Today I "walked the old haunts" with my grandmother. It was the first time I had seen her or been in her house since my grandfather died in September. It was beautiful and made me a bit sad that I cannot do this every day. The way she observes things while walking is completely different from how I do. I appreciate light quality, air quality, and other things which directly alter my physical state or the general aura of the environment. She notices the smallest hickory nut on the ground; the rustiness (vs. brightness) of the trees; and every shrub, vine, tree, and herb we came across (and she identified them all); and the smallest, most delicate fungi growing on fallen trees.
We went back to her house after the walk and shared tea, looked through my grandfather's clothing (as I like to wear men's dress shirts as my hiking/painting/lounging shirts over camisoles), and looked through many images that my friend Brian had digitized (as they were originally slides).
She also showed me a picture that I hadn't seen before of me and my grandfather. I really love it (but vainly wish I had been more photogenic, so as to make the picture more... perfect).My grandmother is an amazing woman. I hope I won't ever forget the things she has said to me throughout my life- in passing remarks, commentary on various topics and people, and the bigger life lessons.
She has never once told me what to do--she believes everyone should find out and do, always, what is best for themselves--but I find that everything I do is based on what she has told me.

-Camille