- So much to remember

First, today's patch ...

Patch #14

which was cut from the end of one of the (very long) ties on this dress from my teens, one of the few pieces of clothing I saved (sadly) ...

100% cotton made in India

I loved this dress (still do) ... bought it in a Roslyn Heights head shop when I was a senior in high school ... wore it all through college ... and used it on Halloween during my parenting years whenever I needed a costume (peace y'all). But can I find any pictures of myself wearing it? Not a one. Note to self: remember to organize the photo collection.

After stitching the patch-of-the-day, I made my usual run through email, Facebook, and KINDRED SPIRITS blog posts. My one-time college roommate Jane Russo had posted a link to her daughter Sarah's blog, which is being written from Turkey where her military husband is stationed. Sarah's post about a bombing in Istanbul made me want to follow Another Year, Another City, written by "just a girl trying to save the world." For future reference I've placed a link to the blog with the other KINDRED SPIRITS.

By late morning, Don and I were headed out to run errands in San Marcos, which included a stop at the library to pick up Women who run with the wolves. As I left the library I spotted an intriguing art exhibit ...

Remembering a quirky house fronted by a fence full of folk art rooster heads just down the road, I put two and two together, went back into the library and asked whether the artist resided at said house. Yes indeed, I was told. A bit of Googling once I got home yielded up a Facebook link called Chicken Head Fence. Take a look ... it's hard to forget once you've seen it!

Turning back into the library had another fortuitous result: a book sale item caught my eye, the cover and spine illustrations incredibly familiar ...

 a cookbook purchased by my dad for my mom ...

published the year I was born ... which may explain
why I don't recall my mom actually making many of these recipes

I'm pretty sure the copy from my childhood still resides at the Shelter Island house (which is now my brother's vacation home), but I'm looking forward to having one here in Texas, too.

Finally, ending on yet another library note, my copy of KEEP a part of the Modern Library installation by Jody Alexander arrived in the mail ...

As a retired librarian, I found her take on books and mending fascinating with its Kantha stitched pieces of book covers and cloth ... 

Note the hand labelled black spine at the upper left ...
what I did at my first job as a library assistant in the late 1970s

and am delighted to have her artist's book to remember it by.