My book turned 5 months old this week and I have a feeling now that it is something quite separate from me. An iceberg broken away and drifting off, handkerchiefs waving from the deck.

I always loved the word handkerchief because of that silent -d-, but also because of the dainty waving of it, the lace or embroidery. Always for crying or goodbye. I bought some old handkerchiefs online recently and god knows why. Would it be affected to use one? It would be an exercise in sustainability. Ok, I’ve sold myself on toting a handkerchief around. I love washing things in the sink. That feeling of care.

I’ve been working on various projects, including a series of old postcards collaged with aphorisms, which has been fun. Most of the postcards are from France, including a batch of very dark caves, but I have a couple from Spain and Germany, too. The one pictured here is Behold Your Horses, which seems a good title for the series. I believe that’s Mount Blanc.

Otherwise, on and on it goes. For months, the date I’d have to get on a plane back to Spain was a faraway dot on the horizon, and now it’s next week. Needless to say, I have no desire to fly with the virus still circulating unchecked. I hope my husband and I will be fine but I’ll be withdrawing some cash to throw at my kids before we leave in case. These are ghoulish times. I have some good reading, and the beloved restaurant near my apartment is doing takeout.

In good news, I finally found someone to make some tardy fixes to my website, which uses a funky tool that many webfolk aren’t fluent in. So, among other things, now my blogs don’t disappear anymore. Yeah! Thank you Brian at Birthing Your Brand, which is geared towards doulas and midwives but can help anyone. An extremely nice person and very capable.