the work ahead

A novel, in the end, is a container, a shape which you are trying to pour your story into.

-Helen Dunmore

may day

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.

-Anais Nin

stillwater

***looking for Stillwater Writing Retreat? You can find complete information on the upper section of the page under its own tab***

"Just for fun, my family invented a religion like the Shakers we called Stillwater. I'm eldress, and we have a big celebration on Midsummer's Eve. It's really a state of mind. Stillwater connotes something very peaceful, you see, life without stress. Nowadays, people are so jeezled up. If they took some chamomile tea and spent more time rocking on the porch in the evening listening to the song of the hermit thrush, they might enjoy life more. Stillwater believers are very hedonistic. Life is to be enjoyed, not saddled with. Do you know that lovely quotation from Fra Giovanni? He was an old monk from away back who wrote to his patron, 'The gloom of the world is but a shadow; behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. Take joy.' That's the first commandment of the Stillwater religion. Joy is there for the taking." -Tasha Tudor, from The Private World of Tasha Tudor *** I discovered Tasha Tudor when we got the corgyn - she has written and illustrated several children's books featuring the corgi. As I looked for more of her wonderful books, I came across her cookbook, which I love, and the above book, which is a favorite, full of her ramblings and the most marvelous photos of Tasha in the Vermont cottage built by her son.

windows

I was going to post this photo, apropos of nothing, just because I liked it.



But then, moments later, I opened a book to this quote:

Ancient power spots, and sacred sites ... are gateways. The real openings lie in our own hearts, minds, and lives.

-Jo May, Fogou

It very much feels like the gate to the barn is the threshold to a different reality.

The window and the stall in the photo used to belong to Salina, who was a true guardian of the space. She kept an almost constant vigil to the driveway and the house. Awhile back it became Cody's stall, and he sometimes comes and looks over the fence into the back yard. This day, it was borrowed by Apache Moon who was awaiting a massage, and his attention to the house charmed me.

I wonder if they look at our windows and ponder what it is we do in here.

diorama

With family out of town, I've come down from the garret to do revisions in a new location. I looked up and over the laptop screen this morning to see this lovely sight.





Sun, light, shadow, and lace, illuminated.

Alchemy.