Time Travel

I feel like I have just been a time traveler. I can not believe how long it has been. Many things have changed over the past year ....all for the good! I am going to try this blog thing one more time. Over the past week I have been working on my UFO quilt projects and have started the foundation work for my vegetable garden. Last weekend my DH and I attended the Mother Earth News Fair in Asheville,NC. The cold wind was unbelievable. We listened to some of the speakers, walked thru four tiny houses, bought seed packets, and just had a great day. Funny how a cold day in the spring makes one itch to plant something. I had purchased some plants from a growers outlet in GA about a month ago. We have had some frost so I have been playing musical plants --- out on the warm days and inside for the cold days. Next year I will not purchase so early. Unless ... I have room in my future greenhouse! Yes I said greenhouse. My dear father found one that no one wanted just needed to be disassemble. So add that to the list of projects the are waiting on me. So now only if I could figure out this time travel thing to work for me in completing all my projects ...I wonder .....

Digging in the dirt ...

Well I finally have been able to "dig in the dirt" this year. I have always enjoyed looking at garden magazines that show the most impressive displays. I think wow you could so do that. I imagine myself drinking a glass of wine n my glorious garden. Or even drinking my tea in the morning while listening to the birds sing - kind of like Snow White in the forest. Then watch out but Life enters like a magician and makes the dream garden just disappear with the wave of a wand. I know that I am not alone in this thought process. Well I have decided that the magician needs to stand down now because I am going to do this!! So what I have done is to start small .... very very small with 10 planted pots. I have placed these pots right in my daily path. Hopefully when they need water or TLC I will notice. I also did not want to spend a fortune on this new endeavor so I did purchase small plants and some orphan plants (You know the ones in the marked down section).

"I miss the snow....."

“I miss the snow. I miss looking at it, walking in it, tasting it. I used to love those days when it was so cold everyone else would be tucked away inside trying to stay warm. I would be the only one out walking, so I could look across the fields and see miles of snow without a single footprint in it. It would be completely silent -- no cars, no birds singing, no doors slamming. Just silence and snow. God, I miss snow. The stars, the moon, the wind, and blankets of pure, pristine snow.”― Damien Echols, Life After Death

Fluffy snow has fallen over night .... what a wonderful site this morning!!  My move a tad north has finally paid off.  I truely have missed you.  You make my heart sing!!  I will brave the roads later today  ..... till then enjoying some hot tea and watching the snow falling.  Be safe, stay warm, and put some thread to fabric today!!

Direction

Have you ever found yourself going in one direction only to end up in a different place?  This place could be a physical location, mental state of mind, or an emotional enlightenment.  It continues to surprised me when this occurs in my life.  For those that know me I am a planner.  My state of income demands the type of planning that allows for sudden and sometimes drastic change.  I am a "dot" your I's and "cross" your T's kind of girl.  Over the years I have had to become more "flexible" when life demands this.  Looking back over my experiences so far I can say that the direction of physical locations have directly impacted my life.  Having moved a few times during childhood.  Then from the northeast to the southeast during my late teens.  The climate, culture, and local cuisine have contributed to how I find my self now.  To be honest I can say that I have been known to try and change the direction from time to time.  Only to discover that I eventually end right back in the direction that I was trying to veer away from.  Some folks say that karma is in action.  I think that our mental state of mind is equally related to our age.  In the idea that our desires, wishes, and aspirations all change in direction the more that we experience life.  Some folks I have noticed do "mature" at a greater speed than others.   Personally I hope to continue to see what direction life will direct me, not wanting to "mature" to quickly.  The emotional direction is a harder path for me ..... some folks have called me stoic.  Yesterday I had read on FB that a classmate of mine had died.  The first emotion that I felt was "wow" he was to young to have found himself in that direction.  I have some dear and treasured friends that are in their late 80's and early 90's.  Feeling like he had been cheated in a sense.  Then the second emotion that came to me was more of a thought or hope that life had allowed him to discover many directions in his life.  Even though we had been classmates from 7th to 11th grade I don't feel like I really knew him.  I was a shy and mostly keep to my circle of friends.  I do remember that he had the most wonderful smile.  The kind of smile you felt was truly coming from his heart.  Hopefully that during his life that smile keep him in a direction of discovery, love, and joy.  Sorry to have heard of your recent direction  .... John "Jack" Robie.  Your smile will always be remembered!

You pick ... the high road or low road

Well good bye 2014.  I must say that I could have never predicted what was in stored for me during the last year.  I thought that my life was traveling down one road then bam .... I found myself on another.  Discovering along the way that it held more for me than I could have ever imagined back in January 2014.  It does make me curious what 2015 has in store for me.   I have noticed that on some blogs folks have made their resolutions for the new year.  Others have been more reflective.  I think that doing both gives us an opportunity to chose the road we would like to start on for 2015.  Personal resolutions include the usual suspects - better health, finishing projects, organization, .... I think you can finish the list.  I would like to add some new trips to my future just not quite sure what they might be at this time.  But I plan on being open to what 2015 might offer.  On the quilting front I have signed up to take a class at one of the local quilt shops.  It will be my first wool appliqué project.  This will give me an opportunity to meet other quilters in the area.  A BOM with Pat Sloan has caught my eye.   Not sure if I am going to commit to that project at this time.  Well good luck to all in 2015 and pick a road to start your journey.  Keep in mind that some roads run parallel to life while others will lead you on a journey you could not have imagined!

Just walk.

Well I did it .... I let "Life" scoop me away from blogging.  Now that I am on this side of the electronic world I can honestly say it does take a lot of deadication to post on a regular schedule.  So where did I disappear to in the real world?  During the month of October I mostly had work commitments but, I did have one glorious week of vacation.  Then with the month of November comes the start of the whirlwind of the holiday season.  I have been working on some of my unfinished projects with the help of a supervisor ....

 My supervisor jumped right in the container  after I removed some of the fabrics and the blocks.  You think she is trying to tell me something??  More come on this quilt.  (Still a WIP.)

The vacation that I mentioned earlier was at Folly Beach, SC.  This was the first year that we went in October.  The weather was splendid.  We ate, walked, and ate some more.  We took a cooking class for the first time (Charleston Cooks) - would love to do it again.  Went on a walking tour downtown Charleston.  Our guide was entertaining and knowledgeable about historical tidbits - Thank you Scott!!  And we finally walked the bridge.  During our prior vacations the temperatures did not increase my desire to explore the bridge.  But the cooler weather offered us an opportunity that was not to be passed.  Now for those that know me ... I do not run,  I walk.  So that is what I did ....

I walked and walked .... The view was worth it!!

So before you let "Life" scoop you away .... walk.  You do not have to run ..... just walk .... you never know what you will see.  

AQS Road Trip

"Road Trip" means different things to different people but, when you throw quilting in the mix then you must add fabric and vendors.  I had a wonderful opportunity to join friends at the AQS show in Chattanooga this past weekend. We discovered a wonderful shop called Spool. www.spoolquilt.com  They are a modern quilt shop that was a delight to the eyes and a comfort to the soul.  We all left with some of their fabulous fabric and plans of new quilts in our heads. Our next stop was lunch .. traveling and fabric makes a girl hungry. The shop owner had told us about an upscale "Southern" restaurant - Tupelo Honey Cafe.  I must say that we filled our bellies and laughed all through lunch.   So far our road trip was not a disappointment to anyone.

Next stop the Quilt Show  .... the convention center was a very nice venue for the show.  The lighting and the space made the adventure much more enjoyable.  The crowds where not that bad for viewing the quilts or shopping in the booths.  I know that this is the first year for Chattanooga to host AQS but we found the city very welcoming.  I was told that Chattanooga will host the show in 2015 and 2016. Well we stayed until the show closed at 6pm then headed to our hotel.  After getting settled ..... we then loaded up ....... to fill our bellies again.  If you enjoy finding a unique pizza place then this is for you. 

A Neapolitan Pizza is a thin crust pizza that is cooked quickly in a special oven.  They also serve a New York style pizza and various pasta dishes.  No one tried the gelato we where to full.  Saturday was spent at the show then later for our journeys home.  Everyone arrived safely home with their purchases in tow.  Oh I must add that I have been very busy prior to my travels working on two quilts.  One a for a baby girl and the other for a fund raiser.  I will post pictures of these quilts when they are completed.