• Wind Chimes Nepenthe, Big Sur

    We headed towards Nepenthe.

    Leaving San Francisco, we stopped off in Berkeley, or to be precise, we went onto the University campus. I half hoped to see Barbra Streisand or at least a few students demonstrating, calling out lies, declaring a strike, or asking for signatures for a petition. I love that part in the film ‘The Way We Were,’ when a young student played by Babs makes a speech on the Campus. So much passion and belief. It was Fresher’s week, so no one was carrying banners. Do they even do that at Berkeley now? From looking at the Society stalls, there was not much about campaigns to make the world a better…

  • Knitting, Kaffe, and old patterns

    I knit. I knit less these days, but when I do it is gloriously satisfying. I learned as a child the intricacies of plain, purl and pass the slip stitch over. My stash of wool is more than I could ever knit up. It is a kind of unformulated security blanket that sits in a large plastic box. I have metal and bamboo pins along with a prized set of Knit Pro interchangeable needles. I drool over colour and buy wool with the intention of making something, but my stash is a testament to the desire being greater than the action. My knitting hero is Kaffe Fassett. A few years…