I was curious enough yesterday to ride my bike to Retzer Nature Center for the last showing of "Hubble Vision II" at the Charles Z. Horwitz Planetarium, part of the Earth Day Extravaganza activities. The sky show was educational and the Hubble pictures superb, but even more curious was seeing Mrs. Horwitz there also. It kind of felt like buying a telescope and running into Mr. Hubble. I learned from her as much as I could about her husband and discovered we both had lived in the same neighborhood for over 20 years. What's more curious; learning they lived in the same neighborhood, or living there 20 years and not knowing?
Had an interesting conversation with a craft demonstrator when at Machine Shed for brunch today. I'd never seen a demonstrator there - and he said he's been there Sundays for six years in the off-winter. He asked if I'd seen the Waukesha section of the Sunday Journal Sentinel. Curiously, that happened to be the one section of the paper that I had
right in my back pocket.
Laurel Walker had done a column on the Intergenerational Folk Art Fair offered by Waukesha County's Retired Senior Volunteer Program today. The artist I met, Tom Hill, was mentioned in the column along with his wife Betty. Tom and Betty create beautiful baskets out of pine needles and sweetgrass in the Seminole Indian tradition. Tom taught himself the skill about 10 years ago and knew the answers to all the questions, as one would have to when teaching children as they do.
My kids have been to these Intergenerational Folk Fairs at school in the past and have loved them. I can see their point. Tom is warm and knowledgeable and has an interesting skill with a pretty good story. He makes beautiful and inexpensive baskets that would make great Mother's Day gifts.
If you'd like to know more about Tom and Betty's baskets, send me an email and I'll put you in touch or stop by the Machine Shed any Sunday.
