12.27.21 So good! So good! So good!*

In late February of this year, as we were all beginning to schedule our Covid vaccines - and held out hope that the pandemic would soon be over - a group of us who have been friends since childhood began planning a trip to mark our 40th high school graduation. 

At the time, we couldn't imagine that not only would Covid still be raging, but that we'd be facing a new variant. As the year wore on we planned, and hesitated, but fortune smiled on us and we were able to be together.

A little over 48 hours after returning home from Thanksgiving, I was traveling again.  Arriving at Austin-Bergstrom Airport at 4 am (the first time I'd been in an airport in nearly two years) to spend five days with a group of women who had not all be together at the same time since we were 18 years old.

arriving at Cyril E. King airport in Charlotte-Amalie

Masked, vaccinated, tested and approved by the authorities in the US Virgin Islands, we took off to spend five epic days together in Saint Thomas.

Three of us, who had gone to college as well as high school together, first caught up in Atlanta, and a few hours later we were all in paradise.  The decades between our last visit and this one seemed to vanish. 

Our choice of St. Thomas wasn't random - one of the members of our girl tribe, along with her husband, owns Ciao Bella Charters - and lives on the island half the year. 

A glorious day on Ciao Bella!

She helped us arrange condo rentals, set us up with a great taxi driver, made dinner reservations and planned our itinerary...all we had to do was enjoy! 

Our day on the boat was spectacular - I had never been to the Caribbean before - but everything you hear about it is true! The weather and scenery are beautiful, and the water really is blue!  We snorkled at Honeymoon Beach, ate lunch in Maho and soaked up sun like folks who have been locked inside for two years.

We ate amazing fresh fish for dinner every night, and made a day trip to St. John where we took advantage of incredible duty free shopping...this is where jewelry finally comes back to the blog...

At the St. John Ferry landing

We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John, and as always, I was looking for two things - artisan jewelry, and a tea towel - I found both. 

A couple of blocks away from the ferry landing we found Bamboo Studio, a local jewelry company with both a beautiful store, and a studio with large glass windows where you can watch their artisans working at their benches.  Immediately, I knew this was where I would find my jewelry souvenir.

The "Ciao Bellas"

Before we entered the store, my friends asked what was going on in the workshop.  I pointed out the silver wire hanging on the walls, the casting equipment, the benches covered with hand tools and flex shafts hanging nearby.  It was so fun to share my knowledge, and encourage them to choose pieces that were made on St. John by skilled craftspeople.

Most of my friends chose hook bracelets, which are symbolic in the Virgin Islands...but I'm not a bracelet person...and I found two pendant charms that I love, and my crew agreed are "so me".

The smaller pendant has "waves" surrounding a blue diamond, symbolizing the hurricanes Irma and Maria - that struck the Virgin Islands in 2017 - and from which they have largely recovered. The larger pendant says "KEEP LEFT", because although they are US territories, cars drive on the left side of the road (as in England).

Double entendre pendants
from Bamboo Studio

Looking at the two pendants together - it struck me - not only do they represent the Virgin Islands, but my political leanings as well.  I'm always pushing people to keep left and work for a blue wave!

Some people say "you can't go home again" - and I certainly don't want to go back to high school - but I am so glad to be reunited with this incredible group of women.  There are no words sufficient to describe the love and admiration I have for them.  Five days together was a salve to my soul after two very difficult years.

I came home rested and renewed - ready to deal with whatever life has to throw at me - because I know I'll be seeing my friends again sooner rather than later...

...and of course, my new tea towel is my kitchen.

The blog is indeed back - although I'm still not sure what the frequency will be - it feels good to be writing again, and I'm hopeful that 2022 will be a safer, healthier and more productive year for all of us.

Until next time.

*from the chorus of Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline". It became the theme of our weekend, and we sang it a lot!

12.13.21 Thankful

The view from our rental house on the Galveston Seawall

On March 13, 2020 - 21 months ago today - the world changed forever when Covid-19 first impacted my life.  News about an unknown, very contagious virus had been circulating for a couple of weeks.  

The previous week, the City of Austin had canceled South by Southwest, and on Friday the 13th my husband received a message from his employer not to come to work on Monday; that his company would be working remotely "until it was safe to return to the office".

He's still working from home.

There was no way for any of us to anticipate what the next two years would look like.  It turns out life during a pandemic is exhausting, frightening and isolating.  

Even for those of us who are fortunate enough to have homes, jobs and families to sustain us, the last two years have been hard.

I haven't written a blog post in more than 6 months, because frankly I ran out of both the energy to write and things to say.

With vaccines, and now boosters, the world is starting to open up - a bit - again.  I'm still not back in the jewelry studio - I don't know when that will happen, especially now that we have Omicron - but I am feeling renewed enough to sit down at my computer and blog.

Sunflowers and chrysanthemums at the beach house 

That feeling - wanting to write and reach out - has been sparked by reconnecting with family and friends, and doing it outside the four walls of my house.

Three weeks ago we were able to spend Thanksgiving with our adult children and my in laws.  

The following week, I had a fabulous long weekend with a group of women I've know for more than 40 years.

This past weekend, I caught up with friends from graduate school who I hadn't seen in person in two years.

Next time, I'll write about the girls' trip...which will actually have jewelry references in it!  This time, you get Thanksgiving.

For decades, my mother in law has gone all out for Thanksgiving, starting her planning weeks in advance and cooking for days before everyone descended on her.

Her home, while lovely, isn't big enough to accomodate all of us overnight, so in the before times, I would book hotel rooms nearby.  None of us felt comfortable with that arrangement this year, so instead we rented a historic house in Galveston, where we could all stay in one place.

To ensure things went smoothly, my husband and I arrived on Sunday - a couple of days ahead of everyone else - to get set up.  

Things that used to be simple - like grocery shopping - have become more complicated. Covid has changed the way I do these things - to minimize my contact with people I don't know - in large part because Texas' lack of leadership has refused to allow local governments to put safety protocols in place.

Fortunately, I was able to schedule a curbside pick up ahead of time, just like I do at home.  Because I wouldn't be in my own kitchen, and didn't want to spend all my time cooking (and we certainly weren't going to ask that of my mother in law), we ordered our holiday meal to go from Goode Co. BBQ in Houston.

Melamine beach plates and Goode Co. Thanksgiving dinner

On Monday I made my grocery run, and I was able to find a local florist to get flowers for the table - something I have come to love during the last two years at home.  A locally based friend recommended the Galveston Flower Co. The staff helped me arrange a beautiful bouquet that we enjoyed all week.

Side note - I've been getting flowers delivered weekly through a floral CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), and it has been one of the bright spots in a dark time.  The flowers, and the folks behind them at Petals, Ink, are definitely worthy of a blog post...I promise I'll write one in the coming year.

The rest of our crew - kids and in laws - arrived on Tuesday, and frankly we could have simply had turkey sandwiches and it would have been a great trip!  However, we didn't have to settle for sandwiches - we had quite the spread - smoked turkey, green bean casserole, mashed sweet potatoes, potatoes au gratin, rolls and of course, pie.

It's not a trip to Galveston without Gaido's

We stuffed ourselves silly all week.  In addition to the traditional Thanksgiving meal, we squeezed in Tex-Mex and fresh seafood at Gaido's, eating outdoors when we weren't at our rental house.

It all went by far too fast, and we are once again scattered across the country - my kids on both coasts and us in the middle in Texas.  But the week left me thankful for the time together, and hopeful that we will be able to find ways to return to seeing each other - in person - regularly.  

If that means booster vaccines and testing before and after travel, sign me up.

I hope you have been able to find things to give you strength and carry you through this challenging year.  I'm glad to be writing again, and grateful to everyone who reads my posts.

Until next time.