Germany!

Well I arrived in Hamburg just fine! A bit tired though. We drove around a bit since I couldn't check into the hotel till 2:30. It is a beautiful town, looks like I have a lot to discover while I am here. The only thing that could make it totally perfect is if Whit was with me! I miss you Sweetie!

I will try to keep you updated on my journey.........

not sure what this building is, just thought it was really nice..........

There are many waterways here all throughout downtown. I am looking forward to just walking around town! Today is some kind of holiday so most things are closed.

There is also something going on between the Nazis and the Communists today that is said to get violent..... so I think I may just stick around here for the day and catch up on my rest!

this is an elevator that holds 2 cars and takes you 1200 meters down so that you can go under the river! I asked how much it cost and was told it is free.

the tunnel........

Saw this and thought of Kathy and Devon!

As you can see they are doing lots of building here.

Hope that everyone is doing great!

Hi Theresa!!!!!

Love you Whit!

Rainbow

A nice photo I took the other night from downtown Port Townsend.

Feather Earrings

These are some new earring designs I am working on this week. I can't seem to stop working off mandrel these days!

I have been trying to get an inventory ready for Bead and Button and also a few beads to take to Germany with me. Seems like I can never catch up. Hopefully after Bead and Button I will have beads for sale on my website again!

Today

Today was great! Opened the kiln and this is what was waiting for me along with a bunch of new feathers similar in color to these! I need to rivet the feathers tomorrow. Then I went and had a 2 hour massage, came home and made beads with my good friend Anna and then we took my Dad and Sally out to dinner for Sally's birthday!

This is a fountain that is right across from the Silverwater cafe where we had dinner.
It was just a great day........

Hiding

Of course Towanda has all the toys you can imagine, but lately pieces of newspaper seem to be her new favorite! Whit will make a tunnel out of the paper and she will either hide or run through it as fast as she can.......... over and over and over again!

Feathers

I have been busy riveting my off mandrel work today. Here are some small feathers that I worked on today. The smallest one is about 1". I also did some off mandrel hearts, I will try and get some photos of them tomorrow.

When is Spring getting here?

I arrived home from 90 degree days in Texas to this! I think that it may be Nicole's fault since every time she comes to visit it snows........ guess who picked me up at the airport?

Austin! Last Day

We had a visitor on the last day of class. This is Nestle, Jim and Rose's dog.
She is such a sweetie!

Jim couldn't resist getting on the torch!

And there was a rose at my station! Jim says that Whit better come next time!

Jim and Rose and The Second Class!

Jim and Rose are some of the kindest folks I have ever met! Their studio is awesome, they have all the glass you could want and then some! Their ventilation is great, something that is very important to me since I do teach so much fuming. They take care of you like you are family.....

Thank you Jim and Rose for everything........ you know that I will be back!

The students were wonderful as always! We had a lot of good laughs in this class!

I hope to see all of you again sometime! It was great fun teaching you all!

Rosie and Hendrix

I drove to Boerne to visit with my family yesterday! I had a great time with them. Had some real Mexican food! And got to play with the dogs!

This is Queen Rosie, my sister Theresa's dog, she is definitely the queen of the house!

This is Hendrix, my nephew's new puppy! He is adorable...... I wanted to take him home but Nick wouldn't let me!

And this is Nick with his Bud!

I need to get some photo's of my sister Christine's dogs........ they are going to be jealous!

Ok now back to Austin to teach my second of three classes.......

Austin Blue Moon!!!

Austin Blue Moon totally rocks! This is by far one of my favorite places to teach. Jim and Rose are just wonderful kind people that are just great to be around.

The students are all just great! We had a really good time. They made a ton of really great beads.

This is Lisa, my wonderful assistant...... she is just great! Thank you for all of your help Lisa!

This is Jim and Lydia and they definitely look guilty of something.......

And this is my good buddy Al Janelle..... I sure wish we lived closer... He is a wonderful person...

Packing for Texas!

Towanda seems to know whenever I am leaving. I have been trying to pack my beads and tools and she won't leave my side! She has been laying on top of my beads so I can't pack!

I am leaving tomorrow to teach at Austin Blue Moon. I am looking forward to seeing Jim and Rose! And as a bonus I get to spend some time with my sisters!

An Aussie Adventure!!!

This is my friend Jacquie Campbell from Australia. She is visiting here for a month taking bead making classes and visiting with friends. Whit and I asked her if she wanted to go to Hurricane Ridge today and she was game for it. ..... little did she know what was in store for her..........

Here we are up on the top and Whit and I are telling her that if we walk just a bit further (mind you we didn't have snow shoes) she could see Canada just over the hill.........

and Whit is telling her just a bit further........

and Jacqui is saying "can I believe someone with a mask"...... "Canada really is behind those clouds Jacquie"

just a bit further Jacquie, just over that hill.........

and this is before the snow got deep!

oh no where is Jacquie???

found her...... phew!
Was worried about explaining this one to her family!

SNOW!!!!

What a beautiful blanket of snow the mountains got this past weekend!

We got a lot at our home as well. We hardly get much snow and to get it so late in the year was surprising to us! The raccoons didn't seem to mind.

"Do I smell the food? Is is out yet?"

Another Great Class

Well we had another wonderful class! Great students. Everyone seemed to have had a great time. We even had Jacquie from Australia join the class. She was great! Thank you for all of your help Jacqui!

Here are some photos from the class.......