Resurrection Sunday

 

and Family:

Brad and Janet and their Family.

Travel Day

 San Antonio 👉👉👉 Houston.  

Off to Houston to see the "baby" brother, Brad, and his family. (Brad really is the 'Baby' of us all.)

BUT before I left San Antonio, I did make one Quilt Shop Stop, Show Special Quilts.  

What a nice shop! They had a lot of Texas-themed quilts on display.

Here are a few:

I think they must have been having some sort of "Texas Challenge" as most of these didn't have actual patterns you could buy.

They were all quite unique and inspiring.

Then it was off to Houston.

Play Day

It was my intention to keep The Babes for an entire week...but the best laid plans of mice and men...
(and g-mas) often go awry.

We made the most of the one-full-day we had visiting Natural Bridge Caverns and Twisted Trails. 
While not FREE it was NOT outrageously expensive....It was clean, well-staffed and entertaining. 
I give this adventure park FIVE Stars!!  

 

 

While waiting for our Tour Time....Chess and Junga

 

 

 

These Caverns were beautiful!  The boys and I talked about God's creativity and how He planned all things to work together. 

It was dark and slippery in a few places...both the boys were mindful of their granny and helped me by holding my hand.
I love these moments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then there was the climbing/zip line structure. 

Twisted Trails!

Even grandma participated...I only got stuck once and had to be rescued...got out on a rope ledge...

 

Finished with West's lunch choice...Whataburger.

I think this is Texas answer to In-n-Out.  They were both  established about the same time (1950 & 1948.)

The REAL Purpose For This Trip

 

 

Austin👉👉👉 San Antonio to fetch my Babes and daughter from the San Antonio Airport.

 

The Babe's mom graduated from the Air Force boot camp.   She is giving time and energy to her country in the Air Force Reserves.  This is so good for the boys to see....developing a love for their country.

It was quite inspiring ... I will admit I got a bit teary. 

If I were younger...I'd do this...

Charlotte-the-Tall and Down on the Farm

Conway 👉👉👉 to Somewhere-near-Dallas 👉👉👉 Then on to Moody, TX....

 

 

👫 The Two Charlottes--we go back a few years, 2013? 2014?  She'd come from Boston, and I from Portland, and we met (quite by accident) in Calif.  Time marches on and now we're in Texas and
Kentucky, respectively.  

While time changes many things, quilting friends are forever the same....we pick up right where we left off--looking at fabric, touching fabric, talking about fabric and quilts --completed, planned and in the process.
There is no time or distance between quilting friends.

Love, Love, Love her new studio....
large and bright and everything in one place.
I'm just a wee bit green.

Off Again...headed  South...

 

 

I've heard it said for every UP there is a DOWN.....
traffic around Dallas--A DOUBLE DOWN....
a reminder of one of the reasons I left Calif....

HELLO My Friends, Hello.  Neil Diamond  HERE.  

Brother and S-I-L. (Rob & Linda)

It's been a few days since we last saw each other, ....Daddy's  Home Going.  HERE.

Brother has what one might call a "gentleman's farm." 

We rode all around in his cart to check fences and help feed a few cows. 
AND, his Cows are too cute!  (A bit slobbery, though...just sayin'.)

This is number 11.  Rob doesn't name his cows because "they are not pets"  But I think she is too cute to not have a name...She shall be called Elsie.

 

 

I made it to Buc-ee's.  

I can cross that one off my bucket list.

Rounding out the day at the San Antonio Airport to Fetch My Babes and my Daughter! 
I'm a Happy Camper!!

One Day Down

Home 👉👉👉 Conway, AR (with a short powder-room stop in Popular Bluff, MO.  If you ever watched Designing Women back-in-the-day you'll know why I just HAD to stop in Popular Bluff.)

 

 

Spent the evening with my long,...L-O-N-G time friend, Annette. 

Annette and I go back to about 1990-ish when we lived in Portland, OR.  We were both single moms to very young children .... just trying to make life happen as smoothly as possible and keep our wits about us.  Now all our babies are grown with babies of their own!

We stayed up WAY TOO late catching up .... "What's new with you?" ... "Where are the kids?" .... "Aren't those Grands the cat's meow!?"
Just like Old Times.

Annette, you're as beautiful as ever!!! 
Let's not wait 10 years before we get together again!

Sew Much More coming up.

P.S.  My plan was to visit a shop in Conway called The Stitcher's Garden.  But with a long driving day ahead of me I could not wait until 10:00 am for the shop to open. 😕
(My goal is to be in Austin, TX by 6 pm.)

Let the Fun Begin!!

Zooming off to exotic places!

I LOVE Road Trips! 

Cruisin' down the interstate, watching the beautiful
landscape zip by (especially NEW landscape),
singing along to my favorite tunes, playing air ukulele....
don't forget a good book-on-tape!!

While not happening often, but when it does I embrace the experience. 
I like to make lists, create maps and plan my starting points and stopping points.
Is there anything worth seeing along the way????

Side Story:  Once-upon-a-time the kids and I took a road trip from Portland to Smith River...about 5 hours. 
It took us 12 hours because we stopped at every interesting rock in the road.  It was totally fun!

Here are some memorable Road Trips:

January 14, 2018--Yuma, AZ to help Auntie Nyla with the Desert Lily Quilters annual Quilt Show.
May 17, 2018--from Portland, OR back to So. Cal. in my new car with Miss Charlotte-the-Tall.
June 27, 2021--Traveling with My Babes. (Man, I miss that van...I could kick myself for not keeping it!)
July 7, 2021--Off to Vegas and the Quilting Niece, Dez.

And Now--my very first Road Trip through the Southern States!  (It won't be my last!*)

I've been planning this trip for weeks and have A LOT of along-the-way adventures just waiting to happen:
PEOPLE, PLACES and THINGS!!

Buckle Up!  Click Here for a Blast from the Past to leave you with a smile.**

*  I'll let you in on a little secret....I've set my retirement date....I can't reveal the date until I've informed the bosses....
So, more road trips to come!!

**Did you catch it?  Bugs playing the Uku? 😁

Small Projects Add Up to Big Finishes

Finishing up a bunch of small projects and getting ready to travel.

Small quilts for my Small Quilt Wall:..One of them Auntie Nyla's only attempt at FPP*. 
(She hated this block and threw it away...I rescued it....I love it!!)

 

Quilt it.

Bind it.

Hang it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty Little City:  Embracing my new "home state." This is a Muppin's Sewing Emporium exclusive. 
Cheryl created this pattern for out-of-town visitors to her shop. (The Heart button is Paducah.)

The Small Quilt Wall is nearly Full!

The Pincushion Doll also by Muppin's Sewing Emporium.  I shall call her "Polly" (for Polly Pincushion.)

Hummmmm....my first attempt was NOT a success!
The dress-base is too small.  There are fabric cutting calculations in the pattern based on the size of the doll body, but somehow they didn't translate from
paper to product.  

 

 

Can you say "Date with Jack"?

 

 

 Sew Much Better!

 

 

I'm sure someday I'll make her another frock and then I'll have a better idea of how it all goes together (I wrote it in the pattern.)

I think she looks cheery, though, don't you?
Makes me want to do-si-do.
I imagine her wearing cowgirl boots,
muddy cowgirl boots, under her costume.

When you purchase patterns, fabric and notions from your local shop you have a resource available for help get you out of a conundrum. 
Thank you, Cheryl Sleboda for setting me on the right track. 
Buy local when possible!

Crayon Pouch for the coloring Catalina:  A video popped up on my FaceBook.  It looked cute (and easy) so I followed the link...they wanted $22 for the pattern!!!  I'm sorry...that is too much money for a downloadable pattern....so, I made the little zipper pouch without a pattern!  So There! 

 

Well...not so fast....I'll admit there were more than a few "gosh darn" moments assembling this thing, especially the zipper. 
And it didn't turn out in real life quite like I'd imagined. Hind-sight being what it is...I should have purchased the
pattern--should-a, would-a, could-a.  If you're interested in watching the video and purchasing the pattern, HERE is the link. 

And can I just have a short hissy fit about zipper feet?  

The feet that came with my Janome are not worth a plug nickel! 
I have all these (on the left): I tried the two top feet....they just wouldn't hold the fabric...
I broke two needles trying.

 

 I finally retrieved the foot from one of my older machines (on the right)....PERFECT!!!
Sometimes the tried-and-true are the best choice, just sayin...

Ok, I'm done. Leave me a comment if you want me to send you the Janome feet.

 

 

Rounding out all the small projects for March,
Hat-on a-Cat** for April: 

And now it's time to jump in the car and drive to exciting places....keep watching.

 

*FPP=Foundation Paper Piecing.
**Hat on a Cat is from Missouri Star Quilt Company.

 

Off The Rails

I'm sure I'm not the only one....a recent family upset made me "not care" about anything!
No quilting, No Ukulele playing....I just went to bed...at 7:30 ... and had a good cry.

Research has found that in addition to being self-soothing, shedding emotional tears releases oxytocin and endorphins.
These chemicals make people feel good and may also ease both physical and emotional pain.

So, this morning I do feel somewhat better and resolved to the situation, although I do not like it. 

I came across this on my FB page:

 

 

Now...

On the bright side...It's Friday and that means Ukulele Zoom Jam tonight
and working on March Projects this weekend.

*I Kings 19:5-18

Happy Birthday To Me !