Tonight, I am very happy that this blog is powered by Word Press. At the moment, Google has locked our 12 X 12 blog, saying that it was a spam blog – whatever that is. This has happened on the eve of our Illumination reveal. So, if you do not see any new work tomorrow or today (whenever you are reading this), that is why.

This was my horoscope today:

Do it right the first time. Past mistakes may nip at your heels in the next few days. Put finishing touches on existing projects.

I decided that was a very good message so I finished 2 pieces today — the illumination piece, which I cannot reveal, yet, and my piece for the SAQA auction, which is now titled, Copper Highlights as I used copper foil for some oomph.

I think the zippy silk with purple and turquoise and the copper foiling adds an unexpected element to this piece. I had a terrible time with the machine quilting. I changed needles and finally decided it was the heavy weight thread. When I changed to a rayon thread, it was smoother, but I still had tension problems that I am not happy about. I might have to unsew and try again. I should have paid more attention to my horoscope.

A lot of progress was made on the bathroom today. The plumbers came and installed all the fixtures, but not before they created a minor flood that ended up in the basement storage area. They had turned off the cold water, but not the hot!!

Here are out sinks and the faucet that I love!!

Here is the fabulous rain shower head:

And this is the swanky tatami shower base that Mr C found on the internet. No one had ever ordered one from the Portland supplier and no one really new how to install, but after some trial and error, here it is.

It consists of four porcelain grooved slabs that can be removed for cleaning, but the lovely thing about it is that you can not see a drain and there is no tile grout to get grungy!!

Now we are waiting for the electrical and the cabinets to be finished. Then, I have to get my closet outfitted. We are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am so tired. I think my life is catching up with me. Mr C and I worked for two days getting our bedroom furniture back in the room and rearranged. The house was a dust bin after the sanding of the floors so I spent a lot of time dusting. There was no food in the house so I had to take care of that.

I love this bottle of wine that I found. Terry is doing a wine cork bulletin board and she mentioned how much she liked a particular label. I often buy wine because I love the label. Since Jack and Steph and the grands were coming for dinner, I had to serve it. No one enjoys a good pun better than those two. The wine is from South Africa. (And it was good.)

M & M stayed over last night and were up early this morning. I didn’t sleep well because I sliced my finger instead of the bread and it was throbbing all night. Today, Vladimir came to seal the grout in the bathroom and it was going to be very stinky so we hopped in the car and headed to OMSI to see the Chinese dinosaur fossils and enjoy other fun activities. We didn’t get home until almost 3 pm.

I wanted to share my pressies from Judy (who is still in the Pacific NW with her husband, enjoying the sights.) She does incredibly beautiful complex cloth t-shirts. This one is now mine.

She also gave me a lovely beaded cross for my collection. (Sorry, not the best photo.)

Tomorrow, I must get back to work in the studio. Deadlines are looming.

I awoke early this morning and enjoyed my last breakfast at the Coupe de Vila. I had to be at the ferry 45 minutes before departure — 8 am. I listened to the radio and drank my coffee. Thirty minutes later, we arrived in Port Townsend.

The drive along the Hood Canal was beautiful, but slow, with lots of construction stops. I couldn’t take any photos so you will just have to believe me. I made a couple of “rest” stops and arrived home a little before 2 pm. I ate pretzels and cookies and drank some water in the car so that I could get home sooner.

Home is still in chaotic mode. Mr C sort of organized stuff for better traffic flow. Half of the bedroom furniture is in the living room. The bedroom floor looks fabulous. We can move stuff back in tomorrow afternoon.

While the floor was getting refinished, the tile guys were climbing in the bathroom window so that they could keep on working. The grout was finished this morning, before I got home. It is beautiful. I think that the work should be finished next week. The cabinets have been completed and all of the fixtures are here. We need to select some lighting fixtures.

The floor looks great with the darker grout.

I forgot to mention the nice quilt show that we saw on the run while in Coupeville. Janet Steadman, who lives on Whidbey Island, and reads my blog, sent me an e-mail to say that her critique group had a show at the Penn Cove Pottery. Since we had a tight schedule, Judy and I grabbed our lunch and drove out to see the show during our lunch hour. The quilts were displayed with gorgeous pottery that echoed the colors and lines of the quilts. It was a beautiful sight. Janet had only two small quilts in the show, but she is having a solo show there in the near future. I should have taken my camera.

Mr C and I went out for Indian food and now I am ready to crash.Ho