden and my husband. I used to say my kids, but they are now in smelly pre-teen-ville. Oy! Honestly, they smell good right after they've showered.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Lunaea
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their eyes.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Sure! I found it on Debra's blog.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Fresh lemonade.
28. FAVORITE SPORT? To play myself? Frisbee. To watch? Football. To listen to? Baseball.
29. EYE COLOR? moo cow brown
30. HAT SIZE? Large to x-large, big hair, big brain.
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Sometimes
32. FAVORITE FOOD? lasagna or chocolate
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? scary movies with happy endings
34. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? white with a Far Side cartoon
35. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter. I can't take the heat anymore.Fall is actually my favorite season.36. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses. Hugs hurt too much now. :(
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Dining out: Chocolate mousse At home: Chocolate Cake
38. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? The Wild Mother by Elizabeth Cunningham and Armed Madhouse by Greg Palast
39. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? It is a heat sensitive pad that changes colour.
40. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV? half each of Nip/Tuck and Law & Order Criminal Intent.
41. FAVORITE SOUNDS? my children laughing together, my cat purring next to me and my husband telling me he loves me.
42. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Definitely Beatles
43. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Mykonos, Greece
44. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Making something from nothing. Or if you've watched The Jerk lately, none of your beeswax!
45. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Mountain View, California
46. WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Debra Sp. (I know a lot of Debra's and more than one Debra S.!)
47. NEWEST THING YOU'VE TRIED? Making mix cd's.
Old New Question
48. ONE THING YOU'D CHANGE ABOUT YOURSELF?: I would be healthy.
My New Question:
49. WHO DID YOU LAST SEND A LETTER OR CARD TO?: Adrienne

A new Corpus

Here's the latest in my Corpus series. Corpus #2. 48"h x 27"w.
Made out of recycled cotton/lycra (salvaged from a clothing company), discharged and then sewn together as is.

Tell me what you think....

A Construction Picture!

A Construction Picture! Showing the broken PGE meter (oops) and two contractor ladders. Aren't they a nice color combo? This could be a good start to an abstract quilt....hmmmm.
We've got the roof off the garage so far, and some of the walls. Next up, stabilizing the walls to make them "shear walls" (earthquake proofing supposedly!), an inspection, then the floor joists go on.
The second story over the garage and connecting to the existing second story is going to be great. We'll have a new family room, two bedrooms instead of one for the boys, their existing bathroom and a new master bedroom/bath for us. We'll see how long it takes, we're supposed to be done by end of the year. But in the meantime, we have emptied the entire garage out onto the lawn, throwing away about half the contents of our stuff. I filled up our recycling bin with my college notebooks. Why in the world was I keeping those? And today we'll try to find someplace to take all the textbooks...

The part I'm dreading is packing up all the closets in the house, and my sewing room. Ack!!

Working, I'm Working

Sorry I've bee MIA! There are soooo many things going on around here. Construction on our remodel has begun, what a mess and a lot of work, even though I'm not doing the constructing. We got to empty out the majority of the garage to start with.

But I'm working, look! This is for a California Landscape show that I'll be in, with California Fiber Artists at one of our member's art B&B, the Greenvile Arms in New York. Not quite ready to quilt it, some decisions to be made on how to proceed.

This past weekend I took a class in Mayan Abdominal Massage in Santa Cruz. What a brain opener it was! I can't believe how much I didn't know about my own body and how it works. Now with all this knowledge, I think I can take better care of myself. I encourage anyone reading this to look into, buy the book, or take the class, learn about your innards people! Especially if you have any reproductive system problems, male or female.

Gotta go, the contractors are pulling up!

Here is a teasing detail for the piece I submitted to "doing small things". The title is Haven Home.

Blog Day

Thanks for the heads up Deb, I didn't know that today is BlogDay!

I'm supposed to tell you of new 5 Blogs that I'm reading (and tell those blog owners that I'm mentioning them).

1) Thelma Smith A fiber artist and independent curator of fiber shows (Like the recent: Changing the World One Thread at a Time.). She write about her art, art of people that she knows, and the experience of curating shows. Plus she is a totally unique and genuine person who knows what she knows and says what she says.

2) Living in Season - I know I've mentioned her before, but it definitely bears repeating. Waverly Fitzgerald, the force behind School of the Seasons is blogging day by day the flower that is represented in several different ancient or "old" calendars. She comes up with the best botanical illustrations (which I love to do, have taken class on how to) and the best resources about each one. Very interesting every day!

3) Girl Blog from Iraq - Bagdahd Burning - Interesting reading about Iraq from the inside perspective.

4) Furious Spinner - Writer Kim Antieau, I found her through my friend Joanna Powell Colbert. She has an amazing way with words, and has some great collected essays on her site. Plus her new book that is coming soon sounds really cool, it is called: "Church of the Old Mermaids"!

5) Gombe Chimpanzee Blog - The Jane Goodall Institute shows what they do everyday. It utilizes Google Earth. Also Jane Goodall and her organization Roots and Shoots is planning for Peace Day 9/30/06 with instructions on how to make Peace Dove Puppets.