Phantom Whispers:

Oh my best intentions have gotten away from me again and time has sifted through my fingers. How can I tell you how wonderful Art & Soul Portland was now with so time having passed.

Well, I guess I just will have to tell you that Art & Soul Portland was wonderful. I had the great fortune of taking a class on Closures, Toggles and Clasps from Dan Essing. I have loved his work for years and couldn’t let the opportunity to take a class with him pass me by.

And my classes a delight to teach as well. I couldn’t have asked for more wonderful students. The Ooh-La-La Diva journals were wonderfully colorful, the Mighty Mini Metal Journals had fabulous designs and the Carved, Bound and Wired group did me proud. Thank you all for making these classes the joy they are. Without you all I would not be teaching.

And as usual at one of these events, I got to met up with old friends and make some new ones. That is what makes these events addicting. It is that feeling of being with a group of like souls, that you just don’t get everyday. It makes it impossible to stop attending as how will you ever get to see all of your tribe again?

And while it is always lovely to be back home in my own bed, I miss the camaraderie, the spaces to create huge, colorful messes in (I work out of a small very messy cluttered studio). Ah, at least there is next year.

Since I have been back, the big dog has gotten loose twice, once due to the male members of the household thinking he could be let run in the yard without him trying to climb the fence. Why he wouldn’t want to climb the fence now, when he always wants to climb the fences escapes me but it has a logic for the guys. The other time the big dog popped open the latch on the kennel and did his thing again. I wasn’t home but fortunately a neighbor caught him and was able to get him secured in our yard without too much trouble. Can’t say enough about having good neighbors. Anyway, the big dog is a very smart guy and the men in the house keep trying to stay one step ahead of him. Me? I know you have to outthink him by about four steps to have any lasting effects.

So where was I when the big dog was out running around? I was at the Olympus Women’s Spa, dipping in to warm pools, sweating in steam rooms, lounging in salt, sand and jade rooms, melting out toxins. I have never done anything thing like this before and it was quite the experience. My dear mailman (aka Tom, my husband) got me a gift certificate for my birthday six months ago. I finally got to go with my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law. They have been numerous times and know the ins and outs of the place. This is one of those places that when in the pool room you are not wearing clothes. Zip, nada, nothing. It’s a little odd at first, particularly when you are not the most comfortable with your body image anyway. But you get over it. After all no one is there to look at your body. They are there, just as you are to sooth aching muscles, relax tight joints and to be scrubbed and moisturized to an inch of their life. The scrubbing made me feel much like a baby kitten getting the intense cleaning from Momma cat. There were times I almost wanted to bolt but the dear lady scrubbing me would calmly and efficiently put me in my place and scrub away. All in all it was a pretty cool experience. I may not do all the scrubbing and moisturizing each time but I can sure see getting a day pass to the warm pools, sauna, steam room and the heated earth rooms. Ahhhhhhh,

And today, I head out to Louisville, KY to visited with Sandy, my long time friends. It is always a treat to see her and I love my visits back to the area. And I am looking forward to hushpuppies tasting like they should, treated to Southern hospitality and thinking that 60 degrees is cold.