Psychedelic Snakes!

 I am sick and tired of these snakes on this plane!

Kidding!  No snakes, just a tie-dye project.

Yesterday, Cassie brought over some t-shirts, a dye kit and the energy to tie up and dye nearly a dozen shirts.  Dave even stopped by and was kind enough to take this very rare "action shot" of crafters being... well, crafty.

We dipped and squirted and generally made a mess.  Today, after twenty-four hours of rest, the tied up bundles were rinsed, untied and discovered.  (I missed taking a before picture of the mostly green shirt, so you get it first.  All wrapped up, I wasn't all that excited about it.  Now that it's opened up, wonderful.)

You just can't do tie-dye without at least one star-burst shirt.

A rainbow of color on this one.  I don't think I was aiming for it, but here it is.

Another star-burst, this one from the side.  This one just makes me say "wow!"

The last one I untied was the first I tied. 

Our next dyeing project?  If I can tease out the general directions, we'll try to tie-dye a silk scarf or two.  Wait, twelve feet isn't a scarf, it's a veil.  I can't wait.

Cozumel, Mexico

Just some pictures from my trip to Cozumel.  We had a blast.

Sights of Cartagena, Colombia

 Just outside the duty-free shop in Cartagena, Colombia, is this sign that tells you about emeralds.

 The story about the origins of emeralds was kind of neat.

 On the other side of the duty-free shop (yes, the rum is locally made, good and every inexpensive) they have a small flock of parrots.  One morning we watched them have an argument that went something like this "hola, hola, Hola, HOLA!" Followed by much squawking.

 No arguing after lights out, evidently.

 I know, it's a little blurry, but it gives you an idea about how much fuel costs.  Although, you have to do the math from liters to gallons and go through the conversion from Colombian Pesos to your local currency.  Have fun.

Hola!

Back in the USA

Spending the months of December and January somewhere much closer to the equator makes you wish you didn't have to go home.A few days into the new year, we spent a couple days in Cartagena, Columbia.A few friends and I went on a tour of Castillo de San Felipe De Barajas (yes, I had to look that up).
This fortress is humbling. The size is amazing, the architecture fascinating and the age of such a thing is intimidating to me. I live in a very young country by comparison to much of the world.
The Colombian guide provided a brilliant recounting of the many attempts to plunder Cartagena. While a guide is not necessary, he did make for a much more entertaining tour of the fortress.
We wandered the dark, often damp, corridors in a maze that has stood for hundreds of years.
Next time, I'll try to find the Palace of the Inquisition.