Purling Antonia: Tyana J LittleString

Tyana has posed in front of the statue of Hans Sachs in Nürnberg, Germany and next to Hans Christian Andersen in Solvang, California. She has fallen off the castle wall in Dilsberg, Germany and has sledded in Truckee, USA. She has climbed the ruins of Ephesus, Greece and has entertained little girls in Jamaica. She has posed on top of the welcome sign in front of Emily Carr’s house in Victoria B.C. and has waved from the rocks of Abiquiu, New Mexico in search of Georgia O’Keeffe.

I have dragged my bear, Tyana J LittleString, over mountains and I have dragged her across restaurant tables.
A picture in front of the twisted tree. Click!
One more with the yummy plum cake. Click!
Sorry, a bit of snow in your face for effect. Click!
Wait! Let me stick the knitting needles into your back to make you stand up straight. Click!
Oops, glad she didn't fall into the river. So much wind here. Did I get her fall? Did I click?

But, it seems that Tyana has come to the end of her traveling days. I have to admit that I have become a bit short-tempered. Probably because I don't bend as easily as I used to at the beginning of my travels with Tyana. It takes patience to pose a bear. It takes space in the suitcase to bring along her outfits for each day. And, it takes energy that I now have to invest into placing the cane in the right position to allow me to maneuver on uneven ground. This last trip has shown me where my priorities have to be during travel. On stairs. On railings. On minimal luggage. I have to concentrate on making the right move.

I feel a little sad and every time I look at her I feel guilty. She has comforted me in the lonely, windswept hills along Hadrian's Wall. I remember the day it rained and I clutched her under my torn plastic raincoat. I remember putting on her nightgown and setting her on the bed that evening after we reached the end of the 83 mile hike. I think of some of the islands we have visited: Guernsey, Victoria BC, Corfu, Santorini, and now Mykonos, Malta, Sicily. The hop on hop off bus rides we have taken, the ships we have cruised on together. Busy cities we have walked. Prague. Berlin. Munich. Marseilles. The hundreds of photographs I have taken of her. On tables, benches, trees, rocks, bushes and snow piles. In high grasses, by lakes, under bridges, on castle stairs, and in front of museum entrances. Important events in my life have included Tyana. The last time I had chemo therapy. The day I placed a rose in front of Herr Goethe's house in Weimar. The night I thought I might have a heart attack in St. Peter Port, Guernsey.

How can I dismiss her?

And just what is the right move?

And here are a few pictures, in no particular order, or about any particular time. Just pictures.