Portland!

Dasani water in a bottle--just enough to get down a pain pill--the sound of the baby in the row behind me screaming intermittently for music. I'm in the air on the way to the Bullseye Instructor workshop in Portland, and so far the day has been a series of ups and downs.

Before I go any further though, I need to thank my spouse and the J for their above and beyond assistance in the studio today. As it is Saturday, I had no assistants scheduled, and when I determined at the last minute that I would need help today, neither of my regular assistants were available. So Dave stepped in and unloaded three kilns for me and helped me load three back up. Then he and J helped label and stack all the padded envelopes with the health company awards in them for Kay to deliver to Bill in Commerce tomorrow. At the same time she'll get metal from him for orders I need to ship early next week to Hawaii and other far flung locations, and she'll give him boxes of my work for the Buyer's Market that he and Elaine are going to drive up to Philly next week..

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The flight is over. They didn't, as it turned out, have a bulkhead seat for me--or indeed any seat with no seat in front of it. Too bad, so sad. They ddi have me in an aisle seat, but on the side where the booted leg was on the inside, not the aisle-side... Before I sat down (I didn't even try to fit me, my bag and my big boot in THAT seat) they switched me to the aisle seat on the other side of the aisle, and I spent the flight dodging drink and snack carts and passengers heading for the forward lavatory (which was out of service in any case). I did arrive unscathed (though the same flight attendant would like to have nailed my leg any number of times).

I am now ensconced into my truly lovely big room at the Inn at Northrup Station (my bathroom is hot pink with a floor to ceiling mirror--I could have done without that particular view--and a walk-in shower). The rest of the room--actually, I don't think it's a "room". I think I have the Signature Suite!-- is in shades of green orange and purple (it all works) with a couch and sitting area, a desk, a kitchen and *two* flat-screen tvs! Best of all, it has free wireless so I type tucked up in bed, getting ready to drop to sleep like a stone. I'll be up at 5:00 or so tomorrow to write to Becky with instructions for the day and the shipments for the first of the week.

Now off to take another pain pill and go visit Morpheus. Tomorrow, ruminations on travel as a short person. Riding in a wheelchair gave me a whole new perspective on the vertically challenged and those dependent on others for mobility (shudder).