January has come and will be gone in another day! It's been cold with December's snow still hanging around. Yesterday brought near 50 degrees though so the snowmen aren't long for this world.

Dec. 31, My girls (daughters and granddaughters)and I flew to Miami. We spent New Year's Day on Miami Beach, shopping, going to Holocaust Memorial, eating at a great Cuban restaurant etc. Jan. 2, we boarded our cruise ship and sailed off to Jamaica.

You will have to check out the photos in Potpourri to see our adventure of climbing up the Rio Ochos waterfall. It took over an hour but was fun. We ate at Mama Marley's and had jerked chicken which was delicious. Had to buy my grandson a Bob Marley t-shirt.

Back on the ship later that day for our cruise to Grand Cayman. Life aboard the ship is non stop eating. We had a great waiter each night who delighted in bringing us extra desserts to try. I had the Chocolate Fudge Cake - a rich cake with gooey fudgy pudding under - it was to die for. After that all the gals had to have it too. No matter what we ordered, we'd get at least an extra one of those!

All the waiters in our dining room were performers too. The first time, they sang, 2nd night, got up on their serving tables and danced, then combined the two etc. It was all good fun. .

Of course each night when we went back to our cabins, we were greeted with the towel animals they so cleverly make. One morning, they had a lesson on how to fold the towels and make a dog; I am sorry to say I flunked towel art 101!!!

Rachel was celebrating being 18 and you can visit the casino on board at 18 so I gave her and Mara money to gamble. Rachel ended up winning a little on the slots but Mara wanted me to go to blackjack table with her. With Jan's and my advise at first, she soon picked up the ins and outs and lady luck was with her. She turned $20 into $110. before deciding to keep her winnings.

Grand Cayman was disappointing - not that it's not a beautiful little island but the wind was high and it was cool so our snorkeling excursion was cancelled. We took a land excursion instead - the highlight was a visit to the turtle farm. (Check out the pic in potpourri) We did a little shopping and back on board the ship.

Besides eating, the entertainment was great aboard ship also. A couple good comedians and a juggler who was fantastic. The dancers and singers of course gave good shows also.

Our cruise was great except the cool weather followed us so it could have been much warmer. The girls were disappointed not to really get much sunning but maybe that keep the sunburn at bay. The morning we docked in Miami, it was nearly freezing! We flew home the same day to cold weather here too. Have to ask Al where all the global warming went to.

Back to work - been busy with all the details of the Rockies West National Show. Getting info for catalog and publicity, title cards made etc. I have several workshops to plan for etc. before I fly out to Phoenix on Feb. 16th. Will teach a workshop there and then 4 of us will have a week in Mexico to paint. Should be warmer there!

I did get a painting, In the Beginning (shown under abstracts) in the show so earned my signature status in the Western CO Watercolor Society. Been too busy and bad cold this week to get much painting done but have lots of ideas in my head!! Till next time..........