Snow, Ohio Coffee & other treats

Despite the fact that I still have no e-mail service at rgillman@studio78.net, I am relatively cheerful. Glad to be home, but I must say the last few days were a blast!

Claire Waguespack Fenton and I met at the Cleveland Airport Saturday, where each of us had arrived (she from her native South Louisiana, I from my native New Jersey) to tape a brief guest appearance on Quilting Arts TV. The producer was kind enough to schedule our taping on the same day so we could see each other - a event that occurs once every several years. What a treat!

Even more of a treat was the beautiful Ohio weather. Here is Claire, outside the hotel, taking a picture of the surrounding landscape.
She was thrilled to see REAL snowflakes and virgin snow and I was happy it was a wet, light dusting that didn't make the roads hazardous while I was driving in unfamiliar territory.
One of the trip's high points for Claire was the following experience - a first for her. It was difficult for me to give the pleasure of this activity over to her, but I made the sacrifice.
Anybody who knows us is aware that we are both addicted to STRONG, delicious coffee: Claire, to that wonderful New Orleans chicory coffee - and me, to a fragrant espresso (and this leaves out Starbucks). Because we both like it strong, we stacked two coffee in our room's coffeepot. Here is the transparent, tea-colored brew that resulted. Can you imagine what it would have looked like with only ONE pod?But, we did not let weak coffee deter us from enjoying ourselves. Sunday, we found a day spa and pampered ourselves with massages, manicures, and pedicures. It was a lovely afternoon, followed by a hunt for a dollar store (futile) and a good bottle of wine (successful). Well, successful once we got past the dry cork and the non-working corkscrew.Monday was taping day and we got up at the crack of dawn to be at the studio for the makeup artist to apply the war paint. I'm not sure it helped, but it was de rigeur for the camera. The segments were taped straight through, and were a fun and interesting experience. The studio staff, camera crew, and Pokey's staff were simply great. And of course, Pokey & John are genuinely nice people with tremendous reserves of energy. Here we are, between segments.
And here I am, in the green room (yes, it really is GREEN) with my post-taping purple hands.
This picture captures the spirit of the whole experience!
So much for the required manicure for the camera.

On Sunday, Jane Davila and her husband Carlos arrived for Jane's Tuesday taping. Along with Shelly Stokes, we all went out to dinner. Judy Perez came in from Chicago yesterday to tape her segments and last night, Claire, Judy and I had a fabulous, authentic, Lebanese meal and a delightful evening.
Claire and I stopped back at the studio en route to the airport so we could say goodbye once again, and now we are back to real life. Fun while it lasted!