Since Mom's dementia has gotten more severe, I've made it a point to write her three times a week so she feels connected. I'm working on simplifying the text without losing content–she may have trouble with complexity but she's not stupid. 

Mom was a committed artist in her day and still identifies as one. The two things that will wake her up are music and art. I can't do long-distance music, since she can't figure out the iPod I gave her, but I can send her art, which I do.

I replaced the broken printer with an Epson Stylus Photo RX595, very high end for me. But used. Alas, it didn't come with cables. So as I await the proper cables, I'm sending Mom little "Schnellmist" - her word for quick sketches. "Quick," as in "about an hour to make."

While I was working on Baba Yaga's suitcase, a white-haired neighbor came to the door cradling a box. When she came in, a rich, putrid smell hit from the box me like a blow. We went up to the balcony and she gently extracted an enormous dead crab. It could have been a king crab? I took many pictures, and then she left with her precious cargo.

I am so glad I am the go-to person for when my neighbors find corpses.

There it is, getting all packed up.

And here it is at the opening at Allied Arts in Bellingham.

There are four suits with four cards in each. 

Tent Caterpillar Suit: Tent caterpillars are voracious creatures which chew through alder and fruit tree leaves in outbursts about 10 years apart. The Tachinid fly lays its eggs in the caterpillar's head. When the caterpillar pupates, either a moth or a fly may emerge.

Tent Caterpillar - a voracious beginning
Tachinid Pupa - potential for two different outcomes
Moth - hidden
Tachinid Fly - control of impulses

Amanita muscaria is a poisonous and hallucinogenic mushroom that has captured human imagination. My German grandmother taught me a nursery song about a man with a red hat who lives in the forest. Caribou are known to eat the mushroom with impunity.

Amanita spores - a small start to a large result
Young mushroom - growing from debris
Old mushroom - poisonous unless you know how to handle it
Caribou eating mushroom - beneficial if you handle it right

Crows are curious, pesky, and intelligent. They represent wisdom and trickiness.

Crow eggs - a beautiful start
Standing crow - keen observation
Flying crow - flight
Crow skull - an end to suffering

Garry oaks are local to my region. They represent ancient strength.

Acorn - a lovely start to a huge endeavor
Oak leaf - the first flush of energy from the roots
Oak flowers - getting ready to produce fruit
Bare oak - completion

Telling a Fortune:
1. Keeping the issue or project in mind, choose three cards at random. 
2. Lay them out in a circle, with the fourth spot, representing Death, empty. The places are child, mother, and crone, representing the beginning, middle, and outcome.
3. Use the key above to read the cards, starting with "child."

Baba Yaga, of course, cheats.