Back to (cold) reality...

Back home and while I truly didn't buy any souvenirs, I got one anyway. I believe I brought some Mexican bug with me. Anyone who knows me, knows that if I have no appetite, I must be sick!
Came home to a cold house - the furnace had decided to go out while I was gone. Again, I can probably thank my lucky stars that it wasn't the middle of winter. The pests were so happy to see me. No matter what the temperature, it's a warm welcome when you have two dogs, four cats, three rabbits and a fish vying for your attention. Annie did some might fine dancin' and Beanie McPhee asked to be picked up and purred up a storm - makes my heart hurt!

Zippy!

As my birthday present (a bit early), my mom paid for me to go on a zip lines/canopy tour.  It was awesome!  The tour I took was the "Canopy Veranos" trip.  We left the hotel at about 9:30am and headed up into the mountains south of Puerto Vallarta.  It was a nice, air conditioned tour bus - for which I was eternally grateful, given the heat this week.  It took a considerable amount of time to get up to the tour site due to road construction and generally bad, narrow and bumpy roads.  The trip is gorgeous though so even the rough ride was ok.

 

Got to the place and had a good training on how to ride the zip lines.  Cute guides who all spoke English reasonably well.  We were outfitted with harnesses in good condition, helmets and gloves.  We flew through the air on zip line after zip line, crossing over people below us at times.  The zip lines were hard-earned as we had to climb some pretty steep stairs and steps built into the mountainside.  The air rushing across my face as I "zipped" helped to dry some of the sweat worked up from the climb.

Being the animal lover that I am, I'm not sure if I enjoyed the zip lines more or the end of the tour at which you could actually feed spider monkeys, coatimundi and pygmy marmosets.  Very cool! 

I came "home" to the hotel at 3pm happy and tired and very glad I went!

Janelle

P.S.  The pygmy marmoset looks kinda sad, but rest assured, they were fat and seemed very happy with all the attention they receive.

Same day...new cat!

Ok - had to check in again because I got a picture of my Gattito friend.  He's a sweetie pie.  He enjoyed a little snack of kitten Friskies.

It's a lazy Mexican day...

See?  Even Hector, the Iguana thinks so!  Actually, our traveling companions seem to have gotten a touch o' the "Revenge" today.  I seem to have escaped unscathed - but nonetheless, kind of lazy.  Getting lots of reading done and now I'm out on the balcony watching the clouds roll in.  I think we might be in for a bit of a storm.   

I made reservations for a "Canopy Tour" on Thursday.  14 zip lines - gonna be fun!

On the Road Again...Hola!

I can't believe it's finally here - my biennial trip to Puerto Vallarta with my mom and her friends.  Actually, "biennenial" isn't quite right. Last year, the conditions just weren't happenin' for either of us and we ended up just visiting each other.

  

So, sand and surf and almost unbearably hot weather the first day or so but it's better today and I'm sitting on the balcony watching the iguanas in the trees, seeing peacocks on the resort grounds strut their stuff and obviously, checking in.  Went up to the Gigante supermarket this morning.  I missed it on the bus because it has apparently changed its name.  Came home and got in the pool for a bit.  Not quite lobster-ish yet but I can tell it's coming despite the lavish use of sunscreen.  Blame my heritage for the pasty whiteness.

More pix soon,

Janelle

Always in Catch Up Mode...

Hey! Where is the time going? I feel like I'm always in catch up mode - you know what I mean? Just some quick updates. Made it through August with all the shows and such. Sales - way, way down. Partly because I didn't have a lot of time to make inventory, partly because people just aren't buying. Who can blame them? We're in interesting economic times. I'm working on an article for the Women in Glass issue of Flow Magazine. Fun fun - it will have something to do with marbles and something to do with electroforming - couple of hints for you! It seems I'm connecting with friends from my past. Last weekend, I was visited from dear old friends from Seattle and today, I got a wonderful surprise from a friend in Singapore who I met 20 years ago. So nice to hear from him again! So, what's on the horizon? Article writing, maybe some teaching. Beadmaking and spinning when I have time and a trip to Puerto Vallarta in October. More soon! Janelle

August is BUSY!

Obviously, I made it back from the Con - tired and happy, I might add. On Sunday, we wandered the somewhat less crowded vendor floor once again, haunting the book publisher booths. Picked up some authors I haven't read - now I just have to find the time to actually READ! I started a "real" job this week, which means more social interaction, more brain stimulation, (more money =) but decidedly LESS time. Oh well - it happens. Next week is the International Society of Glass Beadmakers big get together (a.k.a. the Gathering) in Oakland, CA. I am the merchandise coordinator so I'll be occupied. It's wonderful to see people once a year though and along with that comes with getting to see some real talent and beautiful beads. When I get back, I'll immediately get ready for "Glass on the Grass" - a nice outdoor show at Gonzaga University in Spokane and then a weekend later is the Arbor Crest Winery show - at which I'm also a vendor. Someday I'll find time to take and post pix of the beads...maybe that day will come this weekend. We'll see!

Comic-Con - Day Three

I made it through a day of really fun and interesting panels!  Any Con attendee will tell you that if you get a decent spot in Ballroom 20 or Hall H and if the programming is good, you'd better just sit back for the long haul and enjoy the entertainment.

This morning started out with a panel on Futurama.  I love seeing Matt Groening, Billy West, Katie Segal and others. They showed some hilarious footage that reminded me why Futurama is my favorite animated show ever!  After the Futurama panel, it naturally rolled into a Simpson's panel.  Interesting but none of the voice talent was there.  Not being a 2-D artist myself, I think I love these types of panels, mainly for catching a glimpse of the people who "do" the voices. 

Next was a really fascinating hour with Dean Koontz.  I can't really say I'm a fan as I've been living under a rock and NOT reading his stuff.  I'll have to pick up a few of the books though and give him more of a try.

I had no interest in the next panel for a new Joss Whedon series coming out on Fox early next year called "Dollhouse" but after seeing the trailer and hearing from the actors, I'm actually excited about watching the pilot.  The premise is that there is an agency that will provide a "doll" or (there was another name for them but I've forgotten) for anyone willing to pay enough.  They have taken actual people, erased their memories and then "load" them with the character of who they are now supposed to be.  If I'm wrong about this assessment, it's what I saw in the trailer.  Looks like it will be good.

Finally, I sat through the Battlestar Galactica panel - which was just awesome!  I love the show so getting to see the cast together onstage was really a treat.  There's a new series coming out too called "Caprica" that makes me want to watch all the early episodes of BSG that I missed.

Here are some pix from the day!

Futurama

Dean Koontz

Dollhouse

Battlestar Galactica

Comic-Con Day Two Part Two

Wow!  Another great day!  I spent much of my time today in "Hall 20" - the HUGE room I talked about earlier.  First, I saw the cast of SG-1 - they're promoting their new straight-to-DVD movie called "Continuum".  Then, I saw a preview of the upcoming video game, "Stargate Worlds" and finally, on that theme, I saw a panel for "Stargate Atlantis".  Fun, fun - really!  Each member of both casts were so funny and outgoing.  It made for an entertaining time. 

Let's see, besides the gaggle of creatively dressed people I saw today, I was smiled at by Dennis Miller (of SNL fame), who was walking around pretty much as a normal conference attendee, I spotted Erin Grey (always at the Con), Eric Estrada, Simon Pegg, Lou Ferigno, Corey Feldman, and several other "less than fresh" stars.  I also sat through the "Bones" panel - lots of funny, pretty people like David Boreanus.

On to the pix!

From Continuum -

From Stargate Atlantis

From the exhibitor hall -

And for Lori - it's a terrible pic but a friend of mine DID get in to see Keanu yesterday so here is a blurry, blurry view of him this year!

Comic-Con Photos!

First official day of Comic-Con.  What an event!  There are 125,000 people here from all over the world.  People watching is just fascinating.  Besides the fact that there are people dressed up like Wonder Woman, fairies and the ever present Storm Troopers - the tattoos, piercings, and clothing choices are certainly unique.

Today, we ate breakfast at Seaport Village and proceeded to spend some time perusing the convention/vendor hall.   It is soooo jam packed that it's hard to move but the booths are wonderful.  Publishers offer free books to get you hooked on an author, toy companes hold raffles aplenty and artists sit and wait to show you their portfolio and to hopefully sell some prints.  Often, you can commission them to draw a superhero or to simply fill a page of your book with their own brand of art. 

We did manage to see one panel - the lines to get into these things are the longest I have ever, ever seen.  We got into the "Twilight" panel.  It is always exciting to see the director, writer and most of the cast members of a movie onstage - even if the best view you get is the Jumbotron-like screens positioned throughout the massive and packed-to-the-gills hall.  I love the vampire-themed "Twilight" books and I think the movie(s) might do them justice.  The youngish-actors were probably scared to death and were more than a little scattered.  Other panels with seasoned actors usually offer a little more insight into their respective movies.  Lori, I do apologize, but we couldn't get in to see Keanu.  The picture from last time will have to keep you contented!

Here are a few pix I snapped today.  More tomorrow!

Star Wars fans must be in heaven!  Those Storm Troopers were at the Lucas Films/Arts booth but I believe they are just normal folk who delight in donning their Trooper outfits every year.  The huge Jabba the Hutt (oh my gosh - where was my brain?  I was tired last night when I originally posted this and totally misidentified the big guy) statue is really impressive.

Life-sized versions of the "Ugli Dolls".  Characters like this patrol the length of the convention floor promoting their booths.

Anime is king here and often, you get to see new dolls, toys and other products before they are officially released.   I like this series of dolls.