above our harbour, the skies have been darkening and rumbling and building a drama, a heavy and a humid drama. we were racing around town doing errands, watching the storm form over wolfe island. as we drove the sky would glow and shake and growl.
and then we were home. the boats seemed so calm and settled, even when the lightning started. we could see the rain falling in cloud form, across the lake. and now it's moved across the water to us. our windows are open and the lullaby of rain is filling the rooms. i'm drinking lavender soda. and watching 10 hours of dvr-ed wimbledon tennis. with the gentle pitch and quiver of summer rain as my background music.

the gray is flat and unending. the rain has been constant. but late last night edgar and i were walking through the puddle-y streets. he is sore and unsettled in this weather. so at 1 a.m. when he couldn't get comfortable, i tied a skirt on and pulled my big parka around me to keep out the damp air and pouring rain and we went walking. the fog was thick and the sky had a pink wash on the edges of it. there was deep silence to highlight the regular sounds that i rarely notice. the wind slapping the neighbors flag so it sounded like a slamming door. the lake moaning. the rain bouncing off the hood of my parka. the water rushing into storm drains along the street. the houses dark and tall and stoic with only 2 or 3 windows awake. and as we kicked through the rain, i felt the blanket of sadness tighten into the night. i had heard earlier in the evening of my friends family tragedy and i was filled with the sinking sorrow of it. we walked in our own little fog, edgar and i, the walls of the prison and the waves of the lake our companions.
a rain soaked april night that has rolled into another rainy gray morning.

it seems that my studio is my own grown up playroom that is stocked with enough potential activities to keep me busy for an unlimited amount of time. i have walls of fabric and a room of paper and scissors and glue and sewing machines. and floating above all the busy-ness, i have 'the waltons'. they are as much a part of the process that sends quilts and journals and napkins and pillowslips out into the world as the sewing machine or the paper room. the soundtrack of my little workshop that pulses through the work is the story of a depression-era family living in rural virginia. i love the waltons. i remember watching its first season as a child. and it's hold on me is the same now, almost 40 years later. i love loving certain members of the family, especially grandpa. and i love despising john-boy.....complete with rolling my eyes and sometimes yelling at the screen. i defend myself laughingly with everyone who walks in and chuckles as i'm forced to pause my constant loop of waltons dvds. well yesterday i discovered a soulmate in 7 year old naomi. she and her mom were heading out shopping and dropped in to say hi. but naomi got sucked into a season 7 episode.....when maryellen's husband curt is killed in pearl harbor. naomi ended up staying with me while her mom went shopping. we watched 3 episodes while i continued to sew. she didn't get bored and only asked me to explain the characters. it was a lovely rainy afternoon.

november. rain blurred windows and edgar refusing to leave the porch. with our canopy gone, it makes the walk between houses during the rain, even rainier. edgar likes to use the canopy to do his business without getting wet during summer rains and i just love the luxury of it. but now, the leaves are gone and we are open to the sky. bare branches. no coverage. the branches are beautiful. wet bark gray silhouettes against the sky.

i sewed all day. surrounded with colorful fabrics, quilts and napkins and aprons. meagan gave me steamed milk for my tea at lunch. and of course, i watched the waltons. more of the same tomorrow. i love the routine of sewing that has happened the past few weeks. it is my grandmother's 105th birthday today. always a day i notice and remember. i think of her so often, and when i sew it seems she's with me. i miss her alot and feel so fortunate to have spent so much time with her.

i slept in this morning. edgar had called for me at 4 am, as he is known to do.....sometimes the quilt has been kicked off and he's cold. or one of the cats has planted herself firmly atop him and refuses to move, making him feel trapped and unable to move either. and, yes, this is a dog i'm talking about, not a child. this morning his needs were two-fold....he needed a bathroom break in the yard, and one of the pillows was not to his liking. so when i crawled back into bed, the gloomy rainy morning kept me slumbering until 8.30. a slow start this morning. the rain and heavy skies reinforced the knowledge that we are deep into fall and well on our way to winter. the clocks change this weekend. and i've heard christmas songs in the shops.

tomorrow our house is listed and i will go back to more constant and hopefully, uninterrupted, studio time.

last night we fell asleep to the sound of the rain hitting the roof outside our window. it's been a gray couple of days. the rain and chill of autumn has crept up on us. we have finally turned on the furnace.....the chill is a little more than the fireplace will erase in the evenings. i remember as a child my little grandmother making me strings of little attached paper dolls to play with on a dull and rainy day. i still love making these little charmers from fabulous old papers and using them in my collage or journal making.

and today looks like it will be another one of those days that begs for a cup of tea, a quilt and an engaging book. my wonderful friend, mark sinnett, won the toronto book award last night for his fabulous novel, the carnivore. if you're looking for an amazing book for this rainy weekend, this is my pick. i'm planning to re-read it this weekend.

beating rain and a singing sewing machine

a full day in the studio today. mostly dark and gray, heavy rain and wind wheezing around the house. i finished a quilt and made another quilt top. and then enjoyed an hour or two taking photos of items to list in my shop. and then suddenly the light shifted and from the back window there was this stunning tangle of branches and stone and sky and light.

i listed a boy baby quilt as well as a gorgeous girl baby quilt and i added several baby bloomers.

i will try to finish some embroidery to list tomorrow. but first i need to clean the kitchen and make myself a cup of chamomile tea.