7 for the weekend--- 2010, The Year of The Daves

Rainbow panel mosaic by Margaret Almon

1. Mosaic Woman: After I survived massive lay-offs, Mosaic Woman didn't survive one at her work place. In six months she has not found another job in her field, so for 2011 we are not going to try to extend her benefits, but please do not consider her an unemployed librarian, but instead, Mosaic Woman is a full-time mosaicist! Here is her take on this transformation.

2. Gardening: I recently posted four photographs from 2007. What a garden I created that year. What a disgrace to the garden was I this year. And at work ground hogs, deer, extreme heat, and less time for gardening also led to general but not complete failure in the vegetable garden and led to the decision to no longer fight the varmints. But the flower garden at work, now there is where one could go to remember the joy of getting one's hands dirty:

Pink Dahlias grown and photographed by Wayne Stratz

3. South Africa: Not to say that the World Cup with all those funky horns was big, and not that delving into their jazz legends was majorly cool in 2010... but my sister-in-law's move there to be with the one she loved was huge. Lots and lots of great visits before she left.


4. Fire: Last March I woke to the horrific sounds of a family watching the man of the house jumping from a burning house. Last week I was walking home from church and a car in front of our house sprouted arms that waved at me. It was the man and his wife. They plan to be our neighbors once again this February when there house will be finished.


5. Walking with God: In October I took my stained glass with me on a retreat. Something happened that lit a fire within me. I do believe the purchases and praise gave me confidence that I could be a vital part of Nutmeg Designs and the sales continued to flow through the holiday craft shows and I scrambled to keep up my stock.


6. Doodling with Glass: I made my first mosaic which led to a new style of making suncatchers. I decided to make two more mosaics while on break. Here is the smaller one and the final project to emerge from my studio: (it is hanging in Virago Baking Company till the end of January)

Doodling with Blue Green Glass, a mosaic by Wayne Stratz

7: The Year of the Daves (3 dudes I work with and who became great/better friends in 2010) also included DC's museums, 17 craft shows +/- , women jazz in Harrisburg, Jazz many other places, hope, joy, peace (along with despair, sadness, and anger), Science Teachers conference in Philly, new friends here and there, 8 days of silence, monster snow storms, and then an early spring, much tasty food including the annual strudelfest, a trip to Cleveland, a few glass cuts on my fingers (well several), and it ended at midnight with some great friends who had fed us with home made Thai food earlier in the evening. and everything else...