Back in the USSR

....sung to the Beatle's tune...

It's my favorite kind of morning... the sun is shining, the coffee is flavored with whipped cream. I cuddled with puppies before I got out of bed, just hanging out at home. Oh wait, here - this will give you a better visual.

I love the long shadows across the grass, which is getting very very green these days. In my first house, I lived in a neighborhood I called "Pamper Box Row" because on garbage day that was all you saw - pamper boxes. It was a simple tract-home starter neighborhood with lots of babies. And I was the token single girl (see, Charleen we're all token somethings at some time). That's why I love this neighborhood so much with the big trees and tons of squirrels - it's 50 years old (like me). And it's because I stayed on PBR for 15+ years that I can live here comfortably. It all works out, which was hard to believe sometimes when everyone was moving up and out while I stayed. But I'm enjoying what I have now.

Perhaps you've noted, I went AWOL for a while - not sure really why other than life got busy. We had the Passport Saga before I went to Vancouver. Final advice - renew your passport NOW if you're planning any travel in 2007 or 08. Mine arrived less than 24 hours before I left. Nope. Not the way I like to live. But it all worked out. I met 6 friends from CE in Vancouver for an art workshop that was fantastic. Each full day with a different teacher, which I find to be an excellent format. You can play and make stuff without jumping up and rushing off + hanging out with my peeps (Charleen, Megan & Mel) was great. We made poppets with collage artist Claudine Hellmuth that look something like this. She is very sweet and loves animals. I had a great time in class playing. Also had my first class with Ali Edwards, which was terrific. She is as nice and great as everyone says. On Day 3 we had class with Donna Downey, which was great fun. I was surprised because I wasn't sure what I thought of DD - sometimes I think she's too commercial, kind of like Rachel Ray of the scrapbook world. But once I got over feeling jealous of her good fortune, I realize she's crazy and fun and has a good heart and is a good teacher. We made two projects in her class - a chipboard book on a ring and a 6 x 6 folded book. I just figured out that the chipboard project will be ideal for a project for my neighbor. Excellent!

Jeanne, Tanya, Sandy and I went up to Vancouver early so we could enjoy the city. I feel so fortunate to have met these girls and that they're willing to go and do - just my kind of people! We had a blast even with the cold and wet! You can see my pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/pegomh. Vancouver had a wicked storm earlier this year and it created chaos in Stanley Park: lots of huge, mature trees were down. Stanley Park is a gorgeous park on the edge of the city, 1000 acres and its one of my favorite parts of Vancouver. In talking to local Canadians, the damage at Stanley Park is tragic and I share their sadness. It was rainy both days we went to the park but that's okay. It's still amazing. In the past when I went to Vancouver, it was always warm and gorgeous weather. So, I finally "get it" - the pics of the flurry of colored umbrellas. I saw the winter Vancouver and it was still great fun!

Okay, I'm off on my southern tour, i.e. Scrapbook Junkie in Kemah, (my favorite LSS) and since I'm getting an early start, I'm going to stop at Michael's and use the 30% coupon on entire order and Hobby Lobby! And possibly Novel Approach and Just for Fun. Why not. Then I can focus on purging my scraproom for Maridawn's garage sale next weekend, where I will surely make big bucks selling all the stuff I don't want! Right. Happy Easter!

Few more pic... olives at Granville Island market .

A giant inukshuk at the beach. I bought one of these in glass. In 2010 the Winter Olympics are being held in Vancouver and you see this symbol everywhere. It a directional marker that signifies safety, hope and friendship. Love that..

Probably my fav pic of the weekend - Tanya looking pretty relaxed and accomplished while making a poppet of her family. I still laugh out loud when I think of Tanya's antics in the Business Center at the Hampton Inn (which was great, btw). Jeanne's on the computer, so I handed a ringing (in my mind, at least) phone to Tanya who answered with a naughty smirk on her face and a long Noooooooooooooooo. No idea who her imaginary friend was but I'm thinking the question was along the lines of what are you wearing, are you alone? It was priceless. It was so great to get to know her and Jeanne, Charleen (our favorite Canadian) and Sandy better. And we meet again in September for CE! I'm a lucky girl.