Diatoms and Mollusks and Nudibranchs, Oh My!

22 to 27 January 2026

 

I know, it’s been half a year since I posted a blog.  It was a busy winter and spring.  Sometimes living and doing are more important than documenting what and where we’re travelling.  But I usually catch up.  So here it is, my short trip to Seattle in mid-winter. 

 

One of my college roomies from over half a century ago had a solo art exhibit at the Pacific NW Quilt and Textile Museum.  She had been a marine biologist with the Northwest Fisheries at NOAA (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle).  Her specific job included prepping slides and taking photographs of specimens using the SEM, the scanning electron microscope.  

  

Okay, for people like me who aren’t science people, here’s a quick explanation of the SEM.  It’s a giant microscope that shoots electrons onto a prepared sample on a glass slide, and the electrons bounce off so it creates an image of the surface, which is then photographed.  Because it’s using electrons, the images can be up to one million times the size they are in reality.  So if a scientist wants to see the effect of a pollutant on a fish embryo, for example, they might want to use the SEM and produce an image that is 2000 times the size of the actual fish egg.  That’s the very short description, but you get the idea.

 

Because the photographs are created by electrons bouncing off the slide, there’s no color included.  It’s not a visual image, not the way we humans see.  It’s more of an echo created by those electrons, or maybe a vibration.  The photos are all in black and white and grey.

 

So, my friend Carla retired from NOAA, and started creating art quilts portraying many of the images she saw using the SEM for research.  Things like shark skin, which is way more texture-y than normal fish skin.  Or various microbes in ocean water, such as diatoms.  (Another aside – diatoms are sort of like algae, in that they’re more in the plant family than they are animal.  They’re single-celled tiny microscopic things that live in water, and produce oxygen – something like 20 to 50% of the oxygen we breathe!  Essential little guys!)

 

All of that science stuff aside, Carla had this solo art show.  How could I, supportive friend and art person, NOT go to the exhibit?  Of course I flew up and spent a five day weekend with my old college roomies, and had a great time. 

 

Friday I spent the day with R, and we visited the Burke Museum at the University of Washington campus.  They had a fabulous exhibit about weaving techniques and natural dyes used by the Coastal Salish peoples, the Native Americans ranging from Oregon through the west coast of Canada all the way up to the Alaskan Panhandle.  Fascinating, and we had a great time.  (R is my weaving friend, who went to the tapestry class in Italy with me in October 2024.)

 

On Saturday, I caught a ride with R to town of LaConner, Washington.  Carla was already there ensuring everything was ready for her talk, where she described her journey from playing on beaches to becoming a marine biologist to creating quilts about microscopic sea creatures. 

 

You know how you know someone, and after fifty years you learn all sorts of new things about them?  It was that kind of experience. 

 

And because many of Carla’s quilts are based on those SEM images, she plays with color.  Diatoms are fascinating little things, with layer upon layer of structure, all contained within one single cell.  Because they’re more like algae, they’re probably in the earthy greenish range of colors.  But when seen at 2000 times normal size, well, magentas or turquoises make perfect sense!

 

She also has created waterscapes, such as kelp forests, or nudibranchs (fancy sea slugs) in their environment.  She even made a gorgeous sea turtle swimming over a Caribbean coral reef for Richard and my wedding present – just incredible detail!!!

 

Plus fabric sculpture of oysters, held in a little wire barbecue basket – and I know she’s currently working on a series of barnacles.  Really!  Imagine oysters and barnacles created in fabric and mixed fibers like felt, yarn, and who knows what else!  Or a close up of fish skin, or even a fish scale blown up 1000 times!  

 

I should add that Carla doesn't just sew the quilts.  She also dyes much of the fabric she uses, as well as paints or sews details to add texture.  I'm saving the nudibranch quilts for the end so I can really enlarge the photos so you can see the exquisite details of her work. 

 

It was a wonderful exhibit and talk, and showcased something like 20 years of Carla’s work.  (I should add that Carla has had smaller exhibits at various aquariums and science centers around the Pacific Northwest, but that this was sort of a culmination of all those smaller shows.)

 

We spent Sunday and part of Monday together, had a bunch of dinners together, and did the normal close-friends-catching-up kind of talking.  Often accompanied by prosecco and/or chocolate.

 

Here’s an interview with the artist, and I’ll follow with a link to her website:

https://createwhimsy.com/projects/spotlight-carla-stehr-fiber-artist/

 

To see Carla’s quilts next to the SEM image that inspired her:  https://carlastehr.com/series

 

And then I flew out on Tuesday, leaving a chilly 30º but sunny Seattle, and returned to our Tucson desert warmth.  (The mountain photos are views of Mount Rainier, from my hotel balcony.)

 

Okay - fairy nudibranks with tiny sea anemones and sea snails.  No SEM, just seen in a tide pool. 

 

 

All Good Cruises Come To An End

Day 11 – 18 December 2025 – Sea Day

We’re currently sailing somewhat northwestish – I’m not sure it we’re heading north-northwest, or more west-northwest.  One of those.

We’ve hit some sunny areas, some overcast areas as we just motor along.  It’s a relaxing day for everyone.  There are all sorts of activities on board the ship, but I’m catching up on putting photos into the computer, sorting them by location, labelling, exciting things like that. 

To keep passengers happy and busy, the pastry chefs made dozens of specialty cakes featured at lunch – multi-layered and decorative concoctions, each one looking yummier than the next.  However, I found it all rather overwhelming!  Too many options, too many flavors, multi layers so way too much frosting or whatever.

So I just had my macadamia nut cookies after lunch.  Well, they’re really white chocolate and macadamia nut cookies.  Not that I’m a fan of white chocolate, no no no no no.  But they are the absolutely perfect texture and consistency for cookies!  Chewy and a little sticky around the edges, so the caramelized sugar in the dough sticks to one’s teeth for a moment.  Soft and chewy in the center.  The white chocolate chips add bursts of sweetness, while the macadamia nuts add a sudden crunch in counterpoint to the chewy cookie dough.  Just perfect!  (Okay, very dark chocolate chips instead of the white chocolate chips would make the cookies perfection.  But I’m talking texture here, not taste.)

Day 12 – 19 December 2025 – Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

We both skipped going ashore to this little island, even though it’s a ride in the ship’s tenders to get there, and I do enjoy that little bonus boat ride.  No, it’s just Half Moon Cay itself – it’s sort of Caribbean Lite, a Disney-ized version of the Caribbean.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a gorgeous white beach with perfect aqua water.  But it’s a small uninhabited island designed and built by the cruise line, specifically for cruise ship passengers.  Nothing real about it, nothing truly part of the Caribbean culture.  A very sanitized version of things.  It’s a well-situated stop for cruises heading in or out of Florida, and provides a good location for a half-day visit.  As well as a way to make more money with excursions, food, shops for last minute purchases.

Just, not my kind of place.  Way too faux, all of it.

So, packed most of my stuff in the morning, and will have a relaxing day to edit photos and get the blogs ready to post once we return to Tucson.  Or maybe just sit on our balcony and enjoy the sunshine.

Days 13 & 14 – 20-21 December 2025

We stayed in the same hotel, took their shuttle to the airport, and flew home to Tucson.  Of course, all the flights were delayed for various reasons, and we arrived back in Arizona half a day later than anticipated.  But at least our luggage arrived as well.  We take whatever wins we can get!

 

 

 

St. Thomas USVI – Back Home Again

Day 10 – 17 December 2025 – Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI

 

We used to live and work on St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands; I lived there for twenty-five years, Richard lived there for roughly eighteen years.  We met and married on the island, so this is more of a visit HOME rather than being a tourist in a new place.  It was strange to be back on St. Thomas for just one day.  We’ve been back a few times since we left in 2012, but we usually stay a week or so.  Being there for only a fraction of a day was definitely weird, but, oh well.  That’s all that tourists on ships get, and that’s what we were this time.

 

Our entire plan for St. Thomas was all about friends – so many people we’d have loved to see, but with only about seven or eight hours in port, our time was severely limited.  I contacted a few dear friends before we left the US, because our phones don’t work consistently in other countries.  Fortunately, our mobile phones work in the VI, since it’s a US territory.  Lots of texts back and forth all day we were there. 

 

Basically, we managed to meet up with:  JJ, who works with tour groups at the dock, gathering people who have signed up for tours and ensuring they get to the right bus or safari (open air truck/bus).  She was right there at the dock when we disembarked on a drizzly morning, but easy to find and of course we interrupted her for big hugs!  When she had a break between groups and ships, she met us in a café for tea and a good chat.

 

Then I met up with JDW, my former colleague and co-teacher who also was my matron of honor at our wedding.  She and I taught next door to each other for twenty-four years, and became very good friends.  We even attended a few summer classes in the US together, so of course we had a whole lot of catching up to do over lunch.  (For people who follow us, this friend and her husband were stopped in Buenos Aires and I met them there maybe ten years ago.)

 

 After JDW and I had spent a few hours together, she needed to head out.  So HS, former landlady and long-time friend, was able to drive over to the dock and we spent an hour or two talking, filling in each other on what has been happening – the usual old friend sorts of talking.  She just happens to also share Richard's birth date, so this was her day to celebrate as well!

 

We had hoped to also meet with MS, another good friend, but ended up just talking on the phone.  She was having a kitty emergency so we couldn’t meet up.  (I totally understood, having been a kitty mother myself.)

 

Oh, and I peeked into the post office where I had a box for years, at the mall near the cruise ship dock.  (Havensight, for people who know St. Thomas.)  I recognized one of the women working there, and when she looked up at me her eyes got big, she gave me a huge smile, and welcomed me back on island!  Yup, our little island is that kind of place, where a postal worker will recognize a customer from thirteen years ago! 

 

By about 3 PM I think we were all talked out, and our ship was departing at 4 PM.  So I headed back to the ship, and sat on our lovely balcony as we sailed away. 

 

I had made dinner reservations at the specialty Italian restaurant to celebrate Richard’s birthday – it was delicious and delightful!  My meal of chicken parmesan was so huge, I brought half of it back to the room and ate it the next day in a big salad!  (It was too good to NOT do that!)

 

That was pretty much it, a day of friends!  So, not at all a touristy day.  But a very fulfilling day nevertheless!

 

St. Kitts has Monkeys!

Day 9 – 16 December 2025 – Basseterre, St. Kitts

 

When we were living on St. Thomas, we spent a week or so on St. Kitts, and even made it out to Nevis.  On this trip, I really wanted to re-visit the unique fortress, but it was crazy expensive for taxi as well as the new entrance fee.  Really, between a round-trip tour bus and the entry, it would run about $50 US.  A taxi would be more expensive.  And while I like to contribute to the local economy, I wasn’t carrying that kind of cash with me.

 

But for anyone who has never been to the fortress on St. Kitts, it is definitely worth a visit.  If you’ve seen the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, that’s the fortress – built in a pentagon shape, with five guard “towers” (more like points) that are almost arrow shaped, projecting out from each corner of the pentagon.  Fascinating shape, so different from the usual basic square!

 

So, instead walked around town a bit, just wandering.  I visited an arts and crafts market, but there wasn’t anything I couldn’t live without.   One of the big things seems to be local people who walk around with one or two baby monkeys, and tourists pay some money to hold the monkey and take a photo.  Not something I'd want to do, and I really would rather the monkeys weren't monkey-napped from the forest and could stay with their group in the wild.  (The monkeys aren't native to St. Kitts, they were brought here by the British or French from West Africa.  Yes, along with slaves, sadly.  These are green monkeys, also known as vervet monkeys.  Cute, but I do prefer to see them in the forest.  We saw some family groups on our first trip to St. Kitts years ago.)

 

I talked to some people, and made my way to the chocolate store – yes, cacao pods are now grown on St. Kitts, and there’s a place that makes delightful chocolate bars so they can sell 100% Kittesian chocolate. 

 

I bought a bar of the milk chocolate for Richard – the young saleswoman kindly found some ribbon, chocolate brown ribbon, and tied a lovely bow on the milk chocolate bar because tomorrow will be Richard’s birthday.  She also gave me a little card so I could write a message on it.  So nice of her to go out of her way to help me, but that’s Caribbean hospitality – ask politely, and people will go out of their way to be helpful!

 

Eventually I headed back to the ship.  I thought about finding a spot to sketch, but the only seating I could find was the tour meeting spot by the docks, and the only view was the cruise ships.  Nah, not something I wanted to sketch.  So I just went back, found Richard, and we had a chance to have lunch together on the ship.

 

 

Dominica, Rainy and Grey, Pink and Orange

Day 8 – 15 December 2025 – Rouseau, Dominica

 

I stayed on ship to rest my hip, which sometimes complains from too much walking. 

 

The crew had a “man overboard” drill – this drill included taking down one lifeboat down to water level, coming back up to ship level, then a crew carrying on a portable gurney or cot onto the lifeboat, and taking the “victim” off the lifeboat.  Also laying the gurney on the deck and simulating taking care of the “victim,” including checking their vital signs and wrapping them in blankets.

 

It was interesting to watch the entire process from our balcony.  Well, and rather funny to watch, because the “victim” stood around looking quite bored until it was time to be on the stretcher!  Rescuers wore gloves and followed all safety protocols for themselves as well as the person rescued.

 

Then there were all sorts of inspections and safety checks of the lifeboat used for the drill – including re-aligning all the ropes, lines, webbings, etc.  All I can think is that the lines all need to lie flat and be folded in a certain way so that the pulleys (or davits) can lower and raise the lifeboat easily and quickly.  If any of the lines or ropes become tangled, I would guess that might slow the process and therefore endanger lives.  So the drill, while interesting to a passenger, is also an essential part of maintaining the ship as well as the abilities of the crew members!

 

I took some photos of Dominica from our balcony, and then a broader view from up on the Lido deck.  (Lido is Deck 9; our cabin was on Deck 6.) 

 

I felt like painting, especially since It was a grey and rainy day on the island, but I was cozy and warm in the buffet area, especially with my cup after cup of lovely hot tea.

 

So, I was intrigued by some very large building on the island.  It was comprised of horizontal stripes in bright orange, hot pink, and white edging or molding, and what appeared to be a faded red roof.  Just bright and cheerful contrasting colors.  I have no idea if this was a school, a factory, a government building, or what.  It had very few windows, so even though the shape seemed school-like, well, one would think there would be windows.

 

Anyway, I painted building from window on Lido deck – liked the contrast of the pink and orange, with pinkish red roofs, hidden among the lush greenery of Dominica.

 

Photos of the "man overboard" drill: