I'm still not getting out much, but wanted to share the get-well gift I got from a couple of my BFF's, Paula and Teresa -- a beautiful handmade book with red pages and purple (of course) leather binding, an activity kit with sketch pad, color pencils AND markers (!), and peeps. Yes, Paula they DID make me smile.
I'm blessed to have such wonderful friends who know just what will brighten my day.

I've been out of the hospital for awhile, and should let you guys that I've been paroled. I thought I'd be back at the gym by now, and skiing next week, but things are moving a bit slower than I'd expected. I did make it to the Portland show last weekend, but I'm glad I have a bit more time til the next show. This old dog is stll a bit gimpy. The bills are starting to show up. The projected total is so large that the concept of ever paying it off is really beyond my comprehension. I'm not quite sure how things are going to shake out, but I'll post updates occasionally.
Since I haven't been out and about much, I don't have any new pics, so this seems like a good time to launch a series that I've been comtemplating -- Around My Neighborhood. I live in an area that has little zoning control, so I've been taking pics of some of the more unusual, i.e., eccentric, results.
This is a mailbox.

New nose tube, new nightgown, same problem. As soon as I ate something, the abdomonal pains started again, so I'm back in hospital for a little surgery. At least I'm in Spokane this time...but I'll be missing the show in Indianapolis this weekend :-(

Nothing like a week in hospital with a tube up your nose to really bring out that youthful glow LOL.

We were on our last leg of the loop through California...Family visited, Adrien retrieved, taxes prepared, Vallejo show over, and we were on our way to Fort Bragg....but somewhere around Santa Rosa, I started getting stomach cramps. We got to Fort Bragg, but things didn't improve in the night, and I was admitted to the hospital the next morning for a blocked intestine. YUCK! Nope, it just couldn't be something delicate like Nichole Kidman's tuburculosis in Moulin Rouge. I had to list burps and farts as "positive" events in my day :-(. Well, they finally shoved enough gunk down that tube to declare clear passage, and they let me out. Creighton and Adrien used foam and sleeping bags to turn the Escape into an ambulance,

and we made the Great Blast back home this weekend -- 19 hours driving for Adrien. We were so lucky to have him along! It was a long and unpleasant week, but it's over, and I'm getting better each day.
Sorry that I missed the Albuquerque show and the classes at China Phoenix 2, but I'll be re-scheduling the classes ASAP.

-Linda

15 days absent, yet again. Mary Jo had mentioned that Spokanians are fond of going out publically in the jammies and fuzzy slippers. I'd noticed this, too, but MJ inspired me to document these oddities, which I did....but now I can't get the pics off my iPhone...so we're on to other topics until I can get thise pics downloaded. Anyhoo, look at who showed up at the Lawrenceville show last week!!

That's right IT'S THE EVOS, Dale and Ellen!! What a treat to see them. They'd been a staple at the shows for as long as I'd been around, and we've all missed them greatly. Love you guys! We had some fun walking down Memory Lane, and Ellen had "the rest of the story" from a night in Daytona Beach when they damn near killed me...and THEN laughed at me!! It's a LONG, albeit it humerous, story, so I'll save it for another time. Rubber has been my life this last week -- packing for three shows. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here's what used to be a living room. The box in the back is raw rubber that sits next to the pellet stove to keep it warm enough to press.

We're headed for California tomorrow evening. Eye checkup for me in Fresno, tax man in Cambell, then up to Vallejo for the show next weekend. Then we swing by Fort Bragg to finally fetch some of my stuff that was in storage there for 7, yes SEVEN years ago!! Adrien is coming back with us for a visit, so he'll help with the driving 'cause we have to get back here for my flight to ABQ Wednesday afternoon. It's a tightly chorographed couple of weeks. so I have NO idea when I can post again.

HEEERRREEE'S COSMOS!!
Cosmos's does his Jack Nickelson impersonation.
The door panel was cracked when we moved here, and it's been on our to-do list ever since. We've been making do with the duct tape repair. Cos just gave it a good poke, and moved the job further up on the repair list.

Sample for a Shadow Boxes class I'm teaching at China Phoenix 2 in Albuquerque on Feb 25.

I'm home from Dallas from whole TWO weeks -- YAHHH! But here's another pic from the weekend with Mary Kay. MK's hairdresser, Robber, has fixed the hair (I really need to post the "before" pic from when I tried to cut my hair myself last Fall), and the Mac ladies have done their best on the eyes, but I really need some work on the bsasset hound jowls. MK and I were considering a binder clips under each ear, but I have a better idea -- "Will Trade Rubber for Plastic Surgery". LOL

-Linda

Greetings again from Dallas. Helpful Hint: When it's 18°F outside AND inside, a hot piece of rubber fresh from the vulcanizer makes a useful headwarmer. :-)
...and NO, it's not a dry cold. LOL

I'm in Texas for the Grapevine stamp show this weekend. Zana (www.stampzia.com) and I came in a day early so Mary Kay's hairdresser, Robert, could fix the damage I'd caused when left alone too long with a pair of plastic kiddie scissors. He did a great job, and I've promised, on pain of DEATH, to back slowly away from the scissors next time I feel compelled to "snip just a few split ends". LOL


So if you're in the Dallas area this weekend, please stop by the Grapevine Convention Center and see how mahvelous we all look!!...And if you can't make it this weekend, next weekend we'll be in Mesquite, so ya'll come down now, ya hear!!

-Linda