Washington Revisited!

OK-So Mercury's in Retrograde right? Today another shipment of supplies are lost-this time its Dick Blick for the quilt show. The First time it was for my Washington trip-=UPS guaranteed me on Friday-but oh well- that doesnt mean anything to them-I asked for them to pay for the supplies I had to rebuy once I got there for my Sunday classes and Monday classes and they just laughed. Anyways-I had a beautiful day when I arrived in Seattle. Kristin;'s house is so cute-its upstairs in an old house and she's settled in very well-I wrote Claim Abundance on her wall-that gives me ideas for my studio too!! She is very happy and getting so many friends and activities its hard to find her at times
We had a really nice dinner in historic Ballard where there was the most amazing shops-We had GREAT Mexican food at La Carta-totally worth the wait
She was so nice to let me stay with her-then Sunday it was off to Lacey where I taught two classes at a neato store called Art and Soul-=the students were great! Susie Tracy the owner was so wonderful too! Then to Kathy Petersens in Olympia where her husband Jim prepared a beautiful Salmon dinner paired with champagne, chardonnay and a lovely dessert wine-man have I got the life or whaT!! The next day was paste Papers and Watercolor techniques for their guild. The results are awesome-check out the flickr site photos! Linda O'Neill came from the island and Sequim-it was so great to see her
that night was Aikido night back in Seattle-My daughter is now an orange belt! Man do they throw each other around alot!I am amazed by the power and grace-It was really interesting to watch her sensei move-like caligraphy come alive
We went to the Honey Hole for Dinner-another outstanding meal-Im still trying to recover from all that food. We woke up and made a day of it in Seattle-the weather was great-we hit the Japanese garden first after breakfast at the Hi Top cafe-an old house thats been retrofitted for food. It may be jsut me but it seems like Seattle has a million really cool shops and cafes-I cant wait to return and explore
Then to the Historic Wooden Boat Shop where they restore classic old boats-Kristin volunteers there-of course they love her and shes making many friends there too
Kristin had arranged a potluck for that evening we made a huge Kristin everything but the sink salad and Kris made LOVELY bread-Oh her friends are all incredible and fun and they made me laugh so much even though I wasnt feeling too well. It was a perfect night in Kris's treehouse!
Then on to Art Fiber Fest at Port Townsend-about a 2 hour drive and ferry-pics on the flickr. Poor Robins bags were lost and we got a late start-see Mercury again-I taught 2 days and then took a Traci Bautista class. The first day was Flip Book of dark and Light-again I met incredible people who went with the book program although i wasnt too clear on the structure! I met Kristi Steiner and her sister Jan and they invited me to Italy! to teach! Im thinking this will be in May 2009-but I'll keep you posted!! Yay for me! I am incredibly lucky and thank my stars for all I get to see and do in this crazy life. There was a wind storm that day ( Mercury) but we didnt have to go off the island thank god- the next day I taught Calligraphic Cavalcade-another group of lovely people I met there-so much fun!! Teesha and Tracy have that magic about them that they create these wonderful spaces for everyone to create and we love them for this! They Might be coming to Santa Barbara with this event-oh I HOPE so!! So Its back to Seattle-Kris is surely tired of seeing me again-but promises to visit for Thanksgiving-YES!! We went to Julias on Broadway for breakfast and there was a farmers market nearby -whew-Then i flew home!!-Thank you Kris and everyone who put me up or put up with me!
Im tired reviewing this!!
So Tonight is Yoga and a reading at Open Bookstore-Im getting into this groove of doing lovely things for myself -I like it!Theres alot to do but I deserve this
Now its on to Quilt then maybe a break from traveling for a while.

A BETTER DAY!

The fires are somewhat subsiding-a great thing happened-I heard from so many people that were concerned about me. I had to laugh a bit because all we had to go through was some smoke and soot-That is nothing compared to what somepeople lost. It makes you think about the big picture though.
I wanted to tell you more about Seattle -and yet Im so thrashed today_im getting ready for the Quilt show-Only four classes to prepare for AND Open Studio twice at Make It U-Quilting Arts Booth AND mixed Media Miscellany-whatever that will be.
Got my Somerset Studio today-My Angels are featured ! I have to laugh because that is so unlike me to work on dolls. You just never know where this life leads you-I have been reading Eat Pray Love ( like the rest of the world!) and she mentioned that life is one half destiny and one half choice-I kinda like that
That book is really echoing my life exactly-so closely its spooky! I was just asked to teach in Italy by Kristi Steiner-I am so absolutely over the moon-three weeks in Italy!??!! ( we're still thinking about the dates) I expect next the universe will put me in touch with my guru soon ( this is a Eat Pray Love inside joke!)

Sad California

There are historic fires today-so much lost and devastated-its hard to know how this will affect us all at this point.My friends in these areas are so far fine-we are fine too-its really only in the deserts and mountains-but that is huge-when you look at the map of San diego county you'll see that most of the county is now on fire. The news is on all the time and it's pretty unwatchable-I hate that the Breaking news caption is on all the time.
This is a picture of the sun and the smoke-my pool is coated with soot and leaves-the plants are all wilting in 100degree heat-I cant bring myself to water them -I feel like its wasting water I may sometime need
Im feeling very sad about alot of things Tomorrow will be better-I keep telling myself this!

Back from Washington

Tour Over!
I have posted my photos of my wonderful trip to Seattle and environs-buit Im so sleepy now I'll have to write about it tomorrow
The week was amazing-and there's alot to tell so please come back

Cant even put up a link!

OK-heres the website-Maybe someday I'll figure this out
www.chicagocalligraphy2008.com

LETTERS MINGLE SOULS!

Yes! I just found out I was accepted to teach at Letters Mingle Souls in Chicago this summer! I'll be teaching the Fine Hand Lettered Art Quilt-a 2 1/2 day class-then I need to rush home to the quilt conference here in Long Beach. I am going crazy right now getting ready for the trip to Seattle and getting the classes together for the Quilt show-I have to send it all this week as I'll be in Seattle for a week-get to visit my daughter and teach at Art nSoul in Lacey,Olympia calligraphy Guild and then finally to Art Fiberfest in Port Townsend
The link to the Chicago Conference is above I hope!

Voices for Peace

So I just got back from an event I organized and turned out awesome! We arranged for speakers and artists and musicians to speak about the meaning of peace in their lives-It was amazing-I brought that tryptich I made about Julia Butterfly and Aung San Sui Kyi-I am amazed by some of the stories I heard-from parents and vets. There was a 21 year old girl, Wendy Varranco-who had been in the service for 3 years and deployed for 8 months on the front lines! She said its a lie that the govt, tells us that there are no women out there-shes organizing for the Iraq Veterans against the War.
When I was her age I was just wondering where the next frat party was!
Im trying to distract myself with all I have to do to get ready for my next trip-I have to pack for Seattle and Houston quilt show as there isnt enough time between to order stuff--better go and get to bed so I can face the day!