Buttons

My button box is sort of an archaeological dig into memories of clothes worn and projects made by me, but also those of my grandmother and John's. grandmother. Our grandmothers were a thrifty lot and saved the buttons which outlasted worn clothing. I have bought buttons for sweaters I have knit, and saved those annoying little packages of one or two extra buttons that come with new clothes. There are the silver buttons from a shirt I spent too much money on and wore until it fell apart. There are two buttons from a  Girbaud coat I saw in Milan had to have. I never wear long winter coats, but I still have it in the back of a closet. Now It looks like something from the Beatles  'Yellow Submarine' album circa 1968. There are little  buttons from a chambray shirt I embroidered for John during the 'summer of love'. I don't know what happened to the shirt, but I still have the buttons. 

They are not going to relent and give mat classes at the Pilates studio now that they have a new separate space for the private classes and more room ,for the equipment groups, but one of the teachers I like is offering a class that is an interesting hybrid of yoga and Pilates. There is now enough room for mats between the reformers and although it feels a bit strange, she did a good job of combining two practices. 

The physical practices have quite a bit in common, but the mental approach to each is quite different. There is a picture of Joseph Pilates on the wall and it has always struck me how similar he looks to my teacher, BKS Iyengar. Despite their different backgrounds, both men focused their work on healing and strengthening the body. And despite that focus, I suspect that neither man was exactly warm and fuzzy. Iyengar certainly wasn't.

When several of you pointed out that I mentioned posting a picture of the vulture I wrote about yesterday, but forgot to do it, I went back to rectify the situation. Blipfoto, for reasons of its own, refused to let me do it, so I have put it in extras for today. It's not a great picture taken through a window and against the light, but it does give some idea of what big birds they are and what tiny heads they have.

I have located my suitcase right where I thought it was (never send your husband to search for something of yours) and now must go and try to figure out what to put into it.