Friday March 20th

It has been way to long and way too many things have passed under the bridge in the past week. I had a wonderful time getting to know Santa Fe and spending time in Albuquerque.

Tuesday was the day that the gang arrived. My roomies, Gail C Moore, Michele Goldstein & Stephanie Sersich arrived safe and sound as well as Cris Leonard and Gail Lannum. It was so nice to have everyone around and to get to spend some time with all of them. It is a strange phenomenon, this getting together at shows, catching up, going out for good food and getting all caught up. It is the getting caught up that is the strange part. Most of us hang out on FaceBook and are all in each other’s lives but nothing is the same as having an adult beverage a good meal and just really spending time together. Had a great dinner at The Shed, a local MUST in Santa Fe society.

Wednesday was just an early day of hanging out with Cris L & Gail L. we walked around the square, peaking in all of the shops and galleries and just spending good quality time together. Early in the afternoon I drove off to Albuquerque NM to go see a concert at this really cool theatre. The KiMo Theatre is amazing; it is Southwest to the hilt. The proscenium arch has cow skulls that have red light up eyes and every detail of the space is totally excellent. I spent the first 20 minutes just staring at all of the architectural details. We went to go see a duo named “Coyote Grace”. They are a very unique duo that has a special story and they are very open about the journey that their life has taken them on. It was a very excellent evening and I enjoyed myself so totally & completely.

Thursday was a different story. It was time to get to work…I had to set up my booth and get ready for Preview Shopping Night. I shared my booth space with Cris Leonard; she was selling my tools, books, kits & jewelry while I had to teach on Saturday & Sunday. I could not have asked for a better person to take care of my stuff. (Even if she does not like my tags or the way I had to organize the tools under the table. To say that we were packed into the ballroom like sardines was an understatement. I was rather beat by the end of the day and just crawled into bed a most comfortable bed with warm comforters.

Friday morning was my last day behind my booth. Cris and & tried not to fall over each other and Gail L hovered and made sure that our booths looked good from the view of the customers, she has a great eye and made sure that both Cris & I were lookin’ fine. Had a very..very..very amazing dinner at the restaurant Geronimo that is in the Canyon Road section of Santa Fe. To say that it was a most excellent evening is an understatement.

Saturday & Sunday were TEACHING..TEACHING & more TEACHING. I had 2 ½ day classes on Saturday that were full to bursting. We had such a blast and I think that everyone did SO well and made great strides in accomplishing the tasks that I set before them. Fine Silver Findings & Chain Making is such a blast. Then Sunday was 10 students making the Pressure Setting Pendants and to say that everyone got done and everyone did a FANTASTIC job is once again an understatement. I love teaching and I love to see it when a student grasps a new technique and runs to town with it. Saturday night after classes was the social night. Gail L, Cris L Steph S. Michele G. Terri Caspary-Schmidt & I all went out for a really fun dinner.

Sunday night after classes were done and my booth was all packed up I was off to Albuquerque for a night of comedy once again at the KiMo Theatre and I had a wonderful night.

Monday was for sleeping in, walking around the downtown shops. It is a GREAT game & it was nice to get some sun after spending days inside ballrooms & classrooms.

Tuesday I got to spend some time hanging around before I had to drive off for home. It was nice not to have to drive off at the crack of dawn and I enjoyed my time in NM more than I ever thought that I would.