Checking In

Lots going on in my world lately...so much so that I haven't had a minute to blog! For one thing, I've been working a lot. Finished editing Kate McKinnon's book. Finished editing Jodi Bombardier's book. Working on tech edits for Beadwork magazine. Blogging for Beading Daily. CraftEdu had its beta launch this week. And I'm prepping for a retreat with the Kansas City Bead Society for next weekend. Phew!

The highlight of my time away from the blogosphere was my trip to St. Louis, where I taught a few classes for Ladybug Beads. It's always great to see the now-familiar faces of the sensational beaders there. When I go to St. Louis I get a double treat, too--my wonderful sister lives there and we always have a great visit. This time my niece and nephew even came back from school, just to hang out! Here's Kate, Mary, and Tom in front of Ted Drewe's, where they insisted we go...after polishing off one tub of that cement custard, now I get it! That was the best rule-breaking I've done in a long time.

Another bonus for this trip was that my lovely brother, Jim, came to visit, too.

We spent a whole day at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and were in absolute heaven. A highlight was the Dale Chihuly sculptures in the gardens. There's something really special to me about glass sculptures outside. Maybe it's the fragility of the glass next to the fleeting blossoms that jive?

I especially liked this sculpture of glass balloons that seemed to float on the water...

The tulips were blossoming while we were there. Aren't these double tulip blossoms astounding?

And the AZALEAS! Man, oh man, the azaleas. Everywhere. Doesn't this one look like a Hostess SnoBall?

The azaleas were in so many colors, just painting the landscape...

The Japanese gardens were especially gorgeous. Get a load of these wisteria:

The koi were ravenous, hoping for a snack or two from those passing over the bridge...

I must have taken 100 or more shots that day, thinking about how I might translate some of these shapes into jewelry. These dogwood, for example, wouldn't they make a lovely necklace?

I was so lucky to be able to spend the day surrounded by such beauty and in such stillness and grace. Literally taking time to smell the flowers. When the day is grinding with work and family, it's so nice to go back there in my mind. So here...I'd like to share that gift with you, too.