A SPRING IN YOUR STEP...

"Spring has sprung, the grass has riz"...A lovely first day of Spring, here in Vegas - one that finds me married to my husband for 30 years, which makes me all of 42 - not long on mushy sentiment on the blog (I tend to keep the family affairs low key and on a personal level), but thanks for a great run, Mister!  This past weekend was the long-awaited "Santo de Estrella" class with ROBIN DUDLEY-HOWES, and some charming girlfriends, here in town.

The dolls were all hand sculpted by Robin, and presented to us as "pieces/parts" at the beginning of class.  Each person assembled their own dolls, and then stained and painted the basic parts, before moving on to lots and lots of soldering, connecting all the dots, and crossing all the T's!  Jewelry was hand fashioned for each of these, also - a TOTAL MUST among the jewelry makers in the crowd.

A two day affair, complete with food and laughter - 7 hours each day.  Learned (learned, not "turned") a few new tricks (who says you're too old), and remembered a few forgotten ones...

Made a couple of new friends, and reconnected with some that had fallen out of touch...

The end result of our table of four...I KNOW that the two that weren't quite finished will be fabulous by week's end...I KNOW.

Mine, in the midst of half from the other table - as each one of these was individually crafted for us by Robin, no two were remotely alike - especially after paint applications.

My finished product...the base has been filled with antique silk flowers.  A glitter glass banner hangs from her hands, and spells out "Calm" in French, the result of that very word being printed on an old page of text used during the day...not that I speak the language, but the word was there, and is also part of my daughter's favorite phrase from a book - "du calme".  The rest of the banners were made up to say Peace...yes, I had to be different and it just seemed to fit the bill.

Thank you, Robin (and the rest of you lovely ladies), for a great two days - had a fabulous time and brought home a special keepsake.

With that out of the way, it is time to spring on out of here and resume the travelogue, as my father in Denver is chomping at the bit, wondering where we're stopping next on our travels.  The incredible Hoover Dam and new Memorial Bridge, it is...a safe and happy Spring to everyone!