last day of Journalfest

in the morning, on our lunch break and after classes on the last day, jen and i did a lot of driving around and taking even more pictures! we drove around town, went down to the lighthouse, and down to the marina. that is what is fun about spending time with someone who enjoys the same things as i do. Jen doesn't mind braking for odd photo opportunities or smiling for the millionth time, she's always willing to take my photo, or do my shadow pics with me. she's also always got her camera clicking about as much as mine is!

day two, Journalfest

After dropping keli off at Fort Worden, Jennifer and i drove to our B&B, the James House, which has an incredible bay view that surrounds Port Townsend. Jen and i took the garden studio, which was a little studio in the back of the house, in its own little world. it had a queen and a twin bed and was perfect for us to crash in. After checking in, we learned that the James House was in its last few weeks as a B&B and would be converting to a residential home. even though it was not up for sale, some buyers made the owners an offer they could not refuse. So we will have to find new lodging when we return to Port Townsend in the spring for Artfest. Not much more of interest to report for this day. we just checked out our surroundings and took tons of photos while enjoying the beauty of Port Townsend.

heading into Port Townsend

oh my gosh, i have been going through my pictures all day trying to get them blog ready. i only took about 400 or so photos! good grief. my eyes are buggy right now! this collage is pictures from us taking the ferry from Seattle over to Bainbridge Island.
we got up early in the morning, showering, packing and then off the breakfast to a cute little bakery right across the street. i gave keli and jennifer a matching pair of sunglasses that i found for myself recently. i thought they'd be fun to wear around Journalfest.

we hit the road and headed to the ferry terminal. the ferry ride takes about 25-30 minutes. it was a very foggy day over the Puget Sound. it had been rainy quite hard right before we got on the ferry. as we got closer to Bainbridge Island, it started to clear up. we were delighted to see several bald eagles perched on some pilings as we drew closer to shore. (check out the 2nd row, 7th picture in the collage above to see them!) after disembarking, it took us about an hour to get to Port Townsend. the ride was lovely with all the fall colors and the weather cleared up beautifully. We hit the town running with our first stop being an antique store. from there it was a casual walk about town, a lovely lunch in a charming little cafe, new shoes for me and then off to Fort Worden to register ourselves and to get Keli settled into her house.

back from Seattle

Well, i am back home from Journalfest. my month and a half of traveling, doing shows, teaching and taking classes has come to an end. what a whirlwind time it was and i cannot believe how much i accomplished, how many people i met, all the art i created and taught and how many nicknames i earned along the way (Ambassador and Julie - the cruise director to name a few). i have to admit, i am a tad tired! i've spent the last few days unpacking and cleaning house. whenever i get home from retreats or traveling, i get this urge to purge and clean my house! and true to form, that's what i have been doing the last few days. lots of reorganizing as i put things away. i have family coming soon and then another friend coming right after that (I hope!) so i am also getting the house company and holiday ready.
So about my latest trip. I flew into Seattle and met my friend, Jen at the airport. Jen and i met at Artnest and were roommates again at Artfest. then it was off to pick up a car belonging to my friend, Keli, who graciously loaned it to us for the day (she was flying in later that evening). jen and i had grand expectations of all these fun things we would do in Seattle, but after eating lunch and then walking around a bit in Pioneer Square, we really didn't have much time left before meeting our friend, Sara for dinner. while walking around, we ran into my new friend, Abby. i knew it was her b-day that day, so right there on the street, very loudly, i started singing happy birthday to her. i think she was surprised that i remembered and she was quite touched with the impromptu singing. we had a lovely dinner with Sara (with Abby and her friend joining us as well). after dinner we had Sara take us over to the art co-op where she lives for a tour. what a fun place and so nice of Sara to show us around. finally, exhaustion set in and we headed back to Hotel Andra to get some shut eye. the hotel was beautiful and let me tell you, the beds were UNBELIEVABLE! while at the hotel we met this couple with the absolutely cutest dog in the world. Maggie was her name and she did tricks. i wanted to put that pup in my bag. poor Keli did not arrive til almost midnight as her flight was delayed. more stories tomorrow!

goings on

well i am trying to get settled after being in Connecticut teaching at Art-is-you. i've got everything out of the van and for the most part unpacked (the worst part!). the rest of the stuff will have to wait until after i return on Sunday from Seattle. Oh, didn't know i was leaving again? well, i am - heading off to Journalfest to meet up with my friends, Jennifer and Keli. i am taking classes this time, so it will be nice to relax. i am going barebones with supplies. i am taking classes with Anahata (my favorite!), Stephanie Lee (another favorite!) and karen michel, so it'll be fun. jenn is in one of my classes and i think keli is in two of them; so that will be fun. my bags are packed and just finishing up some other things before i leave. jeff and i did some Halloween decorating today. just a few things on the front porch. it was fun. haven't decorated for Halloween in quite awhile. Dillon used to be so into it, but as he gets older, he's into other things. i think they are still going trick or treating this year though. he's going as "Wolverine". i do miss that little kid stuff though, their excitement about decorating and holidays. i have to work on Halloween at the shoppe in Pt. Pleasant, so i will be dressing up as a form of Friday, from the Adams family. i'll be wearing this red satin doll baby looking dress, black and white tights, my ghoul bride necklace and maybe i'll whiten my face a bit. so that's the skinny!

day three

well today was an ok day. sales were quite slow (i'd say today equalled (sp?) what a typical NJ show would be like for me; lots of lookers, but not many takers). the weather held out til about 1:00 ish and then it started to drizzle. it wasn't bad and it's not like it drove the crowd out; but by 4:00, the place was dead. we got packed up really quick, thankfully as it started sprinkling again. between the 4 of us, we bought goodies to go home with, so the truck is a might fuller than we started!

i met many wonderful vendors and made new friends. loved my neighbors, William and Jan, and of course, "The Summerhouse Girls + Miss A" who were so good about booth sitting while i ran to the potty, grabbed food, etc. It was really a great experience. can't wait to show off all my pictures.

and i wanted to thank everyone that i met who raved about my art and especially to those who bought their special purchases from me. i know that $ is tight these days, so for you to spend your hard earned money on my art is a real compliment. very much appreciated. headed home tomorrow!

for those of you keeping up on my blog, you know that i am entering my "whirlwind tour of chaos" (t-shirts are on order....) in the next week. i'm feeling a bit stressed about all i have to do, but i will manage. next week i fly out to teach in Portland. Then i'll be home a week and leave to teach in Connecticut. After that i am off to Seattle to attend Journalfest!

i look forward to early November when i can relax and begin more jewelry projects since i am almost out of product.