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In the interim

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I like light. Lots of it, anywhere. Light when it hits things. Light and shadow.

The Mother Tree at le Grozeau


I've taken to calling this the Mother Tree. It's not a particularly big tree, nor is it wide or imposing. It's not even the oldest in the forest.

I like it the most out of all the trees in this particular wood because it's bathed in light at all times of the day. In the mornings its leaves form a bright crown. In the evenings the sun is softened into a glow. It's a beacon. It would be the one tree where as a child playing tag one of the rules would be, "You're safe at the Mother Tree." It would be the tree I'd pause at, to stretch before a run. It would be the marker for me to stop too, on the way back from said run. 

Base of the Mother Tree

It's got vines all over it. Vines are such lovely parasites, don't you think?

Some days ago we found upturned soil all around the base of the Mother Tree. We think it's sangliers, wild boars, rooting around for god knows what. Acorns? Are acorns tasty wild board food? I can't imagine it's truffles, I don't think we're in a truffle kind of wood. We're in a climbing kind of wood.

I spent most of September and all of October working the routes at le Grozeau. In general, French climbers are known for their climbing style, their great footwork. This cliff, Mon Elle du Desir, gave us good practice. I did 12 of the 19 routes before the rain and the winds came. And now? It's cold and wet. Oh, for some sun!

Caught unaware. Kind of.

This is the trail to le Grozeau, popular with both hikers and climbers. No wonder. Two hundred meters in and you feel like you're the only person in the world.

(An art teacher of mine once said that West Coast light is very stark and bright; East Coast light is softer and has more variations. It's a generalization, but we were referring to my rather awful still life. She was very kind, Miss Savage. I may have saved a couple of canvases, but for the most part I've left painting to other, more talented people in the family.)

Blogworthy:
1: The Boston Globe's wonderful photo blog, The Big Picture, is one of my latest subscriptions. Today's post is Scenes from Antarctica.
2: A Good graphic explaining the economy. I like this a lot. I think anything can be better explained with an excellent illustration or chart.

In progress

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Lavender

My husband the artist is enjoying himself in southern France. We live in a valley where the light is golden; in a village where the views take your breath away. He's inspired. He paints every single day, sometimes the same thing, at different hours. He's painted villages, chapels, rivers, even me. He's never painted a picture of me. And now he's painted three. I for one can't stop gushing about the countryside, the tranquility. Driving along winding roads, passing fields of poppies or grapevines or peach trees, I just can't believe that we actually live here. Pinch me. It's real.

Pull 491-T7-686 by Phildar

I hemmed and hawed about the mesh stitch called for and decided, no. No to little nooks and crannies in my tops, please! Stockinette it is. I had to rip out my ribbing and calculate all the numbers per my stockinette gauge swatch, then cast on again. It's easy knitting, just unusual for me because I'm normally working one piece from the top down. This is all pieces: a front and a back, two sleeves, and, get this, a neckline and button band to be knit separately. Mm. Let me think about that a little further. And, there is a first for me with this garment: set-in sleeves. I've done raglan and drop-shoulder, but not this. My first ever set-in sleeves!

Now be honest: should I shudder in fear, or should I embrace backstitch seaming?

PS: A friend sent us a link to this horrific bike accident in L.A. Here's another article about it. The douchebag driver, a doctor no less, needs to do jail time. It's a pity that L.A. is not bike friendly, and that car drivers think that the road belongs only to them. (The comments in the L.A. times cover all angles of this topic.) For anyone to say they had it coming is appalling. The culture is different in Europe, where the road is shared, and bikes get right of way. Sure, there are asshole riders too, but would anyone go so far as to kill one? I hope that with rising gas prices people back home in the U.S. will start using their bikes more often. There has be change.

Unpeeved

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Destroy Flickr { + }

Destroy Flickr { + }


LOVE. WANT. DOWNLOAD. USE. NOW.

This is the reason I love my profession. Designers make things look better. And in some cases, work better.

Flickr { + }

Copyright issues aside, I don't use Flickr much because of its interface and user experience. The idea of photosharing is great, don't get me wrong. Its offerings--badges, cards, virals--are great, because it encourages people to use it more. But. If there's anything that gets to me? You should know this by know because I'm a designer. It's the way Flickr itself looks. There's the user experience: granted, it's simple so it's easy to navigate around. Colors are kept to an absolute minimum (white background, black text, brand colors cyan and magenta for highlighting) so that the photos are the main element. The global navigation is fine on its own. But take a look in the main area and this is where things get a little shaky. Too, too many elements, and I'm not the only one around who shares this opinion.

So I'm absolutely overjoyed that swissmiss blogged about an application that provides an alternative method for viewing Flickr content. Created by a student, the beta release is called DestroyFlickr (I think the name refers to the user experience, not the concept of Flickr itself) and requires Adobe AIR. Note that it is only a beta release, so if you encounter any problems with it, bugs or user experience, it would be helpful to let the DF group know.

Now go use it!

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