Tucked In

As I was driving into the Maine Audubon to get bird seed...I was stopped in my tracks by this lollipop shaped tree. I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers! 

There was a light frost here in Portland while we were away...almost all of the tender plants were nipped. So I've spent some time over the past couple of days cutting things back and doing some other fall chores. 

 

I love everything about this time of year...the colors...the dying and cutting back...getting the plants tucked in for the winter season. 

I look forward to the nesting inside season....especially because that means more time for art!

Paul and I enjoy being out on the patio under out blankets for as long as we can. We love the way the late afternoon sun plays with the colors in the woods as it turns more and more yellow...on its way to brown. Pretty soon the woods will be all tucked in too! I love this time of year!

Makes Perfect Sense

As I settle back into my groove here at home...I thought I'd share a few more moments from our Nashville trip. 

I picked up this prickly Chestnut pod on one of our walks in Nashville....and it's a nice addition to my bowl of fall findings. 

Bill and Kaki love doing dishes by hand so use their dishwasher as a drying rack. It makes perfect sense keeping the drying dishes off the counter.

It made me smile one evening watching Kaki scrub potatoes in the sink....then putting them in the dishwasher to dry. It makes perfect sense!

A stunningly beautiful mosaic wall in the Nashville airport.

I made a couple montages for Alyson while I waited for our flight....just for fun. We still share photos every day. All the images were found at the Nashville airport while I was walking.

Home

No matter how wonderful a trip is...and this was a good one....there's no place home. And this is what home looked like this afternoon.

Speaking of home.....one afternoon while Paul, Bob and I were out and about we drove into our old neighborhood. Paul and I lived in the servants quarters of a large home in Belle Meade....a wealthy and somewhat ostentatious suburb of Nashville. We had no reference point for where this apartment was located until the day we arrived.

Mary and Martha...the two elderly sisters who lived in the home were progressive and down to earth women committed to renting their small apartment to divinity students. We paid $150 a month for a fully furnished apartment accessed by the small spiral staircase off the kitchen. 

I still remember driving up this driveway seeing for the first time where we would call home for the next six years. Paul and I were in our little Dodge Colt...and my mom and brother were behind us in the farm pick-up truck with all our belongings strapped in. Home is where the heart is....and for a little while this stately Bell Meade house was our home.

Southern Festival of Books

What a treat to have had this time with these four friends....and spouses. The eight of us gathered this morning for a traditional family style southern breakfast at Monell's...just a few blocks from Bill and Kaki's condo. Almost everything we've done has been within walking distance....one of the advantages of urban living.

Nancy, Bob, MaryAnn, Paul, Bill, Kaki, Bill and Vicki

Today was the Southern Festival of Books where Paul and Bill participated in a panel discussion about their book, The Wilderness of Friendship, along with Jordon Ritter Conn and his book of a similar theme called American Men. It was a picture perfect day in Nashville!

Book Signing

There was a picturesque view of downtown and the capital building sitting high on the hill in the park where the festival was located. Tennessee has a challenging and oppressive political climate...and Bill and Kaki are dedicated to almost daily social justice work of holding elected officials and ICE accountable. They are also fabulous hosts....we head back to Maine tomorrow.

Werthan Bag Factory

Our dear friends and hosts Bill and Kaki live in a fabulous three level industrial loft condo in downtown Nashville.....the three windows at the back overlook the city skyline. Their building is part of a huge complex of buildings that was once the historic Werthan Bag Factory. 

The factory started as a rag and repurposing used burlap business and evolved into printing bags for flour....feed and other goods.

Bill and Kaki have an collection of actual printing plates that were used for printing bags....and I was tasked with helping them figure out where and how to hang them. 

Paul and I had a couple hours in the condo on our own this morning so I came up with a tentative plan using paper templates and puzzling them up the stairs. Paul was happy on the couch reading his book giving me tips as I needed them. We all have our gifts.

After a few hours out and about...we got to work.

We moved the dining room table closer to the window creating an opportunity for a music listening area near Bill's expansive record collection. 

After a bit of tweaking...we are all pretty pleased with the result....loving the way the frames compliment the wooden beams in this historic Werthan Bag Factory loft.

What a Day!

What a full and fabulous day we had today!

Four friends back together at Vanderbilt Divinity School where it all started.

The Nashville city lights from Bill and Kaki's condo.

All Is Well

While Paul and I were waiting at the Portland airport Paul noticed some friendly faces on the ticket counter at our gate....and we knew all would be well.

We are settled into our very fun and funky loft condo in downtown Nashville and the sun is rising over the city. 

All is well. So much joy to come. 

Nashville.....

....here we come! 

After a wonderful whirlwind visit with our dear friends....Paul and I quickly switched gears and are heading to Nashville this afternoon.  There are a couple of book promotion events over the next few days and it will be good to gather with the guys and their wives. I will try and post a joy nugget every day but my timing may be off....being fully present is my main goal.

George was the best man in our wedding....and he and his wife Celeste (on the right) were two of our recent guests along with Greg, Hedy, and Rick. We had a wonderful time together!

I smiled at this one...because even back in 1981 George had a camera in his hands.

George is a birder and I enjoyed watching him photograph the birds in my yard...and pretty much everywhere we went. I'm hoping to share some of his photos at some point. 

This is one of my favorite photos he's ever taken from a trip to the Mediterranean. 

See you soon from Nashville!

All Good

There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good. Brian Andreas

We had five friends from college in town for a couple days...a few of them we've not seen for 40+ years. The seven of us did some touring around Portland today....but mostly we spent time around the table loving each other.....sharing stories and laughter and eating good food. It was all good.

Noticers

I'm always tickled to get photos from friends who are noticers. Patty noticed the fabulous dragon fruit in the grocery store...and the stunningly tall palm trees in Marina Del Ray while she's visiting family in Southern California. Lilly noticed the raindrops clinging to some branches and the lettuce-like lichen on a tree in Alaska. 

We all can be noticers....and noticing might be the most underrated form of creativity.

The opening line caught my attention in a post that floated across my Instagram feed a few weeks ago. I'm so glad I linked into it....it's so true! It's from @lovepipsticks and can be found here.

I have a theory about creative people. We're basically professional noticers. And I think noticing might be the most underrated form of creativity. 

We photograph the menu because it looks perfect next to the cover of the book we're reading. We keep the rice paper wrapper because it feels fragile. We appreciate the way the supermarket bundles their cardboard with such precision. we save red string because it feels classic. Creativity isn't always about making something new. sometimes it's just letting yourself notice, keep, and put things together. 

What's something ordinary that youn've noticed and been drawn to lately?

The Right Time

Subtitle: Sentimental Journey

The Winged Map of the World is done....and is most certainly in my top 10 favorite puzzles! I wish you could see it in person....the colors are a bit muted....but oh such a beautiful butterfly effect!

I start feeling a little sentimental this time of year....so bear with me as I reminisce the pieces and parts of a sentimental journey.

Almost exactly two years ago....Margie (my mother-in-law) put together this beautiful puzzle. It was a challenge....but she stuck with it....and it was the last puzzle she would ever do.  

Just few days later she had a fall and broke her hip. 

And just three weeks after that she passed away. It was all such a whirlwind of emotions and events....and it's all still pretty raw. Especially this time of year.

A week or so after Margie died I started this very puzzle. It was the right puzzle at the right time. I had a few issues along the way including dumping all the pieces...but just like Margie...I stuck with it. But in the end I was missing a piece and I was faced with the dilemma of whether to gift it knowing there was a missing piece. I loved all the responses I got in this post: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2024/11/would-you.html

A month later....the piece turned up in the most unusual place...and it's one of my favorite parts of the story. Spoiler in case you don't link to the post...I found the piece in one of Margie's shoes.  https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/2024/12/a-good-laugh.html

I gifted the puzzle to my friend Becky with the newly found piece in the box. She had met Margie....and I knew she would appreciate the story.....and I always gift her a puzzle for the winter.

Low and behold several months later.....I was gifted the VERY same puzzle from Brenda...a mutual friend of both Becky's and mine. I was so appreciative...but I tucked it away knowing that I needed time and space before I tackled it again. 

For the second time...it's the right puzzle at the right time. Maybe on some level Brenda knew that I would want to do it again...and I'm grateful. I've already started sorting the pieces into my album boxes...but I won't actually start putting it together for another week. Paul and I have company coming tomorrow evening through Wednesday...then we leave on Thursday for a little trip. 

The time and space away will be good during this particular timeframe...and it will absolutely be the right time to start assembling this colorful puzzle when I get back. And I'll be thinking of Margie and our sentimental journey with her here in Maine the whole time I'm working on it! 

Too Easy?

Yes....but sometimes easy is a good thing. 

I love the tall grass around my condo in the fall when they bloom and turn golden yellow! 

I have them in several places!

I put together a little bundle of torn paper flower materials for Lily in Alaska. She's going to host a project with her art group...or maybe her quilting group....and wondered if I would help. Of course I would.

I assembled colorful papers...including greens for leaves and stems. Then I found a package of grassy napkins in my stash and thought they would make simple backgrounds....and they worked like a dream. Almost too easy.....but sometimes....simple and easy can be a good thing. 

After separating the ply....they became quite translucent when glued on with medium and I love how the words from this recycled greeting card comes right through. I do wish I could have added a more prominent stem for the flower. 

I included plenty of greens for making stems and leaves the old fashioned way...but also included a couple napkins for my easy shortcut. 

The bundle has almost all the makings for torn paper flowers....along with several inspiration tags. It's all now in the hands of the post office as it make its way from the coast of Maine....to the coast of Alaska. 

More grass in the front yard....simple and easy fall decoration!