Timothy Botts Weekend

What a weekend!!! I have just enjoyed what is clearly the most fantastic 4 days in my 13 years in Salem, having welcomed Timothy Botts and his wife Nancy to our home. Tim was here to conduct 2 workshops and a video presentation for The Capital Calligraphers Guild, of which I am a member. After a year and a half of planning, e-mailing, scheduling, calling, more e-mailing and a final call......they finally arrived!
The workshops were a blast and I have posted some pictures of them. We learned about Emerging Letters and Word Pictures along with an enjoyable video presentation of some of Tim's work. The workshops were a great success and everyone was ecstatic to have him here. Even though I am now relocating, I do hope that the Guild will have him back some day for more workshops.
To say the least, Timothy is one of my main inspirations for calligraphy and design and it was a thrill to have him stay with us. We found that Tim and Nancy had much more in common with us than could have ever been imagined and we enjoyed some great laughter every time we found another similarity....even down to the same bathroom faucet! Tim and Nancy have enriched our lives through their visit as their life example of humbleness and graciousness was immensely evident. To that, Debbie and I say THANK YOU! This was a weekend I will never forget and look forward to continuing a life long friendship with them.
The Guild presented me with one of Tim's pieces that he did during the workshop for my efforts in arranging the weekend and for that I will be forever thankful. I have truly grown to love each and every member of this Guild and they all will be dearly missed while I am gone.

A new road.....

After being on a journey I would rather have not taken over the last 9 months, I can thank God that I am back to work, and have joined a great company, however, this new journey could be just as arduous as I am heading back down to Southern California for work. Considering the economy and the general state of affairs in the housing market, Debbie will be staying in Salem and taking care of our home here and I will be close to my ailing parents and helping the family care for them in addition to the new job.

I am excited for this new opportunity, and yet dismayed, that I will be away from my family for an undetermined amount of time. God continues to give us challenges in our lives, but in the end, those challenges makes us stronger. I am at ease and confident that we will endure this journey as promised in Hebrews 10: 35-36.

Your prayers are welcomed as we travel down this new path.

Just Starting........

Sooooooo,

I receive this invite to start blogging to a Family Tree from who other than.............?, the blogging maniac of South Salem!! Yes, your guess was right on, the lovely lady downstairs. I know I'm not gonna hear the end of this until I break down and start.

And then.......I figure the Mile High Fam Club would help me figure it out and she says, "boy, do I feel old or what, how do you do a blog" Arghhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

Does this work? Are you out there?? Have I typed for naught??? Where's Derek when I need him most???? Eating the chocolate chip cookies, that's what he's doing. Oh well, ink is still spilling from the Quill, so tata for now!!