Written last night:
Dear Friends,

We are back — Zing! has barely moved from the couch, tired from his stay at Grateful Dog, and I had a normal day after almost a week of Christmas in Miami.

On the flight back yesterday I read Michelle Obama’s autobiography, seatbelt fastened the whole way because it was a bumpy, rainy flight. The air was clear when we landed and the moon was big and yellow. My neighbor Sandy picked me up at the airport near midnight. 

Miami was stone crabs and snapper and black beans; English spoken with a Spanish accent and Spanish with an American accent (sometimes), more construction cranes than buildings on the skyline; sand flies and even mosquitoes; a few sailboats on the bay; watching the palm trees shuffle their fronds in the wind; treasured times with family and friends. Mitch Kaplan, owner of my favorite bookstore (Books & Books) looked harried and his curly hair is now gray,

Today I woke up surprisingly early, went to the gym, and then toured backstage at the Capitol with a friend of Sandy’s, an advisor to a legislative committee on the environment. She showed us all the regular rooms, but with a knowing side patter. Senate chambers are red and Assembly is green, California has 58 counties (Ohio has 88, right?), there is an old and a new part of the Capitol, and the floors don’t match, so you have to take different elevators, Senate bills have goldenrod covers, outgoing governor Jerry Brown played it close to the vest, everyone is waiting to see who the new governor Gavin Newsom names as aides, and it’s still not certain whether he’ll take up residence in the Governor’s Mansion or commute to the Capitol from his home in San Francisco. 

My Christmas tree is still alive. Sacramento is colder than Miami, and I’m glad to be home.

Love,

k

Bill Baggs State Park, Key Biscayne,  FL

California Assembly chambers

Dark tree

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

Black tree today: #2 Santa would not approve!

Maybe the tree is dark because I ran into some dismal things today: before 7 this morning Zing and I encountered a depressed friend. The holidays bring her down. Zing! cheered her as well as he could. Later, on my way out, a man who lives here asked if I noticed anything missing from the lobby. Of course, I didn’t. I always fail such tests. “The two white chairs!” he said, almost gleefully. “Stolen!”

And then, on our last walk tonight, Zing and I passed a homeless man shielded behind his brimming grocery cart, trying to wash his feet in the fountain next door. I was surprised when Zing growled at him, and glad too, that Zing recognizes an intruder. I looked away and hurried past, to give the man a little bit of privacy. 

Christmas trees can grow on you

I'm getting attached to this tree!

Terrible trees: Santa would not approve

Written last night:

Dear Friends, 

Here’s my tree again — this time I measured the relationships— trunk to tree and length to width, etc., trying for an exact picture.  The bottom 3 pictures are mistakes — what happens when you pull the original along the printer bed while a copy is being made. Santa would not approve.

Love, 

k

My real tree

Terrible Tree #1

Drippy

Terrible Tree #2

Squished

Terrible but Tolerable Tree #3

Leggy

Christmas, nasty and nice

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

Today at the gym:

You know what it’s like -- everyone but you is taut and sculpted and wearing designer stretch things — while you are barely able to crawl up the steps, and you might still be wearing your slippers because you’re half asleep. That’s the super-confident way I approach the gym, anyway. They do a pretty good job at keeping up a sleek, intimidating facade… until this morning  — there was a cryptic sign on the front door that said the lockers don’t work, but it meant all the toilets and showers were out of commission. This is a bad thing at a gym. It turns out someone had flushed 10 terry towels down a toilet over night. It would take a while to fix things. Go to Starbucks across the way if you need a restroom. 

Don’t tell, but some very un-Christmasy part of me was happy. The gym is such a muscular enterprise, but they are human too! Yay! Now, let’s go to Starbucks…

And here’s my little tree — I got some lights today.

Love,

k

Water is for fighting

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

I’m here with a glass of wine and there’s the smell of ginger and cinnamon on the stove, and Zing! is asleep under the bed. It sounds peaceful … but it follows a busy day. Zing! went to daycare, which always tires him out, and I am also tired because I went to Sausalito with a group in a van. Anyone who has sailed on a small boat knows to avoid being trapped in a vessel with others … unless you love them! But I saw this “field trip” sponsored by the community center where I take ukulele … it said “lunch under the bridge.” I signed up. 

I will keep it short, but it is complex. Water is a big issue in California, as as it is in Florida and in many other states. The area where we live -- the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta -- is rich in water, while some of the state is drier. They want/need what we have. Two-thirds of California residents and farms and businesses get their water from the Delta, so  water flow isn’t exactly natural anymore. All kinds of things are done to get water where it is needed/wanted; I was surprised to learn that the first and most devastating was hydraulic mining during the Gold Rush. Now there are also canals, levees, and in the future there may be water tunnels. 

Today we saw a model of the Delta — kind of like models you made in school, but this was built to help The Army Corps of Engineers learn what to expect when changes are made to the Delta system. The Corps tried things out on the model before they did it to the actual Delta. This is no science project — the model is the size of a giant warehouse, and it’s normally covered with water, but today a computer glitch made it dry. Never mind — we got to see the locks and dams. 

The model is just for education now. The Corps uses computer models, which are more exact and cost less.. 

One sign at the model quoted Mark Twain: “Whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting.” (However, it seems Twain never actually said it. Politicians just like to attribute it to him.)

And we did have lunch at The Dead Fish restaurant under the Carquinez Bridge.

Love,

k

Carquinez Bridge -- that's smoke, not fog

view from The Dead Fish restaurant

Part of the model, which most days is covered with water
OK-- it looks boring, but it was a useful tool 

Art crop blooms on Yolo County farms

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

I just got back from an “art gala” at the old hotel in Woodland, the center of rural Yolo County, across the Sacramento River from Sacramento.  The hotel has become a party venue with a 1928 vibe. Its patio and reception rooms were crammed with party-goers, art, wine, music and food from the area. The art was all farm-related somehow — made by participants in the Art and Ag Project, in which farms welcome artists to paint there.  I’ve gone to three of those Saturdays to sketch and love the beauty. My friends bid on a painting of a farmer with a cow nibbling his ear, but someone else bid more.

It was one of those evenings when you wander the room, talking loud, I tasted wheat berry salad from Full Belly Farm, a Swedish meatball, an Italian meatball, mocha from a drive-through coffee shop, talked to the owner of Haag Walnuts of Esparto (She admonished me to say plants grow in soil, not  dirt ), and avoided  many, many wine tasting booths.  I didn’t drink because I wanted to find my way home, but maybe next year I’ll find a hotel where I can spend the night in Woodland.   

Love,

k

Happy coffin photo

Written last night:
Dear Friends ,

I forgot to mention the Día de los Muertos celebration near the farmers market on J Street last weekend —It’s about keeping the memory of beloved dead alive, and it seems a really happy festival. Thanks to what I learned last year, by Saturday I had already placed the traditional bright orange marigolds by Clark’s photo. Here is a look at this year’s feast. Most stunning to me was the bright, happy coffin where children were having their photos taken. Lettered inside the coffin is Mi casa es su casa — My house is your house. 

Love,

k

Woodland trip

Written last night:
Dear Friends ,

It was a good day — I found my way to Woodland, about 20 miles from here. It was a dry run — I want to know how to get there for the Art Gala Friday night to benefit the Yolo County farm art group that I’m part of.  Woodland is the Yolo County seat — a small town with a tidy, old-fashioned center, lots of antique stores and little restaurants. There are signs  (literal yard signs) of fear that homeless people will infringe on the peaceful place, and indeed as I was leaving I saw a lovely park on Main Street near the freeway, where people with grocery carts were resting. Woodland seems like a place where the pressure is building … and I do love the surrounding farm country.

Love,

k

Finally made it to Modesto

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

I've been meaning to go to Modesto, 80 miles south of Sacramento,  and today Zing! and I did. The city is not exactly a magnet. Trip Advisor said, kind of, “Why are you coming here?” It’s not for tourists, but it is important to the state — a business center for the Central Valley, the nation’s big farm. Mary Kaye, my almond family friend, asked me to check out the California Almond Growers there. Blue Diamond has a big operation off US 99 just north of town. The city center, however, is almost bleak. I only drove through — Trip Advisor comments said it might be dangerous to stroll those streets. They didn’t look dangerous, just empty, but I took the advice. 

This is what I expected — a city serving surrounding big farms. The road down was lined with crops — grapes, nut trees, and squash or pumpkins lying in the fields. It reminded me of Ohio, except for the bright sun and a few palm trees. Although it was a clear day, the air was heavy with gold pollution, from all the cars and farm operations too. “What’s that stuff in the sky?” I asked the woman at the almond shop. “What stuff?” she asked. “It’s always like this.”

We spent about 3 1/2 hours on the road, going and coming. We went off the main route and zig-zagged over back roads between Lodi and Stockton. I like getting to know the state. 

Love,

k

Getting to know Guerneville on the Russian River

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

Today Zing! and I drove to Guerneville, CA, and discovered a charming, slightly shabby-chic little town on the gorgeous Russian River. I found it when I was looking online for somewhere to stay with friends who suggested a wine and food weekend along that river. It took about 2 1/4 hours to get there and almost three to get home, when traffic was heavier. Of course, the first thing I noticed was the pair of truss bridges near the center of town — one just for pedestrians. The river’s not wide and it's unspoiled, lined with pebbly beaches and tall trees— I suppose they’re redwoods. We left Rosa in a riverside parking lot and had a beautiful walk over the water. When we got back we ran into the driver of the only other car in the lot. She complained gently about homelessness and petty theft and said there are many gay businesses in town. She prefers her home in Sebastopol, where she said she doesn’t even lock her doors. 

Back in Sacramento I ran into a friend, a California native, who told me Guerneville is indeed a gay getaway, and I found online that it’s referred to as “The Provincetown of the West."

What I like about Guerneville is that it’s friendly and not hyper-fancy. I checked out the cottages that led me there in the first place, and they look cozy. When I went into the homey office and called, “Is anybody here?” no one came out. Felt pretty peaceful.

I’m glad I visited.

Love,

k

Poems and a toothbrush

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

Today was the poetry roundtable in the Sacramento Room of the library. It’s maybe a dozen people; some are kind of my age and others are 40 years younger. I arrived a little late and they were all around the table talking — don’t ask me about what. These are word people. I think three are lawyers on their lunch hour. Another is a teacher who had the day off.The rest didn’t tell. Then we started reading poems one by one. I read hag riding by Lucille Clifton and the Witches’ Curse (Double, double…) from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. 

And one crazy thing. (“What," you say, "Crazy? Kathleen?”):

I left my electric toothbrush in the hotel room in San Francisco. Judy is going to mail it back, and in the meantime I’m brushing the old-fashioned way, using my own power. But I’m so used to the automatic one that I keep brushing my teeth, waiting for it to stop.

Love,

k

Notes from Elizabeth St. Hilaire's painted paper collage workshop

Things I want to remember from Elizabeth St. Hilaire's September 

painted paper collage 

workshop in Sacramento

1. Make an underpainting
Elizabeth's YouTube on how to paint an apple is great. I used it to make my underpainting, and liked the result so much that I really didn't want to collage on top of it.
Google Elizabeth St Hillaire. Go to videos. It’s her longest one, about 25 minutes.

2. Paint paper
Elizabeth's technique involves torn paper. She likes rice paper and deli paper --  plus all kinds of other paper -- book pages, music, letters, etc. Print, stencil, paint these to match your underpainting. She does not use magazine or other shiny paper.

3. Rip the paper to mimic paint strokes 
Directional ripping: Pull toward yourself with your dominant hand. The dominant hand will hold the piece with no white fringe.
Tear pieces in shapes like brush strokes.
Vary size and shape.
Make the pieces follow the form of the apple -- curved one way on the left and another on the right. (not too big, though. Elizabeth says anything bigger than a 50¢ piece will wrinkle.)

4. Glue with Liquitex Gloss Gel Medium
Press glued pieces down three times. in one minute,
Lay  background first -- at least around the main object. Work back to front. Overlap as you come forward.
Work from both sides to the center.
Thick, chunky paper comes forward.
Use bigger shapes as you get to the center.
Use papers that relate to your subject matter.
Layer with tissue to mute.
For a mosaic effect leave a little of the base color around the torn paper.
You can have a painted background and only collage the main subject. (That's what I did with my apple.)

5. Varnish finished piece with Satin
Matte dulls colors.
Varnish two coats-- wait 6 hours between applications.
        Brush slowly
        Brush evenly
        Don't shake the varnish
        Don't over-brush-- it will either get cloudy or bubbly.

Materials Elizabeth recommends
Clean brushes with Murphy's oil soap.
Utrecht mixed synthetic brushes
Frames she recommends (wood gallery frames)
https://www.dickblick.com/products/blick-essentials-wood-gallery-frames/
Take plexiglass off and don't use it.

Collage artists she recommends:
Derek Gores (magazine collage)
Sean Callahan (Key West artist with his own gallery there)
Ellen Lindner, Florida quilt artist

Elizabeth St. Hilaire

My underpainting

My finished, framed collage

San Francisco: Strikers on the sidewalk and rigs against the sky

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

I began writing this while waiting for breakfast at Oren's Hummus restaurant in the San Francisco museum/convention area.  I love their French press coffee and potato-eggplant hash with eggs and chicken sausage, and also the yogurt with Muesli, apples and dried fruit.

Two tables down, men are talking business and also the cost of a haircut ($40-$60). Across from them sit three serious guys with name-tag necklaces, possibly among the thousands of anesthesiologists here for a conference. One wears a well-cut suit and tie shoes without socks. 

Outside, people rush on electric scooters — I think they've just been legalized after a fight. Many women wear tidy designer leather backpacks. And across 3rd Street, a man wearing bright emergency orange is hanging from a construction safety rig high against the blue sky. One block down, striking hotel service workers line the sidewalk, marching and banging pots like drums, hooked up to microphones; they plead for higher wages from 7 a.m to 10 p.m. 

Yesterday our LA cousin Judy and I went to a poetry reading in Glen Park, a neighborhood of smallish old houses that (according to the local paper) sell for more than $1.5 million. And this afternoon we will celebrate Christy’s birthday lunch  in a shabby neighborhood cafe where there are more homeless on the sidewalks than patrons inside.  

This is just a bit of San Francisco. There was also great talk and food, a Bay boat tour, and a visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. I don’t know if you can tell, but I loved the long weekend with cousins there. 
Love, k

From panic to pears

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

When I first moved to Sacramento I panicked over everything, big and small. It’s getting better, so good that now I can even tolerate the inevitable computer glitches  (One took an hour of phone calls today) 

… I've been meditating 15 minutes each morning ... I like the pointlessness of just sitting ... 

I also drew and painted pears. 

Love,

k

3.5" x 5"

ink and watercolor

12" x 12"

pencil

Comfortable day

Written last night:

Dear Friends,
Today I caught up and relaxed. I made rice pudding because it is my comfort food, and now sweet potatoes roasting smell delicious. (Also comfort food.) It is dark out and I am going to close the living room shades. Up above, on the 14th floor (we skip 13) there is scraping and bumping and the drop and bounce of little hard things. I think someone is arranging furniture. It was a speedy day.
Love,
k

He does everything for fun

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

It was a busy Sunday and it’s already bedtime. But I wanted to show you this picture of the photographer Duane Michals (He’s second from left, approaching the desk.) at the Crocker Museum today. Decades ago, when I was beginning to study photography, Michals made groundbreaking work in series and portraits. He was my hero. Today he spoke around the corner from me. He lives in New York, but has a show here. He has a great sense of humor, and one of the best things he said is

"I do everything for fun” 

Here Michals is getting ready to sign books following his talk. That building beyond the window is where the Crocker family used to live. It is now part of the Crocker Museum, and the outdoor area between is where there are often concerts and other events. A guard told me that the first plan was to have the big window area be able to rise like a garage door, so there could be a roomy celebration area, but that proved too expensive.

Love,

k

Apples to apples

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

Today I finished that book about habits (The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg); I read it because these past two years have made me realize how crucial routines are. Basically the book said we do things because they give us a reward. So to establish a routine we have to make sure we get a reward. Simple, huh? And he wrote a whole book about it.

I finished the apple collage this afternoon, except for a final coat of varnish and a frame. I like it, even though it’s not as smooth as the under-painting. Good art is supposed to look wonderful from a distance, and then be interesting when you get up close too. Collage is ready-made for that, since you only see the details of small pieces up close. I’m going to make a few more collages and also paint a simple apple, as Mary suggests. Thanks, Mary.

Love,

k

The collage, above

The underpainting, below

Step !: Collage workshop

Dear Friends,

At 7:15 this morning Zing! went to Tony’s, and I went to a collage workshop led by Elizabeth St. Hilaire. She lives in Orlando and I learned about her when I lived in Florida. Her collages are bright and happy. So I was surprised that she’s leading a workshop in northern California. 

We painted an apple ahead of class time. In the workshop we are going to paint paper, then tear it, then glue it onto a canvas-covered board to make a collage of that apple. Today I learned various ways to use print and stencil and paint. By 4 p.m. I was tired. I guess that means I’m learning something. Here is my first step: the painted apple.

Love,

k

Sacramento Deco

Dear Friends,

I  love this building in the 2500 block of J Street. It reminds me of the Art Deco buildings on Miami Beach. It is a boutique of new and “vintage” clothing named ShopCuffs. When I drew it on a Sunday it was closed, but soon I’m going there to shop.

Love,

k

Zing!sense

Dear Friends,

In Tallahassee Zing! had his own bed in the hall outside our room, but when we moved here he slept on the bed beside me. It was as if he knew I needed him. After about a year, when things had settled down, he began sleeping under the bed — still close. It seems that now he thinks I’m getting a little calmer. I usually get up at 6 with no alarm, but at 5:55 a.m. yesterday I heard Zing! padding into the bedroom — he must have been sleeping on his favorite living room pillow. He crept quietly into his place under my bed. It was as if he wanted me to think he’d been there all night long. When I got up five minutes later, he peeked out, did his morning stretch, and our day began. Zing! seems to have a sixth sense about when he can ease me into new routines.

Love,

k

Words + Music = Poetry Plus

Written last night:
Dear Friends,

This evening ended with art — or ukulele class, which is an art to me. I’m lousy, but coming to love it. (I hear Clark chuckling.)

After that — give me more art — I went to a poetry reading at the Crocker Museum. Each poet had musical accompaniment — piano, guitar, flute...  It was great to end the day this way.

Love,

k

Poetry emcee Rhony Bhopla

I flew above the sidewalk

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

Less than an hour ago I was flying low above the night sidewalk, screaming “Oh! Oh! Oh!” and Zing was stretching his leash in the opposite direction, while a man on a bike was entangled on Zing's leash between us. You know how you feel when you’re flying and think to yourself, “I wonder what I’m going to break when I land”? Well, luckily, nothing but a skinned elbow. I checked each of Zing’s legs, and he didn’t squeal in pain. The man on the bike was also fine. He  was going fast, didn’t ring his warning bell (that’s rarely done) when he saw me but not Zing. I think that in Sacramento it's not exactly illegal to ride a bike on the sidewalk.

I should walk with Zing close by my ankle but I don’t. I let him on a loose leash so he can wander in the grass. Patrice gave Zing! a blinking night-time leash for Christmas, but I wasn’t using it. After we got home, a little shaken, Zing! made me take him for another walk with the flashing leash. “There,” he said. “That’s better.” (Thanks, Patrice!)

Also today, I had fun drawing this back-to-school owl on a little notebook for Juliana. I love this bird. I actually drew it in Tallahassee, and copied it for her today.

Love,

k

Three cheeses and some celery sticks

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

Again, a busy day: Farmers Market, where I got a baguette and some dark figs (I really miss our Tallahassee fig tree!), then I  went to Freeport Bakery, which everyone says is the best in town, to pick up a lemon birthday cake for Darrius. She is a friend who lives here, and this afternoon Tony had a party for her. He asked me to bring a cheese plate with veggies, etc., too. Well, three cheeses and some celery sticks just didn’t sound festive, so I found online inspiration  I love how it turned out, beautiful and delicious. Not to get all cookbook-y, but you could make it anytime, with almost anything — for a party or an easy dinner. That’s pimento cheese,* like they make in North Florida, with the spoon in it. It’s a southern staple, good with Ritz crackers.  The other things not immediately identifiable are candied pecans, beet slices, tomato jam, and dried pears. 

Love,

k

*Mix lightly in food processor: 8 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar, 4 oz. pimentos, drained, 1/3 C. mayo, 1 tsp. white vinegar, and salt to taste. Mustard too, if you like it. (Anything else, Southerners?)

Sweet, cool, casual

Written last night: 
Dear Friends,

It was so cool that you needed a sweater this evening. Everyone is saying this is not normal, but nobody’s complaining.

My mind is jumping around. (I’m watching the news.) 

It was an uneventful day — for me. I loved having an impromptu dinner with family in the courtyard restaurant around the corner, and talking on the phone with friends. Small pleasures are big. 

Love,

k

12" x 12"

Pecans with brown sugar

I was making these for a friend, but ... 

I burned a few. (They're still good.)

I'd rather draw a goat than milk one

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

I got lost in the country again, but ended up in the right place — a goat farm at 8 a.m. Other artists found their way too, and we all drew, painted, and took photos … we were even invited to milk a goat. I declined, and instead spent two hours (after that it was too hot) sitting on a low stool exchanging stares with these animals across a (mildly) electrified fence. They were all kinds — fuzzy and sleek, floppy ears and some barely there … and they didn’t smell bad … I’m not good at drawing animals yet, and mine ended up resembling people I know.

On the way home I stopped at the Davis Art Center, where a friend is having a poetry reading tomorrow.

Then I couldn’t’ resist the Davis farmers market ... I just can’t pass one by!

Patrice asked me to show Zing! this photo that she took at her farmers market in Chicago this morning. Zing! admits these big city dogs look happy, but said he prefers to walk. That way, he leads me.

Love,

k

Faithful Companion

Written last night:

Dear Friends,

This past week I’ve been recording Zing! when I leave him alone — not in the nervous way of before, but I’ve been told he barks sometimes, and I want to see just how much so I can tell the vet. Maybe he needs a medicine update. He did bark three times tonight, at about half-hour intervals -- maybe when he hears the elevator. We’re getting this down to a science. I want us to be comfortable when I leave him alone.  The neighbors are more than understanding — they’re solicitous. Everyone loves Zing! But one neighbor is a night nurse and he sleeps all day. So I'm watching you, Zing!

We also drove to the countryside around Winters, CA, today. I’m going to the art-farm event there early tomorrow, and don’t want to get lost. Along the way the sunflowers were dry and drooping, but the corn, strawberries and grapes look good. (What do I know??) On the way home we stopped at UC Davis and strolled in the park near the veterinary school. Here’s a photo of Zing! on the lawn in front of a statue dedicated to Faithful Companion. Zing! thinks every town square should have such a monument.

Love,

k