Remember the Open Studios Art Tour: It's this weekend and next, giving you a chance to peek inside the studios and visit with 90 local artists. And it's free!

Here's the scoop from tour producer Carol Herschleb: The tour is from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both weekends. The gala reception will be 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday at Center for the Arts, 314 W. Main St., in Grass Valley, and the preview exhibit starts there on Thursday, too.

For more, visit www.openstudiostour.org, e-mail info@openstudiostour.org or call 274-8636. Get a map at Center for the Arts and Booktown Books in G.V., and at J.J. Jackson's, Mowen-Solinsky Gallery and Nevada City Picture Framing in N.C.

It's a small world, even in Iraq: Deni Dax, you may have read in The Union, is a county resident who has adopted a group of United States Marines, the MALS-29 avionics group, stationed in Al Asad, Iraq. She has gotten school, church and volunteer groups to write letters and send goodies for the men and women serving there, many of whom aren't getting any friendly mail from home.

So guess who gets assigned to the group? Lance Cpl. Nick Seeba, of the Grass Valley area. (His mom still lives in the area and his wife is from here, Deni says.) Hi Nick! We love you, buddy!

Capt. Reynolds sent a picture of the two of them together, and if you want to see the full photo, go to www.theunion.com and click on this column.

BTW, Deni adds she is looking for blank Christmas cards and flat stocking stuffers - things like beef jerky, gum, hot cocoa packets, hot cider packets and trail bars - to send to the Marines. United Methodist Women from Grass Valley and other supporters are writing letters.

If you want to send a Christmas card too, address it to Any Marine - they'll get passed first to the folks who aren't getting much mail from home, Capt. Reynolds promises. Call Deni at 265-8166.

More powerful women in Nevada County: Jerianne Van Dijk sent this interesting thought in anticipation of our special section about women coming up:

"This year's KVMR Celtic Festival was produced by Amy Terhorst. Her advertising person and co-producer was Britta Tigan. There were endless line producers, 90 percent of whom were women. The caterer, a woman. Head of artist liaison and getting artists where they needed them (a huge job), Nancy Cunningham. The emcees were Annie Hestback and me. The two headliner groups were Maura O'Connell and Dervish (more women). The president of KVMR is a woman, Joey Jordan.

"Annie and I were just marveling at the impact women have on this huge festival and our radio station."

Then she added, "Of course, that's nothing unusual."