My Manic Drive from Calgary, Alberta to Batavia, NY in 3 Days

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Sunrise Morning Walk - Oct. 3

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Conneticut Run

We had arranged with a friend of ours, a couple of months ago, to join her and her husband at the Woodstock Fair in Woodstock, CT for the September long weekend. Of course, if we are going to drive those 6 hours east to CT....we are definitely going to make the most of our journey and see some things that we, or I, have never seen before. Lance arranged everything, so it was all a surprise to me. I never complain about the little surprises that Lance keeps from me because I ALWAYS enjoy them.

We headed out late Thursday afternoon from Batavia and the first order of business was to stop in at a clients house to drop off some glass countertop samples and discuss colors and other options. Stacey has an amazing collection of hats from around the globe and it was a treat to see some of the pieces that were displayed in their home. You can view her hats on her website at http://www.hathorizons.com/ . Needless to say we chatted there for a few hours. I am always amazed at the connections you can make with people when you share your interests and stories. We had a very enjoyable visit....but onward-ho we needed to go. Albany, NY was our destination for that night and we wanted to get there before dark.

The next morning Lance gave me the first destination to plug into our GPS and off we went to a destination unknown to myself. Hancock, MA was the only indication....and what the hell is in Hancock, MA? As we traveled along the less travelled roads, I kept on seeing signs for Shaker village this...and Shaker village that....hmmm. A few times I said to Lance, "We should go and check out one of those villages sometime." A couple of minutes later....with the ding, ding of the GPS announcing that we had arrived at our destination, the Hancock Shaker Village Museum loomed before us....very cool.

Well it was an eye opening 5 hours that we spent there going through each of the buildings and getting a small glimpse into the lives of these amazing people. It is very sad to think that some things cannot survive the test of time and cultural change. Of course, we took a gazillion photos, only a few of which I can share with you today. The weather was absolutely perfect for touring this kind of facility. We had a wonderful lunch at the Shaker Village cafeteria and just enjoyed each others company as we took in all the sights and sounds.

Next stop was Stockbridge, MA to Holsten Gallery. The quaint little street had charming little boutique style shops on either side. Holsten Gallery is housed in the back of a building, so it took us a couple of minutes to find it. Once inside, we were amazed at the calibre of artists that were represented within the galleries walls. We chatted with Stanley Wooley, an Associate of the gallery, about the history of the gallery, the artists they represent and the economy. I don't think you can get away from that subject. Time was a ticking since we had to get to our friends place in Glastonbury, CT for dinner so off we went....after we picked up some yummy salami, cheese, bread and wine from a local store. Couldn't arrive empty handed.

A lovely evening of laughter, story telling and sharing of food and wine was spent at Carol & Todd's. They had invited another couple to join us, one of whom we had met at a previous outing to Glastonbury. We had a lovely sleep with only a couple of visits by their fluffy, curious cats. The next day's agenda included a aquacise workout with Carol at her local haunt, breakfast and then off to the Woodstock Country Fair for the better part of the afternoon. All of us had our share of fair food....I am still paying for it.

We went into all the animal barns to check out the livestock. I love the personalities of the animals and chickens. We missed out on the horse pull....but got to see the oxen pull instead. That event kind of bothered me as the owners were whipping the oxen to get them to start pulling. Not MY favorite event, but we had a great time and the weather, again, was perfect.

The next day it was time to head out to the second surprise location. So again, Lance pulls out his little piece of paper with the address, I punch it into the GPS, and off we go but not before lots of hugs and warm wishes to our most gracious hosts, Carol and Chef Todd. We didn't get too far from their house before we happened upon the dreaded "TAG SALE". A must stop for Lance and I. No sooner did we get up the driveway before the first find was discovered, and purchased at a cut rate. Well....that meant a trip to the bank to get some cash while Lance continued inspecting the sale for items. We can always find something that we can add to our collection of antiques or to our family's collections. Most of these collections were started by Lance. So we loaded up the Honda Element and off we went to our destination. At this rate we may not make it the 2 hours to New Haven, CT before dinner.

Oops....East Haddam grabbed our attention before we got to our surprise location. Very cool opera house and hotel, an antique store that was over the top with mildrew and mold smells (but I did buy some very nice antique buttons). We had a very enjoyable lunch at the hotels riverside veranda.

Will we ever stop eating????

Gillette Castle was our next stop and it is a beautiful State Park. The castle was amazing...a little on the eccentric side of things, but definitely a place that you have to visit. The door and window latches and locks were very unique.

So we finally started to head to our friends, Kimmy & Fred, home in Branford, CT for another couple of days of stories, laughter, and food. Again we arrived just in time for dinner with their son, Thomas, and 2 of their friends. Very yummy dinner, warm atmosphere, great company. There home sits right on the Long Island Sound with a wonderful peaceful view. This view is what we awoke to the next morning.


Another morning of hanging out and then off to see the Thimble Islands by boat. Amazing homes seemingly floating on top of the water. To have that as your view 365 days of the year is beyond anything I have ever dreamed of. Alas....there are too many things to experience and enjoy in this life...but this is definitely one of them. Simple pleasures of being with friends you enjoy, sharing moments, laughing, savoring tastes, smells, visions.....it just doesn't get any better than that.

So we stayed one more night with Kimmy and Fred. We enjoyed their hospitality and friendship and openness to having us in their beautiful home. We wish we lived closer so that we could enjoy their company more often. It was sad to leave but the OATKA School of Glass beacons us back.....too many things to do and only the 2 of us. We thank all of our friends and the people that we encountered this weekend for making it a memorable one for us.

The Move

It couldn't have been a more perfect day for moving ALL my "stuff" from storage than Monday. The weather was not too hot....not raining....and we had two great guys helping us....and of course the forklift we rented for the day helped. There is smiling Jim sooo happy about finally getting my goods back to Batavia, and Dick inspecting my much talked about Buddha and ALL the "stuff".

Dick had this look on his face that said, "What the hell is that shaggy thing in that wooden basket?" For any of you that are interested....that is my leather shag rug and it feels absolutely wonderful underfoot. I think it is cool.

Oh yeah, now Lance and I can do our step aerobics routines together.....HA. I got quite a few smart ?@$ remarks when I said this to the crew. Lance did make the comment that he did like the step aerobics classes though....so there may still be a chance of getting him to step up to the plate....:)....I am taking bets.

Lance and I picked up the 26' moving truck in Batavia at 9 am and with a smooth sail across the border into Canada, we were greeted with the sight of most of the goods out of the storage unit and ready to be paletted. It was a great thing to have the forklift which made the loading of the truck so much faster.

Lance is in his position of control on the forklift, with the young guys doing most of the heavy work. Lance did haul out a few boxes with the guys so it was all a cushy job.

It only took us, or should I say them, 3 hours to get the truck completely loaded. I took off for about an hour to get some food for these creatures and also load up on my M&M Meats Chicken treats. No, we don't have an M&M Meats in Batavia, NY or anywhere else in the United States, for that matter. Lance would love to have easy access to one just so he could have his Caramel Apple Blossoms on a regular basis. I do have some things that I miss here in the US that I crave every once in awhile. Thank God the US border....and the huge epicenter of Toronto....is not too far. There is nothing that we can't get our hands on from this beautiful spot in the world.

The drive back across the border into the States was just as uneventful as going into Canada. We only sat at the crossing for 1 minute without them even opening the back of the truck to check to see what we had. Amazing.....but I am very happy about the whole thing. Jim and Dick met us at the warehouse where we live and work and they proceeded to unload the truck. I got the wonderful job of sweeping out the new storage area just above our cold working room on the 3rd floor. I quickly decided that sweeping up years of dirt was not the thing for me so I got the vacuum and started in on it. I was surprised we had power to this space and it worked....another happy moment.

So now all of my beloved treasures are here with me in Batavia. There will be no more lamenting over my stuff "in storage" to Lance, which I am sure will make him happy. We have a ton of Bullseye and System96 glass to play with and share with our students.....life is good.

Moving Day

Today is the day that we are renting a 26' moving truck and fork lift to finally move all my stuff from storage in Niagara Falls, Ontario to Batavia, NY. Woohoo. I can't wait to have all my glass and equipment here. My clothes, on the other hand, are a faint memory to me and I probably can't fit into them anymore. But now I won't have to keep saying to Lance...."I have one of those....but it is in STORAGE". My nagging will stop on that subject anyway :)

It will be a full on day with about 180 boxes of stuff, 6 full crates of fusible glass, molds, tools, my huge craft book and magazine collection, a wee bit of furniture, kilns, oxygen generator, oh yeah....the 5' white marble Buddha from Vietnam. It is a beautiful Buddha and has been waiting patiently in the storage locker to be released. Lance even had placed a towel around it's head so that it could not see the ugliness of it's surroundings. Too funny...but very thoughtful. The picture is of the Buddha in Calgary before it made another long journey to Niagara Falls.

The forklift is a definite must for the Buddha and for the crates of glass we have to deal with. Thank God we have 2 strapping young lads to also help us with our mission today.

Well, I have to go and make some more samples for a countertop we are working on so I had better get cracking. Lance will be here in the studio pushing me to get ready for the move before I know it....so onward ho.

Early Morning Sunrise

Hoorah.....I finally decided to start posting "stuff" on my blog. Spare time has not been my friend. There are always too many things to do here at the glass studio with just Lance, my darling husband, and myself running it. But I did make it this far.....so I will continue on with my writing.

I awoke, again, at 5:30am with tons of thoughts and ideas running through my head. This is a common occurance with me since there is always a ton of things to do and think of while operating, teaching and creating our own work here at OATKA Glass Studio and School of Glass.

The glass studio is located on the 2nd floor of a 19th century warehouse. Our loft space, where we live, is attached to our studio. We are the only ones that live in this large warehouse. Wandering the halls at night kind of freaks out some of our friends when they are here visiting. It has never bothered me. It is very surreal experience that is hard to discribe until you have been here with us....wandering the halls and passageways....at night. We have beautiful huge windows throughout the space that mostly overlook a historic graveyard that houses amazingly large beautiful trees. I love trees. So when you look out of our windows, it is like being in a tree house.... all you see are the trees. I love it...and of course all the light that floods into the space.

Early morning is my favorite time of the day. It is quiet here in the studio, the birds are always chattering in the trees of the graveyard, and I am by myself with my thoughts. The crows are the only ones that are making noise at the moment. It is my favorite time to start creating new projects or revise and continue on ones that I have started.

The sunrise today was quite beautiful with the pink, magenta, blue, and gray tones illuminating the clouds in the sky. The midsections of the trees in the graveyard were beautifully backlit in spots....I have got to capture that in glass. The grays were the wisps of rain clouds intruding in on the brilliantly highlighted sunrise clouds. The gray has overtaken the sky now....I think we are to get a little rain today. There is definitely the hint of fall in the air. I know...I know...no one wants to here that the summer season is coming to an end. But I am in love with all the seasons that come upon us....some not so gently. It is the movement through the everchanging seasons that makes life interesting...I think anyway.

Well, I think I have blah, blahed enough for today. We have a show in a couple of weeks time that we have to get pieces made for and ongoing client jobs to complete and do samples for. Life is never boring around here....that I can say with certainty....and I wouldn't have it any other way.