So as you know it is time for us to be packing ourselves off to Oaxaca....but not so. Instead every morning for the last month Eddie has been getting up early and driving down to Mount Vernon and putting on a tool belt.
Quickly stated, it has been Eddie's dream to get back to working in clay. Many, many years ago he earned a Bachelor's of arts in Religion AND art, more specifically, ceramics. Over the 37 years of our marriage a collection of dry clay, kiln supplies and a potter's wheel has followed us wherever we went...or rather was kept in storage.
At the beginning of this year the urgency to get a pottery started increased and so we both have been praying for that opportunity. And suddenly, in September the best of all possible opportunities revealed itself. So Eddie and his brother-in-law Paul have been devoting day after day to getting things done.
Our grandson Isaiah has been up from Mexico to go deer-hunting with his other grandfather and the plan has been for us to drive him back to his parents on our way back to Oaxaca. But as Eddie is not going back to Oaxaca this year, we are making a relatively short trip down to where Faith's family lives to return her son...and to celebrate an early Christmas.
I certainly will have a lot to tell you about that trip when we return. It promises to be an adventure as we plan to fly up to an indigenous church comprised of Cora believers, and maybe even visit with an old friend who is in Mazatlan with his 85 foot schooner!
Eddie and I plan to be back here before December so we can finish up the work on the studio and apartment that we will live in upstairs. Then on January 6th I have a ticket to fly to Oaxaca where I alone will work for a couple months. Eddie will start working in the Studio.
This is quite the change for us, but we do not doubt that God is leading. And He is suggesting much more than this as we look to the future...and Mexico continues to be calling.
Isaiah chipping plaster to reveal the 100 year old used brick underneath.
The current exterior is interesting as Eddie once was a very popular shoe repairman here in Mount Vernon. I cannot wait to get that awning down, and reveal the windows underneath.
Our neighbor across the street, The Tattered Page...used books and fresh espresso. We are on the Old Downtown strip. It is a great place and all of our neighbors are excited that we are coming to join them!
Just a taste of what it looked like to start.
Eddie's current interest is in handbuilding and art.
However we will have a couple potter's wheel in the studio...which will be a place where people can see art taking place! I am praying that the right potters come to us to sell their art on commission.
Here is a taste of what our loft apartment will look like. It is smaller than your average apartment, but twice the size of our 5th wheel living space. We are looking forward to living in town, it is a really pleasant place to be and hang out. Our annual Tulip Festival attracts millions of tourists yearly. We have a Farmers' Market half a block away, and not a few great restaurants, coffee bars and of course, the Skagit Valley Co-op and Deli which is OUR favorite hangout.More later.
