i am a fan of henry

i met a dog this weekend, a perfectly built and well-mannered if slightly aloof dalmatian by name of henry.

he sort of manages the flow of energy at the arm, i suppose.

he reminded me of the neighbor's old dog, of endless miles and incredibly strong urine. in spite of the smell, i did dig that dog. and i did dig running with him.

it took all i could manage to withhold my standard offer: "let me know if you ever need someone to run with your dog. it's no problem. they're my favorite running companions."

they are.

though, i suppose i'd run with a booted elephant, too, if i came across such a thing in real life.

anyway, this weekend i helped vs! with a project of his-- he made this really pretty design for some friends' wedding invitation based on their lives and taste, carved the block & printed it up this weekend (the first reductive wood block print i've seen in-process). this is what brought me over to The Arm, and to henry, by the way. i got to help (mainly just moving paper and once or twice actually printing)-- and i felt... ha, how to put this. grown up? like i was trying on my mother's shoes? something like that. some guy who was printing on another station asked if i was also a printmaker, and i ran all the definitions through my head and thought that someone who just occasionally carves a Nasco Safe-T Kut block for use with a bunch of 3-year-olds wouldn't quite count in any way that mattered to this man, and said, "noo. no, i am not."

but it did feel nice to crank that arm and lay some colors, too. with my favorite, favorite dude and a new favorite dog looking on. it felt nice to make something pretty with my hands. remember making pretty things with your hands?

i will post a picture of the invitation itself once the groom & bride have seen it. in the meantime, shhhh! surprise!