Magic- under the sea with the guncles, a trip to Jacksonville

There were sooooo many highlights of my trip, but one of the most lovely was the special treatment that the guncles always offer to their guests. When you visit them, you feel treasured.

Randy set up his garden tent with an Under the Sea theme for a delicious crab leg dinner that was as beautiful as it was tasty. (I picked the fresh lemon from the tree growing near the tent in the garden-feeling very Floridian as I did it)

The tablescape featured oversized clam shells and a giant coral, sprinkled liberally with glitter and smaller shells, strings of pearls, and lots of candles.

But the best part? Well, dur-

those hosts!

Oh, and- that moss and "bubble" filled chandy, of course.

Terry, who I was meeting up with in Orlando, is in the process of moving and is making some major changes in her studio. She has been busy doing some destashing, and had sent a couple of boxes of delight my way earlier.

When I got to Randy's there was a pile of large,flat rate boxes there, and he saved them for us to go through together.

Geez, Louise, those were some fun boxes to delve into! I'd already had the squealing, oohing and ahhing good time of opening the ones at my house, and now I got a double treat by helping him open his.

On craft day, I made a thank you card for Terry, done only with things that she had sent.

We also played with metal sheets, dyes, spritzes, and embossing plates that she'd packed up for him.

Here is a card that Randy made.

I spent some time on a drawing, here it is in an early stage. It is for a coloring page, to go in a book I'm making. Anyone up for a "Farewell to Downton" book swap? Details to come. I need to design the cover and get the rules together. I'll have a blog post up about it before too long, but feel free to contact me at:

karlanathan@sbcglobal.net

to get on a list for me to contact you when I have the info together, so you don't miss it.

Or leave a comment and I'll get back to you when it is ready.

We had a good day in the studio, and had plenty of company while working there. Our friend, Regina, came by and we had a constant parade of pups under our legs and in our laps.

The food and company are always wonderful, (I loved the fresh shrimp whipped up in a New Orleans style sauce), lots of wine, laughs, and snuggle pups.

Even better, their eclectic home filled with antiques was still decked out for the holidays, yay! Kevin is a master of junking and is one the best hunters around. His vintage Christmas finds and bargains are the BEST. Whole villages of putzes. Silver trees with over 500 shiny brites. Comfort and Joy in every corner, on every table top, every where you look.