made of moss: one week.

lantern walk, laternelaufen, at teddy's school. one of the parent's is from germany and hosts this party at the school every year. 

 cash talks:

we put an offer on this dreamy former pot growing dilapidated farm house.

ty and i wanted it so hard. we were nervous. it's like taking the red pill and birthing yourself from the matrix of suburbia, into a simpler, earthier, less convenient existence. we even hesitated. i mean, the septic was busted but we were starry eyed.

someone's mommy and daddy showed up with an all cash offer. true story. we scramble to get the house on the market, write up a heart felt letter, and life is flipped around for a few days and then it stops. gah, it gets to me. i want to trust in the universe, and know that whatever will be will be, but sometimes it feels like money is the answer, and not the flow of your heart. but, she wasn't the one and i want to believe that. it'll be better somewhere else. reading this helps with getting through the crunch. we can trust. we can let go of what is not serving us, and sometimes i feel my disdain for suburbia is not serving me. it's where i'm at right now, i can let go... and the challenges have led me to cultivate more beauty than i ever could have imagined. we are cared for.

at least teddy is in a great (amazing) school, right on the county fair grounds.

and i feel confident that he is being nurtured and growing strong and happy. that's a load off of my paranoid in suburbia back.

 x-ray goggles of the roseville landscape:

like i've said, november suits her best.

lush. fertile. diverse. wild. 

 glimpse:
a visit with jessica.

she's a weaver, drawn to the loom by the essence of the craft. making things that are beautiful, useful. using her hands, and her time. not looking for convenience, but purity of purpose.

it was quickly clear to her that she would not be visiting west coast craft again. see her face? she called it "market research." here's a tiny vid of her and her massive loom. (video stolen from my aunt's fb page...did i mention jess is my cousin?)

she shared a space with pragmatic amber, who makes the sturdiest bags around. they attracted quite the hipster crowd. i still really want one, the rolltops are so dreamy. she makes them herself, by hand. they appear pricey, but mainly because everyone is so accustomed to prices brought to us by sweat shop exploitation. the cheap price of our target totes have many high costs carried elsewhere, (i know i'm preaching to the choir.) most people walked past jess's wares; they were not flashy enough to show off to friends, or to add to their lifestyle-ism accruement. or they would scoff at the price of her blankets. one blanket takes 20+ hours to make, so she pays herself very little. discussing "craft" with jessica was very educational for me. she's an ol' timey gal for sure, holding onto something that's almost extinct: making cloth. making the everyday things, reclaiming authenticity over a synthetic lifestyle. people wanted to fetish-ize her because she's seems quaint to the mainstream, it's dehumanizing. she sells enough to the right kind of buyer, the people who love the blankets, and who love what she does. but they weren't at the "craft" show. (not to say that there wasn't authentic craft at the show. all creation is beautiful and needful, i guess i'm drawn more to the skilled carved chair than the dangly earring, although i adore both.)

thinking about "everyday use" by alice walker. read it if you haven't. it's one of those short story lit classics.

the crowd was pretty hip in a BIG way, i could never ever ever top the outfits i saw. but there were a few herbal/forager/wild crafter pockets to be found. a lot of jess's friends i met are formerly from the east coast and their thoughtful criticism of west-coast life styleism was something to think about. i kept on asking questions, to really clarify the vaguely emerging concepts.. "live to work vs work to live" sort of thing.

slept on a futon in an oakland treehouse, hearing tales of her new farm life in a "holler" in NC.

food at guerrilla coffee in berkeley with h and j. i love the deeply intellectual exposure (i don't care how bumpkin that makes me sound,) my own being so far limited due to many variables. (young motherhood, limited formal education...etc.) jess arranged visits with her bay friends and i tagged along. h works at the sfmoma, and they both attended bennington together.

stinson beach, free boy.

missed my mary big time. but i know we'll have more big times ahead.

 and then it rained.

tyler, in his element: laying pavers in placerville.

bushel of buckeyes.

weber creek in the deluge, robed in november beauty.

 father in law's coat: stolen. (not really, i returned it.)

made of moss.

rocklin at sunset.

scouting out more valley oaks/acorns in rocklin.

10$ fire pit from a neighbor is not a bad buy. not a bad buy at all. bringing wildness to our backyard, embracing the embryonic dark.

just a photo from today, william, me, carl. two of my brothers.

my sunny spot in the morn. someone gave us that antique trunk as decor for our wedding party...i screwed some casters on the bottom to make it "furniture," possibly desecrating a valuable heirloom in the process. oh well, "everyday use," as they say. it's been sitting in the garage, which may explain the black widow that just scuttled across my couch. (!!! WAHWAHWAH!!!!<---me, crying piteously.)

parting shot: teddy READING green eggs and ham to ty tonight. it's very exciting news, people.

i'm content this november, learning a lot, and moving through tight spaces.
pondering climate.
planning all sorts of wild, local, and seasonal treats this week. i think people will tire of my acorn/persimmon/pumpkin creations. :)
sending love.

xoxo