instant oasis, part one

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one: the saguaro. two: sweet audrey and the awesome bathing suit. three: back lot of the ace. four: sweet meredith. five: sweet kristin. six: more saguaro.

so, back in october, I did a little teaching at the shutter sisters oasis gathering in palm springs. the truth is that I wasn't sure I was up for it. but I went anyway and I'll tell you, it was maybe the best thing. to throw myself into something, something that had nothing to do with cancer or the planning of a funeral. to pack a few bags and plan a few workshops. to step off a plane into bone dry heat and eternal sunshine. to wander the grounds of the ace, the color hotel, the streets of palm springs. and to finally meet friends I'd connected with for so long on the internets-- kristin, xanthe, meredith (and more, so many more). all as lovely in person as you might think. as always, the folks at the impossible project went above and beyond, supplying fat stacks of film for my workshops and goodies to give away. I like those guys. I really, really like those guys. 

I would be remiss if I did not mention the hard pieces. the sleepless chunks of night when grief practically swallowed me whole. which is when I'd wander outside where there were stars, always stars. and during the day, sunshine, always sunshine. and so the grief was always there but so were these things too.