Old friends

I made a date for a quick lunch with a friend of more than thirty years. Five hours later, after much catching up, I got home. What fun. She and I shared treasured memories of the many intersections of our lives, exchanged stories about grandchildren (her greats are the same age as my grands), talked about art and the book we wrote together. It was a wonderful afternoon. I look forward to many more.

"A friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway."--author unknown

Forever Friends

The workshop in Sidney ended yesterday and my two Canadian friends picked me up at the fairgrounds just as class was ending. I couldn't believe ten years had passed since I last saw them. They haven't changed a bit. We've had such fun already, reminiscing about our life-enhancing trip to New Mexico in 1998. Over a ten-day period we went from the airport in Albuquerque, where we visited Olde Towne, to Santa Fe, Taos, and Abiquiu and many points in between. We visited galleries everywhere we could and even made a stop at the shrine at Chimayo. It was a once-in-a-lifetime trip for all of us, and this is our first reunion. We had all begun to think it wouldn't happen, then I was invited to teach the workshop in Sidney.
This morning we walked down to Qualicum Beach. This is an amazing place. You not only have the shore, you have mountains, islands and eagles soaring overhead. Then, to make things even more interesting, this evening the three of us went Chakra Dancing, which was a first for me. I was surprised to discover there is still some flexibility left in these old bones. It was a delightful day from start to finish.

Finally starting the New Year

My new year never seems to begin until January 2. New Year's Day is always crowded with tasks to wind up the old year, like taking down the Christmas decorations, doing the year's-end inventory, getting the bills paid. I'm looking forward to a wonderful 2008, teaching lots of workshops and seeing my new book in print. The year 2007 was a mixed bag, a lot of hard work and some highs and lows. The highest point was the birth of our grandson, who continues to be a delight when I babysit four days a week. The lowest point was the loss of my best friend. After thirty years of friendship, it ended on a sour note in February, leaving me shocked and grieving.

Our granddaughter slept over Saturday night and did her first painting on her new Christmas easel. It was amazing watching her step up to the easel with such confidence and begin painting. I set out the three primaries and purple, her favorite color. It was the first color she chose, then she added in all the others, mixing to make orange and green. She switched back and forth between her left and right hands. When she finished her painting, she told me it was a "rainbow cave." Jenna is going on five. I wish I had been that confident at such a tender age. All I remember of art from those days is coloring inside the lines.

E-friends

While I was in Dallas I had dinner one evening with Cheryl McClure and Robin Walker, two artists I've known through email for many years. Both are members of the Paint-L group, which I've belonged to for a long time. I can't remember exactly when I joined. It might have been as early as 1994, but 1996 at the latest. We've all grown by leaps and bounds since then. Both Cheryl and Robin have established successful careers as painters. Cheryl's large abstracts are in galleries and hang in corporate settings and homes. Robin does a lot of business in originals, multiples and photography on a grand scale. I've had three books published since 1998. I met both briefly on two other occasions. Cheryl stopped by for lunch in 1996 when I was teaching at the Barnwell Center in Shreveport, Louisiana. Robin took a few minutes out of her very busy day to visit my creativity workshop in Dallas last October. It's wonderful to have an opportunity to meet these and other e-friends face to face. We had a great time and lots of laughs.