Thursday, October 25, 2001
The photographs come back tomorrow. The stone spiral design at St Columba's Bay had been dismantled, by humans or the sea I'm not sure, but I found the most marvellous stone to sit by me at work. It's a stone coil, made so by barnacle gnawing and battering from the sea, a mix of marble and serpentine, slightly rough and just large enough to be held in the palm of my hand and squeezed. I wondered if the other stone would feel jealous at being supplanted: it's oval, very cold, specks of serpentine in a marble matrix, but I can't bring myself to throw it out, I may have a ceremonial burial or may put it at a special place: the top of Whiteadder Water Valley or on the beach at Aberlady.
Samhainn is next Wednesday. I feel bad at not doing more, but felt there was the choice between putting the finishing touches to my presentation (=doing the actual work) or going to an organisers' meeting, and I'm afraid the presentation won. Still, busk on Saturday, run through on Sunday, get the buckets ready and have face paint ready, then all night carousing on Wednesday.
I took the bike to be repaired today, realising that wearing a long skirt is not the best cycling wear, especially when it's tight (it's a man's bike). In the end, I just pulled my skirt up and hopped on, then when I got off, I had to disentangle the skirt, thinking that it was exercise and therefore good for one. Still, the exercise was totally nullified by buying some Hallowe'en tarts (I just had to buy them for the chutzpah) - sugar pumpkin decorations, pink icing, black (blackcurrant?) sponge. They didn't taste particularly good, but it was the idea of them which was most fun.
Samhainn is next Wednesday. I feel bad at not doing more, but felt there was the choice between putting the finishing touches to my presentation (=doing the actual work) or going to an organisers' meeting, and I'm afraid the presentation won. Still, busk on Saturday, run through on Sunday, get the buckets ready and have face paint ready, then all night carousing on Wednesday.
I took the bike to be repaired today, realising that wearing a long skirt is not the best cycling wear, especially when it's tight (it's a man's bike). In the end, I just pulled my skirt up and hopped on, then when I got off, I had to disentangle the skirt, thinking that it was exercise and therefore good for one. Still, the exercise was totally nullified by buying some Hallowe'en tarts (I just had to buy them for the chutzpah) - sugar pumpkin decorations, pink icing, black (blackcurrant?) sponge. They didn't taste particularly good, but it was the idea of them which was most fun.
