The Photographer and the Camera

I'm back in Berkeley on a three day odyssey. I'm staying at friends' but they are out of town, so I'm having my own mini holiday!

I brought lunch to my friend Marcia who is recuperating from knee replacement surgery 10 days ago, and ran into old neighbors in the local grocery store where I was picking up a few final additions to our meal.

I came to meet Natalie Chanin, a very interesting dress designer who comes to my favorite boutique here once a year or so for a trunk show of her new designs. She also teaches sewing workshops where we learn her unique methods of appliqué and embellishment, and she tells stories about her very unusual life. I have blipped a couple of skirts of her design, appliquéd and sometimes beaded, which I have made from DIY kits that can be ordered from her website. You can check it out if you have any interest at www.alabamachanin.com.

I was on my way to the bank in our neighborhood this evening in the Elmwood district when I ran into Natalie sitting by herself on a bench looking at her phone. We chatted for awhile before going our separate ways. My rather chaotic picture is of a camera in a display in a hat shop window, and of my reflection taking a picture of the camera.

I had almost forgotten what it was like to run into somebody I know wherever I go!