Dori DeCamillis

This post is an update of the past weeks. At home and work I've been busy, so here's a short photo recap of my goings on. My mom will appreciate it. The photo from above was taken on a silent retreat at Sacred Heart Monastery in Cullman, Alabama. I had our invasive forest ripped out and laid a whole lot of sod. After 10 years of fighting nasty vines and bushes, we are happy to see our large property. I donated a painting to the Alabama Folk School at Camp McDowell. Lovely Maggie Johnston (of Camp McDowell) and Janice Barrett (of Wild South) modeled with me. It's always nice to hang out with other tall girls. Scott and I spent a lazy day on Clear Creek in the Bankhead Forest at Camp McDowell picnicking with friends and fishing I got a new guitar and this is the case. The guitar is even prettier. We hosted Halcyon, the solo show for Mary Compton at Red Dot Gallery. Mary's family came from Baltimore...

In bloom now: Scott Bennett's daylily that will be named after me if it proves to be a hardy grower. So far it's looking pretty good. I've been waiting 12 years for this! I kept choosing flowers for my namesake, but until this one he declared them unfit. 

My daughter, Annabelle DeCamillis, won an award at the UAB Juried Student Exhibit held in the gorgeous new AEIVA building. Above is a photo exhibited as part of her installation featuring her in her bathroom with a painting of her bathroom on the wall and on a dress she designed and made by hand. She wore the dress at the opening and tried to hang out nearby to answer questions from the crowd. The dress will hang on the mannequin until the show comes down.  AEIVA Website

Before Annabelle goes back to college, she and I had a mother/daughter weekend in the mountains. We stayed in a cabin in Mentone, AL and hiked in Cloudland Canyon, GA. Saw lots of spectacular views, most of which were right out our cabin door. 

A few weeks ago I visited my 94 year old Granny in Fort Collins, Colorado. Granny is a strong, funny, sharp woman, and had a fascinating life. One of her many pursuits was collecting salt and pepper shakers, and all told she amassed 2000 pairs. I took photos of a tiny fraction of the collection. This post features the pig area.