July is a big month! Mary Jo is coming to town and Carson is on July 11 & 12.

If you miss Mary Jo as much as we do, you should contact Judi-Kins to take classes from her at their shop on July 1. Visit Judi-Kins' web site for class info. As for me, I'm spending the summer purging, packaging and plotting. I have Stampaway in Ohio in August (and Mary Jo will be back in my booth demonstrating and teaching classes on Friday before the show) and I'm hoping to do Glitterfest in October and Carson in November. I have not done the Carson show for almost two years, so I think it's time. Be sure to mark your calendars for July Carson; it's the 11th and 12th. A group of us are trying to rendezvous at Carson to celebrate the return of our friend Lisa Rodriguez (for the summer). She has been teaching in Okinawa for several years and it spending most of the summer in the US. Carson always has the newest and best stuff in SoCal, so don't miss it. Stand by for some new stamp images and announcements and please, support your local stamp stores and conventions! Had a pleasant surprise last month. Was invited to a birthday party for Keely Barham and who showed up? Teesha and Tracy! They were in SoCal and Keely's boyfriend invited them to the party. What a nice surprise! I hope we can return to Seattle in the coming year to do one of their great retreats; Seattle is one of my favorite places in the world and they're at the top of my list of favorite people.