FRIDAY, MARCH 28, 2008
We woke up to a wet snow - it was very pretty across the lake on the tree boughs.

My class today was weaving a pouch with willow bark - quite different than yesterday's willow! Miriam carefully cuts her weavers to the same width.
We had plenty of peeled willow bark to choose from!
Our fearless teacher, Margaret Mathewson, fashioned a scary mask from the willow bark, peering out of knotholes!

The goofiness continued when Ann put an unfinished rib basket over her head!
One of the highlights of the Retreat is the Gallery exhibit, where everyone is welcome to bring their baskets to show. We have a wide array of extremely talented artists in our guild, but we encourage everyone to contribute, so here's a photo of my purple necklace pouch sharing display space with some other beautiful baskets.
It continued to snow all day, but luckily didn't get really cold, and the snow was gone by morning. This is the camp road, going past some of the cabins that we sleep in.

THURSDAY, MARCH 27, 2008
Today the willow class continued, my basket is making progress! I love the smell and colors of willow.

Katherine Lewis was our teacher - here she's preparing to tie the ends together before wrapping the basket in plastic to keep it damp while we eat lunch.
And I actually finished it! We made the baskets to hold the plastic flower pot, so we can put plants in them, and the extra-long handle will allow the basket to be hung. It came out great, and was a good class.

In another classroom, Mary Hettmansperger is acting goofy, to the amusement of her students.

I left early for Basket Retreat so that I could spend some time at Fort Worden State Park beachcombing. It was rainy and snowy when I left, but the sun was out at the park. Above is the Lighthouse where I parked, with Whidbey Island still cloudy and stormy in the background.

This seagull was busily eating it's catch of the day, when the crow began his approach, exclaiming loudly to all that it was, indeed, HIS catch. He eventually grabbed the goodie right out from under the seagull's beak! The other gull politely ignored all the bickering.
I found plenty of interesting rocks, shells and clouds.

After dinner at the camp, we had a short class period, where we started the Willow Flower Basket class. We made our base and got started up the sides.

Received another Photo Art Journal, "Embrace the Blur". This is a very fun one - I imagine most of the photos were the result of unintended movement or low light (mine were!), but they are all very interesting.

This first page is of a lighted yoyo - very colorful.

Catherine created a folding back cover that wraps around the book, using a blurry shot of flowers.

The sun came out this afternoon - everything looks so bright and cheerful! The hyacinths are out - can't you just smell that sweet scent!

These happy pink flowers are the first to bloom in my entry garden - I'm not sure what they are, but it's always good to see them at the end of the winter. They've been blooming for more than 4 weeks now! They are quite tiny, just a few inches high, and spreading every year as a ground cover.

Cory came over, as he does every Sunday for a real meal and laundry. He brought these jumping stilts to play with. It takes a while to get used to walking in them, but after you're comfortable with them, you should be able to run and jump higher and farther. They really look bizarre, but he was having fun with them, and only fell a couple of times.

It was sunny and bright, with clear blue skies while he was strapping them on. In the short time he walked around the yard, it started to cloud up, and the wind picked up. Just as we went inside, it began to hail, then rained hard for a while. Then, it all went away again!
We saw several jets fly over today - seems like there were more than usual, but, hard to say.

I don't celebrate the Christian holiday of Easter, but most peoples celebrate the vernal equinox as the return of spring and the season of new growth.

The forsythia is now in full bloom - and today the morning sun was shining brightly through the petals. Lovely! I didn't cut any branches to force inside this year, so I'm enjoying immersing myself inside the bush! I'm not fond of many yellow flowers, but I do have to say I love forsythia - it's such a harbinger of spring, even though it is my birthmonth flower, November. So enjoy this cheery bright flower with me!