Settling In...

Thursday was a beautiful warm day here and as much as I enjoyed it I'm not sure our dogs enjoyed the near 90 temps.  There is a nice path through the complex here and it's long enough without being too long for them with a scattering of grassy areas and even a nice area about midway through with some stone benches.  I hope to utilize that for some outdoor time with them each day when housekeeping comes through the room.  I figure I need to spend a couple days here at the hotel with them to get settled in before I make plans to leave them for part of the day to go visit my family. 

I hauled some laundry up to the second floor 'guest laundry room' yesterday.  Split things into lights and darks to wash but threw them all in the dryer to finish up - did a quick fold and left The Engineers stuff on the bed to put away.  So last night he holds up the stack of boxers and says... who's is this? 

I thought he was fooling around... "well I wouldn't bring my boyfriends boxers with me" I say... and he picks up the questionable pair and says... "these aren't mine... they aren't even the right size".  LOL  Oh... well... they must have been left in the washer or dryer... LOL  They are now on the folding table up there... but I'm figuring some guy went home 1 pair short... LOL  I'll look in the machines before I use them from now on.

I looked in the phone book... the huge Dallas Area phone book... and there are 2 knitting shops listed - 2... just 2.  How's that possible?  LOL  Maybe I'll run out and check out one of them later this afternoon.  Or I could take another nap... hhhmmm? what to do?  LOL

Travel Journal Day 3...

We arrived Wednesday afternoon none the worse for wear... except for being a bit hot... yep it was in the 70's yesterday when we got to Dallas and today's suppose to be up closer to 90.  As we drove through the day I kept turning the heat to a little cooler temp and finally had to switch it to AC.  Everyone keeps telling me it's going to get cold again over the weekend... down to 50... LOL - like 50's gonna feel cold! 

We left TN about 7:00 am and arrived here at the hotel at 5:00 pm.  It's fun to drive south and watch the change from late winter to early spring.  I'm going to enjoy being here over the next several weeks... watching spring emerge.  The hotel has pansies planted around... I love pansies!

And a funny from yesterdays trip...

On the radio - a buy one get one free Ad!  Now when you think BOGO you usually think shoes, or meals, or sweaters... but did you ever think body parts?  Yep - if you buy a 'laser treatment' you get a free laser treatment for another body part?!  Really... underarms, bikini, etc.  - and they have all sorts of 'package deals'.  Buy one, Get one free... LOL  Who knew!?

Oh and I feel a little like a dork... Seems 70 MPH is fairly standard as it was not only posted in TN, but in Arkansas and Texas!  I haven't done a road trip out here since the early 90's.  Who knew?

And the sky... yep it's here just like I remember it.  As the land flattened and the sky filled in the gaps left by the mountains and rolling hills - I wondered how glorious it must be in Montana where they boast about it being 'Big Sky Country'.  Some day I'll have to head out there and take a peek.  In the mean time I'm enjoying the flat land and open sky...

Travel Journal Day 2...

I am happy to report that it's pretty easy to travel with older dogs who don't mind napping all day!  LOL  I made sure that they had plenty of room in the car and they seem to be happy campers.

My only problem is getting the older one in and out of the car.  She has problems with her shoulders and hips and can't jump up or down... think crash landing!  Poor girl - and she hates it when I pick her up to move her up or down.  When I get to TX I'm going to have to shop for a ramp... another thing that didn't get done because I left early.

I had a nice travel day today and boy do I love driving in Tennessee!  Gotta love their 70 miles per hour speed limit!

I laughed all day thinking about the sign for  "Frozen Head State Park".  Such a silly name!

Well I've got to go take the girls out one last time... then I'm climbing in my jammies and will probably knit for awhile to numb my brain up a bit.

Tomorrow... Texas here we come!

Travel Journal... Day 1

Well Day 1 was fast and furious and in the end I had no Internet access that night...

I got the dogs groomed early Monday morning, had the oil changed in my car and had the state inspection done - it would be due in March... and I won't be there... so I'm early this time.  (Truth be told I've never been early - I've always been a month late - shhh don't tell - cuz it adds up over time!  I lived in MA 26 years... I figure I got 2 free years.)

Anyhoo... after packing up I finally left home at 3:30... about 2 hours after I had wanted but that's just how it worked out.  My house is a wreck... you see in deciding last minute to leave early in the week - I shortchanged my 'clean my house' time.  But you know... I'm in no danger of any of that dust or clutter going anywhere... and those clean sheets I didn't fold aren't libel to jump into the linen closet nor will that basket of folded towels or clothes put them selves away.  I take comfort in knowing they will be there waiting for me.  I have a very patient house.  At least I got everything washed.  But boy did I make clutter as I packed and then when I figured out that there wasn't enough room to take my sewing machine and sewing stuff with me... I just took it all back into the house and left it in the dining room.  No way was I hauling that crap my stuff my treasured belongings back to the third floor - it was bad enough I hauled it all out to the car and tried to make it fit.  Mercy me it was some kind of cold - the wind was howling on Monday - 13 degrees with the wind chill..... Bbbbrrrrrr!  Not a good day to be packing a car.

Day one ended late but the dogs had traveled well, the weather was good and the traffic for the most part was light.

Oh and just a note to that little silver car that cut in front of me right at the ramp getting on the turnpike... did you tell that State Police officer you were just in a hurry??  I saw you talking to him down the road... I waved - but I don't think you saw me... LOL

And to that VA State Police officer sitting just shy of my final exit last night... I'm glad you weren't looking for folks going 6 miles over the limit right then.  I was just passing that stupid little car that was holding me and a ton of trucks behind me hostage in the fast lane at 59 miles an hour up hill and down hill and.... well you probably couldn't have pulled out anyway with the conga line of trucks I was leading past that little pokie car!

Stashbusting #8 - A Confession...

It is a good thing Judy L doesn't give out demerits for failures in Stashbusting...  I seem to be more about the stash and less about the busting these days.

I took my sister Darlin' shopping down on Rt. 340 earlier this week... and here is what came home with me.  5.25 yards of...

Florals! 

One shop I went in had 5 FQ's for $5.00 - so I picked out 5 of those.  Then the 1/2 yard cuts were 10% off of the $2.59 they were marked... so 4 yards worth of those came home with me.  I've got plans... really I do!  But I still called these "Bad Girl Florals" in my spreadsheet.  I'm working on a couple things... you can almost smell the smoke I've been thinking so hard. LOL

I was good after that - I only picked up a nickel pack of Moda's 'Hill Country Spring.... ooo ooo pretty stuff.  I just love floral's - especially if they have bluebonnets.

I'm on my way to Texas next week... and since I usually pick up some western prints or bluebonnet / wildflower prints when I go home.... I'll just have to keep my eyes open for these lovely fabrics.

One of the things I hope to get accomplished while I'm visiting in Texas is to get a "Challenge" idea worked out... it's been awhile and I think I'm about ready for one!  I've got it named "Take a Number Please" and it will be geared towards using what you have so I should begin making some progress on this Stashbusting Thing!

Quiltathon.... the Packing Edition!

Judy over at Patchwork Times is hosting a Quiltathon this weekend... and I'm participating... sort of...

Can you say Road Trip?

That is what I'm preparing for - instead of sewing this weekend.

I'm going to be leaving this week and heading off to Texas.  The Engineer is going to be working there for a bit and since he's about 1 hour away from my folks - I'm gonna throw the dogs in the car and head out there and join him for a while.

Well I won't actually throw the dogs in the car... they like the car!  Although I've never tried to drive 2 or 3 days with them... we shall see.  My GPS says 24 hours - which I could easily do in 2 days if it was just me... not sure how it will go with the dogs.

Anyway - so instead of sewing this weekend I'm preparing all my stuff to take along with me.  I have 2 projects to take:  one is a long overdue one that requires a lot of hand piecing (exactly why it's long overdue) so it's all ready to go.  Another is the one I've been cutting up floral's for... can't show you yet.... it's a secret!  It occurred to  me that I should just go ahead and cross cut the strips down to the sizes I need then I won't have to drag my big shape cut ruler with me.

So I'm gathering necessary things... my quilting stuff will most likely take longer to pack and occupy more space in the car than my clothes... but I suppose I could mail the clothes...

Souper Saturday... Lobster Anyone?

Cathy over at The Noble Pig posted a Lobster Bisque recipe New Years Eve that you could almost smell it looked so good!  If you haven't check out her blog... you should go.  There is a variety of things going on... she's following her dream to start a vineyard - a process she's sharing on her blog... she shares wine information and doesn't make you feel foolish for not knowing already... she posts wonderful recipes... and is just fun to follow.

I plan to make the Lobster Bisque when my daughter comes to visit.  My plan is that she'll love it and will want to stay for months and months so I can enjoy my grand kids.  I especially want hold and cuddle my new Little Turkey who is actually being Christened this weekend in Hawaii.

And speaking of grand kids... little Miss K called me this week.

Her:  Hi Granny, do you want to hear a knock knock joke?

Me: Sure

Her: Knock, Knock

Me: Who's there

Her: Granny

Me: Granny Who

Her: Granny You Who! HA, Ha, ha, ha, ha....

Gotta love Knock Knock jokes from a 4 year old!  LOL

I later learned from her Mom that they were on a walk and Miss K was driving her nuts just yaking and yaking away and going on and on with silly nonsense jokes... having listened to all she could she suggested that Miss K call Granny!  LOL

Review of Nutrisystem meals:

Zesty Cajun Style Chicken and Sausage with Brown Rice:  This was tasty and I enjoyed it.

Hearty Beef Stew:  Also good enough to satisfy with a bit of my red/black pepper blend & garlic power.  I did also add in some extra beef as I haven't felt like I'm getting enough protein.  I cooked up a lean steak earlier in the week and have been adding in an ounce or two to meals through the week. 

Mmmm What to Say?

I dunno... I'm having one of those mornings.

One of those mornings where you have tons of things to do that it just seems overwhelming... wait just a sec I gotta get my second cup of coffee....

OK... now I'm good... but I have no idea where the gnat came from that was doing a back stroke in my coffee???  He's now enjoying the lazy river "drain"...

So my sister came out late the other night and we made the mistake had some fun doing a bit of Shop Hopping down to some quilt shops she hadn't visited yet here in Lancaster County.

First on the list was Piece by Piece Quilt Shop in Ephrata... this is the local quilt shop I'll be teaching at.  My sister found some bargains, drooled over the classroom space available and we chatted with Nancy the owner before heading out.

We traveled south to connect with the Old Philadelphia Pike (Rt 340) - starting with Sylvia Petersheim's and ending at Zook's.  I'll make my confession tell you about my purchases on Sunday when I post my Stash Busting report... let's just say... it ain't pretty - well the fabric is... and they were all bargains... and well nevermind... you know!

We also had lunch at a new place that's opened on Rt 340 - DJ's Taste of the 50's.  I told the waitress after we'd finished that lunch was a 'good news - bad news' thing.  The good news was the Doo Wop Burger was the best burger I've had in a very long time... juicy meat, tasty bun.  The Bad News... the homemade chips were served warm, crispy, tasty, yummy in my tummy, I had to eat the whole serving of them good!  And honestly that was bad news... I ate them all... even the little tiny pieces!  I guess in 'Hindsight' that wasn't a good thing... LOL

Today I've got to clean... The Engineer has been traveling and will be back tonight - so all the things I've 'set aside for later'... well - Later has arrived!

Hindsight... part 2

In my first Hindsight post a friend asked where the picture was?

After some consideration I decided to post one of the pictures I took that day....

Here Ya Go!

Look down...

down....

 

 

down....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the pictures I took that day... I had forgotten to set the timer so it took the picture right away.

 

Wait just a minute - I never said I'd post a picture of me... I said I'd post a picture I took that day... LOL

This is probably the reason...

I'm pretty sure this is the reason I don't go poking around on YouTube... I would never get anything done.

I found this at The Daily Knitter while looking for knitting videos.

Who knew this would be an important skill?  LOL