Texas Beach, RVA

An evening stroll with illegal beverages, salty snacks and spring light - a perfect end to the working day.

The Pipeline, Deep Creek Ridge, Mineral

Mud, mud, glorious mud... of the Virginian red clay variety. We crossed a few streams in the woods, hurled large things and headed out along the pipeline without any waterproofs.

Headed back drenched to the skin, to be re-clothed entirely by the lovely Phil. There had been a weather warning.

Potting out... on Floyd

Enough tomatoes for a caprese salad, perhaps...

Monument 10K, Richmond

A scramble to make it to the central reservation of Monument Avenue before breakfast, in time to see the first wave and our neighbour's boy...

In fact we thought we'd missed him and instead spotted our realtor & son, a school running club buddy, class mum, a vicar dad and our mechanic - pouring jelly shots! Then we heard the neighbour shout.  We waved and cheered and jumped up and down, then waited in the drizzle for the return leg.

36,000 runners in all - M has me under pressure for next year.

Class Photo, VMFA Walking Field Trip

M and her second grade class before their Egyptology tour with me - the expert!

More Maymont

In just two weeks today we'll be here with Granny Fan. In preparation we solved a mystery with found letter clues - a reflected twig alpha and gnarled root omega - spotted a heron overhead, disconcertingly leaping fish and turtles on a rock, like a 'government' in session (J). We climbed down (and up) some usually in-accessible cliffs thanks to firmly cropped undergrowth and the snake-reductive chill.

There is almost blossom but no hint of green. Come on spring!

Brooklyn Art Library, Williamsburg

A crazy simple, lovely crowd-sourcing sketchbook idea that was addictive and joyful and inspiring. Bought their blank sketchbook, of course...

Now, what to draw???

Pier 57, Whitney Biennial

The names of 395,485 artists on a plexiglass monument on the banks of the Hudson and moments away from the new Whitney Museum and The High Line. 

Proteus Gowanus, Brooklyn

The focus of the past few weeks felting action has been resolved into this soft and satisfying set of underwater exploration gear for Proteus Gowanus - aqualungs, swim trunks, wetsuit (not pictured) snorkel and goggles, surf board, bikini and dive beanie... c/o Hope Ginsburg and her visionary take on thirsty water molecules and the omnipotent sea sponge.

Gowanus Canal, Brooklyn

The unbelievably polluted and lovely Gowanus Canal and it's neighbouring Whole Food's deck, with the most awesome view of Manhattan at sunset.

This is where it's at... TEDX Gowanus did a live dive! There are oysters in there and plenty of oil.

Whitney Biennial, New York

I made it, after many years of longing and it was worth it, despite disparate curating and lots of archive stuff and then collectives... but I got hooked in with semiotext(e)'s small tomes, saw Lisa Ann Auerbach's familiar knit-gear and her Megazine #2  on home concrete and a bit of random embroidery that looked like our napkins, after some recent M additions.

Morning jog, Highline NYC

A blissful morning jog along the Highline, pretty much alone, and a brief breezy pause for a 'selfie' before the Cafe Gitane for breakfast...

Hollywood Cemetery, Oregon Hill

A friend's birthday stroll amongst the gravestones and sculptures of the Hollywood Cemetery, alongside a few Republicans in pick-ups cruising Confederate graves. Plus a morning picnic overlooking the roaring James River, all in bright spring sunshine with the magnolia about to burst out.

St Patrick's Day, Richmond

Hard to believe the level of chill this Monday morning, the leprechaun-trap had to be dug in the permafrost and then a hike down to VCU for more felting whilst the kids clutched the final Birthday gift - a Little Miss Pet Shop scene - for sharing.

In the trees, Maymont

There was big-guy help in the trees... in between swinging and meditating.

Pony Gymkhana, Maymont

An the idyllic scene of pony races and general ambling, with the lurid, bubble-filled plastic carrots, for environmental-edge.

The birthday cakes...

Carrot cupcakes - an unusual choice for the girl intolerant to cinnamon, raisins and marzipan decorations. So somewhat bland carroty creations with carrot hearts went to pre-school and were followed by an Italian orange party cake with fairy, thanks, as ever, to the Silver Spoon.

Concave and caramelised due to mid-baking gazing from J but totally delicious and intense. It took a two-parent body-windbreak to get the candles lit on our cliff-edge pagoda.

Princess Pony Party, Maymont

Well strictly speaking a princess-horse-magical-worlds' party as ponies are a little bit mean and not really strong enough to pull our carriage. Our coachman and groom were utterly content as we drove down the magnolia avenue, as seen in Lincoln - the Movie and circumnavigated the Dooley Mansion. It felt almost British and blissfully springlike.

The Rescue Ponies on Floyd

Blackie-Whitie, Maroona and Spark where chosen with decisiveness by their new young owners.

So thanks to Lenny's socks, a local radio DJ's buttons, Fantastic Thrift's wool and Lyndsay's store dowels - I got to stitch this assorted, slightly mangey crew of ponies guided by a pinterest tutorial that I really shouldn't need with my long family legacy of hobby horse production c/o my mother and her mother...

The Dolls House on Floyd

Now where's the architectural photographer with an in-depth knowledge of Sylvanian Families aka Calico Critters when you need him?!

Completed on time and to the brief set - golden with flag pole, (roof) garden - and including reclaimed stairs from the first dolls house and a nostalgic A-symmetrical form.

The Philips Collection, Washington DC

A road-trip to lift the spirits, though the traffic, road works and a parking crisis almost overwhelmed me.
Eventually we entered the serious Philips Collection and wow it was worth it. Not least for the 1930s oval spiral staircase that J loved and yellow tiled inglenook fireplace with Henry Moore and Bonnard sketches above, a Rothko room, a giant but casual Renior, a gleaming Brancusi - 'an egg with two bites out of it' - but also an intense room simply plastered in bees wax and honey droplets.

J studiously sketched a Kuhn - the exhibition poster girl with feather plumes and a 'bored' expression - amidst the legs of a large tour group. It all was very civilized yet happily child-friendly.

Princess Pony Party - The Invite

It took a while to source an ethical pony experience with a princess-theme twist. So far we have carriages booked at the fabulous Maymont, a Barbie et al. invitation diorama shot to J's brief and 'magical-lands' napkins covered in roses & leaves, from our IKEA mission.

Snow Paint on Floyd

I must have lent the food colouring out, instead poster paints got flung out across the stoep and left a startling splash for days.

White Felt, Sponge HQ

Lets get physical... this is Felt Club with a deadline. Underwater exploration gear is under construction, starting with three layers of fluffy white lambs wool, three teaspoons of lavender soap a square foot mixed with boiling water and then plenty of swoshing motion for some 40 minutes until all fibre is meshed.

Then endless rolling, draining, shrinkage and drying... before the pattern cutting and stitching and one day soon the installation trip north to Gawanus, Brooklyn.