I Have an Excuse, Really!

I haven't been doing any quilting in the last week.  I spent four days at a conference in Lake Louise, which is in Banff National Park.

It is just a beautiful spot.  The weather wasn't great - it was pretty chilly and snowed quite a lot one day.  But who can complain about these views?  We ate our meals in a room with floor to ceiling windows, all looking at this:

There is a lake in front of this mountain.  Lake Louise, as a matter of fact.  When it isn't frozen, it is the most gorgeous blue you can imagine.

However, I wasn't there just to look around.  We had full days of lectures, and I learned a LOT.  And, of course, these conferences give you an opportunity to network with with others in the same business, and catch up with old friends.

When I was away, we received word that some of the government workers, including the courthouse security staff had gone on a wildcat strike.  Some of the court staff walked as well.  But, I was reassured to find out that none of my staff did.  They are so wonderful.  One of my staff said "How could we walk out?  There was a lineup of people who needed help?"

Today, though, we HAD to walk out - someone tried to bring a suspicious package into the building.  Luckily, it was caught at the entrance, going through the security scanners.  We were all evacuated, and spent the rest of the day waiting to hear what was going on.  Thank heavens for Twitter - it was our source of news as the day dragged on.  They brought in the bomb robot and removed the package.  We haven't heard yet if it was a bomb or something innocuous.  I'm just glad that everyone is OK, and that the security staff were back at work!

Hopefully, things have settled down for awhile now, and I can get back to the peace and quiet of my sewing room!