Killarney, Ireland

Love the castle and tower, and Nicole, that's pretty spectacular!

All that remains of a sugar can estate in St. Kitts. At one time, most of the island was devoted to raising sugar cane, but beet harvests made it economically unfeasible to continue. All the estates were abandoned and they were allowed to go native, allowing almost anything to grow in the cane fields. This photo is from 2007. I doubt that much has changed on St. Kitts (in a formal sense: Saint Christopher Island).

Castillo de San Felipe Del Golfo. A Spanish fort in Guatemala at the entrance to Lake Izabel. They would raise a chain across the narrow neck of water and charge a toll for ships to pass.

We toured through the fort and it seemed well designed to be defensible, with thick walls, many cannons, and narrow stairs and corridors, so that if invaders did get into the fort the defenders could use the confusing layout to their benefit.

Alisande.....funny story....it was dark and there was a herd of black angus cattle in that pasture we didn't know about. Heard a snort from behind us, shone the light on them and backed up slowly to get out....:0)

Awesome photos! But nicole, I'm puzzled about someone else's name on your pic?

I just finished another homegrown willow basket. It's a long and physically demanding process -- totally exhausting. In this pic I'm just weaving in the finishing touches to wrap the handle, and then it just needed to have the ends clipped. I'm getting better! :)

Nice basket, Party! You really do nice work!!

Party, Nicole's husband's name is Robin. :-)

Thank you, mm! It's not easy figuring out how to handle willow and I'm excited to see some progress. :)

jasdip, sorry for my confusion and thanks for the clarification.

Party... I was in a lot of discomfort during this shoot...I had just ripped my knee, was in a full leg brace & tried leaving the brace at home...dumb.... I only took 2 shots and retired to the car...so DH was the only one that got anything. Next time I'll get the shot myself.

That's a FANTASTIC shot of you and the basket is a beautiful bonus!!!! Nice work!

My latest project. I added marble to a thrift find table. It makes the top more stable for setting a cup of tea on. There was a post awhile back wondering what to do with marble squares...

haha! Nicole, I asked because I remembered some contention a few months back about a photo being posted that wasn't taken by the person who posted it. :p

I love your marble-top table! I have two rectangular marble slabs that I picked up at a marble quarry in Vermont many years ago. I'd love to make one into a table top, but I don't do woodworking to custom-make the base. lol!

FWIW, a marble slab is great for rolling pie crusts and making candy (like pouring out caramels and fudge) because it stays cold better than other surfaces. :)

Thanks for the kudos on the basket/photo! I didn't take the photo though, so I'll probably be in trouble. lol! and if you look really close at the top of the basket, to the right of the handle, you'll see that the border wasn't finished perfectly. The willow got a little too stiff and started to peel and crimp so I just needed to get it done asap. ;o)