Yesterday I finally called my old friends Jane and Joe Darin, who live in San Diego, to hear how they are doing these days. Jane Darin makes cloth dolls and is a sculptor. They hosted the very first “Meet the Dutch Touch” class in the US for Ankie Daanen and me many years ago. And not only that, but right before this class they took us on an unforgettable road trip from Albuquerque to San Diego visiting a.o. the Grand Canyon and Las Vegas. So calling them brought back so many good memories. Sometimes having a real conversation on the phone works better than email contact.
One of the running gags during this road trip was that Ankie and I, never been in a desert before, wanted to see a “real” cactus. The one with the arms. Years later we finally saw them in Tucson, Arizona and that is where this picture is taken. It is amazing where the dolls can bring you and how many “middles of nowhere” there are in the US.
