"Gosh, I don't know. Go ahead and check the label," I say, holding up the the inside collar for her inspection. It's "Connie's Moon Light." I bought it at the St. Louis Art Museum boutique right before I left because I thought its crushable fabric would pack well.

Martha has one similar to it and tells me how I can dress it up or down...with black velvet trousers, for instance, and describes an outfit she wore to a wedding.

"Thanks, I need these tips. I'm groping towards some new style or look in my life," I say. "I've sort of been in hiding."

This all takes place quite easily and casually in the vendor area of the conference. I realize this is what I've been missing in my new life in St. Louis. In fact, this has been missing in my life for quite some time, what with the years of commuting after my sister Julia's death and all.

Throughout the day what I feel over and over is this sense of hanging out with girlfriends who are as ready to give nurture as to receive it. I like the feeling of being held in this community of strong women.

My sobriquet for Texas women? "They can do anything and make you like it while their doing it."

That's the charm of Nancy Slonim Aronie...slightly madcap, no airs, and an opening address that knocked our socks off, "We Are All Alchemists: How to Turn Your Sorrow into Gold."

She's been there; she's still there; she knows; and she tells. Here are a few notes I jotted down in between my mesmerized attention.

--"Let go of what you need [from the other person] and go to where [the other person] lives." (To me, this is the definition of compassion.)

--"There are people who are very loyal to their suffering."

--"Why do you give everything away so fast?"

--"We see through the prism of our wounds."

--"Why do you let him make such a fool of you?"

--"the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves"

--Why his son stopped being angry: "I realized it wasn't helping anything."

Oh, and did I mention she's hecka-funny? The audience loved her and enjoyed laugh after laugh. She has impeccable comic timing, and can move from tears into a laugh line. What a performance! A performance of truth, by a woman of heart.

I take my socks off to you, lady...but I'll wash them first before I give them to you.

[For sock lovers amongst you, you may recall my post on "Sushi Socks"]

Completely donated from the membership, were the following category of items (Dani Greer of Women Writing the West---this one's for you!):

handmade art jewelry
books written by SCN members
(including Cindy Bellinger and Susan Wittig Albert)
Stash tea
coffee
fabric luggage tags
a hand-crafted raku clay heart (made by the trusty envelope method...very cool...you put two slabs of clay together, leave a hole, and then blow into the piece, inspiriting it with your own breath...then, wipe your mouth, honey...made these in art school and it's a great technique)
handmade baby quilt
self-help CDs
purses, ornate and fabric
shawls
health club package
spa day passes
stationary/handmade papers
a Beauty Bucket
flashlights
scrapbook

Yes, "Writers are often creative in other ways," as the woman who pulled all this together said.

Most of all, I bless Cindy Bellinger, who, in a surprise move to both of us is my room-partner on this phase of the Texas journey. I met Cindy last year when we both presented at the Land Full of Stories Conference in San Marcos, Texas. This morning, checking my email, it was a hoot to see she'd posted to the Women Writing the West list...what a writerly experience...I laughed, looked up, and told her "Good-morning."

Cindy says:

..and here we are. Janet and I are roomies at the Story Circle Network Conference. We're also on a panel together to dicuss all the different ways to publish these days. I'm also doing a workshop about taking family stories and genealogy research and making solid pieces of writing.

Janet and I talked past our bedtimes last night about publishing and writing, sharing book titles and experiences, and it was like being at a slumber party.

Since we both live alone, Cindy and I joke that we'll communicate our needs by flag semiphore signals.

More news from Texas, later.

Daniel Barth's article is well-researched and chockfull of information about Big Picture Publishing and how three authors in his region, Northern California, have responded in three distinctive ways to get their work out, promote their work, and create a writing life worth living and sharing.

I'm off today to the Story Circle Network's National Memoir Conference where I'll be one of three panelists speaking on publishing, "Pen to Print," on Sunday. I've made an attractive broadside reproduction of the Barth's article as my handout for the session. But, you, dear reader, can see it first!

Dan became interested in interviewing me after hearing my talk (sponsored by Poets and Writers) at the Colored Horse Studio in Ukiah..."Story Poems: Of and For the Families of the World," dedicated to my mother. I constructed the talk around the poems from her section of "Sightlines: A Poet's Diary." You can read the full text of this talk on the sidebar of my website (just look for "Sightlines"/"Talks").