Sunshine = cyanotype!

 For the most part, I stay out of the sun. My skin doesn't do well. In fact - I am headed to the skin doctor this morning to have a wee bit of cancer removed from my neck. If we only knew the future, I would have worn tons of sunscreen back in the 70's. 

Any way - I enjoyed some cyanotype printing yesterday, using some barrenwort I found growing in my garden. Thank goodness for my plant identification app!

Lots of moisture on the glass holding the plants in place.

I am thinking that this piece needs a gazillion beads in the white areas. Crazy? Probably!

Flora

 I've been working on small compositions to include in the "Flora" Earth Fragments quilt. I'm rather pleased with this piece:

From the background fabric, hot pad, old baby bonnet, to the crocheted flowers - everything is recycled.  Even the thread used to stitch it all together came from a garage sale. In time, it may ask for some beads. For now I will wait and see what it needs.

 

Treasures

 "Clean the garage" is always on my to do list. This year, I'm approaching it a little different. A bit of Swedish Death Cleaning seems to be a better plan. Instead of straightening, boxing, and stacking - a better plan is to get rid of things as I go. My grandma's china left for a cousin's daughter over the weekend. Boy, did that ever feel good. Now to go forward with the many treasures that I've held on to (and moved over and over again!).  Barbie. How could I get rid of my precious collection of clothing made by mom and some silly little things I sewed as a very young girl. I started going thru the collection and quickly found myself feeling the urge to change every one's clothes!

 Yes - play is a good thing.

Traveling to Fez

For a moment, I thought I was in Missouri! Road side rocks for sale.

Have you used a tajine for cooking? 

Pretty fancy for a road side bathroom!

Olives, and more olives! Every day, every meal. 

This is one of more than 140 reservoirs in Morocco used for water supply, irrigation and flood control.

 

Eclipse

 

Did you watch? 

This is not my photo - thank you Britannia for a wonderful image. 

I was remembering a time when I was very you, that my dad cut holes in a shoe box and explained to me about a safe way to view the eclipse. Unfortunately, I was just too young to understand what he was trying to teach. Now - 60 years later, I am feeling very close to my dad and his educational moments. Is he looking down at me from heaven and smiling? I think, yes. 

Roman Ruins at Volubilis

 While traveling from Rabat to Fez, we stopped at Volubilis Roman Ruins. We were treated to some very well preserved original mosaics. Yes - more tile! So much quilting inspiration!

Rabat: Oudaya National Museum of Ornaments

I knew that I would experience much on this trip, but wasn't prepared for the Museum of Ornaments! What a wonderful collection, and I believe that this stop was just for me! So many ideas raced around in my head - I can hardly wait to begin a quilt inspired by Morocco.

Rabat: Tile and such

 One of the reasons I wanted to go to Morocco, was for the tile and architecture. After falling in love with Malta and Portugal, I knew I had to continue my eye candy journey into this amazing country. I was not disappointed. My journey began in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, a beautiful, modern, and clean city. Go there!

Rabat - Arches

 Drawn to an arch:

Home, and full of memories to share!

 Morocco is absolutely amazing! The sights, the sounds, the smells, everything was just perfect for a week of refilling my well.

I'll start with the flag. Green star on a red background. The red represents the blood of ancestors. The 5 pointed star is faith, prayer, giving, fasting and pilgrimage or the 5 pillars of Islam. Honestly - things I had never learned. So, yes, I learned much about the culture of this country too. 

Traveling with my sister

 I leave Saturday on a dream trip to Morocco! Dee and I are taking a fast paced, see as much as possible in a very short amount of time, tour. My first steps in Africa. It made me think about doing a new series of travel badges - "continents". 

Goodness - this was in my drafts! In my excitement, packing, and remembering everything, this never was published! 

The Ocean is Full of Garbage

                                      

The ocean is beautiful. It is powerful and rich with diversity. People are drawn to the ocean for many reasons. Some seek calmness and relaxation. Others prefer adventure and exploration. Many, many rely on the ocean and reefs for their very livelihood.

The ocean is beautiful, but look closer. Rubbish floats along trapped by seaweed or tangled in ripped nets and discarded fishing line. Water bottles are thrown carelessly into the sea. They bob up and down as if to say, “Watch me, watch me, as I struggle in polluted waters.”

The ocean is beautiful, but take a walk on the beach. It will reveal microplastic bits washed up by churning waves. Inflated plastic bags emerge from the sand like jellyfish warning of danger. The aftermath of human activity piles up…discarded flip flops, pool noodles, and sand buckets are left like a time capsule taking an eternity to decompose.

The ocean is beautiful, but look down. The reefs are struggling. Once beautiful and alive with color, many are dying at an alarming rate. Even in the depths, man has left a footprint.

How can humankind continue to befoul our beautiful waters?

The ocean is full of garbage.