Returning to normal

Life seems to be slowing back down to normal speed after the big fire scare that was last week. One week ago today, friends and family were loading cars and preparing for evacuation notification. Thanks to all the people fighting the fire, no one was hurt and no homes were lost. The fire is not completely contained but it has been downgraded from top priority in the state. It has moved west into the big open forest lands and is slowing down due to better weather conditions and the unrelenting pursuit of the fire crews. We have been blessed.

This week feels normal, yet my mornings have been spent cleaning off the ash from every surface and wading through the piles on my desk that went ignored while locked in the house, hidden away from the bad air quality and floating debri.

The night of the first evacuations was the opening reception to the Santa Barbara Printmakers show at Studio 3 East in downtown Santa Barbara. It was celebrated during the First Thursday events which is put on by the Downtown Organization every month. Images of the show are posted on the Printmakers blog if you can't make it to the gallery. It's a beautiful show, 35 of our 100 members are participating and the gallery is a beautiful place to view artwork. They are located at 3 East De La Guerra in the heart of downtown. It's definitely worth the visit.