And so it goes...

So the big adventure is over and I am home with a bad cold. It has taken me since Sunday night to really be here. I have been slow to unpack and tell my stories. I have let the experiences of Houston settle in and circle a bit before I have felt ready to hustle back into the here and now. Today I was home alone and, feeling a bit better, so I put things away and worked for awhile at moving more stuff to the studio. It was a beautiful day. I have had the feeling this fall has been better than average and a news story confirmed that the leaves are hanging on later and because of some magical formula of rain and sun and sugars in the leaves, they really are brighter and more varied than usual.

Late in the afternoon I ran out to do some errands and by the time I got home it was getting dark. We switched back to whatever not daylight savings time is and boy is it noticeable around 5 in the afternoon. The moon rising was incredible—very large and quite orange. The photo doesn't do it justice.

As I approached our house I could see that Ray was home because the greenhouse was glowing. I hadn't seen it lighted, at night, before. Kind of spooky and mysterious.

One of the things I had gone out to buy were some solar outdoor lights to light the path from the studio to the house.  I noticed yesterday how dark it was when I came in. I am in love with solar lights.

I put away the purchases I made in Houston today. I bought surprisingly little. It made no sense to buy anything that I had seen in local shops. I really liked some of the "gadgets" and bought myself a soapstone marker that makes a nice line on dark fabrics, a bit like chalk, but more stable and still you can easily remove it when you need to. I remember my Dad always had a soapstone in his pocket. I think he marked steel with it. I also bought a little disk that clips to your clothing with a cable that you can attach to a pair of small scissors. The cable reels into the disk like a tape measure. I am always losing my scissors down in the couch cushions. Maybe this will help. I also bought some gadgets as gifts for my STASH friends, so I won't show you those until I give them to them.

I bought a few pieces of fabric. I always like dots and swirls, especially if they are orange or red.

My favorite fabric purchases were from Marcia Derse. Her fabrics are so wonderful. She used to sell her original hand-dyed and painted fabrics, but now they are being reproduced and selling at a normal, commercial fabric price. What a find. I can't wait to use some of these.

They not only make me want to sew, they make me want to paint fabric. I have a couple of things on the horizon and the Twelve by Twelves are just about ready to announce our new round of challenges. I am inspired and ready to go.