Thinking About What to Pack and Schedules

I actually did bring my suitcases out from the storage closet and put them into the front room for staging. I get a gold star for that, right? LOL Of course, I haven't opened them yet, and I'm nowhere close to being packed and ready to go, but I still have a few days. DH will start to get grumpy soon - he hates it when I'm away for a few days. 

The totality of Radio Silence takes over my life when
I leave for my conference next week. It's a bit
annoying, but it's reality. It makes DH more
comfortable with my being away. 

I've always envied people who can keep close contact while one of the partners is away from the other. I'm sure you know some people who can do that - people who phone every night and have long conversations, or who email or text back and forth during breaks in the day. I'd love to be able to do that, but DH goes on radio silence. He says he misses me too much to want to chat or hear how my day went. He just wants to trudge through the times I'm gone until I'm finally back, then he'll listen to everything. It's like existing inside a submarine in total stealth mode while I'm away. 

Glass is such an amazing media. Here, hand-made glass
Murano canes are stacked next to each other and fused into
a larger tablet. Murano canes have been made in this
"millefiori" style for hundreds of years and with a
hole in the center of each individual cane, they have
been used as adornment for many centuries. 

He might hate it, but no choice. My long-time readers will know that I've been attending the annual Bead & Button Show convention since the mid-1990's, every year without fail. When I first started, it was a relatively small show and the attendees and vendors bonded together and forged bonds of friendship and respect that still, in many cases, still exist. I've been an attendee, and I've been a teacher. I've had short 3-hour classes, and I've had three-day intensive Master Classes. It's almost all been an incredibly positive experience, and the negatives are far outweighed by the good memories. 

I'm taking Andy Cooperman's "Innovative Captures" Master Class this
year. I'm bringing shell (abalone and capiz), different metal forms,
and of course that lens from the camera along with me. Who knows
what I'll come up with? 

I'll bring a small carry bag with me to the shop today. I'm hopeful that I can transfer the tools I want to take with me to the smaller bag - I'm not sure my arm is up for the strain of taking my usual portable studio back and forth. I will take some time this morning or afternoon and see if I can cull my bench tools down to a much smaller container for just this one time. Everything will be returned to my larger container when I return from the show. 

I have a small carry-along tool bag similar to this one that I'm
hoping my tools and materials will fit into. I'd rather not lug
my multi-drawer carry-along if I can avoid it. It's pretty
heavy and unwieldy. 

So, thoughts are swirling. As usual, I'm going to the show a little bit heavier than I want, but I still have a few days to drop the 2-4 pounds that I'd prefer. It's not out of the realm of possibility. Since I'll be eating hotel food for days, I'll be really fighting to maintain a reasonable weight. Vacations can be so hard! On that note, it's time for me to dive into my day. I hope your Thursday is fantastic. It's a Project Runway night, and we're down to five now, so tomorrow's post will be a review of tonight's episode. Have an excellent day and I'll be back on Friday with a Project Runway synopsis.