A Trip to Lincoln

 I went to Lincoln, Nebraska for 4 days.  When I left it was summer; when I returned, the light had changed. Hot or not, it is fall.  Truthfully the sunrise was lengthening and softening, and I was aware the change was coming, but the mid-day light still had that summer quality before I left.  Or I was just too tired and in need of a break to notice, although I don't think that is the case, and now that I have been refreshed and restored I am more aware of the subtle changes in my environment.

I didn't notice any changes into the light in Lincoln, but I am not familiar with Nebraska light or weather, and since it is both north and west of me, the light may have already changed.  Summer or Autumn, however, my trip was delightful.

The trip was prompted by a fabulous Arashi-Shibori dyeing workshop, which I attended with my friend Liana, who was kind enough to put me up.  That first day, we basically learned the basics about mixing dye and dyeing fabric in the morning, and in the afternoon we started working on folding and wrapping fabric for the Shibori technique. 

It was a fun day, but also exhausting, and we really had nothing to show for our efforts yet, just some pieces of solid color fabric, and several other projects in various states of transition, waiting for the next day's experiments. Liana and I dyed the aqua blue/green fabric shown above.

We went out to dinner and pretty cocktails; these were called "Hungry Like a Wolf".  I, for one, was in bed early.

Friday was the second and final day of the workshop and it was pretty intense, with twelve students and our instructor working furiously trying to accomplish as possible in our very limited time.  We went home with wet pieces of fabric wrapped in plastic, leaving them to either cure or dry overnight in Liana's sewing room, while we went out to dinner and a concert by the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra.  I liked the way the concert was set up, with the audience seated at large round tables, which created a relaxed setting conducive to socializing.  I think I preferred this to the concert-hall settings I have more recently attended for jazz concerts, but then, although I enjoy jazz, I am no connoisseur.

Saturday was more informal.  There were two tailgates that Liana had been invited to attend, and I got to tag along for wonderful food and small glimpse of pre-game Lincoln.  Small pleasures included teal M&M's at one tailgate and caramel popcorn at the other.  I marveled because it simply never occurred to me that M&M's could be branded and ordered in special colors.  I guess I do live in a bit of a haze sometimes.  Anyway they thrilled me so much I took a bag home, even though I can't eat them.

Downtown didn't seem quite as crowded as Knoxville, but I suspect this is deceiving.  Lincoln has a bit of the spaciousness and openness that I remember from my childhood in Texas, although of course the landscape is different, and downtown Knoxville is a much smaller and more compact.  We did drive around Lincoln a bit, and I enjoyed seeing parts of the city. 

We had more pretty drinks Saturday night.  Mine was made with beet-infused gin, and Liana's with cucumber-infused vodka.  I see that I am going to be playing with mason jars in the kitchen, attempting to make infused gins and vodkas, while I have pots of dye in the upstairs bathroom.

And yes, I will share what I made (mostly samples) but I need a little time yet to pull that post or posts together.