Adventure Beckons...

Months of planning and anticipation are finally coming to a head, and I am off on my month long trip around the US on Tuesday. The last week has been beyond hectic - realising I needed to write all my reports weeks early, worrying about a health scare and rushing between work and the hospital for tests, Jason going away for work and mum moving out of the house that she has had since long before I was born.... crazy. But I have survived, and this weekend is for me to get all my last minute things sorted, pack, and spend some quality time with Jason before I go.

First stop is Portland, Oregon, where after a few hour drive down the coast with a new 'online' glassy friend, I will be taking part in 'Glasstock', and Annual glass workshop which goes for 4 days and will have 70 attendees. Then its on to Phoenix, and some quality girl time with Lisa, (and Sondra!) a trip to a Tucson bead show and all sorts of 'fun in the sun' of Arizona. Then this lucky duck heads to New Orleans to stay with another dear online friend. I have to keep reminding myself that Deanna and I haven't actually ever met, as we have been friends for years now. It will be amazing to finally meet Deanna, Greg and Rebekah. I am fully intending to go into tourist mode in New Orleans (whilst hopefully still finding time to learn to make marbles!). The adventure continues, and from New Orleans I am off to Tampa, Florida, to stay with Fay. We have plans to jetski and swim with manatee (and make face murrine, another skill I'd love to come home with.) Finally, when I'm all torched out (as if!) I will head to San Fran, for 4 days as a tourist. I am staying with an old friend from Melbourne, and hopefully I will also catch up with some other beadmaking friends while I'm there.

Thanks goodness I have a week when I get back before term 4 starts!

As usual when I travel, I will be blogging regularly, and as I'll have my laptop this time, I'll be able to upload pics straight away too.

I have a lot of lovely new beads to share, but most of them are for gifts or trades, so I might post some pics when I get back. As I hate to make a post with no photos, I'll leave you with a recent pic of my fuzzbutts - Mojo seems to be convinced that Monty is his personal jungle gym.

21 days and counting till I take off for the USA, and I am getting very excited. I have been feeling very out of sync in the studio lately, feeling like nothing was working, but the urge to get gifts/trade beads/stock for the market has meant Ive been in the studio almost every day for the last 4 days and I'm feeling like my groove is coming pack. As I am well aware, torching is NOT like riding a bike, repetition definitely helps in a big day and torching regularly is the best way to get over a hump. Now I'm feeling confident that I will be able to keep up at Glasstock and come home with a wealth of new ideas and skills to try. I am also excited that I have had some jewellery accepted at Philip Stokes Studio Glass Gallery and I may be undertaking a beginners glass blowing course there in November. I've decided to decide once I get back from overseas and see how much damage I have done to the finances. :) It's something I have wanted to do for awhile, though I doubt it will pull me away from making beads. I think that there could be a great cross pollination of ideas and skills though, so I am looking forward to it.