Our trip to Japan was canceled as of this morning, pending refunds from airline and hotels, etc. We did not have trip insurance, sadly. In light of the circumstances in Japan, this should not be  a problem. The US government is advising against travel there until April. Several people in our group have already canceled. It was a small group to begin with. We are sad, but mostly sad for the suffering of the people of Japan. It seems surreal.

I find myself with 3 weeks of time for who knows what!

I finally got the bridge piece done.  You know how I get these love/hate things going with work like this.  Up above is a detail shot of the Fremont Bridge.

Here is the Sellwood Bridge which in reality is old and crumbling and held together with epoxy glue. It is due to be replaced, soon. It is the bridge to which we live the closest.

This is the Burnside Bridge which we use the most when we go over the river to the west side.

The red bridge is the prettiest of our bridges, the St. John’s Bridge.

I am off to get a good night’s sleep.

What next?, I wondered last night. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan has added to my stress level. Our tour leader says he would like to make the trip as scheduled, even though the US government is advising against travel there. I feel a bit uncomfortable going on holiday in a country that is reeling with devastation and grief. It is true that Kyoto, where we will spend our first week, is not affected that much. Jerry, our leader, says he will reassess on Monday or Tuesday.

(Breathe)

Going to Pilates this morning was so helpful for dealing with my angst.

I have spent part of the last two days, removing the lutradur bridges from my river piece. They were not working. The colors were too dull and there was no value change. I picked up the solid batiks, above, yesterday. I decided I need a lime green bridge. (ha!) I have redrawn the bridges on freezer paper and have almost finished cutting them. The fabric is Mistyfused and tomorrow, I will fuse them to the quilt and stitch them, add a binding and be done with it. Yay!