It's All About The Beer

First, just a quick reminder that the third post is up on my other blog: www.aservantsjourney.blogspot.com.

My husband and I are traveling this weekend...we're headed to Abilene, Texas for a Volunteers in Missions training. Naturally as I made the travel plans I pulled out my trusty Quilter's Travel Guide. Several friends had mentioned going to Stitchin' Heaven in Quitman, Texas so I quickly looked to see how far off our path it might be. I suppose 'far off' is a relative term based on whether you're a quilter or you're not a quilter. Thirty miles didn't seem too far to me. :) My husband, bless his heart, doesn't mind at all when I want to make a stop, or two, at a quilt shop. He sits in the truck reading a book and every time I get back in swears I only stayed a minute or two. Now that's a good man!

Stitchin' Heaven is a nice shop with some beautiful fabrics, a lot of great tools, and a long wall of patterns to go with all the samples they have. The people working there were friendly and helpful and knew their stuff. I was glad I stopped. I found a couple of cute monkey fabrics that my friend Connie would love and bought two fat quarters of a fabric that had rodeo clowns on it. I have no idea what I'll do with it but it looked like something a little boy would love!

And to make the sidetrip even better we got to drive by a really great bass fishing lake that my husband had heard about and was excited to see. We noticed some RV campgrounds so I bet another trip to this little place will be in my future! It was a nice payback for him because he's so nice about my quilt shop stops!

We stopped tonight for dinner at a place called Humperdinks. It might be a chain - I have no idea - but I had a good hamburger there. It was a restaurant/brewery and there was a huge wall filled with different bottled beers. I had no idea there were that many beers in the world! And here's my question to you. Why in the world would there need to be that many different kinds of beer? Do you suppose they really, really all taste different? I mean I know there's a little difference in Coca Cola and Pepsi but really, how many different dark colas could there be if they all tasted different? And if you were trying to make them all different wouldn't the difference be so minute that you couldn't really tell it anyway? Obviously I'm not a beer drinker though I've had one or two in my life. And certainly I know the difference between Coke, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper. But hundreds of different kinds? I don't get it.

Finished by Friday, etc.

Not much sewing this week because of the holiday but I did finish another block from Winter Wonderland - this one is called The Snow Family.

When you get this post I'll be in Cancun for my niece's wedding. Just picture this...posh resort, blue ocean, white sand, guacamole dip, frozen drinks, waiters at my beck and call, wedding at sunset on the beach, surrounded by family. God gives us great blessings and I can't wait to enjoy this one!

World Traveler and a Serious Post

This is sort of a serious post so there are no pictures but I hope you read it anyway. Friday morning I fly to Cancun to my niece's wedding. That's the world traveler part and not the serious part. She's getting married on Saturday, at sunset, on the beach so I'll be bringing pictures back with me. She and her fiancee are beautiful and sweet and smart and just plain good people. For one month when she was 8 months old this niece was mine. Because of a car accident the rest of her family was off in Texas and she lived with me. Needless to say she still is mine. I just can't miss her wedding.

I'm planning to eat guacamole and sit on the veranda and eat guacamole and luxuriate in my posh hotel room and eat guacamole. Maybe I'll have a little something to drink with it, but only a little. I'm going alone since my husband didn't think a weekend on the beach was the best thing for him - he's had melanoma cancer and the sun is not a good thing. But I'll be joining the sister I'm addicted to - Sherry - (see my post from Monday if you haven't read it) and other family members so I'm excited. My sister flew down today and my flight is at 6:15 a.m. Friday.

Now, here's the serious part. My brother, Terry, is having a triple bypass Friday morning while I am on the plane winging my way to Cancun. We are a family that loves and supports each other so Sherry and I both feel like dirt for not being in the waiting room for his surgery. Our other brother, Fred, will be there and, of course, so will Terry's wife and some of their children. That's not the same as me being there. That's not the same as Sherry being there. It's just not. There was really no decision to be made - my sister could not miss her daughter's wedding and neither could I. Irregardless, our flights were booked months ago and all plans finalized when Terry began to have problems that landed him in the hospital. He's had stents before several times but this is different. And we won't be there.

So if you would I ask for prayers (this is the serious part) for Terry, that he goes through this surgery with ease and has a speedy recovery and for a release from anxiety and fear; for all those who will be performing this surgery or caring for him during his hospitalization, that they will have oving hearts and loving spirits and that they make wise decisions for his health care; and for Terry's family that they will have strength and peace during this time.

Finished by Friday, One More Time

Two years ago I made the quilt below. I went to Houston with some friends and 3 of us bought this BOM from a shop in Abilene. I loved doing it because the pieces are big enough for it to go pretty fast and each block is different so I didn't get bored. The pillow tuck at the top was a bit of a challenge because of all the vines and leaves. It is hand appliqued and hand embroidered but machine quilted by a good friend. This year several guild members indicated that they were interested in making it. We do a workshop before our business meeting each month so we ordered patterns for everyone and began in January.

I love this quilt so much and I just kept thinking....who's going to get this when I die? I know, morbid. But I've already discussed with my kids some of my stuff so they know where I got it or who I got it from or what it means to me. Some things are important to pass on. Now I have 2 daughters and a daughter-in-law who is just like one of mine (she's a saint!) and I wanted them all to have it. I have frequent bouts of temporary insanity and in one of those moments I declared, "I shall make 2 more!" That way each one of them would have one.

You remember I said we started in January? Well, the first month or maybe two I made 2 of this block. It is hand appliqued but machine embroidered. And to these I added a machine embroidered dragonfly.

Thursday night this week I finished the hand applique on this block. Not two of these, just one. I know, I know I have one more basted together but I only finished one. I would have done the machine embroidery on it last night so I could claim it completely finished except for two problems:

1. We got home from SA at 6:30 (we left there at 8:00 a.m.) My husband is one of those focused drivers who doesn't believe in stopping until I threaten to ruin his beloved truck's upholstery. I was tired and, needless to say, grumpy and wanted my bed.

2. Just before we left I flipped the switch in my sewing room to turn on the light and threw a breaker. When we flipped the breaker wierd things happened. The light refused to turn off. At all. Ever. Unless you turned the breaker off. And the switch that's supposed to control the light but now doesn't controls all the wall outlets in the sewing room and in the bedroom adjacent to it, but not the bathroom between the two rooms. Oh and I forgot the switch that's supposed to control the sewing room light also controls the ceiling fan in the living room. And the light in the ceiling fan in the bedroom, but not the fan. A light switch should not be controlling all that. I shall be calling Mr. Electric Monday morning.

That's all the sewing I did this week but in my own defense I was on vacation with two grandchildren. I think that's a good excuse. And if it isn't, then I recommend you try sewing in a condo with two little girls who have lots of toys, clothes, hair bows and snack stuff and who love to examine every thing you have as well. There was no way I was having needles out around the 2 year old - no telling what she would have done with those! By the way, the 2 year old can't say Grandpa so she calls him Asspa. I wouldn't kid about that.

Oh and a P.S. I will not be finished with these two quilts by the end of the year like the rest of the guild members. Maybe in this lifetime. Maybe.