A great vacation

We had a wonderful trip to Florida - very fun, & relaxing - great food, margarita's, ball game, bike week, quilt shopping, space launch, Navy Museum, golf, Sea World and most important the very best host's around.

A little loofa scrub on the beach

Spring training baseball - just great to sit in the sun and see green grass

At the National Museum of Navy SEALS and Their Predecessors

Bill with the type of boat he drove in the Vietnam - We all enjoyed the guided tour and first hand stories he shared.

Sea World

These birds were flying in formation overhead just before this picture taken - guess who was ducking.

sisters on the beach

My sister came to visit me in Florida. We walked the ocean beach and saw these two scary shadows in the water.
There is really no one I would rather walk the beach with, or shop for quilt fabric, or wonder around in the dark looking at armadillos with.
I am so glad they were here!

quarter inch

Sometimes I live my life in quarter inch increments. Yesterday I was sewing with a quarter inch seam allowances and today, I was cutting quarter inch strips from quarter inch foam core.

I'm not sure what this has to do with anything, I just wanted to post something. We're hosting friends for dinner tomorrow. I made gingerbread with lemon sauce, which is my favorite dessert. Grocery stores down here don't regularly carry gingerbread mix or lemon sauce (the shock!), so I've started making both from scratch every once in awhile. It takes longer, but its soooo worth it! I may have cut a quarter inch strip from the side for quality control.

Welcome home Kelly!

We got this card in the mail from friends - She was Kelly's (and Marie's) personal nurse in times of injury during childhood.

It will be fun to have you home Kelly - it's great you have a job again. You will get wonderful experience and big steps towards your goals in life.

Dont forget to pack beach wear!

I do miss all of you , but this is why I spend 3 months in Florida.

One of our favorite beach hikes. No people, sunshine, blue sky.

This and that

It was a lovely day on the snowmobile trail today. Here it is much wider and flatter than most of the trip. We went west - did a loop from Cascade to Clearview store. The area around the Caribou Trail was most impressive with the hardwood forest and lots of hills. I'm not so crazy about going down hills so this is as close to the mountains as I would want to be. There were lots of sleds on the trails today.

My quilt group is making a sampler wall hanging for a camp that lost cabins in the Ham Lake fire. These are my contributions. Our group has given away over 30 quilts.

This sad little pie was just perfect - a pie just right for two. The solution to having blueberries in the freezer and kids that don't like blueberry pie. Who ever heard of that!

On the Go

I am going to an Oscar party tonight, so I had to get a project ready to bring with. Lots of projects aren't portable...binding is!

Take a Break

I took one from technology during vacation and it was great. Well, ok, I didn't go cold turkey...of course there was an IPhone and some WiFi at the condo and maybe some cable tv, but I definitely enjoyed NOT checking my work email, or looking in for blog updates, or spying on my facebook friends multiple times a day. I think I may take a break more often - the internet can get exhausting.

gross

I'm ready to leave this for the slopes! Can't wait for Colorado in two days!

Chukkers and Divet stomping

I went to a polo match sunday. It was awesome! The field is 10 times bigger than a football field. The quarters or periods are called chukkers and we all went out on the field during halftime and stomped down the divets, it's a polo tradition.

Not the Easter Basket

In recent years there has been a "children's collection" at church. The little kids bring up a dollar or the family envelope and put it in a basket.

Today, after all the other kids had returned to their seats, a little two year old walked up front with Mom close behind. She had an envelope in hand but when she got to the basket instead of depositing the envelope she took out a dollar.

I've got some bananas

Do you have this problem? A freezer full of bananas waiting for a new life. I just cleaned out a few of 8 frozen bananas that are starting to take over the freezer. Now I can smell the wonderful banana bread in the oven. It is Elaine's recipe I think (great-aunt) - yum. I usually make muffins with the recipe, and the first time I made bread...oh it was all wrong. I took the bread out of the oven after a half hour, thinking it looked a bit pale, but that was my usually baking time, so I turned it over on a cooling rack and lifted the pan. Unfortunately the middle was the only part that came out - still raw, laying in a pile on the counter, oozing between the rack. It was late, so I impatiently put what was left in the pan back in the oven and waited...10 minutes, 15 minutes...checking too often...Finally, I had to resolve that my attempt was a failure and go to bed. Lessons learned - bread pan takes longer than muffins and don't start baking at 10:30 pm.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to my favorite sister.

It looks like I'd like to go somewhere else
but no, my big sister is taking care of that

As always a good influence on my life.

Thanks for many years of good times together

Do I look fat in this bathing suit?

"I'm only going in up to my knees. Ok, but I'm not getting my hair wet"

BRRRRR!

Just a reminder of home to the southern tier blogger!

You can call us yuppies or yappies or yupsters...whatever you call it, some weeks it translates as busy! After 3 evenings in a row of meetings, sister dates, working late I am home and catching up on some tasks.
1. Worked out
2. Ate (partial) dinner with husband
3. Unloaded the dishwasher
4. SHATTERED a wine glass in the process on my ceramic tile floor
5. Swept and vacuumed that floor and surrounding areas
3.2 Washed dishes and reloaded dishwasher
6. Showered
7. Enjoyed a glass of wine
8. Worked. Finish schedules are fun (playing with colors and materials) but challenging...just imagine selecting all the paint, carpet, countertops, woodwork throughout a distant neighbors house and make it all work. Oh - and that neighbor has to love it. It stresses me out a bit.

So, there is still time...maybe some laundry will get folded, but I think I'm pretty topped out.

More Pillows

This is my latest project. It started a year ago but I never got too excited about it. The best thing that happened is loaning Marie my book so I don't have the color picture of the pattern. I'm going to make three pillows - they all will turn out a little different.

I'm the new president of my quilt group. Why I said yes, I am not sure. What the president really does not sure of that either.

I could just scream!!!!

While i am waiting for this stupid server to connect, I may as well write out my frustrations. Since getting to Florida this winter, I have been taking my lap top to the library. The past few days, it has taken forever to connect. I am so spoiled, we have had high speed internet in Bemidji, (where the Hell is that, and do they even have electricity up there?) for years!
(I tried to reply to Maries traffic ticket, only to say that now I know why she doesnt own a car!)
Be patient with me, I am trying to communicate with everyone. Stay warm, "keep your stick on the ice". ca

A Marley Moment

Butch has been throwing a "dummy" for Willys in our back yard. The other day, Butch said to Willys, as we were sitting in the screen porch, "Do you want to play some fetch?". Willys jumped right through the screen, while both of us just gasped! It was just like he was taking a running jump off the dock, landing in the back yard.

Now we are looking for someone to do some screen repair. "Shit Happens"

I'm back- and inspired

I have just discovered the Sebastian Library, so now I can stay up to speed with my snowmobiling sister, my finding herself niece and the other one with all the good advise! Thanks, I will put on my running shoes. I bought new shoes and resolved to use then, not just wear them.
I see by my computer that it is 22 below at home, well it is only 48 here this morning and there are warnings in the paper about protecting your pets from the "cold".
I will start again taking pictures and publishing posts and eamils, so dont give up on me.
Stay warm!