Irish Inspiration

This post is to inspire you - my readers to check out these pictures taken on my Irish travels, and join in the flower making fun on June 26-28 at my flower making workshop. I still have room on all three days -

This post if also for my friend Diane who takes AMAZING pictures of flowers, morphs them into art and helps me at the workshops.

The details on the workshops are:

• They are held in my studio in Pittsfield, MA.
• 10-4 each day
• $150 per day
• Come one, two or all three days
• One and two day students can come on any day/s that work/s.
  

Scroll down to see what the flowers I have made look like and email me at www.crispinaffrench@gmail.com if you have any questions or want to register.

Green, Family, and Fairy Portals

Today's Aside:
I got a really helpful tip on arranging images on my blog page to correlate with the text. I have not allowed myself the time to use the tip tonight. Please bear with the haphazard flow of this post and know that tomorrow will be a learning day on my computer - in the blogosphere - as long as it is raining.


Yesterday was spent at the cottage - the place that the girls now call Ireland. When they get tired when we are out roaming around they say they want to go home to Ireland.

We did go to see Auntie Ellie who is not feeling so well. I foolishly did not get a picture but promise to capture her beauty before our stay is up. She is beautiful, fit, tiny, agile, smiley, full of life with truly the most amazing garden I have ever seen. She is 90. Lives by herself (I am sure she shares her home with an extended family of
fairies.) Her not feeling so well has to do with her heart beating too fast leaving her short of breath - a lot. She is not used to asking for help or even wanting it that much. It is frightening her. Damn thing seems to be wearing out - she says. These pictures were taken enroute to her magical abode. We didn't stay too long as we arrived unexpectedly and Lucy was sleeping in the car. We will go back as much as we can while we are here.



Note to readers:
We do spend time each day seeking a decent
cup of coffee. We have been spoiled by our neighborhood haunt back in Shire City, and so far have not found anything that compares!

The sailboat at low tide in Kinvara harbor was the view from yesterday's coffee stop. The coffee was decent but not great.

The cement gate post is at the entryway to a house built like the newer barns here with lots of glass and a visible staircase - making me think that it is a residence - and the veiw was notable too. Part of what seemed to me to be an organic farm not far from where we are staying on the edge of Co. Clare

Third from the top is the road to Cregmore, Ellie's home.

Next is the road I walked down to see friends nearby - a two way road on a blustery moist afternoon. Got acupuncture for my sore hand and a hot cuppa tea.

A purple bloom among lush green roadside texture.

Co-op Retreat, Fairy Houses

Last weekend I participated in the board retreat for The Berkshire Food Coop. It was a lovely stay at 9 Mountain Retreat and Workshop Center with true remote quiet, tastey whole food, and lots of wilderness to 'get lost' in. Once we got our work accomplished, we carpooled back to culture. I got home and CRASHED before the girls were in bed! All the serious, deep, collaborative thinking had seeped into my energy reserve and wiped me out.
Now that I have had a chance to recover, I am more intrigued than ever with the coop business model. Which enters into other aspects of my thought - Alchemy Initiative is in deep discussion around business structure with all our forward motion set aside until we can decide and pursue the structure that makes the best sense to us all.

It is imperative to do deep collaborative thinking in a Fairy House!

Alchemy Initiative

So my husband and I bought the buildings shown in the top two pictures here in 2006. Shown first is the rectory to the church shown second. The rectory is 7000 sq ft, built 1905, it has a huge yard and is morphing into 6 separate living spaces.
We live on the top floor in the biggest unit, about 1400 sq ft with three bedrooms. On April 1 a third unit will be occupied so we are nearly half way there!

The church is truly exquisite. a nearly 6000 sq ft footprint. Full of amazing stained glass and details of 1895 craftsmanship not normally seen in today's construction. There are two floors now. The lower level where 400 patrons were seated at the weekly Bingo events for the church. We have been using this space since we made the purchase, most recently for workshops.

The upper level is still full of pews and the remnants of an altar etc. We envision a third level dividing the upper level space to make it possible to heat and accommodate our plan.

The third, photo is of the convent, built in the early 1900s for the Notre Dame property. It is unoccupied, has fallen into disrepair and is on the market for CHEAP. Chris put an extra low bid in for it yesterday. If we get it, it will not be torn down to give us a clear shot view of our 24 hr Stop and Rob across the way. It will become an integral part of the plan we are conjuring.



Alchemy Initiative is the name we are using and for our intention, there is a multi faceted business plan is coming together now. It includes, an urban farm garden, workshop space, a public reading room, commercial kitchen, music venue, coffee/tea house, and hotel/hostel all done with green renovations and systems. Rainwater catchment, alternative energy, native species plants, filter plants, organic food plants, and a seed bank are in the plans. My dream is to power the whole thing with a wind turbine on the steeple!

An intensive internship program is in development stages.

There is a blog devoted to the process depicting the journey of the project's development. There is not a lot to see right now but you can get more information about our plans at www.alchemyinitiative.blogspot.com. Check back in a week or two when there will be more to it. Events are coming together for April and June already!

Harvest

This past weekend was a welcomed introduction to a circle of surreal magic that seemed to be on every corner. Route 9 from Pittsfield to Twist Fair in Northampton is not to be missed. Check out the eyecandy! This is just a sample!

Just back from the beach - stay tuned for timely updates

It is a good day

Most days I go for a walk. I used to run in the mornings before getting married and having two babies in two and a half years. It is hard now to find a rhythm that supports running but most days I do get in a good walk.
Good thing I have a dog. Okemo is chill as long as she is allowed time to run around in nature unleashed if possible. I feel the same way.
Changes in my morning routine with the school year change where we go. Living in the heart of this small city doesn’t really provide a walkable destination desired for my walks. I need to be off pavement, soaked in oxygen, immersed in nature and that cacophony.
In the mornings after the girls are dropped off at their slice of nirvana, Okemo and I make a loop over to Kirvin Park off Williams St where this solace is found these last few weeks. We walk along the paved way through a large sloping meadow of Queen Anne’s Lace in full bloom and shoulder high Golden Rod working toward its bloom in late summer. Views of our rolling Berkshire Hills grace our way. This place is pure dog heaven. People come from all over Pittsfield with their companions who run freely sniffing and playing and kicking up their heels. After a healthy dose of that, Okemo and I wade through cool clean babbling water skirting the ball field, into my nirvana of quiet meditation, muddy trails, dragonflies, twitters and shrills. Lungs filled with life and calm. Shoulders back, heart open, deep nourishing breath, connecting me to the earth and my dog.
Ohm
Shanti
It is a good day.