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one of the Simultaneous Selves

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looking over the back of one of the table benches,  back over it,  across the door way…to the small counter top,  under what has now become the design wall,  such as it is,   

on the left in the pic, the blue pitcher that's full of Goat pellets and sweet feed for Cinderella.  Then that Monkey Basket,  a wierd basket that Alyssia has that's full of walnuts she's found along the road.  Then,  Tazmeena and her food bowl.

above…the Cloths.  And ABOVE,  the hanging birthday Wish for Julian.  today's his birthday.  Nine.  and i hung this,  with the pepper that was sliced to contain his Birthday bill,  his money.  He gets it once a year now.  I am being absolved of Christmas.  So Birth Day.  I tucked it into the chili.  The bows and sprigs of Aztec Spinach and Basil.  in lieu of a bought card.  A garden sentiment.

an odd assortment.  But,  how it is.   

i had a whole day today,  to myself and i spent it pretty much trying to figure out how to use the Walnut dye.  I clamped things,  tied onto things,  but nothing really "worked".  The dye is strong and prevails.  There's not marks.  I try to remember how i did things in New Mex.  But that was pretty much with Elderberry…????  I don't know.  So,  i'll keep trying.

 

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13 responses to “one of the Simultaneous Selves”

  1. jaime Avatar
    jaime

    Your dye issue sounds interesting. I have no idea what you did differently because you have been able to make spectacular marks on Oroville cloth when you tie it.
    Happy birthday to Julian. Nine is the last single digit he will ever be. I really like the way you decorated and hid the gift. Total zero waste.

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  2. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    yes…i’ll keep experimenting…might be something to do
    with the SUN….was more intense in N Mex?????

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  3. beth Avatar
    beth

    One thing I learned from you is that the magic occurs where the air meets the surface. I use a plant saucer, 2 or 3″ deep. It dries up, it fills with rain. I forget about it. The cloth is bunched up and some rides above the surface. I’ve been using the same sludge for 2 or 3 years. Just added some fresh green hulls.

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  4. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    love that you say this here…i am sitting here staring at a piece
    from yesterday, going back in my mind to that big spool table
    in N Mex, “looking” at it, what’s on it, and that’s exactly
    what i was thinking…how it would dry up…that oxidation…
    thanks for remembering it too

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  5. joanne Avatar
    joanne

    These are the “moments” when I know—-this internet thing is the greatest thing ever. We don’t remember what we did –but there is a Reader out there who remembers for us. Oxidation creates the magic in your cloth! Thirty souls in my class today at work. Gardeners are special people.

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  6. Mo Crow Avatar
    Mo Crow

    how old is Tazmeena?

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  7. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    20, give or take
    She’s actually in great shape. Bummer is that Puppy is mean
    to her, so she’s not going outside much at all.

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  8. Mo Crow Avatar
    Mo Crow

    Wow! a grandlady of a cat!

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  9. dee Avatar
    dee

    Money in chili. Is that a thing or did you invent it?

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  10. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    Julian, turning 9, is not an easy kid. He’s kind of a 9 year old 50 year old man. He’s way smarter than his chronological age. Which is both great and not so much.
    He’s a ch’llenge for me. I am a challenge for him. Me and him.
    i thought about it. What he really loves is money. There’s not a lot to go around. I have excused myself from Christmas for a while now. So, Birth Day. When i was
    in N.Mex, i’d send him 50 one dollar bills, and then,something from Amazon i thought he would like. This time, since nothing from Amazon, i put a one hundred dollar bill inside the chile. it burned his fingers, getting it out. He looked at me and said….i thought you were broke? I said that it was my savings. To him. For him, because what he loves most is money. We will talk about that more as time goes on. It will “come up”.
    it really IS my savings and there’s not much of that left. I thought about getting a dopey birthday card from the dollar store, things like that, and then i thought, no.
    he knows the Wall Garden. He knows what it’s taken, what it means, what he had said he would GIVE and what he hasn’t. So…
    i invented it. In an edgy way, me to him, edgy. Fingers burning for
    Money, Great Grandma giving because of love, even tho
    she has other thoughts too. Me and Him.

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  11. dee Avatar
    dee

    Thank you for this insight into your relationship and the thinking behind the gift. It’s kinda brilliant, what you did.

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  12. grace Forrest Avatar
    grace Forrest

    i feel good that you say that…kinda brilliant…i don’t know about kinda brilliant, but i do know that it wasn’t
    “nothing”,
    I had 500 dollars left. He now has one of them. He needs to understand what Love is. What we do when we love. Mostly, he needs to know that.

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  13. dee Avatar
    dee

    How close to the bone you’re living is a whole OTHER thing.

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