artfest. . .part 1 (of many)

 for a long time now, I've spoken of Artfest. the trades, the friends, dorm 202, etc. so here it is - get ready for some fun stories and posts. I was gone for 7 days, so my intention is to post 7 times, describing each day. . . .warning - you may want to grab a cup of coffee or something to keep you awake while reading these looooooonnnnnnnnnnng posts. . . .

Day one - Monday.

Back when i registered for AF in September, my original plan was: the week of AF,  leave on Tuesday, stop at thrift stores along the way and then stop in Olympia and spend the night with my sister Jackie. Then on Wednesday, I'd get up, have coffee with her and head up north another hour or so and get to the fort a bit early. maybe even in time to tour downtown port townsend. well, that was squelched when the sister i love moved even further north to Mt Vernon. Hmmmm, I wonder if she has any friends I could stay with. . . .i wasn't too worried. if nothing else i could drive at least to portland and maybe stay with friends or relatives.

but then i had an idea. . .my best friend from high school had moved back to the northwest from Texas so maybe i'll call her. that would have been great if i had her phone number. then another idea. facebook. i'm sure she's there. nope. (c'mon Cathy - get on facebook already !) my brain was on overload with ideas. she has children. certainly they'd be on facebook. BINGO ! I messaged her oldest daughter, hoping she'd remember me - she did - and i obtained her #. yipee.

long story short - we connected, made plans, and I was set to spend 2 nights with her before heading to AF.  (i left a day earlier so i could visit with her longer :)

so Monday morning, after running all over town getting last minute things done (cookie money deposit, drop off altered book to next participant, get gas, cash check, etc, etc) i headed off. Of course my first stop was only 1 hour north on the freeway. remember it from last years post ? the goodwill by the pound. (otherwise known as the 'outlet') here i found a fun red childrens rocking chair to re-sell, some books and a few other odds and ends.  then up to portland. lots of stops there. first off, a thrift store that benefits veterans. found some brand new pillows, a skirt for me, some vintage jewelry boxes to re-sell, a bark cloth table runner, and again, other odds and ends. needless to say, I stopped at two other stores before heading back on the freeway. oh and i found a huge unopened vintage roll of wallpaper - yummy cream and white with an embossed design and sparkles!

next stop, Olympia to visit a few stores in search of a crown stamp.  i stopped at two stores before one of them said ' I bet terri at Scarlet Impress has one. it's her specialty. problem was, it was 5:55 and she closed at 6:00.  Imagine my delight when the other store employee called her and she agreed to stay open for me. (did anyone notice it was 6 pm ? Late, I know - i told you i love stopping at thrift stores!) I raced downtown and power shopped.  found two wonderful stamps and i was on my way. BTW - amazing store. I wish i had another hour to spend time looking around. if you're even in Olympia, you must stop by. and at Sharin' Memories - the store that called. now that is great customer service ! by now Cathy has called and wondered where in the world i am. Certainly if I left my house at .  .ahem. . 11:00 am, i should be there by now.  I told her i was about an hour away and I promised i wouldn't stop anywhere else. (although if the mausoleum where moms niche is was open, I would have stopped there).

I arrive safe and sound to Cathy's house and I am greeted by one of the best things in the world. a huge hug from your best friend. it was like we'd just seen each other last week. then i met 3 of her 5  wonderful children. what a delight it was to be in her home.

although this photo was taken the next day, i can't wait to show you this amazing woman in my life.

there are so many reasons why i love her. we met back in Jr. High (or middle school, as it's called here now) in band class. we both played the flute - and she much better than i. we bonded immediately, and a great friendship began. i was telling her how unlikely it was though and how God must have had His hand in it. She is (and was) a beautiful blonde with an amazing figure. a personality that shines and the best sense of humor (except when she thought it would be funny to dare me to eat a pickled jalepeno pepper - another story in itself that we still laugh about to this day). and then me. Not blonde,( at least not then - amazing what a good weave can do)  not thin, and not popular, by the great school standards. She later became a cheerleader and my cheering was limited to the stands. (but i was good :) ) i think you know what i mean.

 i just love how 30 years later (yikes) we are still best friends. talking. laughing. crying. all the things that best friends do.

Here is a picture from her wedding in 1983. we'd just graduated from high school 6 months earlier. Cathy has 3 sisters, and many friends. i was priviledged enough to be her maid of honor. She was 19 and i was 18. aren't we cute ?

and here is a picture from my wedding in 1992. she was my matron of honor as well. by now, we are both 27 (we're the same age for 8 months out of the year) and i think we're still cute.

 

i just noticed that we're always on the same side of each other. and i apologize for the photos of the photos not being real great. i'm looking into getting a scanner !

we spend the evening talking and catching up and planning the next day.

so good night for now - I know, not much about AF exactly, but this is a journey . . .remember ?

many blessings to you all - love, jill

Comments

[m i c h e l l e]

What a fun fun experience! SO happy you two found each other and picked up right where you left off!! LOVE the pictures!

Now you were saying something about Artfest? :-)