Muir Woods Redwood Forest Milkmaid wildflower by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

Little Stories – Winter Tales

Muir Woods Trillium Flower by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

Hello Everyone!  We are having a very wet spring up here in Northern California.  Perfect for  hitting the trails amongst the redwood trees and visiting bookstores.   I also have been renovating the house with my husband, sewing quilts,  playing and making things in my atelier with paper and paint, not to mention spending a LOT of time with the kitties.  Let me share some of these winter tales with you.

 

 


 

Painting The Walls

 

Current state of my atelier

 

All the walls of our lovely house are covered with panels and wallpaper.  My husband and I have started removing all of those wall coverings.  Then there’s repairing and patching the walls, and finally, priming and painting.  We are currently working on my room.   I have everything set up so I can continue to work without disruption.  I can’t wait to show you around once it’s all done.

 

 


 

Sewing Garden Path Quilt-top

 

 

The Garden Path quilt-top is FINISHED!!  I just need to add borders to it and then it will be ready for quilting.  I designed and wrote the patterns for the flower blocks and created the layout.  I am happy to say that it looks exactly as I had envisioned it.

 

 


 

Hitting The Redwood Trails

 

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos –

 

 

 

We were away a lot last year.  My little kitties tend to miss us a lot when we are away.  So this year, I skipped the trip to the redwood forests 300 miles north of us and stayed home.  However, I am lucky to live only an hour away from Muir Woods, which is also a redwood forest.   I had not been there during this time of year before.  

We usually end up hiking anywhere between 5-7 miles.  The trails are moderately challenging with uphill climbs.  They are also full of roots which makes it hard to navigate.  During the February hike, I twisted my left foot pretty badly.  It is better now.  At least, it’s well enough for me to be able to go on another trail hike last Sunday with adequate caution.  With all the rain this year, the creeks are flowing beautifully.   Milkmaids are usually the first wildflowers to bloom in the woods.   Last Sunday I found Trilliums starting to bloom along the lower parts of the trail as well.   It really is magical in the forest.

 

 


 

…and The Bookstore

 

Home Library Stack of books photo by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

I also went to the bookstore an inordinate number of times and added on to an already tottering pile of books in the home library.  Barnes and Noble hosts a book drive during the holidays.  We have been participating for over a decade.  Every year, we browse through the children’s section and purchase a stack of new books, which then gets distributed to underprivileged children.  It is a huge part of my winter break.

 

 


 

Playing Music

 

Chinese Dizi flute by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

My husband always gives me a few art supplies for my birthdays.  Along with a book on how to draw swords, I also got a  Chinese flute called Dizi this year.  The flute is made of bamboo, which resonates with a very beautiful sound.

 

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the photos –

 

 

I am very happy to welcome it to my music instrument family.  In case you are wondering, I have never played a flute before.   I mostly play the violin and the piano.  I occasionally tinker with the guitar if a song calls for it.   I am excited about learning how to play a wind instrument.  First of all, I need to get used to making a consistent sound without feeling dizzy!

 

 

Tavish the maine coon sleeping in a violin case by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

Bamboo is very prone to cracking, so the flute is bunking with my violin.  The case has a hygrometer in it, so I can monitor the humidity.    Tavish also loves to bunk in there.  Here is a picture of  him sleeping inside my violin case. He not only sleeps but also snores while I play the violin only a couple of feet away from him.   No idea how he does it; the violin at close quarters is very LOUD. 

 

 


 

Making Gifts

 

Redwoods National and State Park pen drawing by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 

I drew this little scene from a very favorite road of ours up north at the Redwood NP.  It is super twisty and narrow, and often a tight fit for cars through pairs of redwood trees on the road.  I used this drawing as a cover for a book that I made for my husband as his birthday gift.  I will save that story for another day.

 


 

 

Designing And Binding Books

 
 

Hand Bound books by Soma Acharya, Ink Torrents Graphics, inktorrents.com

 

 I mix my own adhesive for the binding.  I made so many books that I ran out of  the adhesive that I had made.  I experimented with and improved upon processes as I made these books.   I also painted and block printed new book covers.   I can’t wait to share them with you over the next few weeks.  Some will be available in my shop with new cover art, as well as new binding styles and paper.

 


 

 

The Girl And Her Cat Books

 

 

Spending time together

 

I have been steadily working on the Girl and Her Cat stories.  This girl, by the way, was very happy with her decision to stay home with her kitties.

As much as I love wildflowers, I, for one, is not looking forward to spring as it limits my time outside and fresh air completely due to severe allergies.   So, needless to say winter is a happy time for me and it was a good break.  Today’s post was more of a sampling platter.  I hope to share details over the next few weeks.   Thanks so much, everyone, for staying with me and a hearty welcome to my new visitors.  I hope to continue to bring more inspiration and write posts that make you smile.

Until next time,
-Soma

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them.

 

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Wandering Camera – Muir Woods

Muir Woods | Whims And Fancies

 

 

This Wandering Camera started with an innocuous conversation that turned into a morning excursion.  A few weeks back, my husband and I went to get haircuts during a cold and wet morning.  The lady who cuts my hair is usually very quiet.  However, the weather outside got us talking about Muir Woods.  She had visited Muir Woods recently after a rainstorm and loved how the forest transformed into a wet and misty place.

 

 

Muir Woods | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I am one of those few people who love winter.  When we lived in southern California, we used to come up to San Francisco during the winter months to enjoy the crisp and cold, wet and windy weather, often visiting Muir Woods as well.  Sadly, even though we live so much closer to it now, we haven’t gone there once since we moved up here to northern California.  After having that chat with her though, it was inevitable that we visit.

 

 

Muir Woods | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I would have loved to photograph the forest after the rain, but I happily settled for an early morning cloud layer before the sun broke through it.  Muir Woods is about a 70-mile drive from our place.  So, to get an early start, we woke up while it was still dark outside.

 

 

Muir Woods | Whims And Fancies

 

 

The place was exactly as we remembered it.  I even recognised a couple of the mighty coastal redwood trees by the markings on their trunks from our visits all those years ago.

 

 

Muir Woods | Whims And Fancies

 

 

Even though the redwoods dominate this landscape, we saw many other plants growing in the forest under the shade of the tall trees.

 

  

Muir Woods | Whims And Fancies

 

 

After a couple of hours, the sun was high enough to come through the forest foliage.  Only a few rays could penetrate the thick canopy of leaves high above us.

 

 

Muir Woods | Whims And Fancies

 

 

I love how dramatic the fall leaves look against the dark background of the redwood trees.

 

 

Muir Woods | Whims And Fancies

 

 

As the sun continued to rise, some of the early morning magic started to dissipate, so we decided to head back.

 

 

Downpour Rain Painting | Whims And Fancies

Downpour – a marker and colour-pencils drawing

 

Although we didn’t get to walk in the rain, it was still wonderful to visit the forest.  We had a fabulous downpour last week and it is continuing into this week.  Both my husband and I love to walk in rain and snow, they make us ecstatically happy.  We will be revisiting Muir Woods very soon, this time hopefully wearing our wet-weather clothing.

 

I will be going into my winter hiatus soon to enjoy my favourite season, so there won’t be a Wandering Camera next month.  We will resume again in January.

 

Camera And Photography Linky Party | Whims And Fancies

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them. 

 

 

 

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