Ragdale Revisited: Day Seven

Cannot believe it has been a week already. On the other hand seems like a year. 

Slept until 10:00. Breakfast & coffee. Every morning have been having lengthy (almost too long) conversations in Spanish with Marta the housekeeper and David the handyman. I do love speaking in Spanish. She is from Nicaragua and he is from Mexico. At first is was difficult to understand a lot of what she said but I am getting used to her accent.

Productive day continuing through my previous writings, formatting, editing, proofreading, adding the icon, printing, punching holes placing in the binder. Very satisfying work. A little hard on the back so I get up and walk around a lot.

Took pictures of the Barnhouse and will process them later. Also will go out to Jewel to get some “small stuff” for my “little” party in the Cupola tomorrow. 

Lunch: Leftover corn, peas & pearl onions chix breast, pot salad.

Glad we were able to settle the heat problems over the phone so I didn’t have to go home.

Meet new arrival Sarah Hadley, visual artist, who will be documenting the old house before it is closed for two years for renovation. When the architects leave it should look like they have never been there  but all foundation, electricity, plumbing, water, walls etc will be replaced. A few extra large closets will be converted to bathrooms and some three room suites will be reduced to spaces for two spaces people. Very easy to talk to and has been here several times before. An alum. Ironically I was planning to “document” the old house tomorrow so she and I talked about her professional approach, lighting, rearranging for effect etc. I talked about my lack of training or education in photography but my love of taking photographs and what I consider my “good eye.” When you take a lot of pictures some of them will be bound to turn out well! Her closing comment was, “Come on over with your camera. See you tomorrow.”

Dinner was Beef in a Korean sauce, glass noodles made out of sweet potatoes, rice, and homemade miniature vanilla bean cupcakes with vanilla bean butter cream frosting. Yumm. My favorite.

Walked over to the old house with Kat, who’s young adult book will be in the book stores in May to get a copy to read myself to sleep tonight. She is staying in Alice’s apartment which as a large bedroom, an office, a huge bathroom all situated down a yellow, antique by now wallpapered hallway with many doors going who knows where. At night Kat can hear the wind whipping around the corners of the house, shutters banging and whistling, and she feels a little creeped out. I assured here that Alice is still hanging around the place but not the unhappy, left behind kind of sprit but rather that Alice is still partaking of all the creative energy and joy that exists in her former home and in the Ragdale Foundation which she founded.

Tomorrow at my “Little Cupola” party I have decided to hang a dozen or so pieces of my poetry around the room in the windows. Usually the artists share their work one way or another but I have been arguing with my “inner critic” and feeling quite insecure about doing a reading. I decided that like Michael’s Museum, any one item or individual collection does not come near the joy and magic of experiencing the entire collection in one place. Same with the book, any one essay or poem or observation will only let you react to the single piece and the magic of the book will be experiencing it in its entirety and that was my agita.