Good Friends

These women are my Quiltcon Crew!  Almost the only time I see them is during our annual trek to Quiltcon.  We all live in California, but I don't live near anyone else.  I'm the oldest, by 12 years!  

This year, we meet up for dinner three times, we all had a great time.  For our final meal together on Saturday, someone choose a Russian restaurant.  I looked over the menu and decided to pass, there wasn't much for me to eat, like one thing.

We all met for happy hour at our hotel before dinner.  When it was getting close to time to leave I told the group that I was heading off to find something to eat, I really didn’t want to eat at the Russian place.  There was panic!  They didn’t want to eat there if I didn’t want to eat there.  They were sincere, and I almost cried.  I didn’t cry, but it was close.  Silly, I know, but it’s so nice to be wanted.

We ended up wandering along San Jacinto Bl. in Austin, until we found a place we wanted to eat at.  It didn’t take long; Austin has about a million restaurants.  After a great dinner, we wandered over to the famous Voodoo Doughnuts, just to have a look-see.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my life with me,

I did it for me!

 I had a “rough” birthday this year.  This is the 4th birthday since Bob died.  I got 3 birthday cards, one from my financial advisor and two from wonderful friends, none from my children or grandchildren, who are all adults.

I did get a happy birthday text from one daughter

I did get a phone message from the same daughter.

What saved me from crying was that another wonderful friend contacted me, and said, “Let’s go out to dinner and celebrate your birthday.”  So I went to a great place with my friend Ruth.  We always have a wonderful time and July 8^th was no exception.

Thank god for wonderful friends!

This is Ruth and me at a previous dinner date.

Last year when I started traveling so much, I stopped posting a Happy Birthday Cake photo on everyone’s FB page.  I thought that I’d miss someone when I was gone from home, that was my reasoning and believe it or not I missed doing it!  So after my own birthday this year, I said to myself, “What the heck, just do it.”  So last week I resumed my Happy Birthday Cake photos on my FB friends’ timelines.

I did it for me!

P.S.  This is not a pity party, I just wanted to vent.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my life with me,

Home at last

We're home from our 6 week vacation, and I'm happy to report that we had a really great time.  The first four weeks were spent on a cruise ship sailing from Los Angeles, going thru the Panama Canal, then sailing across the Atlantic, ending up in Copenhagen, with several stops in between.

At the first dinner onboard, we met a couple from Perth, Australia.  They were also retired,  and Mark had also retired from a police department!  Bob and Mark had a lot in common, and Rhonda and I got along like gangbusters.  Their friendship was an added bonus.   Mark and Rhonda also have a travel blog so their family and friends can keep up with their adventures.  After Copenhagen they were off to Sweden for a visit with their son, daughter-in-law and grandson.

Bob's t-shirt says, "You can't scare me, I have two daughters"

Ain't that the truth!

I got home from NYC late on Sunday, and literally fell into bed.  Monday morning was filled with sorting mail, paying bills and doing laundry.  Next up, we were to our local animal shelter and adopted two dogs,  Yes, two.  The first chap is Frisco, he's an American Cocker, and he's 7 years old.  We were able to bring him home yesterday.  The other guy is Ben, he's a terrier mix and small.  Ben hadn't been neutered, so that's being taken care of today, then he'll be home with us.

Here's a couple more photo of Frisco.  (I'll post some of Ben once he comes home.)

Being adopted is a lot of hard work!

Thanks for stopping by and sharing my life with me,

Baby Shower

Our friends Shauna and Devin, are having a baby boy, Jackson.  Jackson is due in late July.  Devin is stationed in Colorado, so when Shauna was able to come "home", this weekend, she had an early baby shower.  It' was grand!   

I didn't take many photos, but this is a shot of Shauna opening her gifts, with her Mom and her BFF, since she was born!

This is the quilt I gave her for Jackson:

 

She even brought the quilt we gave them for their wedding, all the way from Colorado, to show it off!  

 

Be well and do good,

Spoiled

Because of our ages and our inclination to get what we want, when we want it, we seldom receive gifts.  We're just hard to buy for.  We never expect anything, but are always delighted when we're "gifted".  This year we received a surprise gift from a blogger friend who I've never met IRL, Elissa of Punk Rock Parents fame.  She said her daughter The Phi, was certain we'd like soup.  She's right, we love soup.  Isn't this a great gift?

From Sharon and Oden we received some great USC themed clothing and Bob got a Dodger Stadium Seat Cushion.  You can tell where our loyalties are, sports-wise!

I also "spoiled" myself, I got these:

Fingerless Mittens,

from knittyknittybangbang, I love that they don't match;

and this Mermaids Hat:

from LynspiredKnitting

I've also had my eye on this Fantastic Fox Hat for a long time 

I figured what the heck, I'll just get it from awberry.

Our weather this week has been great, but previously, it's been freezing here, and these have been great for when I walk the dogs.  Plus, I'm now walking over an hour three times a week while Bob's at Physical Therapy.

Speaking of Bob, he's really doing well.  He has chronic pain, but his other problem, neuropathy of the stomach is under control, thanks to a major dietary change, some prescription drugs and lots of herbal supplements.  He's working on strength and endurance at PT.  He really is weak from being so ill, and his endurance is pretty low.  He's making progress and hasn't had any set-backs, which I think is fabulous.

Be well and do good,

Fiction (or Not)

I have some great blog friends.  I've met a few IRL, there are a couple that I have their phone numbers.  My address list has many entries for bloggers, we've exchanged cards, prizes and gifts.  One of my long time blog friends is Lisa, when she read my post about Carrie re-doing my blog, she put her thinking cap on and came up with some F words for my book tab.  They're so much better than Good Reads; nothing wrong with Good Reads, but it didn't fit my F theme.  Here are Lisa's suggestions, "Carrie does a great job! :) Fun Reads? Fantasies? Fiction (and non)? Flippin Pages? :0)"    I emailed Carrie, we don't call often, we live on different coast, and between Carrie, Lisa and I, the new tab for Loves Books and Teas, is "Fiction (or Not).

Thanks, Lisa and Carrie.

Thanks for stopping by, we enjoyed having you,

image source

IRL

This week I got to meet one of my favorite blog friends, In Real Life.

I've been blog friends with Allie for a few years.  Since she stopped blogging, she's pretty busy with things like kids and life; we've stayed in touch via FB.  She and her fab family were in SoCal for a huge family get together, beach, Disneyland, San Diego; but managed to find time to spend some time with Bob and I.  Allie's husband Chris is a policeman in Provo, UT, so he and Bob had a lot in common.  Allie and I are very different but have always had a great time via blogs and FB.  There's a great age difference, but that's easily ignored.

Here are Allie and Chris's great children.  Bryson, Alexa, Ty and Kolin.  Allie was worried about us being invaded by them, but Bob and I like kids, especially great kids like these.

This is Chris:

Allie and I:

Alexa, capturing Bob:

These were taken, while out to lunch at our favorite diner, Richie's.

Sorry, these are the best photos, but we were too busy having fun and talking.  Photos were an afterthought!

Seems I had a photo problem.  I think I've fixed it.

Thanks for stopping by, we enjoyed having you,

Blogging friends

One of by blogging friends, who I've "known" for about 4 years, asked me, via FB last Wednesday, if I'd be interesting in making a quilt for her, a Queen or King size quilt.  I told her I hadn't made one that large before, but I'd like to do it, but only if she's not in a hurry.  We started "talking" back and forth on FB; discussing measurements, fabric choices, quilt patterns and stitching options.

Before the discussion was very far along, I got to thinking, this is a lot of work and a lot of fabric, and I've never met this gal IRL, maybe I should ask for a deposit.  Logical, but I've never done a commission quilt so I'm taking baby steps, here.

I have several quilting friends, who I've also never met IRL, but who I "know".  So I shot off an email to four of them with my question.  They all answered back within one day.  Isn't that amazing.  They all said that I should ask for a deposit, and I did.

This is the fabric she's chosen:

I'll order the fabric, as soon as I have the deposit.  The pattern she chose is this one.  I think it will be beautiful.

Thanks for stopping by, we enjoyed having you,

Blog Friends

Over two and a half years ago, I participated in my first blog give away, One World One Heart.  I gave a way a necklace to three different winners.  It was one of my favorite designs, here's the photo:

I'd only been blogging, other than Book Reviews, for a couple of months, and I wasn't quilting, I was beading.  The winners are wonderful women I've kept in touch with via our blogs and FB.  I feel blessed to have met them.  One, I actually talked to on the phone, but I haven't met any of these three IRL, maybe some day.  The winners were, Allie, Raesha and Mel, but I was the real winner.

Friends

Friends who don't blog, really don't understand how special blog friends are. This week I received this needle-book in the mail. Ann, of Film and Thread, made it for me. After showing it off and molesting, stroking it for a while, I put it to good use.

Here are a couple of close-ups of the ribbon she used.

Thank you, Ann for this wonderful, useful gift.

Blogging friends

I've had a blogging friend for several years, Allie. I won't give your her url, because her blog is private. (She has young children and became worried about their safety after someone was continually lurking.) We became friends after she won a necklace I offered as part of One World One Heart. We also have a common bond of being cops wives. I received an email from her this week saying that she needed to talk to me about being a police wife. I sent her my phone number. She sent another email, telling me what the problem was, and it was huge. I responded, and yesterday she called.

It was so great talking to her. Because we've been blog friends for so long, it was just like talking to any other old friend. I could ask about her Mom, her kids and husband, and call them by name, amazing; and she knew all about what we'd been up to and asked after Bob. Some day we'll meet IRL, too.

This Saturday, I'm having a meet-up with a new blog friend, Darlene. We're going to go to a quilt fabric store, or two, in the San Diego area. It'll be fun, I'm sure and I'll probably do a post about it. She will be the 3rd blogger I've met IRL, the others are Katney and Mary T., both wonderful blog friends.

Birthday Wishes

Happy

Birthday

Mary T.

Hope you have a fabulous birthday, today.

The Strip Club,

I had a great day driving around San Diego, yesterday. San Diego is a little over an hour south of Murrieta, so I planned several stops. First was The Container Store, I had a list and got everything. Carrie and Erin are visiting for two weeks in June, and I'm starting to spruce up a few things.

Then on to Urban Outfitters. I was disappointed in their store in Hillcrest, one of my favorite neighborhoods. It was soooo small, and had none of the "Apartment" goods I wanted to browse. Next time I'll try the store in the East Village, or go to my fave in Costa Mesa.

Next up was the trek to El Cajon, another 30 minutes, I'm driving in a rough long narrow triangle shape, here! The Cozy Quilt Shop, is a new destination for me. My blog friend Darlene mentioned their "Strip Club", and I wanted to check it out. I had no idea what to expect, but I'm the adventurous sort.

This is what it was: 70+ women turned out to hear a presentation, "each month we release a new Strip Club pattern designed to use 2 ½" strips". You come into the shop, (after making several wrong turns, my directions weren't great), you are greeted, and handed your copy of the free pattern, and a raffle ticket. At the back of the shop are chairs for the presentation, plus water, coffee, cookies and cupcakes! The women come early, and they apparently come often. The shop owner and pattern designer, Daniela Stout, gave the presentation. She was very warm and funny. At the end of the presentation, there was a drawing for 3 door prizes. Good times, I'll go again.

This is the sample quilt for the free pattern, it's called Lucky Charms.

Now, for some more fun. I've always love a good Flash Mob video.
Students and staff break out into a dance in the great hall of the new Ohio Union on Monday, May 3, 2010 around 12:35 PM. TheOhioUnion

This was a fake commercial made in 1998 for a series of educational shorts about action figures based on historical figures. Its educational value was somewhat suspect. It was never aired. FineMoustaches

Lucky, lucky me

I only know two quilters, IRL, and one of them, Melissa, a fellow bookseller at B&N, gave me over 60 of her quilting magazines. Talk about a bonanza. She's an accomplished quilter; while I just stumble along. I am so grateful. Thank you Michelle. (The background in the photo is one of the tablecloths I made for my dining room table.)

Last year, I won a give away from Jenny of Stickyfeathers fame. Because of complications,( go read her blog if you want details, she's fabulous), the book came this week. After I'm done going thru it, I'm sending it on to my favorite oldest daughter, Carrie; because she loves the Pioneer Woman. Thank you Jenny.

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday, Bob and I had a great time at Kimberly and Franscisco's home. It was the first time we'd met them and their extended family. Sharon was right when she said we'd fit right in. She said, "They're like us, very casual and a little weird". Yes they were, and we fit right in. Cisco's mom, Carmen made three kinds of tamales, yum, they were divine. Kim's parents Carol and Gary were there, and her brother and sister-in-law, and lots of female kiddos. Poor Oden was surrounded by young girls.

I ended up with one of Kim's serving spoons, pretty classy. Kim, you said you read the blog, I'll return it next week. Sorry.

Today I have an 'on-call' shift at B&N, I called and they said to come in, so I'll be there from 12-4PM. Bob says it's all my fault, for being a good bookseller. So, I'll go to B&N, instead of working on my green quilt. It's all green and white. very different.