NEW BEGINNINGS...NOT SO EASY!

I've been in caught in a maelstrom of activity:  First spending time with my Woolies, then driving out of state to attend an amazing workshop, then home to officially close on the condo.

I am now a home owner.  Gulp. 

I've been packing like a crazy woman, loading up the car, and driving across the state and back several times.  I'm completely immersed in the early stages of the mess of moving.  But I'm getting ahead of myself...

First there was the Wooly Bully meeting the Friday before Martin Luther King weekend.  Here are some shots of the rugs we've been working on:

Then on Saturday of Martin Luther King day weekend, I drove to Vermont to take a paste-paper journal workshop with Nancy Shepherd.  It was not an good time for me to be doing this, given the messy transition I'm in, but I had signed up for it several months in advance--before I knew what the future held.  More importantly, I had been wanting to take this workshop for about 20 years (seriously), after my friend Georg made many such journals and gave me several.  Here is a photo of all the journals produced by the students over this three-day workshop:

COLLECTION OF JOURNALS BY THE FULL CLASS. MINE ARE IN THE BOTTOM ROW, FAR LEFT (FIRST 2 ON THE FAR LEFT)

H

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Below are all the paste papers I made on the first day of the workshop.  They are laid out on newspaper to dry. 
I wish I'd had a chance to photograph everyone's papers, but I was only able to snap my own.

Here are the front covers of the journals I made, and their bindings:

I have to say I was thrilled beyond belief to learn how to do this.  My only wish is that had the time now to practice with all the other papers I created.  But that will have to wait until after I move and unpack--so the earliest that I'll be getting back to this will be summer.  Phooey.  Not only that, but I don't have room to store the new papers because I'm packing everything up; I had to store all of them in my hosts' house in Vermont. 

This would be a good time to say a hearty thank-you to my two kind and talented hosts, Sadelle and Ann.  Not only did they put me up (or more accurately, "put up with me" !!) but they went way above and beyond with great conversation and excellent home cooking.  "Num num num," as Cookie Monster would say.  And then there were the Sweetie-Pie Doggie, the Cat Who Must Be Obeyed, and the Shy Timid Kitty, who were really lovely.  Thank you Sadelle and Ann for making this possible.

But wait, there's more...

Coming back from Vermont, I drove to the condo for a pre-purchase walk-through, then drove back to Boston.  The following day I signed all the final papers to officially buy it.  24 hours later, I left Boston and drove back to the condo and stayed for two nights.  Then back here for a couple of days, then out there again for two more nights.  Taking stuff with me each trip...lots of packing, hauling, moving.  I'm exhausted and feel like a ping-pong ball.  I'm sure it will all be worth it, but this is not easy.  Here are some views:

Oh, and in between all this, two wonderful signs somehow sneaked into this post.  The first is my favorite sign from the women's march:

I'D LOVE TO CREDIT SOMEONE FOR THIS PHOTO, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHOM. IT WAS ALL OVER THE INTERNET THE DAY OF/DAY AFTER THE MARCH.

Next I saw this sign (below) in front of my friend Elizabeth's store, and promptly went online HERE and ordered my own copy to download.

That's my (current) story, and I'm sticking to it.

All I can say is, thank goodness for meditation.

I need a vacation.