I am back

Actually I have been back three weeks now and I only realised on reading my last blog entry that I was supposed to be writing to my blog while I was away - tsk, tsk, I never did. Actually I didn't feel that I saw much that was of creative interest although I did find the geology of a couple of areas I visited interesting. Actually I hardly took any photos at all.

So where did I go - without boring anyone too much I visited friends in Portland, Oregon where the day after I arrived we had a record high of 103 degrees - hot. We went to the beach for the day via Tillamook for icecreams. To beat the heat another day we went to Mt St Helens which is an amazing place to visit.

Then off I travelled to Calgary for the opening of the Stampede and what fun I had there. All the parade photos that I took were of horses - anybody would think that I liked horses. I also did a side trip to Banff where the photos were all geology and plants.

I then flew down to Boulder, Colorado for my residential workshop with Judith Trager and I have a photo below of my first day (there were five days in all). It didn't help that I came down with a virus and sneezed and coughed all week. It was amazing that we were 6000 ft above sea level - that is like halfway up a mountain to me. And of course those 100 degree plus days. Thank goodness for airconditioning is all I can say. What a wonderful place Boulder was.


Anyhow off I went to Paducah in Kentucky to visit the American Quilters Museum and generally check the place out. This time the 92% humidity at night nearly bowled me over - phew. And of course those temperatures. Funny that I didn't miss the fact that it was the middle of winter at home during this time. I enjoyed the old town area of Paducah and exploring around there.

After waiting for St Louis airport to reopen after the large storm that had gone through the city the day before creating mayhem I went to Las Vegas - I wanted to see the glitz and glamour of the city at night with all the neon lights and I wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. Well I saw it all and I was not disappointed. But those temperatures again - actually I didn't find them that hot compared to the cooler summer temperatures at home which was interesting. I didn't get sunburnt at all.

San Francisco was last on my tour where I spent a couple of days before flying home. After five weeks of travelling I was getting tired of living in hotel rooms and other peoples homes. It was good to get back to my own bed. Although I have to say I didn't enjoy the Novo-Rota virus that I caught as soon as I got back to work - it had been going around Oamaru while I was away.

Anyhow that was (briefly) my adventure. I don't feel as though I have been very creative since I got home - there has been a lot to do. The most creative I have been is doing some baking yesterday, ginger crunch, afgans and kiwi biscuits - yum.

Glad to be back blogging and must write some more.