Hi Subscriber,
I hope you’re having a fantastic day doing something you love!
I'm doing something I love because I'm writing to you! And it's almost time for the annual Open Studio Show and Sale, which I also love!
It's going to be a big one. There are over 100 paintings that will be in it, but first I want to tell you a little story about how I got a little gift that felt like time travel that put me in the holiday mood.
It all began when I took an unplanned, but fun, trip to Billings. I went to take care of my grandchildren while Dan and Lizzi went on a long delayed honeymoon.
The kids were supposed to stay with friends, but one by one they began getting sick with the stomach bug just days before the scheduled trip, and I volunteered to go up if needed.
Dan and Lizzi were supposed to fly out very early on Friday morning. It was touch and go as to whether or not the trip would happen.
I didn’t find out until Thursday at noon, whether or not they’d cancel and stay home. It was a last minute decision on their part to go.
I threw some things in a suitcase and took off an hour later to get there before dark. We were having a wonderful Fall and gorgeous weather.
The trip up was filled with golden trees, blue mountains, and sunny skies. Not enough time to stop and paint, but it was tempting.
Thankfully, nobody else got sick while I was there. We carved pumpkins, told jokes and stories, watched some movies, went for lots of walks and made lots of food.
The weather was amazingly beautiful and it was a blast being with the kids. I planned to head home Tuesday afternoon right after Dan and Lizzi got home.
When Tuesday morning rolled around there was a happy text from Lizzi saying they were at the airport and couldn't wait to get home. We got busy cleaning and making everything nice for their return.
In the middle of cleaning I got a phone call from Lizzi. She sounded like she was close to tears as she told me they had missed their flight due to gate changes they weren’t aware of!
They couldn’t get another flight until Tuesday evening, which seemed okay. I just planned to leave early Wednesday instead. The weather was beautiful!
Later in the day it began to drizzle a bit. It was still warm and balmy for October.
I heard Dan and Lizzi get home around 1 a.m. and slept soundly knowing they were back and I could leave first thing the next day.
When we woke up in the morning, much to our surprise, we found a glistening ice covered world outside and I realized I wasn’t going anywhere! It was exciting and fun!
It stayed cold and began snowing. We watched big fat snowflakes floating down all around for the next two days, while we stayed warm and cozy and made hot chocolate.
Unplanned and unexpected, it was a dream come true to be snowed in together! Over the years since they’ve been in Billings we’ve often talked about how much fun it would be and now it was happening!
