Impressions of an Island City
The porch at a bed and breakfast in Gainesville Florida. Summer in north Florida looks beautiful and feels prehistoric. Heat and giant bugs contrast with the dark shelter of live oaks dripping with Spanish moss the way that a cool glass of ice tea (no plastic, please) sets off the the heat of barbecue bought at a gas station lunch counter. … Read more
Larry, a White Crested Polish rooster, who may be smarter than he looks has landed on the side of love and luck in the conundrum I presented in the Nov. 16 blog post. (Scroll down blog to see it.) Larry lives with other chickens out in the Florida scrub at Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings' house in Cross Creek where he and his friends hang out and … Read more
Here's a look at the six months since my last post. My youngest son Kyle and long time fiance Kim were wed on March 11. Here's one of my favorite photos taken at the end of a perfect South Florida day. This is a great picture of my inner child. Sebastian, the son of a young friend, is the recipient of a number of letters from me over the … Read more
Larry has bad karma or good luck depending on whether you are a glass-half-full type of person. One black humid August night in Alachua County Florida when the mosquitoes blanketing the ground were almost as thick as the stars in the clear sky, something bit Larry under his right wing and on his right chicken hip. No feathers were disturbed … Read more
Sebastian is the 18 month old son of a friend of my oldest son. After seeing Sebastian for the first time, I realized that he was the embodiment of my own inner child: a tough little athlete, alpha in every respect. Yes, it's quite different my outer persona of an older librarian-ish woman who enjoys the quieter pleasures in life. I've taken to … Read more
All Those Who Wander are not Lost "All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost." J. R. R. Tolkien Tolkien, who wrote The Hobbit and its sequels, was a pioneer of high fantasy. That doesn't mean that his books, which … Read more
This is a letter to a young friend. The doll shot below is an approximation of his cuteness. Hi, Sebastian April 23, 2016 Mr. B. suggested I write you concerning my thoughts on Prince’s untimely demise. His … Read more
Jewelry has paved the road back to my own youth. Silver, turquoise and a western and Native American artistic sensibility inspired this wanna-be hippie back in the late '60s, and now that I'm older the look and feel of an American craft takes me back to an imaginary past that seems complicated only by youth. Handmade silver jewelry was … Read more
My blog=my alternate world, so here in Anneland we are wishing each other Happy Holidays all over the place. Because I know a bit about Florida history and I like to make jewelry, paper art, lawn ornaments, coloring books and anything else that crosses my mind, I chose a friend's house decorations as my virtual Christmas card. The small concrete … Read more
The earring and pendant were made out of BronzClay, a wood texture was added and the center holed was carved. The clay is fired at 1500F for 9 hours in a kiln. This design is based--loosely--on Japanese tsuba which are sword guards and show off the Japanese artistic heritage in the best possible way. Bails are gold-filled 26 gauge twisted wire … Read more