A Travel Journal about ZNE Convenzione 2008

I had to let a few days go by to let things sink in after ZNE Convenzione. As with all things in life, there were the good things, the bad things and the in between things. And I will choose to remember the GOOD things. As I ponder on the purpose, my purpose, I did the right thing in going. I am a Fondante member and in spite of the fact that it was not within my budget to go (I got sponsored by a dear friend) I thought it my duty to be there. Being a 95% Nature person, the choice of "The House on the Hill" was perfect, up a winding road in Livermore with the most spectacular view I have seen in years. My surroundings were rolling hills everywhere , turkeys crossing the street, horses out to graze in the early morning, swallows dancing for me as I sat on the terrace for my morning coffee and the city lights down below in the evening. To greet us, a gem of a person, Jenna with whom I felt an instant connection; soft spoken, kind, warm, intuitive and earthy with no airs about her and a flexibility with all of us. And I really lucked out with my housemates, especially meeting my all time favorite ZNE artist JoAnna Pierotti of Moss Hill Studio. These were the heavenly scenes of this journey. These are the treasures I bring back with me.

When we travel, we just go about our days absorbing it all. Everything doesn't hit you all at once, it takes the distance to realize what the overall effect was.

Lani's finished piece after class with Mossy

So I guess the few treasures I brought back with me, human treasures more than anything else as well as the memory of the natural surroundings are here. All the more valuable!

1. Chrysti Hydeck and her boyfriend (real people) who drove all the way from North Carolina hoping to make a vacation out of this. They were funny, spontaneous and warm.

2. Jenna

3. JoAnna who I imagined so different and who turned out to be much more interesting in person.

4. Susan Tuttle, my instructor, a superior soul with an amazing artistic talent. I learned so much in her class and loved her stories at lunch.

5.Dawn De Vries-Sokol and her book 1000 Journal Pages and her personal journal which I actually got to hold in my hands. Her tributes to her dog Judy are heart-wrenching. Wish I had had more time to talk to her in extenso.

6. The Movie presentation of 1000 Journals at the amador Theatre. Incredible. Lani Kent got to sing at this presentation and just blew us away with her voice and physical beauty.

7. Meeting Gina Gabriell and our common love for Isabel Allende.

8. The drive home with my son Jon, stopping for lunch in San Francisco with his girlfriend Ashley and talking about his music all the way home.

9. Realizing how beautiful Ashley really is.

10. And so as not to be altogether negative about the commercial feeling of the event, I have to acknowledge that the accomplishment by Chel in organizing and pulling it off as well as she did is commendable. SHE DID IT and that is success in itself.

Would I do it again? I'm not so sure. It took alot out of me. Would I recommend it YES: Community is the way to go, networking with like spirits, knowing that you are not alone in the world and that there are similar stories out there. Since it was our first time meeting, we only got pieces of the whole. We could have spent a little more time together getting to know each other.

We go out in search, we touch a surface, we yearn for its essence, we come away with a result. In this case.....there was a little too much background NOISE. Noise, noise, noise everywhere. Maybe we can keep it even simpler for next time.