Well, after a busy and productive couple of months - with lots of events and tradeshows - my DH took me away for some relaxation in the sunny south. Actually, Bill came in on a plane, I met him in Toronto, and we flew to Florida - he didn't even get to leave the airport!

When we came home, he got to spend two nights in his own bed, then he headed back to work out west! So we invited some family over and put up our Christmas tree on his last night - and it looks great, (GBG). I LOVE Christmas trees.. nothing is better than sitting with no lights but the tree, except maybe a fire in the fireplace, some soft music playing... ah, Christmas bliss, ROFLOL.

Though it's not his best thing, LOL, Bill actually managed to sit on the beach for a whole afternoon this trip, (GBG). He always refuses to wear sun screen, so he got burned pretty bad, and now he's all itchy and peeling! We took walks on the beach at sunset, did a bit of shopping, ate way too much, *wink*, and sat around the firepit at the resort a couple of nights visiting with other guests.

We spent a day wandering around looking for a good bookshop, and found a great second hand bookstore where we went a little nuts, LOL, I'm not sure who bought more books, him or me, 'cause we found several by an author we both like, so we'll share those ones, ROFLOL. Fortunately Bill travels so much he gets TWO suitcases with 50lb limits, and we took half-empty ones with us, but they were sure full when we came back!

We spent half the trip in West Palm Beach, and half at a Waldorf resort in Key West, were we always enjoy walking Duval St and going through all the art galleries to see what's new... just a nice relaxing time, with no rushing, no computer, recharging our batteries and enjoying each other's company. We stayed the last night at the Hilton in Miami, so we didn't have to rush to catch the plane the next day. The Koi there are HUGE - and you gotta love a free happy hour and buffet breakfast, (GBG).

OH, before I forget, I did the most fun thing just before we went away - I spent two days taking a Porcupine Quilling class, taught by a native woman at a nearby pioneer museum ... it was a different technique than I'd seen on tv, but very interesting. She told us how to harvest quills, and the best time to harvest birch bark, LOL, but fortunately she didn't make us do either of those things, but supplied all the materials we used - though she did offer to let us come with her if we ever wanted to try the entire experience.

It was a very nice group, who I enjoyed getting to know as we worked. There were a couple other native women (from Ottwa way) taking the class, and it was very interesting to hear them talk about their experiences growing up native. They even sang us some working chants, and just before we broke up for the weekend, they sang us a travelling song.

And the quill colors! Kim (our teacher) dyes her own quills, and she must have had 20-30 colors for us to choose from. While we used a basically traditional technique, some parts had been updated - like the dyes used for the quills, and the tweezers we used to pull the quills. Really, since the barbs were still on, I can't imagine how they used to pull them! Kim told us that the woman who taught her refused to use bowl of warm water to soften the quills, but kept 2-3 in her mouth till she needed them - ouch! Kim sez she used to use plant based dyes, but they aren't as bright as man-made dyes and fade over time, so people prefer the more modern colors in her work.

Anyway, I took my project on holidays as well, and I have the main quilling design all done, I just have to finish the sweetgrass edging, held in place by sinew. Fortunately, we were also given imitation sinew, not animal parts! Once I get the piece complete, I'll share a picture here, and let you know I've done that. Till next time....