'This is Not a Cocktail Party' is Close to Finished

I am back from Vancouver, and still feeling a bit under the weather.  It's always tough reaching out and not getting off centre.  So many of my positive women friends want to do amazing things in the communities that they live and thrive in - and they are - but our energy levels are not boundless. Sigh. We are alive, but need to be mindful of self-care.

Was it just yesterday, or Wednesday, that Monday Magazine sent a wonderful writer around to do an article on the Cocktail Glass. For her to photograph the piece, we moved the 'shorty' out of the basement, and began the involved task of dis-assembly and re-assembly. Eventually the tall, elegant cocktail glass stood alone on the deck. It was an overcast rainy day and I am grateful to have a covered space high enough for the sculpture. It took 5 people and lots of patience, but here are a few images of me and the glass. I will post other people if I get their permission. I certainly did not do it alone!!

The last shot is tightening the bolt on the rod that holds the base to the bowl and runs through the stem.  We have new ideas about how to protect the sculpture for its cross Canada trip, and these involve extending the rod and tethering it securely into the box that the sculpture will be protected by.

I am still hoping to collect a few more of the HIV medication bottles that I am missing.  Some I have used, like saquinivir and indinivir.  Others I do not know - like Tipanivir and Maraviroc. As I llok at the stem and the drugs and supplements that have kept us alive people ask if I know the dollar value of these drugs.  I'm getting that information, but know that it is huge.  It is so much better to educate people and stop the spread of HIV, than to medicate. That is the conversation I hope to ahve as we move from city to city and town to town.

Below are few of the precious meds. I am so lucky and grateful to be alive! I have to say a huge thanks to all the researchers for the science that has gone into HIV and the production of these drugs.