a mystical kinship

Today is a waxing moon day in Virgo, the organizer. Do you find yourself making lists? I do -- that's how I know it's a Virgo moon, because Virgo days feel more detail-oriented than normal. And remember Mercury is still retrograde (more here) -- I've been reminding myself of that when things don't run smoothly -- somehow it takes the edge off. Mercury goes direct again on June 11.

The woven cloth -- thrifted linen and cotton shirts, torn in strips -- was an early project from one of Jude's classes -- it was meant to be a grove of trees, aspen specifically. But then I realized the tree trunks should have been woven with lighter cloth. How could I space that out, we have aspen trees growing all over the place? A few years ago the sun piece was added and now four years later I'm kantha stitching. The way the loose strips shrink to the perfect size as I stitch is pure magic. I think I may try using light-colored threads on the browns because of it being an aspen grove. I tried to make it another kind of grove, I thought okay this can be an oak grove or a linden grove -- but it cannot be changed -- it is an aspen grove.

One of my new journal pages for Journal52 is a simple collage of aspen sentiments. Aspen is sacred to me, there is a sense of comfort and protection about her. She whispers, rustles and shimmers, heals and helps -- and I trust her. Have you ever stroked an aspen tree trunk? It is as soft as velvet, maybe softer. Some think of aspen as a weed tree which is preposterous.

For lunch today, I cooked up a pot of fresh nettle leaves. Usually I drain off the cooking water and add sauteed onions, garlic and butter or olive oil to the greens but this was just leaves and water with salt and it was delicious. I ate most of it but there is still about a pint left in the refrigerator. Something different I'm going to try this spring is to cook it in small batches, about 4 cups of greens to 4-6 cups of water, reserve portions for eating right away, and freeze the rest (leaves and broth) in quart-size jars. Some for the table and some for the freezer, all in one sweep. This method will take up more room in the freezer but will also be less work than blanching and straining before freezing. Now that the rain is letting up, the aphids will be moving in soon and they love nettle nearly as much as me so I need to take immediate action.

Petunias are the perfect size for the little glass vase -- it's only a couple of inches high. I saw it holding one zinnia by the cash register in a shop and asked if it was for sale. They said it could be and now it's my favorite vase.

Wishing you leisurely days of doing/making/enjoying the things you love best.