Posted by Patron Saint of Knives on February 29, 2012 · 2 Comments
Life here at the Ocular Edifice is, more or less a circus of animals. There are the 5 chickens, which scratch randomly about their coop in an inoffensive and generally entertaining manner and deliver us enough green eggs to satisfy our needs and still have enough left over to give some to friends and neighbors. … Continue reading →
Posted by Patron Saint of Knives on February 25, 2012 · 3 Comments
Going to yard sales is like reading a book of short stories with a general theme, but an unending assortment of characters and situations. The stories you find there are a long random string of pearls strung through a city with a blacktop thread. The stories themselves, like pearls, are grown from small grains of … Continue reading →
Filed under Bargaining, Found Things, Humor, Tradition, Treasure hunting, Uncategorized, Yard Sales · Tagged with Bargaining, conversation, Found things, hobbies, Humor, learning, meeting people, tradition, treasure hunt, Treasure hunting, unexpected surprises, Yard sales
Posted by Patron Saint of Knives on February 24, 2012 · 1 Comment
A lot of the stuff I find at yard sales ends up in my eccentric garden under the category of “Yard Art”. It is an esthetic genetically passed down from my eclectic parents, both of whom found pleasure in small treasures and unexpected surprises. I also remember with admiration the long and twisted driveway of … Continue reading →
Filed under Found Things, Humor, Parents, Tradition, Treasure hunting, Uncategorized, Yard Sales · Tagged with art, Bargaining, bird house, birds, buddha, crafts, diy, Found things, gardens, hidden creatures, Humor, learning, Parents, treasure, treasure hunt, Treasure hunting, unexpected surprises, Yard sales
Posted by Patron Saint of Knives on February 21, 2012 · 1 Comment
My father was a scholar and a true intellectual. He wrote many books which he sometimes referred to by their weight, started the University of Santa Cruz, was a university professor emeritus, could quote long passages from obscure books, and was renown as a historian of the people… He also raised chickens… In between his … Continue reading →
Posted by Patron Saint of Knives on February 19, 2012 · 2 Comments
Some of you may know that I lived for many years in Japan, teaching English, writing for newspapers, and making masks. It was a strange country… that place of the rising mists. There was a mix of the sublime mysterious temples and the steep narrow streets. The cherry trees, heavy with subtle blossoms, and the ancient … Continue reading →
Filed under Dogs, Tradition, Uncategorized · Tagged with Dogs, Humor, learning, meeting people, mutts, mysterious temples, small apartment, strange country, Uncategorized
I used to work at the Benson Hotel in Portland Oregon, a fine old hotel with crystal chandeliers, a grand palatial stair case and an elegant entry hall all paneled in a dark rich walnut so rare now as to be considered extinct. I worked with a cast of characters as odd and eclectic as … Continue reading →
Filed under Bargaining, Found Things, Humor, Tradition, Treasure hunting, Uncategorized, Yard Sales · Tagged with conversation, Found things, Growing up, Humor, learning, meeting people, tradition, treasure, Yard sales
Posted by Patron Saint of Knives on February 12, 2012 · 1 Comment
If Murphy were a Bigger dog, he’d probably rule the world. He’d chase it round the universe and bite it as it twirled. He wouldn’t care for politics, he wouldn’t care for war. He only cares for playing, for that’s what dogs are for.
Posted by Patron Saint of Knives on February 11, 2012 · 3 Comments
Last year, I made a substantial amount of money at yard sales. Certainly not enough to quit my day job, but enough to provide seed money to various other projects that I have been involved in. Over the past several years yard sales seem to have gotten much better, the quality and selection have improved … Continue reading →
Filed under Bargaining, Dogs, Found Things, Humor, Tradition, Treasure hunting, Uncategorized, Yard Sales · Tagged with Bargaining, conversation, Found things, hobbies, koans, learning, meeting people, tradition, treasure, treasure hunt, Treasure hunting, Yard sales
Posted by Patron Saint of Knives on February 9, 2012 · 1 Comment
Among our menagerie of cats and dogs, we have a little Manx cat named Ruby. She is an other worldly creature who chases invisible lights on the wall and stares intently into space with owlish eyes. For some unknown reason, she has taken to hiding in the closet, behind the socks, where she waits in … Continue reading →
It is still winter here in the great Northwest. The garden is a sodden wreck, the ground saturated and most of the plants are either dormant in the earth or stripped bare of their foliage. My banana trees are still wrapped in their winter cloak of black plastic and fiberglass insulation, and this most recent … Continue reading →
Filed under Dogs, Found Things, Parents, Tea, Tradition, Uncategorized · Tagged with art, conversation, Dogs, Found things, gardens, Growing up, Parents, Tea, tea shack, tradition, treasure, treasure hunt, Treasure hunting, Uncategorized, Yard sales
