Market in the Park

Today we went to Mobile to run some errands, and we stopped by the Mobile Museum of Art for Market in the Park, where we met several artisans, listened to some free music, and admired some of the biggest blackberries I've ever seen. We had a nice chat with Theresa Collins-McPherson, who is a relaxation specialist and also sells handmade natural bath and beauty products, candles, and home fragrances. I'm signed up for one of her classes at the University of South Alabama, where she'll be teaching us how to make organic soap, bath salts, sugar scrubs and more. It was nice to meet the teacher and have an opportunity to ask a few questions before next week's class. We also met Mary Bower, who makes baskets from pine needles. She also weaves with marine rope and does a lot of embellishment with beads and colorful fibers. Beautiful!

I had not seen a gingko tree since I lived near Valley Forge a few years back, so I was pleased to see that some small gingkos had been planted at the museum. I love the way the veins of the gingko leaf radiate out from the stem, and have always seen some design possibilities with the unusual leaf shape. Maybe now I'll act on that inspiration.

We also went to the University of South Alabama library to see an art exhibit, which included some amazing batiks and watercolors by Jean Schulman and photographs by B.J. Ray. Definitely worth the trip!

While in Mobile we also stopped by B&B Pet Stop, which is my favorite pet store ever. They don't sell dogs and cats, but they do host a pet adoption event every Thursday afternoon, so I got to admire all the little kittens and puppies that were looking for new homes. Unfortunately, there's no more room at the inn -- we have all the dogs and cats we can handle now -- so I had to mightily resist temptation and be satisfied with buying 3 harlequin rasboras for my freshwater aquarium.