martini party

We had a fantabulous martini party at the house. Mom had said that Kim, her friend from work, had been in a band and was brining her guitar to the party to play for us. And I thought, okay live music is always good. I imagined her playing in a garage somewhere with some kids. I had known plenty of people who "played in a band" before and I just wasn't prepared for how good she was. I didn't know that she played professionally and that she was a fabulous singer. We were all serenaded on the porch while we sipped on Martinis. The evening was…fantabulous.

Katie

The Sea Beckons Me Back

The sea beckons me back once again. I'm taking a six-month contract going out in December. This itinerary is the one I've been waiting my whole cruising carrier for. I'm joining the ms Statendam to do the Australia/New Zealand run followed by a sojourn across the South Pacific then on to Asia and finally I'll be ending out my contract in Alaska via Russia.

I could not have asked for a better contract. New Zealand has been my main traveling goal since I set out to explore the world, but over time I've also been drawn to Australia and the many exotic islands of the South Pacific. In the Far East, I may have a chance to see the Great Wall of China and the Buddhist temples of Japan. So get ready to follow me on another exciting adventure at sea, across the International Dateline, South of the Equator, on the other side of the world.

Katie

Pick up Shoot for Movie: STIFF

Shortly after my return from Pennsylvania, I went to the last little bit of shooting for the movie Stiff that we needed to pick up for a montage scene. This was probably the most fun of any of the shooting we've done. Nelson, the director, played a homeless man. Crystal, our make-up artist, did a fantastic job making him over.

My cousin, Paul, happened to be in town for a visit and though I'm sure he hadn't expected I would have him turned into a corpse for the shoot, this wasn't the first time he'd preformed for one of my movies. Way back when, he acted in one of my earlier works.

I just had a chance to view the footage and everything looks fantastic. I'm very excited about the finished product. This is going to be a fantastic movie.

Katie

A Trip to Pennsylvania

Rebecca and I had a little retreat to Pennsylvania to visit my grand parents at their cabin. It's been a tradition since we were children. My mother would pack me and my sister into her truck and drive us all day and all night to the cabin. We'd stay all through the cool summer swimming in the creek and playing in the woods until my father would come up at the end of summer and bring us back home to Florida.

Since Rebecca and I have gotten older, we don't get to make it up as often. Rebecca had some vacation time and she decided she wanted to go to the cabin. I, being a freelancer and enjoying a certain flexibility with my schedule, agreed to drive us up. Our purpose in the trip was to simply get away. We got away from everyone and everything and just enjoyed the nice quiet cabin days with games of Canasta, swimming, hiking and lots and lots of good cooking and eating.

I told only a few people that I would be going and I'm sorry for all the Pennsylvania friends and family I neglected to visit. My purpose in going was to relax and have some quiet time to finish my book. Though I didn't quite finish, I'm now only a few chapters away. One day I took my camera out and snapped a few nature pictures. Of all the places I've been to in my travels, this one is my favorite.

Katie