i love my friends

they have hearts

and give good advice.

today i had occasion to speak with

mark and sam and val.

may i say right here that all of them

like me

chose the north country

over other livings.

other friends i keep in touch with

mostly through this magic,

the infrequent call,

you all know who you are, but back to this morning.

i went to visit mark's press

saw his doings and got terrific advice.

i took a pile of book models i'd made while teaching to sam

and one made by a student using something sam made,

but my kid was too embarrassed to take it out of the room.

(boys don't sew or make journals.)

and val who minds the children's library

and has such a big heart.

~~~

here are some shots of an almost complete

summer journal

it's a thin, big book

contact and daylily prints and shifu

four papers and cloths

shifu

mapping north russell,

north country,

north america.

big fold-outs

'experimental' printmaking and stitching

and cloth

mapping songbirds and daylilies.

autumn is next.