I am writing these blogs back home in London and reminiscing about my time in Tucson. I'm trying to write as accurately as I can, looking back at photos and scribbled notes about events, but I apologise in advance for being unable to capture the atmosphere of the time. I can never put into words the sheer amount of fun, laughs, stupid words play, inspiration, bafflement and joy which swirled around me.

To give you some idea of how I felt, my journal entry for today simply begins "WOW- Wake up wowed".

I find it hard to believe as I wake up just where I am and the wonder that will greet me when I leave my bedroom. But soon I am up and beading (still my grey project), chatting and laughing. My first shock of the day is that Dustin stayed up and finished a ring (you can see it here). I am so struck, not only by its beauty, but also by the fact he has done it so differently than I would have.

I have rarely beaded rings (no idea why as I wear them every day and own many) and would have just added a plain old shank to it without any thought. But not Dustin. Nope, he beaded a shank which not only suits the ring but adds to its beauty whilst being comfortable and practical. I feel put to shame as once again I examine my grey, commercial work.

I am soon shaken out of my melancholy with a trip to the shops. Kate and Dustin have been working on beading outfits etc. for Barbie dolls and of course I want to join in the fun.

So we head off to 'SAS Fabrics by the pound' looking for deocrative items and then to Savers to find the right dolls. Both shops feel so alien to me as they contain so many things they either don't exist where I live or maybe just don't fall under my radar. A 'deer bag' for example gets me wondering about just the type of life I would be living if I needed such a thing. And I can think of absolutely no reason why I would ever need a patch that says 'It's a rip-off'.

Back home I decide to go for a walk to see the surroundings and get some sun. The landscape and plants all around me are so different to what I am used to I literally feel as though I could be on the moon. I am only used to seeing cacti when they are small or fake and to see them wherever I turn is very strange when I remind myself they are all real. On my walk I cannot resist touching some and am assured later I got away lightly when the 'prickles' simply stroked off the plant. Or maybe they were all fake all along? My walk consists of walking towards mountains until I am too hot to continue, so I head home and bead once again.

Soon Kate and myself were all dressed up and wearing high heels as we headed out for dinner at Cafe Poca Cosa (wow- a must-visit place for food lovers) and then onto the Rialto to see the B-52s in concert.

It's a while since I've been to a concert, or at least one where I've stood up and danced, and two things struck me. 1- I was having deja vu back to my youth, but my mind couldn't work out why there were so many Americans around me when every other concert I've been to was in London and 2- that no-one around me was holding a beer. Therefore no-one seemed excessively drunk, was falling over, being sick or starting fights. Maybe it was the age of the crowd (there were still some young 'uns and I count Kate and myself in that group of course) or maybe that it wasn't in the UK?

The B-52s were great and their support act, Kiss and the tells were equally awesome and before long we were walking back to the car, heels in hand before soaking our sore feet in the pool and heading to bed.

You can see Kate's posts from today here, here and here.