Home again

not that I was actually away that much.  I'm glad I planned to sleep in my own bed.  The other local lady who slept there said she didn't sleep well.  that would be a horror for me if I had a roommate--and all room were double occupancy.

It was well worth the time.  I was absolutely blown away by the electronic "savvy" of the younger women, and how this lead to a much higher degree of professionalism.  I talked to a couple of them, and they assured me that there would always be a role for an "elder". LOL  Professionalism seemed to be a theme throughout, and this struck a chord with me.  Now I'm faced with how I choose to deal with this.  I always have the option of ignoring it, and carry on in my own way.  The other local lady I spoke of, is someone I've known for quite awhile.  She is older than I am-close to 80, and has always appeared, and acted, much younger, but told me how much she is feeling it this year.  She is a professionally trained artist and has worked in the field all of her adult life.  She has been a resource for me in the past, and this week agreed, privately, to provide a true critique of a piece I plan to enter into a major exhibition. I appreciate her input, and she has convinced me to enter the show.

Otherwise it was as I had expected ( being on the organizing committee).  Other than our personal presentations, we had a workshop on art journaling, and another on Zentangles, which had been planned just as a break from a day full of very intense activities. There were a couple of intense discussion groups, one of which has become a regular of these events since I last attended five years ago. Its title was "Wacky Ideas", and as we progressed I realized that this is the form the group's forward planning takes.  Considering how difficult it is to work with a group of artists on this sort of thing, it worked very, very well.

So, I've spent this morning cleaning the kitchen.  Something had exploded in the microwave--yuck!  The laundry is on.  There was a mini-market at the retreat and I sold some of my med. purses, so went out and bought two more t-shirts yesterday.  So now I can go through my closet, and get rid of a few more.  My weight is up about 3 1/2 pounds, although I don't know how since the place had an excellent and generous salad bar, and I mostly ate off there.  But this morning it was back to phase one.  Last night, for supper, we went out to a very expensive roast turkey with all the trimmings buffet, knowing that there would be no fancy meals in my future until that weight is gone.  The guy across the street was out using a fancy leaf blower and vacuum.  The leaves in the garden areas drive David crazy, so he found out what it was and how reasonable the price was, and spent most of the morning out looking for one for here.  So now he's out learning to use it.

This is long, so I'll wish everyone a good Thanksgiving, and Keri a happy birthday.