Saturday July 11th

Tuesday July 7th
This was hitting the road day for me. I grabbed the rental car around 7 am and was on the road by 10am. I could not take off earlier because I HAD to watch the days Tour De France. This has been a total obsession every July since Lance Armstrong won his second Tour. I had caught a small and random story in the NY Times online about this American that was expected to win the hardest bike race in world. So, ever since, each July I get up around 4 or 5am and watch the days stage.

So around 10am after the Tour was all wrapped up for the day I headed west towards to California and then turned north towards Washington state and Tacoma. I got all the way to Santa Nella and the Pea Soup Andersons on the I-5 for the night. I slept so hard and had a really slow morning waking up on..

Man was it hot in Palm Desert - and I was no where near my pool!










Wednesday July 8th
I had to miss the days stage of the tour so I could get driving. I drove 11 hours on the 7th and I knew I had at least another 12 to do today. I found good coffee at a Starbucks before I hit the highway and headed north. The drive was long and the ever-changing countryside was as amazing as always. I love to see the shift from desert to see trees and to have that change to farmland as I cross over the Grapevine into the southern end of the Central Valley of CA and drive north. I spent both days listening to books on my iPod and chatting with friends on my cell phone. I got into Tacoma around 9pm and crashed soon after watching a wrap-up of the days tour stage. Lance Armstrong was in second place, only behind by 2 one-thousandths of a second. Could not be more exciting!

Mt. Shasta in northern California.










Thursday July 9th
Got up early to accomplish my morning tasks and to watch the Tour and to achieve alertness as slowly as possible. I was tired and my back was killing me. I had to get to the venue by 11-ish to make sure that I was ready for the Preview from 5 to 8pm. This year is a bit weird. My roomies of the last 2 years chose not to come as well as the 2 people that I was to share a booth with. So even though there are totally excellent people here in Tacoma this year: my normal routine has been interrupted and I miss Gail & Meesh totally.

Once you cross the Oregon stateline trucks can haul 3 trailers. SCARY!









Friday July 10th
Got up early to, oh surprise, watch the days stage of the tour. Today was the first full day of the Puget Sound Bead Festival and the crowds were busy and people were buzzing around all day long. I have a very nice day and sales were very nice indeed. At the end of the day one of my most favorite pieces sold. My meteor pendant and a necklace were sold to a very nice lady that thought the piece was a cool as I do. I am please to see it go out in the world and to be going to a good home. It is really rather bitter sweet for me in some ways, it is really one of my favorite pendants that I ever made. I will never forget waking up around 3 or 4 in the morning and just knowing how I wanted to set the stone and I worked for several hours till I accomplished my goal.

So I am all tucked in for the night and I just need to go to sleep early and try to rest up a bit. I am going to take of directly after the show in Sunday and get at least 4 or 6 hours of driving in before I stop for the night so I can get home at a reasonable hour on Monday night and have all of Tuesday to accomplish required tasks.

Monday July 6th

This just made me laugh!















I was a total loafer all day on the 4th, each time I started to head toward my bench to accomplish the tasks that I have laid out for myself I would find something, anything else to do. I had NO desire to work on Saturday so; needless to say I have been a bit slammed on Sunday & Monday making up for my lazy self-indulgent day.

The 4th was a wonderful day of swimming and chatting on SKYPE & watching movies, and like I said avoiding my bench. (I did accomplish that with a great deal of dedication and determination.) But the biggest and most wonderful part of the day was the fact that Tucson found the funds to sponsor the "A Mountain" Fireworks. The display is launched just west of the mountain peak and the coolest thing they did this year was to have fire works set off at the tippy-top of the mountain that made it look like a volcano exploding. I would have LOVED to have been able to get a shot of it but alas, I did not have my camera with me. I am very lucky indeed that I have a wonderful view of the mountain from my back yard and we can dangle out feet in the pool and relax, watch the display and NOT have to worry about the amazing traffic jams afterwards.

So, Sunday & today have been all about packing and finishing up projects and trying to make sure that I do not forget anything. All morning while working away, drinking coffee and getting jobs accomplished I watched a most exciting stage of the Tour De France. Lance Armstrong of Team Astana jump fro 10th to 3rd today by jumping at a late breakaway that tore the peloton apart and left several of the other leaders in the dust. Well done Lance & team Astana.

I think that I have all of my ducks in a row & all of my I’s dotted & T’s crossed…I feel pretty confident that as I drive off (IN AN WESTERLY DIRECTION.. sorry to say) I am all set for a productive show. It is still a weird time, several of my friends have decided to take the hit financially, lose the booth fee and not go this year. These are super hard choices to make for sure and I feel for those that have to make that choice.

Well I am beat, my eyes are tired and I need to turn off the light and close my eyes to wonderful visions and have sweet dreams. I have made my promises to try to NOT have a repeat of last years crashing of a mini-van in LA and to try my best to get to and from Tacoma with "bells on".

More tomorrow evening after a long day of driving, I hope to get on the road around 9am and drive for about 12 to 15 hours. If I can get out the door earlier I shall. I hate driving around large cities during high traffic times and I have to be careful to avoid the Phoenix traffic as well as LA traffic. Wish me luck and I will let you all know my progress tomorrow evening!

I hope all of you had a happy and safe 4th of July.

Saturday July 4th

HAPPY 4th of JULY EVERYONE!







I have been traveling so much lately that I have missed the first few monsoon storms that have gone through Tucson. When I got home Tuesday Night / Wednesday Morning I found every palm frond, pine cone and spare branch from my neighborhood at the bottom of my pool and that took almost 2 hours to clean out. Yesterday was hot beautiful and I had the nicest swim after I accomplished the pool cleaning and then last night… a HUGE monsoon came through town dumping a huge amount of water. The thunder and lighting were amazing and it lasted for a very long time and right as I went to bed last night it started pouring again and I fell asleep to the most beautiful vision in my head and the sound of the rain against my window panes.

Today is the 4th of July and my roomy Bria & I went to the store early and grabbed a few morsels to get us through the day in style. I am going to grill a steak and I will grill her some chicken and we will have a nice feast and bemoan the fact that the city if Tucson cannot afford it’s A Mountain fireworks this evening. They probably would not have gone off anyway the clouds are here and it looks like another evening of monsoon storms.

As you may know, I have always been a fan of history and I fell in love with US history from my Government teacher from High School. I have spoken of Huff prior to this and I will once again remind us of the words that mean the most to me from our Declaration of Independence,

~But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. ~

As I was preparing this post for today I re-read those words and decided to take them into my heart with a more personal view. Say these words to yourself, take them as a person declaration of your life and if they ring true to you in any manner look at the circumstances of your life and make the changes required to provide for your own personal freedom. Make choices that are good for you, healthy for your own growth and make your life a happy one. It took looking at these words as more then a declaration of our nations freedoms and to view them as a choice for personal freedoms. Make a choice to pursue the means to your own happiness and to not live by or for a situation that never would provide for personal happiness or acknowledgment of one’s own life. Never live by the despot’s rules and never live with the abuses that bind you to an existence that is less than deserved.

Thinking about this as I am writing this has given me a few things to ponder as I drive north next week for the Puget Sound Bead Festival and I look forward to listening to what I have to say to myself.

Happy Independence Day to us all!

Wednesday July 1st.

I had a wonderful 5 days in San Francisco. Last Friday through Tuesday, I got to spend time in my favorite sections of town. Our hotel is right at the gate of Chinatown and right around the corner from my favorite little downtown sushi restaurant. Headed over there right after checking in. The afternoon exploring Chinatown ended up in North Beach and getting the required box of XOXO Truffles. Now these are the best little bites of wonderful chocolate ever. Friday ended up with a late Italian dinner in North Beach sitting outside under the heaters of the cool SF night air and watching all of the people as their conversations wandered in and out of earshot. All of the night sounds of SF are still so very clear in my mind.


Anne Devine meeting up with us for brunch.






Saturday was the birthday girl’s day and following well established birthday rules the birthday person gets what ever they want on their birthday. We started out by having a delightfully late brunch, hooking up with my friend Anne Devine and then starting off on our day of more meandering around. After much shopping we ended up at the Georgia O’Keefe & Ansel Adams exhibit at SF MOMA. Then it was off to view the city and have an adult beverage from the top of the Marriott. Dinner at Blowfish Sushi to Die For was excellent as always.











Dinner accented with a cold Saki flight





Sunday morning was SF LGBT Pride. The parade started off around 10:30 and went on for hours. Everyone ends up at City Hall, listening to music and partaking in some of the best people watching ever known to human kind. Then it was off to dinner at my all time favorite place in SF, Zuni Café. Oysters, polenta w/mascarpone & Parmesan and an oven baked chicken with black current bread stuffing. Ummmmmm Yummy!

Hanging out at SF Parade and watching all of the festivities





Monday was a sort of sleep in morning after such a very long Sunday out in the sunshine. We ventured out and did some damage at the Gap and several other shops along Market Street and then we headed to the renovated Ferry Building Marketplace to see all of the new shops and continue the meandering. After a ride on the historic F Market line trolley, our day ended us up all the way up at Fisherman’s Wharf for a nice dinner and to see the fog roll in.

view of Alcatraz from the pier behind the Ferry Building





Tuesday came around all to soon. I was not ready to leave SF. This place had been my home for over 15 years and I love parts of it so very much and sharing it with someone is even cooler. Like up at the Wharf, running into the relocated Musée Mécanique and playing with all of the old mechanical machines was a true highlight. Just sharing all of the things that I love about this city is a treat.

I got in super late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and had to wake up and get to work ASAP. I have loads to accomplish before I take off next week for the Puget Sound Bead Festival. I am not teaching and am just exhibiting so it is going to be an interesting event this year. Many of the exhibitors have pulled out and chose not to make the trip. This year is getting hard for many and the fact that they are taking the loss of booth fees as a choice has to be very hard to take.

Friday June 26th

The last few days of this week have been rather insane. I have been scrambling and working at my bench to get my submissions for all of the Interweave classes for 2010 in for review. I think that I have some nice new projects and creations ready for public consumption. I have to say that I am pleased that my friends all seem to think that they are ready as well. It is an exceptionally cool thing to be able to get feedback on projects before sending them out into the big bad world. The feedback is always helpful as soon as I can let go of the thing and listen objectively to an honest criticism.

I had this honest criticism happen to me a few weeks ago. I was told that I needed to change my website index page. I was very kindly informed that it was too busy and that it was not clear what the objectives were for my website. Well, after I got my hackles all tucked back in where they belonged and I actually listened to the observations I did discover that she was right. So, I am in the process of re-doing the opening page of my website. I put so much time, energy and process into the change that I instituted in 2008 that I was not really ready to hear that it could be better. Lesson learned: Most things can always be better with a second pair of eyes.

So, here are my 2 new submissions for Interweave.
Sterling and Fine Silver Cuff
This is a heavy gauge rectangular wire riveted top piece with 8 gauge sides and some fused chain and an S-Hook clasp








Heavy Gauge Fine Silver Chain
This chain is fused 12 gauge Fine Silver folded and formed to this really cool bracelet.






The third class that I am teaching is going to be with Gail Crosman Moore. We are taking that one-day workshop that we debuted at the Tucson Gem Show on the road. We are going to be offering it at all 3 Interweave Shows next season as well as the BABE show in Oakland this fall. It is a one-day extravaganza that promises to be a BLAST. I could not be more excited about this opportunity. Gail has such an amazing way of viewing the world that it is a joy to travel and room with her any time.

I am off to San Francisco for a weekend of fun and festivities. It is going to be a blast to be back home for almost 5 days. I still have work to do while I am away but it will not be such a hardship to look out my window and see SF out there, waiting for me, when I finish up my tasks.

Sorry I have been away for the last few days, it really has been a bit of an insane time getting these submissions in before the deadline of TODAY! Whew!

Yesterday was kind of a weird day. Both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett both passed away. These were 2 iconic figures of my formative teenage and early 20's. I am saddened by the passing of both of these individuals. Each in there own way had struggles that formed and molded them. My heart and thoughts are with their families and loved ones these next days.

Monday June 22nd

I am exhibiting at the Puget Sound Bead Festival on July 10th – 12th with a preview evening on Thursday July 9th.









I am teaching and exhibiting at Interweaves Bead Fest Philadelphia August 20th – 23rd









I am teaching for The Place to Bead in Naperville at their Second Annual Suburban Bead Encounter. August 27th – 30th





So if you are in any of these areas please come by and see me at my booth and or sign up for a class.

The passage of another icon of our time is fading away, Kodak is no longer going to produce Kodachrome Film. It has been in production since 1934.



I have spent some time lately going over a statement that I quoted in my life for quite some time. I would state with pride…"Come on Give me Somethin' Hard". I have always liked a challenge, I feel that given time I can pretty much figure most things out and the Internet is a true Godsend for this trait. I like to test my own limits but I believe that I have come to the basic understanding that there are just some things in life that are actually not meant to be that hard. I believe that I have come to the understanding that there are just some things and can be easier than I have been working towards. I have come to question why there are individuals need to have things wound up so tightly, in a nice neat and controlled bundle that there is NO room for spontaneous frivolity and joy in life? You know what I mean? Guess What? Things happen, and to be able to just take it all in stride and not get all whipped up about it is really what it is all about. To discover and enjoy the ease that your life can take on is true freedom and you can look the world around you with a new clarity. More than anything else I love to laugh. I love to laugh at the simplest things and the most outrageous things. And it has taken time but I love to laugh at my own idiosyncrasies. Because guess what? Some of those things are totally worth a good laugh.

I enjoy an uncomplicated approach to life that comes from a living with general sense of ease. I have no fear of hard tasks I have just come to terms with the fact that there are way to many things in life that are to be enjoyed and there is no reason to make it hard.

Wednesday June 17th

When inspiration flashes strike while the iron is HOT. But I’ll be damned if what I came up with today was an interesting creation. I am liking it more as the day wears on but it is just not something that I feel would actually sell as a viable class submission.










With the input of many friends I feel that some great ideas were thrown out and about and I think that with a few adjustments this will turn out to be a very fun all day class that will explore a variety of techniques. We will explore texturing, riveting simple fusing & clasp making. I think that in the end that this will be a totally excellent class that I will be able to get excited about. I had fun today making my napkin sketches come to life.

I will be back at it tomorrow with a batch of new ideas and I will share it all then. Have a great night and a most excellent tomorrow. A friend posted Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah on her FaceBook wall tonight. I posted it over a year ago on my blog because it is SO beautiful… here you are again. It is SO mesmerizing and so moving. Enjoy!

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Tuesday June 16th

Okay, major choices were made today and major decisions were decided. I have a plan for what next years' classes are going to consist of. I try to make to a point of having my classes for Interweave be different from my Bead & Button offerings. This year there were some significant similarities, mostly due to some last minute additions required by B&B. Basically, I needed to add a workshop in about a 24-hour time frame, so, I had to go with a class that I had in the works.

I have made some very interesting choices and I think that next years teaching schedule will be exciting for those taking the classes and for me as well. So keep a close eye out for newly posted work.

I am going to be at the bench for the next several days fine-tuning the choices that I have made in this last 24-hour period and I have to say that even though this is the way that I normally work it seems a bit out of my normal spectrum. I can’t say why, maybe it will become clear as I work over the next few days.

All I know is that I am looking at things from a new-ish viewpoint and so far I like it. The work on the new aspects of my web site is going much more slowly than I would like. I am NOT at all pleased with my learning curve and I hope to do better in the next few days.

I saw this picture on a friends FaceBook wall. It made me laugh.

Monday June 15th

How is it that we seem to misplace some of the things that we cherish; a habit or tradition that was so ingrained and yet we let go of it and do not miss it for quite some time? I was sitting around on Sunday morning, drinking my coffee (a ritual that will never be lost BTW) and perusing one of my favorite Sunday sites. I have come to love Post Secret, if you do not know it please click and follow along. Then I go to the Sunday New York Times and read my favorite sections and then I look through about 6 or 7 news sites and that, in a nutshell, is my Sunday morning routine.

I used to get the Sunday NY Times delivered but then, along with the Internet revolution, I became an Internet JUNKIE. So that ritual, the unfolding of the paper and the dividing of the sections has morphed into surfing the web. I miss the news print at times. I miss the folding and unfolding of each page, I miss the smell of the fresh paper and I miss being able to cut out and save articles or pictures that I would stack on my desk and I miss being buried under piles of papers that my cats would love to burrow under. But mostly I miss hunkering down and attempting the Sunday NY Times Crossword puzzle. (=FAIL every weekend!) Now I have folders on my desktop and files of images that are forever stored on my hard drive and a warm computer on my lap as I carefully sip my coffee and I can cheat on the puzzle with the entirety of all knowledge at my fingertips.

As I sat and preformed this latest version of my Sunday routine I started to think about some of the rituals and routines that I have lat go. One of my favorites was Christmas morning. For years I would arrange a platter of smoked salmon, mini toasted bagels, capers & cream cheese right along side the Osetra caviar with crème fresh, chopped eggs, little toasts and finely chopped chives. Fresh squeezed OJ, Coffee & champagne would be slowly ingested while an entire day of movies in front of my fireplace and laziness ensued. I have lost that tradition in these last few years and it is one that I would love to reinstate if ever given the chance.

There are just some things that are not meant to be lost and then there are some things that are just meant to shift with and change with the ebb and flow of life. I may miss my bed strewn with papers that I would then have to discard but I really love that I now have EVERY paper available to me at my fingertips. But I really miss do some of the special rituals that I have lost and I think that I need to really try to bring them back into my life because they meant so much to me for so long there is an emptiness where they used to preside.

I had a wonderful day today and I am getting all of my class submissions ready for 2010. Keep an eye out and check out my website over the next weeks as there are gonna be some nice changes happening.

Saturday June 13th

Friday was a very interesting day for me. Rio Grande has started carrying my Chain Making Techniques book and I actually got a full tour of the facility a few months back. Well I have been thinking and I inquired about teaching for them. I had ordered some wire, sheet and tube for some projects that I am pondering and chatted with the one of the members of the teaching team. We are going to have a really real meeting on next Friday to talk all about it. I think it would be an excellent collaboration and it may, just may, make it possible for me to not have to travel so far and so often. Routines are wonderful and a reoccurring gig like that I think would be a real blessing.

I had an excellent rest of Friday and ended up getting my hair all cut off and having a wonderfully weird sushi dinner. The sushi chef had some very interesting ideas about what would actually go with raw fish… I think that the olives were a not so good choice… but the rest of the meal was very nice and how can you go wrong with an very large Asahi and hot sake.

Today was another lazy day. After I got the irritation of an annoying task taken care of the rest of my day was SO very beautiful. I got a few good errands accomplished but I really had no desire to do anything other than what I was doing, I just wanted to continue the simple task of just rejuvenating for the ENTIRE day. So, that is what I did. The errands that I did accomplish were good ones that needed to be done but I had no desire to wrap my head around ANYTHING large.

I think that I am still in a tired daze form Bead & Button. I know that I will get back to it ASAP. I think I just needed a bit of crash and burn time.

Thursday June 11th

I sort of took the day off. I realized that I have not stopped or even slowed my pace for the last month or so. I have not had a day off. I have worked like crazy, taught 12 classes, drove 4000 miles to and from the show and I am a bit worn out. So I took the day off. I got up early as usual, got my coffee and promptly went back to bed with the clear intention of making this day Anne’s Self-Indulgent day. I read for hours, I played on the computer; I messed around on FaceBook and chatted with friends that I have not had the time to catch up with. It was a wonderfully indulgent day. I took a long 90-minute hike in the hills that gave me an excellent workout to the point of sweating and then I had a beautiful steak dinner.

All the while my head was churning with a few new ideas that I am brewing for classes and jewelry and what I am going to be working on the next week as I prepare to get all of my class submissions ready for 2010. Can you believer that we are already talking about 2010? What the bejeebers is actually going on here. I look up from my work and it is ½ way through January and I look up again and ½ the year has disappeared from right in front of me. Well they do say that time marches on and I guess that they were not kidding.

I keep reflecting on this phenomenon we call the passage of time. What is it about time that seems to cause such trepidation in us? I look back at the occurrences of life and even though some of it really sucked it got me to where I am now, right now at this very moment in time… I like where I am, I like who I am and more than anything else it is the sum of all that time I have spent getting to right here that has helped me to understand life a little better, try to make some smarter choices and to just know that I can do almost anything that I put my heart and mind to.

It is the selfish and the false ones that make it difficult. It is those that cannot face the hard, talk it out, realize their own issues and confront themselves dead on that create the drama in life. I have many friends that no matter what, I will get the truth from and I will know exactly where I stand. Just because we disagree does not mean that our friendship is in shambles. It is the ability of taking those really hard moments, facing them and coming out as stronger friends that makes those hard moments bearable. I am so grateful for those friends and I cherish them more as time passes, because I have begun to truly realize how rare a thing these qualities are.

I am looking forward to the ideas that are whirling around in my head I think that the work will excite and entertain me for quite some time. I have a really big order in my head that I have to place tomorrow for silver wire & silver tube and silver sheet and all manner of exciting things. CAN’T WAIT.

Wednesday June 10th

Well you know you are a slacker when you actually receive emails telling you to get back to work and start blogging. I know that I have been a slacker this year and I have no excuse other than to say that I have been very distracted these past months and that I am going to do my best to get back to my focused self. I do find that the I am missing the act of writing every day and composing my thoughts and actually taking the time to reflect.

My last day at Cris’s was excellent and she has 2, count them 2, owls that like to perch in the eaves of her house. If you are quiet and make no sudden moves they will just sit for a few moments and let you just take in all of the grandeur that these animals entail. They are SO beautiful and they are so very quiet when they fly. But the cutest thing is that they talk, or HOOT” to each other.
















The drive was hard this year. I had really big storms again all the way from the Colorado, New Mexico border all the way into Nebraska so I got to Milwaukee tired and I do not think that I ever recovered. Saturday was a 4 hour drive into Milwaukee, set up the classroom, check into the hotel, airport pick up run and then hooking up with Andrea & Whit for dinner and that turned out to include Donna Mehnert and Illana from Israel. You know you are back in Milwaukee when there are loads of people at dinner with you and the laughter is raucous.

Well, workshops started bright and early on Sunday morning and finished up on Tuesday night. Everyone made such amazing things and I could not have been happier to see all of the strides that people made in their own skills and how far they thought outside of the box as they worked over those few days.

My remaining 10 classes started on Wednesday, as always, that day is my hardest day. I teach from 8am to 7pm. There are 3 classes a 30-minute "break" as you run across the convention center and get set up for the 3 hour meet the teachers. The day ends up being somewhere from 18 to 20 hours long because there is NO WAY on this green earth that you can just dive into bed after. It does take a few to unwind and try to breath again.

The rest of the weeks classes went so amazingly well. There was much levity and good humor as each of these people got to learn something new and to gain new skills.

Saturday night was the event of the week. Not only is it the Bead Social it is the silent & live auction for Breast Cancer and I received my Excellence in Bead Artistry Award from the bead & Button Staff. I was also given a $1000 gift certificate from Shipwreck Beads.

Mmmmmm Just Thinkin' 'bout what I MUST have…

Andrea, Terri, Cris, Gail, Stacey, Karen and a few others had been plotting to see how best to make me laugh the hardest… I think that they figured it out.... um the tiara and the flowers were NOT part of what the B&B staff had in mind but they played along with the joke beautifully.












The best part of the evening was the live auction. Andrea Guarino-Slemmons, Terri Caspary-Schmidt & I had pieces in the live auction and my friend Cris Leonard had one of her Dragon Fly Lentil Beads on a chain in the silent auction. I know that I am missing a HUGE number of people that participated in the event but we were the loud ones that made people spend more money on the pieces for a great cause.

The show was wonderful, classes went very smoothly and as always it is great to see all of those people that you only get to see a few days out of the year and there is never enough time to see everyone nor is there enough time in those days to get enough sleep and there is barely enough time for cocktails and good food. I would not trade these days for anything. This show is one of the highlights of my year and this year was made truly special for me by all of my friends and adored one that made a special effort to be there to support me and share in a very special evening with me.

Friday May 29th

Well good morning to all.

It has been a rather crazed week of travel and visits and more travel and work and more work. I got into Albuquerque around dinnertime on Sunday and well Sunday was Sunday. Monday was a day spent at my newly portable bench working on a piece that I was to have had done before I had even arrived in Alb., so needless to say I was just a bit behind on that task and since Monday was a holiday I rather felt cheated that I did not really take advantage of that whole “take the day off” attitude the rest of the country was engaging in. Oh well, I really did have a VERY fun day and the piece came out very nicely indeed, if I do say so myself.

Tuesday was the early day of driving. I had more horrible storms and when I crossed into Colorado I was pelted with HAIL. The temperature dropped 25 degrees in 10 minutes and as I was in shorts I was just hoping that I would make it over the pass without incident. I only made it to North Platte Nebraska that evening. I had actually hoped to get several hundred miles further but as I filled my tank and watched the torrential downpour I knew that I was finished for the day. I grabbed a beer from the store and a bowl of chili from Wendy’s. (TOTALLY healthy dinner…NOT) I crashed in my Ho Jo’s rooms and slept in till past 7:30 the next morning.

The drive on Wednesday was just grey and dull. I had not seen the sun for several days and I have to say I am feeling the effects form the lack of sunshine. But I arrived in Iowa City around 3:30 and was just so very happy to pull up into Cris’s driveway get out of the car, sit in Paul’s chair, drinking a beer catching up. We had really good Indian food for dinner and I tried to stay up to see my Bruddah Paul who had to work till 1am. I did not make it. I crashed about 45 minutes before he got home.

Thursday was a GREAT day of working in Cris’s studio and once again unpacking my portable studio. We had a blast and her friend Cindy Slater (owner of Bead Haven in Cedar Rapids) came over and joined the fun. I actually had the best time listening to these 2 great friends banter back and forth and making each other laugh. I got 3 pendants finished up, and completed a necklace for myself that uses a new bead from Terri Caspary Schmidt that I sort of procured off of her bench. All I have to do is spend an hour and clean up the chain and throw it into the tumbler and I will have a piece of jewelry that has a BEAD on it.. (Does that make you happy Cris? I did it just for you.)

It is now Friday morning and I am actually seeing the SUN for the first time in days. I have my cup of coffee and am having sweet morning interactions with Cris and the very very sweet Miss Sophie.

The elegant Miss Sophie soaking up the rays and surveying her realm.













It is nice being here with my friends, just sort of relaxing and having fun before the insanity of Bead & Button starts up. I sit and look at the past several years and find that the changes that have taken place are amazing. What I also fine fascinating is how quickly a pattern can be integrated into your circuitry. I have read that you can totally integrate a “habit” into your life by simply doing that thing for 21 days. I have created some new “habits” in these last months and I am finding it even more intriguing how I find the way to incorporate these into my travel routines. The funniest part is that Cris and I have not spent any alone time together since I came through Iowa City last year and after about an hour or so of catching up, having a beer and playing with Sophie we both grabbed our computers and became engrossed in our emails, FaceBook and the news. We never stopped chatting on and off but really, the things that we enjoy and desire to maintain is really funny. We had quite a laugh about how we both just needed to have our worlds on out laps.

I leave for Milwaukee early tomorrow to set up my classroom and start seeing the rest of the circle of people that are my creative family circle. Safe travels to all and I am looking forward to seeing all of you.

A Tarot that is to good not to share...

The Root - Two of Pentacles: Change

The Root card deals with past events or influences that have played an important part in bringing about the current situation, and these influences are still likely to have an effect now.

The encouraging aspects of your situation at the moment have been brought about by making a change for the better, particularly in terms of your material circumstances. More difficult aspects are likely to be the result of suffering from a tendency to vacillate between ideas and decisions, or not being able to find anything to rely on.

The Covering - Four of Swords: Truce

The card in the Covering position highlights the important events, issues, attitudes or influences around the question or current situation.

This should be a more peaceful time after recent trials and tribulations. Things can get better now after a period of struggle, and this hiatus will give you the opportunity to collect your thoughts and formulate a plan of action. This card often indicates a period of recovery and recuperation. Your intellect is stronger now, so make use of it.

The Future - Page of Wands

The card in the Future position suggests fresh influences or events that are about to come into play and are likely to operate in the near future.

You are entering a time when you can be yourself and have the confidence to take risks. You will have the opportunity to be daring, individualistic and enthusiastic, letting your brilliance shine through. You should channel your energies into practical affairs and be willing to take a chance, but curb any tendency to be domineering or superficial. The Page of Wands has connotations of travel, and an important journey may play a part in this process of individuation, as may visitors from far afield. In his role as a messenger, the Page may bring significant news.

Sunday May 25th

I was up a 5:30 and out the door by 5:45am to grab the rental car at the airport this morning. A full thermos mug of coffee and off I went to stand in line and grab my vehicle. I got back to the house and had the car all packed up and my all showered and clean and ready to hit the road by 10am. I was actually about an hour behind my desired departure time but I knew that I was in no rush today and I was looking forward to plugging my iPod into the Aux port and listening to my tunes and watching the landscape drift by.

All 18 office boxes, my entirely over packed self, the PMC kiln and various other items all stored very effectively in the back ¼ of one very large SUV.

So, I had quite a drive from Tucson to Albuquerque today. After I crossed the state line into New Mexico I was met with a very impressive display of lighting, thunder and the biggest raindrops that I have ever seen. I was almost certain that it was hail. Well this lasted on and off all the way to Albuquerque. It is an awesome sight to see the clouds light up and an amazing sound to hear the crackling of the thunder as you drive towards it.














The waves of the storm fronts were so incredible to watch, I had a hard time sort of remembering that I needed to pay REALLY close attention to where the heck I was going… Yes that is me behind the wheel of the SUV driving forward and trying not to drift off the side of the road. This automobile could actually take the place of Noah’s Ark if required. It can hold a pair of everything yet I found it oddly comforting driving this behemoth in this weather. At least I knew that I was not going to be doing and hydroplaning in that bad boy.

Here is one of my favorite new singers that I was introduced to..

Antje Duvekot on YouTube