Karinaland River

  Smiling All year I am able to fill little vases and glass bottles with humble colorful treasures from the garden. This morning ritual gently weaves me into the day, grounds me in delight. Or is a way of keeping the chaos of our times at bay?      Even in the early evening, or at night, the last nasturtium flowers are beaming at me. From the window sill in my kitchen, they are spreading their light. Now with the sun setting so early, I enjoy them watching me as I cook dinner – keeping me company…   …smiling at each other…  

  Equinox   Each year, the time at the Autumnal Equinox invites me to contemplate balance. Balance between life and death – gain and loss – up and down – full and empty – joy and sorrow – light and shadow – young and old. There seems to be a hint of decay and death in the air, yet all is brimming with life. And ripening. Or is it that the light of Fall is initiating a pensive mood? The musky smell of forgotten apples on the ground. Today a dear friend’s glorious 80 th  Birthday Brunch full with vibrant guests, last night sad news of the lonely death of a 39-year-old Black solo performer and author. Fate & destiny.     Death is great as Life, wrote Walt Whitman  – painted on stone, in my garden   Yesterday evening, the sun is about to set as we listen to ten musicians perform a score that blends into the idyllic outdoor setting at the creek in Berkeley’s Live Oak Park. The music features sporadic horns, bird whistles, violin sighs, singing glass, falling seed pots and more. My atten

  Zwetschgendatschi   When Ingrid brings me a bag of  Zwetschgen , we start speaking in German, reminiscing about the late summer treat, in Bavaria called  Zwetschgendatschi . It is juicy plum cake that comes in many regional variations. Normally it is sold from a big baking sheet, cut into squares, sometimes also eaten with whipped cream – yum :)    At once, memories begin flowing: places in München and other cities where I grew up, studied, worked, performed, hunting for the best  Zwetschgendatschi  for so many years.     Since my mama’s recipes don’t include this cake, Ingrid gives me her grandma’s. I have not made a yeast dough in ages, but I am determined to try. Luckily, I still have dry yeast left over from my brother’s yearly birthday care packages. I substitute the milk with hemp milk, the white flour with whole wheat flour, the sugar with brown sugar, using less of it as always. I am curious if this will work – will the dough rise? These firm damson plums from Ingrid's tr

Asking for Justice – Garage Memorial Mural   Photos by Bob Ng     First the Memorial Mural was going to be only black and white, but as I expand to the notion and reality of  Stolen Lives,   Lives Stolen  and wrongful incarcerations, I feel red and turquoise color is needed to punctuate and bring it all together. After much research on the cases, I design and pre-sketch the lay-out.   I enjoy doing the bigger fonts in color, for the small names Nicky (artist, activist, dance teacher) joins me again and  skillfully  uses a black pen instead of the brush. W e finish this last stretch in November 2022. Above is the new set of stills which Bob Ng (photographer, cello teacher, musician) took this spring. His 2021 photos of the Garage Memorial Mural started the journey of  Karinaland River . When I voice back then that his unique and beautiful stills so inspire me to write, he surprises me by setting up a blog –  blmmuralblog  – urging me to go ahead and write. A bit timid in the beginning,