Happy Birthday Colin

Twenty-eight years ago today a nurse handed us this fierce little bundle. I told Jimmy "Go ahead and stick your finger in his mouth". Instantly Colin latched on like a snapping turtle. I was fortunate to have my finger on the right button to capture the moment. I may have posted this before but it's one of my favorites.

Home

It's so good to be home. That's my basket in the picture. I made the gentlemen from Africa un-bury almost all of the baskets they were offering so I could eyeball each color scheme until I found just the right one. Here we have the day and the night, the moon and the sun all worked in seagrass and leather. Jinx christened it as soon as I walked in and put it down and now I have put my first work in progress inside it - the eventual recipient will recognize it, I think. Many raveled threads to catch up and set right here at home but one by one each will be dealt with. I have a few pictures from Convergence that won't get me sued (un accustomed as we are to Happy Hour) but I'll clear them with the rest of the crew before any are published. Until then here's this from last evening. After the storm passed I watched the sky go from bright gold through pink and here before I made myself get up and try for a shot. Not doctored, this is really what the sky looked like!

signing off from Tampa.

More of this through the night and on and off throughout the day while I was mummified inside the bowels of the Convention center diddling bits and bytes and shuffling paperwork. I'm handing this laptop off to someone else on the staff tomorrow so I won't be posting until after I get home next week. While the impressions are fresh in my mind I have to thank all the wonderful people I have met and been working with here in Tampa. Folks have been so kind and thoughtful and gracious it makes one guilty to have a cross moment or thought no matter how long and difficult the days might have been. for now, sleep. ->>NOTE --all these photos from Tampa are not my work. All borrowed from public sites and will be replaced by my own photos once I get home where I left my transfer ability. But - the view (of the sky) from my hotel room window was just like this.

sulllen skies

I really like this tropical weather. Each day is bronze and bright and sticky then the breeze picks up and clouds come ganging, lead colored with golden edges. As the sun is busy setting somewhere behind those banks of clouds, fat bolts of lightning split the skies far and wide but they all seem far because it's 22 one thousand before thunder rolls weakly. Sometimes it rains, sometimes it doesn't. Tonight it's just falling. I have seen it rain so hard it seems like there is no spaces between the drops. It was another long day at Convergence gathering up the loose threads of folks' paperwork into some kind of net with few enough holes so that they can go about the business of enjoying the workshop or studio they have signed up for. I try to make each issue matter as much to me as it must matter to them but I confess to a diminished capacity for suffering fools. I want to post a sign on the door "YOUR DRAMA IS NOT MY DRAMA" but I won't. The vendor hall opened this evening and I made a bee line for the people here from Africa selling sea grass baskets. Mine is shaped just like the one in the picture but has different colors - wide bands of midnight blue and sun gold. It smells like life and it's the perfect size for any kind of hand work plus one cat. The sky is purple now and the lightning gold but the thunder has gone to bed.

working working

Even if I had remembered to bring the transfer cord for my camera, chances are I haven't had time to take any decent pictures. The egrets roost across the river from my hotel hoping for someone or something to fall in and float by. The gulls at the convention center are not as shy and very much enjoyed the slice of cold pizza I rescued from the trash for them. They are still talking about me. So far the conference seems a huge success if listening to the attendees is any measure. My job consists of working at the computer making sure that everyone gets everything they want or need. Except me. But I remind myself that I am here working an assignment. For pay. Stop whining. I did get to peek in to a couple of workshops yesterday. Got to see actual looms with weaving happening. One room thrummed with a group of women working spinning wheels. A surface design class was busy dyeing fabric with disperse dyes yielding beautiful and unpredictable results. Felting classes creating what looked like rows of sea creatures. Yes, yes, pictures of everything next week some time. It's 6 am. Time to go back to work.