Exhausted and exhilarated, we have arrived at the Sea of Galilee for the next 5 nights! After a long, long plane trip from Portland to New York to London to Tel Aviv, we arrived in Israel. Here are the columns of the airport lobby

We were to spend the first night in Nentanya on the Mediterranean. We hoped to go to the hotel, get refreshed, have dinner and get some shut-eye. However, it was the Jewish Sabbath and we could not check in to the hotel until after sundown as the Jewish families in our rooms keep Shabbat and do no work until the Sabbath is over - that includes packing suitcases.

So, we took a side trip to the old city of Jaffa. It was very picturesque and we got to stretch out cramped leg muscles, walking around and up and down.

We finally checked in to our rooms and had dinner at 9:30 at night. You can bet that I slept very soundly. In the morning we found this view from our room.

Today we drove up the coast to Caesarea and spent a couple of hours touring the ruins of Herod’s former kingdom. There are amazing unearthed artifacts, just sitting there for the touching.

Look at these colors! the Mediterranean was really this color.

We then drove into the interior of the country to the Sea of Galilee, passing through some amazing sites. We are now at a kibbutz with lots of other tourists. Tomorrow, we are off for more adventures. Mr C is snoring. I think I will join him. Here is a view of the front of our bus. The driver, Ishmael is trying to make us feel at home, I guess.

Tomorrow, I will try to get my photos on Flickr. Ta!

I have been hand stitching this little piece for a day and a half, off and on. I know I could have cranked out some machine quilting, but I really love what is going on with the cut up screen printed fabric and I didn’t want to mess with it by trying to machine quilt circles. It is a very organic piece and I thought the hand stitching would be a nice accent. Here is a closeup.

I ran out of red perle cotton, but it turned in to a happy accident as I really like the change in the stitch color.

Thanks to everyone who left me a comment so that I wouldn’t feel so lonely. Yesterday was get last minute shopping and errands done day. Today was laundry and finish the quilt day. Tomorrow is spend the morning with the STASH group, have lunch and come home and pack day. Tomorrow night we are going to the artists and volunteers reception for the Trinity Art Show. That will take care of dinner. We have to be up and off to the airport between 5 and 5:30 am.

I had lots of inquires about my new sandals — color and so on. Here they are — very basic colors — so that they will go with lots of things and very comfy.

You may not hear from me again until I am in Israel. I will take my laptop, but have no idea of internet access. If you are interested, here is a link to our itinerary — A Pilgrimage to Israel.

We are happy in the house tonight. If you have read my blog for long, you know that I am an Obama Mama. A rout in our old home state of North Carolina and aan almost win in Indiana, Steve’s birth state. Both of the respective counties that we resided in went for Obama. See my other blog for a great video.

I am also pleased that my third collage was sold today to benefit Fiberart for a Cause, Virginia Spiegel’s American Cancer Society fundraiser. They are all ready to go into priority mail envelopes and fly off to their new homes. Over $12,000 was raised in two days. Congratulations and thanks to Virginia for her tireless work.

I spent most of today running around town getting last minute things for the trip. I bought some great Mephisto sandals, recommended for my foot problem. I also picked up some t-shirts at Chicos to fill in my wardrobe plan.

Tonight, I am hand stitching a piece that I want to get finished so that I can photograph it and enter it in a show with a deadline while I am gone. Do you think, I will make it? Stay tuned.

Now, why am I not getting any nice comments from you? I know from my stats that there are lots of you stopping by here every day. Am I boring you?

I have been so lacking in energy and ideas. I have been avoiding my studio like the plague. The sun has come back to Portland, and with it has come my momentum.

Remember this scarf that I discharged in January?

I decided to add some layers and donate it to the silent auction. First, I screenprinted a subtle filigree design with copper paint.

I painted some foiling glue on bubble wrap and pressed it on the scarf in a cascading design.

I forgot to take a picture of the foiling process. After the glue dries for at least an hour, I lay a sheet of foil over the glue and hit it with a hot iron, transferring the foil. I used a combo of gold and copper foil.

Here is the finished scarf:

Here is a closeup:

Because the glue showed through on the back side as dark spots, I decided to line it with another scarf. It is quite elegant, if I do say so myself.

I am excited to say that two of my collages for the Collage Mania Fiber Art for a Cause sold at the opening bell this morning. I was able to acquire collages by Lizzie Berg, Jette Clover and Karen Stiehl Osborn. So happy with that!! There are still lots of wonderful art to be purchased and the price drops to $40 tomorrow. I still have one left to be purchased. Go here to see them and make a purchase. 100% of the money goes to the American Cancer Society.

Tomorrow, I start the serious business of packing for our journey.

… and dried up all the rain!! Yesterday, Mr C planned to paint the deck. The weather forecast was for dry weather. Whoops, he was rudely interrupted by rain. Today, however, was more like May. Warm and sunny. While I worked at Trinity checking in art work for next week-end’s art fair, he came home and painted the deck.

Look at what arrived in the mail on Friday. This is a gorgeous book of art quilts by the best of the best. I think there are some I would have included who are not there and some who are included that I am ambivalent about. Overall, it is full of eye candy and inspiration. It is compiled by Martha Sielman, executive director of saqa.

M & M and their parents came over for dinner tonight. They had a rousing game of croquet in the front yard.

You can see that Mia still has lots of hair.

Here she is smiling for Obama:

I had fun sitting in the front yard playing with my camera. Here is a cool shot of our neighbor’s retro house detail:

And some rocks:

We had a delicious fish taco dinner and said our good-byes to M & M as we probably won’t see them again before we leave. I am going to bed and indulge in my Sunday night guilty pleasure — watching Brothers and Sisters.