N Degrees of Separation

My life has been filled to brimming lately, and many of the experiences have come full circle and pulled bits of my past into the present, and allowed the present to chase the tail of the future.

When I took the bus trip to St. Sauveur, I mentioned to Rowboat Flo that the last time I had traveled along the north side of the river, I had been on a train trip with my North American Literature class. A few days later I received an email from a neighbour to whom I had forwarded a request about re- homing dogs telling me that one of the people who worked in her building had received the same email from another source, and, when they discussed it, he thought he knew me. Sean was one of my former students, one who had taken that train trip with me 31 years ago. He, his sister and I have been in touch via email ever since.

Then yesterday, at the Saturday Market in the village, I tried to buy fresh farm eggs at one of the booths and the farmer told me he knew me; that I had been his grade 8 English teacher in 1978 (also 31 years ago). It was Walter Last.

But it hasn't just been former students re-surfacing in my life after over 30 years.

Last week I learned of a sketchbooking course from a comment on Zoom's blog (http://knitnut.net). I checked it out and began the sign-up procedure for it. The following day a notice appeared in the Wakefield Newsletter asking for people who kept sketchbooks to share theirs with Michelle, the instructor. Yesterday I met her for coffee, decided definitely to take the course, and learned that another person whose sketchbook will be used is also connected with my daughter's blog.

After that meeting I went to a garage sale. It turned out to be at a house Mud Mama had rented at Christmas a couple of years ago. There I met Taz ... T-A-Z-Taz, as he informed me. He was about six or seven and he was selling toys. I loved the little pine chairs I saw first and asked him how much they were. He told me to make an offer ... maybe a dollar. I said okay, and was the table for sale too? Yes. I dug in my purse and pulled out all the money I had: $8.50, and said that was what I could give him for everything. We agreed and I told him that I really liked the set, that I liked it so much I was giving him all my money. He looked dismayed and tried to give some back. As I was leaving I told his mother what a lovely little boy he was, and she told me he wasn't for sale. I have posted a bad photo of the set ... but when I got it home I realized it was hand made and solid pine as well as having a lovely shape. Thank you T-A-Z-Taz. I will do my best to live up to this project ... and to you.

Then there was the chair artist, Alice Hinther, whose work I saw at WEST. I emailed her to tell her that the little centre where Le Hibou will be located had opened (she had asked me about it when I visited her home during WEST). Turns out that Zoom had visited shortly after I had and left her our blog addresses so that she could check out my chairs, and Alice had misplaced the addresses. When I told Zoom I had been in touch with Alice, she already knew because GC had been also been corresponding with Alice. If you are reading this, Alice, the centre is open, but Le Hibou is not yet.


In other news I just received my second cheque ... and was very pleasantly surprised! And I have started work on the bread box I got from Fraulein ... also a blog reader ... who delivered it to me via the step-mom of Mud Mama's kids ... It will feature a fat hen sitting on a nest containing one egg ... a hen I sketched a few days before I met up with Walter at the market.

I think the world just became a whole lot smaller.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I will be painting.