I had a website in 1996 or 1997, years before most people knew about the Internet. I was teaching how to build websites and had a consulting job building one. My site had some personal and family things on it, similar to many at the time. This is the image I used on my homepage:

I thought of myself as the baglady on a bicycle. I used to love riding and did it until I moved to New Jersey. Coming from the flat land of Chicago I could not deal with the hilly terrain. Also, I developed a fear of falling. I heard one too many horror stories about falling off a bicycle.

The baglady part came because I could actually envision myself becoming a bag lady. When I thought about getting a divorce and not knowing whether I would get any kind of decent job that baglady crept into my psyche.

Back in April I went to a potluck fundraiser for the Fiber Arts Guild of Pittsburgh. They had a silent auction and a Chinese auction for lots of interesting, donated stuff. I bought a lot of tickets and put them all in the bag for this gardening basket full of fabrics,
which I won. It was much more interesting than it looks here, because I had already pulled everything out and used some of the fabric before I decided to take the photograph. The fabrics inspired me and I have already made two bags:



I used to do a lot of sewing. Among the things I brought from Chicago eight years ago are many boxes for fabric pieces. I have been trying to get rid of them so I’ve been making bags. I have probably made two dozen bags already. I use them myself or I give them away. I didn’t need any more fabric, but it was fun to win something.

Last week a tree trimmer came and worked on all of the trees on the property. I think he butchered the tulip tree and I’m very unhappy about it. He removed two large branches near the house. They weren’t close enough to do any damage; they just had a few small dead branches. The tree looks bare now. They cleaned up most of what they removed, but one small branch and some flowers remained on the ground. The inside of the flowers look like this:

then I have a bridge to sell you. I just sent an email to a friend and noticed this bit of advertising above the inbox:

This is for Grace. You missed an interesting class today. As I walked into the facility, teacher called my name and put her hand on my shoulder–very friendly. I guess she was flattered that I finally came back. I was impressed that she knew my name. There were a lot of new people today. One woman walked in barefoot. Teacher told her she was very brave; who knew what was on the floor. As usual, a little hostility was evident. Barefoot left after about 10 minutes. We did not stop moving for the first 25 minutes of the class. Altogether she led us through every complex motion she has ever used. My brain was going nuts trying to keep up with right and left. She does seem to make things more difficult when there are new people. You are right about that. The class is more fun when you are there. Come back soon.