Went For A Drive To Mt. Rainier

 This morning we were up and ready to head out the door. We picked up chicken yesterday, so we had our cooler full of lunch stuff. Katt's potato salad was the best!

It's a 2 hour drive from our place. The cost was $30 for the car load. We all agreed it was worth the cost. We can go back for 7 days. Don't think we will, too busy. 

We stopped along the way. There are some really pretty stopping points along the way. 

A few waterfalls along the way as well. 

We hiked down a few places to see the falls. If you look closely, there is a rainbow in the falls. It was fun to spot. Didn't know if it would show up. Everything was green. It was about 75 degrees up in the mountain. 

Took photos of the father-daughter team as well. It was really cool. The bridge in the back was the bridge we drove over. We were taking photos to the left of the bridge and noticed there was a place we could walk down to see more. 

A really pretty place. Mt. Rainier is really pretty. The trails for Mt. Rainier are better than the ones for Mt. St. Helen's. The gift shop and information station is better at Mt. St. Helen's then here. Funny how one is better in one way then the other and visa versa. 

This was on one of the trails. Really pretty! The trails go all the way up there. My dad went up there with his scout troop when he was young. People do get lost on the trails though. I was glad we went when we did. It was getting hotter as we were there. Up on this ridge we were around 80 + degrees. In the shade was better. lol 

I did have my huffing and puffing issues.. I did pretty good considering!

On the way back, we could see the clouds coming in. It's such a beautiful mountain! I just love seeing it every day it shows up around here. 

When we got home, I had one package in the door. It was 2 quilts from one of our QOV ladies. Then UPS dropped off 2 boxes from Tri Cities. I let Jeff know we received his quilts. Those may be given out this week. I want to use the ones that came to us first. Then we will go through ours. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting! 
 

A Day Of NADA

Woke this morning with Patrick. He was golfing today. Katt and I had the day together. I worked on laundry and she worked on cooking. She made some potato salad and cinnamon rolls. 

I finished the label on the quilt I finished the other day. 

 This was the one mom and Kathy Halphide did the blocks on. I put their names on it, as all I did was put it all together. It turned out pretty good. I then decided to take a nap. lol 

After napping, I played games. Then it was time to cook. With temperatures up to 90 degrees, I don't want or feel like doing anything! I did chat with my doctor today, but that was for about 5 mins. 

Once the cinnamon rolls rose, I rolled them out and did the cinnamon and sugar on them. They are now downstairs in the cool weather and will rise over night. 

I at least found time to be Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Two Days Later ----

 Guess I missed last night's blog. I thought I had done it, but NOPE. Yesterday was a busy day. Katt went out with her best friend and group for the batcher party. 

We did the usual cleaning up and getting the house cleaned up. Then I worked on the binding of one of the quilts. I finished the binding and need to add the label. Once the label is done, then I will call it finished. 

Off to bowling. I bowled okay. I was way too busy with getting everyone ready for bowling. It wasn't as mad a madhouse as I thought it would be. Of course, Patrick forgot the locker keys and we had to turn around. Which made me later than I wanted to be. But I had the bowling alley ready for everyone. We did have a couple get mad because they thought it was a meeting night and not a bowling night. Told them I didn't have their phone number but I did have a team for them. That seems to calm them down a little. I was moving a couple people around. Frustrating at times. I did bowl a 167, 159, and 146. I'm okay with that since it's the first night. I ended up staying up till 11 pm getting the money and cards moved around. I had everything ready for the deposit. 

This morning I was out the door early. First stop, bank, second stop, gas station. Once all that was done I headed to the grange for Brazilian embroidery. We had a really good time. Mom and Nancy even stopped by. I finished the last of the greenery. I did try to start on the flowers but need to research it more. I did get a lot done. 

Next was headed to the bowling alley to pay the bills. Then I stopped to get some fries at McD's. Once that was done, I had to stop at the Rite Aid and Phil's. Once that was done, I headed home. 

Patrick and Katt had worked on Katt's Jeep. We agreed to go out to eat. I called mom to see if she wanted to go out with us. When we arrived Katt surprised her! It was fun to see mom get surprised like that. We went to the Brewery in Ground Mound. Had a decent meal. My fries were cold. And awful! My sandwich was good though. 

Then we went to moms and played "square nines." On the way home stopped at the store for some lunch stuff for Wednesday. Katt started to make cinnamon rolls, but my yeast was dead. I think that heat killed them. So, I was ready to go get yeast when we decided to wait till Tuesday night. 

At least I was able to go to BE for a day to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting! 

Time To Relax After This Week

 This morning Patrick was up earlier than me. When I finally got up he started cleaning. Katt was due today and he was wanting things to get cleaned up. So, I didn't get my "down time" of playing games. I played anyway. lol I was PLANNING - yep did it again! - to be relaxing after a long week. 

Once he finished and I finished, we watched TV. When I was putting stuff in the dryer, she arrived. 

We enjoyed chatting and learning about the wedding that's coming up for her best friend. He gets married on Saturday. The Bachler party is tomorrow. 

While we chatted, I stitched. 

Quilt made by Linda Nelson - label #1 is on and it's ready to go to the museum. 

Quilt made by Connie Carter, Hildi Mitchell and myself. Label #2 is done and this is ready for the museum. Remember I took 12 quilts to the museum already. 

This was done by Debbie Aust. This was also the one that was at the SWW Fair and received a lot of interest. She wants to enter it into the fair next year but I am thinking she might not be able to. It has to be made in the year of the fair. I will check with Kathleen. Label #3 is done. This goes to the fair. 

Then I pulled out one of the seven quilts I have that need to be hand stitched down. I was able to get one side done. I was being lazy all day and between stitching and playing. My plan did work out to be Relaxing after a long week. I hope to get more Time to Relax after long weeks like this!

Tomorrow night bowling starts. It's going to be a busy night! I will be getting everyone started. I'm hoping more people will show up so that we can fill the bowling alley. Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm going to keep trying to be Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

On My Feet All Day

This morning I was out the door by 9 am. My first stop was the church to pick up a quilt. Mom called right before I went into the church. She wanted to know if I was coming today. I told her I would be there after I get the quilt. 

Arrived at moms. Delivered all the stuff I loaded into the car for her. Books, fabric and jeans. I unloaded in her garage. Then we went to work on the Hawaiian quilt for Bob. I trimmed the folded yardage for the white fabric. Once that was done, we went into the sewing room and sewed the seams together. It was not easy, because of the yardage. 

We lined it all up. I was standing by her, moving the fabric out of the way. This was the last one we did. AFTER we did the white. We had to iron the seams of the white fabric. Then we folded it so we could get to the square size. Once that was done, mom cut off the extra fabric. There was about 52" on both sides that was cut off. She wanted to do the 3 seam method on the quilt. I think if we would have done the 1 seam it would have gone faster and easier. 

Just doing the white fabric took us a good 3 hours. After she was done with the red, I told her we were taking a break. She was getting a little confused and would get me confused. So, there were a couple times we had to just stop and think about how to do the work. Mom was getting flustered when we did the red fabric. We will finish this up next week and then pin the pattern to the fabric. Once that is done, we can cut it. More steps to go. I don't know how Nancy Chong gets her tops done all by herself! That's a LOT of work. But then again, it's a little fun to do. 

I then headed to Nancy's around 2:30. Dropped off some stuff. Picked up a quilt. Chatted for about a half hour and then headed to the museum. Arrived at the Veterans Memorial Museum and took out the 12 quilts I had to drop off. I was having to fold the quilts and get them ready. Looking for pillow cases to go with the quilts. THEN I had to rearrange the stacks because someone moved quilts around. I had stuff in the wrong stacks. Once I fixed that, I loaded the quilt in the right stacks. I had one quilt I know was meant for someone that Kristi made. I will check with her on the 1st. I found 2 quilts that didn't have labels, so that came home with me. One of them is the one I got from the church. One of the volunteers at the museum wanted an application for a quilt. I pulled it out and another volunteer asked for the form, so I had to go and get another one. 

Came home and sat down for about 10 mins before I had to start supper. More standing! Got supper done. My washing machine stared without me turning it on. Patrick has been working on fixing that. 

Next it was time to FINALLY sit. Oh, but I had to get the envelopes done for bowling Sunday! I also had to get the USBC cards in the envelopes. Worked on that and getting the team captain information as well. One thing after another. It took a good hour to get most of that done. 

NOW was the time to sit down. Patrick asked if I was going to do my exercises (just asked) and I told him I would think about it....NOT. Now the day is over and my back is telling me it didn't care to be spending the whole day standing! I'm ready to call it done!

BUT HEY, I was Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!!

 

Day 4 Of A Busy Week

This morning I was up and just about ready to leave, when Connie called to tell me she had to take her daughter to the chiropractor.  So, I was ready to take the day off.....we all know how my plans work out. Connie said she would be by my house around 11:30 to early afternoon. Okay, now I have to wait. Everyone I know knows how I take waiting! I wanted to start something, but what? If I did what would I do? Oh, heck, just play games! 

I did clean the cat box. Then I got a message from Debbie that she wanted to see me and Connie. Told her when I expected Connie. Debbie came around noon. We sat and chatted about what we were going to do for the September 1st meeting. Then we worked on pulling fabrics to show the group what they can do to make quilts. Connie finally arrived and we loaded all the stuff from my car to hers. She came done to see all the fabric and couldn't believe it. I gave her 2 bolts of fabric. One white and one off white. She's good to go. She also picked up some blues. We sat outside and chatted for awhile. 

Just before Connie left she offered to show me how to use the machine to check my blood sugar level. That was interesting. And almost fun. But I know it won't be fun if I have to do it every day. She told me to do it for awhile to get used to using the machine. I agreed. That way when I do need it, it's there and I know what to do. 

After she left, I went out to pick blueberries. I got another 4-6 cups of blueberries. Patrick told me we had 6 bags of blueberries in the freezer. I decided to have him drop them off with my son. 

After supper I shredded the zucchini Patrick brought in from the garden a couple days ago. I had enough for 8 cups. I froze 3 bags and then decided to make zucchini bread. It's grandmother's old recipe. 

Patrick had his bowling meeting tonight. So, I decided to work on getting labels on the quilts. I was able to get one done before he got home. Will do the other one later. 

  I will drop 11 off tomorrow at the museum. We will be all set for the 3rd. This is a top that Val Gordon and Kathy Halphide worked on. Turned out awesome!

Now I'm tired. It been HOT all day. Sweat is coming off my head like water. So, I'm going to try and cool down. I hope I will be able to do another top here pretty soon. But when I have bindings to stitch down, it will be awhile. But hey, that's what it's all about - Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Organizing Fabric!

All that fabric we received from Hope Grange was going to be organized. I was waiting on Debbie and Nancy. Around 10 am I got a message from Debbie that she had an emergency to go to her cousin's care center. She would be coming as soon as she could. I was home all day so that wasn't a worry. I waited and around 10:15 am Nancy texted to say she couldn't make it. Her door man was coming and her son would be coming as well. So, she can't make it. I said that was fine. 

I played a few games and then around 11:30 am Debbie arrived. Told Debbie we would have a salad for lunch before we get started. She brought the form to go over as well. I have stuff for Nancy too. We sat and had a good chat with lunch. Once lunch was over we headed downstairs. 

I showed Debbie the 3 quilt tops we received today. We then cut the batting and backing for them and have them ready to go to Connie. Debbie is going over there tomorrow as well. 

First we took all the fabric out of the garbage bags. 

Once we had all the fabric out of the bags, we then set out to organize the fabric. 

We stacked in groups. The top is all the military fabric that is specific to the branch of service. She was thrilled to find some more Marine fabric that she was looking for. She will probably have another quilt done before too long. Maybe tonight at this rate. We added in the fabric that I had in my shelves. Of course we couldn't get the top shelf that is Patrick's jars. We did move the ones that were on the top left but couldn't figure out where to show these. It worked out okay, as we didn't need the shelf. We also received some bolts of fabric. The best part is that we can do quilts without having to worry about buying fabric for awhile. Of course there were my "nightmare" fabrics that where in here as well. No matter how hard I try not to have that fabric, it comes back 2x as much. 

We worked on this till about 3pm. I gave her a couple of books that I have to give away. They were my color books. I will take the rest to mom on Friday. 

After she left, I loaded up the car with batting, backing and quilts. Then I added a few of the fabrics we got from the Grange. We put some pillow case fabric in there too. Connie is good with pillow cases. 

Now I'm ready to see Connie in the morning. A stack of stuff to bring. I will also learn what to do with my blood count for sugar. Should be interesting. 

Today was a very good day of Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

 

Olympia Trip

Today was a big start for the day. Got up and had to work on getting a few of the applications corrected. We had some veterans that wanted to come to us and they went somewhere else. Working back and forth between my Trello gal and my boss was interesting but I did get it done. 

Then I had to go downstairs and help Patrick go through all the books in the bookshelf. I have 2 boxes of books to get rid of. I went through all my quilt books and regular books. Then moved what I wanted to keep in the other bookshelf. We cleaned up the shelves and got them ready for tomorrow when we put them away. Organizing will go fast. I think Nancy is coming over as well. 

Then I brought 2 of the books up to put on eBay because they are popular. One is out of print. I'm hoping it will go for something. 

Off to Olympia. I took my tablet and my embroidery. 

I worked on the leaves. I'm getting close to the point of working on the flowers. I really was enjoying working on this. I had to wait at the pharmacy for a little bit. That was okay. I still worked on my project. 

Came home and had to enter the last of the applications. They are now all done except 2. I will give them to Nancy and she can get the information from them. 

Then I had to get 2 labels on quilts - 

 Label on this one! It's Debbie's quilt. 

Label on this one - Valoree and mine. 2 more done. I think I have 9 quilts to go to the museum. Way cool! I still have 6 more to finish. 

We got a lady from QOV that sent us 3 quilt tops. Then we got the Group Leader from Bellevue that has 5 quilts but wants to come down to see the presentation. We are working on that. I'm not sure how to handle that. I'm just thrilled she has 5 quilts!

That's why I stay Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

The Start Of A Busy Week

 This morning I was up and ready to head to Hope Grange. I had an appointment to pick up fabric for our QOV group. 

We were a few minutes early and one gal was there. We walked into the grange, and Patrick whispered to me, "You hit the mother load!"  The tables (2 long ones) was full of stacks of fabric. It was washed, ironed and folded! There was enough fabric to load the truck with. 

 Within 10 mins we were back on the road and heading home. As we are heading home, Patrick said we need to take the big bookshelf downstairs and empty it for the fabric to be stored. SHOCK. I agreed and said we didn't have to because we got the containers from mom. He said it would be easier to see if we do that. I'M GAME! We got home and he told me to go on to my BE meeting. He would unload for me. **Love this guy!**

I headed over to the meeting. Sandy was there, Cindy was having trouble finding a road that wasn't blocked so she could come. She arrived about 30 mins after me. MAN! She missed us! Talk about talkative! I told about our trip to Sandy. Cindy was chatty and didn't get to see much about my trip. That's okay. We had an awesome visit. I actually pulled out the "Ruth's Farewell" piece and worked on finishing the flowers I was working on. Didn't get much done, did more chatting. 

Came home and started working on the applications for QOV. There were 45 applications I needed enter. I was able to get about 25 done. I have a stack to do more. We counted the applications and figured we received 106 applications for quilts. Some of those will go to Olympia. A couple went out of state. I figure we will end up with about 75. The state coordinator has asked if we need some help. She's going to put a call out for quilt tops and quilts. It will be awesome if we get quilts and tops from more groups. We have helped other groups when we can. This would be great. I can pick stuff up in Olympia is Cindy gets them. 

I also worked on the bowling rules for Sunday. Once that was done, I worked on the bowling teams we have. I have stuff ready for Patrick to take to the bowling alley when he goes on Thursday. I still need to do the minutes and get my stuff ready for listing who paid. Patrick spent an hour working on the rules for me. He fixed the wording. I used last years that Theresa did for me. He also added a few things from the meeting that were different. I took out the part about the TV. 

I went downstairs to clean up my room. 

I wanted to have room for folding if we need to. I will add the fabric that we have to the fabric they gave us. Debbie is coming over Wednesday to help me organize and I think Nancy will stop by as well. 

Of course, Sophie had to watch me clean up. 

Patrick loaded the fabric in the basement while I was gone. What a sweetheart!! This will be fun to see what all we have! I can't wait for Debbie to show up! Tomorrow is my day with Patrick. We will be heading to Olympia for his treatment. 

As it turned out - even though busy - it was the start of a busy week. AND I was really Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

As The Day Went On......

This morning Patrick left for his golf tournament. He did get a couple places yesterday. He got back around 3. Guess the banquet was tonight at the Moose Lodge. He didn't want to go. Partly because we had a meeting tonight instead. 

I worked on the binding of another quilt. I spent the afternoon working on the binding. I had one side done before starting. Finished 2 more sides. I have 1 side (long) to do. I will finish it tomorrow - maybe. 

Then it was time to head to the bowling alley. I got my blueberries cleaned up some and dropped them off at my sons. He loves blueberries  and we had a ton in the freezer. I will pick more this week. 

We arrived at the bowling alley and got everyone signed up. I have people that didn't show up at the meeting, so that is going to be a pain next week. We did decide to bowl on Labor Day and New Years Day. The bowling alley asked that we take Easter off, so we had to work it to be done before May. It turned out pretty good. Everyone voted to bowl on Labor Day. We just hope we don't have to cancel due to snow. I have a few things to get ready by Thursday so Patrick can take the information to the bowling alley to be ready for us. 

We then had to go to moms to pick up tubs for the fabrics we are picking up tomorrow morning. I will be going to our embroidery meeting when we get back. We had to stop at Nancy's too to pick up the forms for the nominations that were collected at the fair today. I have over 45 applications to enter into the system. 

So, I have to pick up fabric and go to my meeting tomorrow. Then I have to go to Olympia with Patrick on Tuesday for his immunotherapy. Wednesday is Debbie coming over to organize the fabric. Thursday is at Connie's house and Friday is moms. In the meantime I have to enter 45 applications and get the bowling teams organized and ready for Sunday night. I'm about to freak with all this stuff on my plate!! I also need to check my class for BE and let my teacher know the colors I need for that class. UGH

I just need to take a deep breath, do one thing at a time and still try to be Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!  

Binding Day

This morning Patrick was up and out the door for his golf tournament. Not a good one, but something for him to do. They gave out weird stuff for gifts. 

I enjoyed a couple hours to myself. Then I cleaned up the kitchen and got a few things put away. Guess I was lazy last night and left my dishes - HATE that. 

Then I pulled out the quilts that needed binding and labels put on. Plus was on the phone about stuff with QOV. The fair ends tomorrow, so hopefully we won't have too much more to add. I do have another 32 forms to add to the registry. I told Nancy she could have left them for Debbie to do while she was at the fair. Nancy and mom went in the morning and got 13 more. Between yesterdays and today that they did that got up to 32. I have to collect them from Nancy. 

I had 1 side of binding to do on this. I was able to sit and watch me "The Con" shows. Interesting what people will do to take money from others who have it. I added the label. I was working on the label when Patrick got home. 

Added the label to this one. I had bound it awhile back. That put 6 quilts that need to go to the museum. 

Nancy and Donna stitched most of the binding on this today at the fair. Debbie dropped it off for me to finish the last 2 feet of it. I did and added the label as well. Glad we did all those labels yesterday as I've used 3 of them so far. 

I pulled out the next quilt that was started on a Friday quilt group meeting. I didn't get a chance to work on it, because Debbie arrived just as I was going to work on it. Hopefully tomorrow. 

We have our bowling meeting tomorrow, so I'm going to have to get ready for the meeting. I'm hoping to be able to get another quilt binding done. Even if it's part way. I have 7 quilts that need to go to the museum and 6 more quilts needing binding stitched down. I also need to get another top done so we can have more quilts for the 100 people we just collected. It's going to be interesting! We need to do them in a timely manner!

At least I'm going to be busy being Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

 

What A Day!!

 This morning I headed to moms. I dropped some apples and blueberries off at Phil's. Stopped and got mom a Chai Tea. 

It was good to see her. We ended up working on the Hawaiian quilt that we are doing for Bob. We had to go to the Gathering Place to lay the fabric out to cut it. We are having to sew pieces together, because he wants it to be 120" square. We ended up cutting 3.75 yards to get the length we needed. Mom has enough left over for another quilt if she wants to do it. Just not as big. Once we did that, came back to moms and worked on getting the labels ready to sew onto the quilts. I will probably be working on sewing the bindings on a couple quilts. I need one of mine done for my Uncle who we are doing on the 3rd. 

I finally came home around 2:30 pm. the traffic was busy on the freeway. Hard to believe how busy it gets every week, let alone day. We didn't have half that traffic 10 years ago. 

I got busy on the application forms that Nancy gave me for QOV. I had 32 applications to work on and did all but 5. I will finish those tomorrow. Nancy also told me she has 17 more from today. I can't wait for the fair to be over, so I won't be getting any more. We figured we will have about 100 quilt requests by the time the fair is over. Only about 4 are going to other groups. 

I took a break and peeled apples. Patrick then watched the apples on the stove to make apple sauce. We got 7 containers done between last night and tonight. I got more tonight then last night. It tastes really good. I kept some out for tomorrow. 

At least at moms I was Happy Quilting/Happy Stitching!

Now That Everyone Knows I'm Back

Today Patrick was off golfing. That left me with a day to myself. At least I THOUGHT that. 

I did laundry and decided to watch some folding techniques of clothes. I found another way of folding clothes that didn't take as long. It's amazing how many different ways to fold clothes. Let alone sheets! I am going to try one of the ways for sheets this Sunday when we change them. I had fun folding the clothes - that looks better than what I was doing. I refolded all my jeans, shorts and leggings. It actually gave me room in my closet. I also noticed the T-shirts took less room. WOO HOO

Then Debbie stopped by before heading to the fair. She dropped off 7 quilts that need the bindings stitched down. I'm pretty sure most of those are hers and mine. I need to get stitching on those as well. Then I had a few calls for bowling. 

I took too long going out to pick blueberries! I got about 8 cups worth today. BUT I didn't drink much this morning and being out there in the heat, I realized I needed to come in the house. I could have gotten more blueberries but decided my health was more important. Took me all afternoon to get my breath back. I did drink a lot more as well. I bet we reached 100 degrees today - humite was part of that.

Patrick got home and I had to fix supper for him to head to his meeting. After supper we went out and picked some apples for apple sauce. I cut the apples and got them cooking by the time Patrick got home. Then we added the sugar and cinnamon to it while it was cooling. Patrick was sweet, he put the apple sauce in containers and took them out to the freezer. 

Debbie dropped off the applications for a QOV quilt. There were 16, and I entered all of them tonight. Nancy called and she has 31. I am going to teach her how to enter so she can see what is missing on the forms. That way I'm not having to call or email the person for more information. 

Now that everyone knows I'm back, I'm busy again with QOV and bowling. I talked to mom and I will be going over tomorrow.  We are going to work on the Hawaiian quilt for Bob. My uncle is getting a quilt on the 3rd as well. I need to get ready for the meeting on the 1st. Too much going on. Oh, and then I have to go to Hope Grange on Monday to collect a ton of fabric from the quilt group there. Debbie is going to help me sort out the fabric we get. I asked Patrick to take his truck and help me. He said he would. Will be interesting to see what we get. 

It's been nothing but busy stuff with cooking, QOV and bowling. I wanted to work on something today but didn't get there. I was happy to learn a little more about folding clothes though. It will make it fun to do that for the cruise and save some room. 

It wasn't a day of Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting! 

What A Day!

 Patrick left for golfing. Yep, even after golfing in MI, he was ready to go today as well! He's going tomorrow to! 

As for me, I had to get phone numbers and start calling bowlers to let them know about Sunday night. One phone call after another. Then I had to get some paperwork ready for the meeting. I also spent time writing about the last 2 days. I think I posted 3 days, but it was 2 days. lol 

Once all that was finally done, I decided to work on my embroidery and watch the "Finding Your Roots" program. I had 5 recorded. I had already seen 4 of them. So, it was easy enough to watch a couple and delete the others. Then I watched "The Con." I saw 2 of those. I do like seeing that. While I was watching that, I found myself working on my embroidery. 

I have most of the green done. The pea pod has the bullions that goes underneath done. I will do the satin stitching on it next. Want to finish the leaves on the bottom first. I was surprised to see those leaves as it's not on the pattern that way. I'm okay with that. I'm having so much fun with this, that I may just work on it for the next couple days and get it finished. The flowers should be fun! 

After supper I was able to call the rest of the people who I missed. Patrick gave me the print out of the phone numbers that were sent to him. We did get the ink today, so I had to wait till it came in. I talked to a couple people and they are ready for the meeting. I still haven't heard from about 4 teams and don't know if they will be coming back or not. 

I worked on my embroidery tonight as well. I'm just Happy to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Was Without WIFI for 3 Day

 There is so much to chat about that now is the time to go get coffee or tea and read. I don't plan for it to be long, but who knows by the time I'm done. 

This is were I go back 3 days to fill you in on my trip. I'm home - but not telling anyone. I bet a few of you know me, so please don't tell on me. I wanted to have some down time before I get calls and everything else that goes on in my life. Bowling is coming up and that is something I have been working on since I got home.

Okay, 3 days ago. Susan, Christine and I went to the water rappits (sp). We decided to spend the day hiking while the guys went golfing. Patrick, Dennis and Dad were off golfing around Gladstone, MI. We were in Norway, MI taking a hike. A good hour drive from Gladstone. I love hiking in the woods. Good thing I had my tennis shoes because it was over a LOT of roots. 

Now, this is the PATH. We didn't stay on THIS path, we headed off on the side paths that are closer to the water. Even this path was covered in roots. Not so much but one can see them. 

This is more like what we went through. Susan is in the lead - as she has done this before. She used to live a couple miles away and brought her dogs just about every day. She knew where to go. Christine is in front of me. We had a good time! 

We found a few of these orange mushrooms. I have never seen an ORANGE mushroom in my life! 

I didn't see the slug till after I took the photo! 😂 We have plenty of those here.  Snugs, not orange mushrooms. 

Each path we took we were closer to the water. This was a pretty shot, so I took it. This is the calm area. 

This is the dangerous area. Both Susan and my niece got tangled in this mess and were lucky they lived throw it, as many have died here. Susan was enjoying the view while we waited for the rafters to come. 

We met this group earlier. They were on the way to stop before the rappits where Susan was sitting. They all get out and walk to the 3 areas they would be going through. If anyone decides they don't want to go in the raft, they walk down to were they will finish the rappits. We didn't see anyone deciding to do that. I did video 3 different groups going down. The 3 min video I did has all 4 boats in that group. I may post it later, when I figure out how to put in on. 

We ended up walking - hiking - for 3.4 miles. It was a good hike. My legs were feeling it by the time we were done. 

Then we headed to Iron Mountain for lunch. Once there we stop to check out Susan's old house. She didn't get it in the divorce, because her ex told her he would go after her if she ever did. He was crazy by then. The more I hear of him, the more I believe he was "mental." He passed a few years ago, so she doesn't have to worry about him now. 

We had lunch at Wendy's and then headed back to Christine's place. We were having supper out at the Pizza place. They decided not to meet till 6:30 pm. That didn't help me at all. Susan and dad were at the place we were to eat and it was closed. So, we ended up going to a family place and WAIT an hour for our food because of the orders ahead of us. Susan was ticked because she hated eating there. I wasn't impressed either. Food was okay, but not what I expected. 

Dennis took me for a ride in the corvette!! Made my day!! I loved it!

The next day we were up early and Susan took us to the doughnut shop in Escanaba. It was really good! I would have loved to have had that while we were there....even though I don't need doughnuts. 

Next it was on the way to Green Bay. We fly out at 5 pm. We left around 8 am, but the time change was in there too. We drove around to see Susan and Patrick's old home. Then to the schools they attended. It was really fun. They showed the swimming pool where they "lived" all summer long. Next stop was Kroll's. They used to have the best hamburgers and brots, but it wasn't as good as I wanted it - let's just say. The pineapple malt was the best! Of course, I gained a good 7 lbs while there! Oh, well. That's life and I enjoyed every minute of it!! Enough said. 

We were dropped at the airport and I pulled out my embroidery - why not, since we had to wait 5 hours before we boarded. 

 

Finally! A better photo! Amazing how hard it can get to take a photo! I am working on all the leaves. I really do like working on this one. I have a few stems to work on, but overall this is really coming along. I will do the flowers last. I'm not sure exactly how to do them but I will be working on them!

Just so we all know, I was able to start and finish these 2 panels for the next ornament. I know they aren't Christmas"ie" but it's still an ornament. I should work. If not, too bad! I like it and will do this one for this year. I have a Christmas one for next year. So far, I'm able to do an ornament a year. AND able to give 1 or 2 away at the same time. 

We arrived back in Portland at 10:30 pm. We were home by midnight and CRASHED. I didn't even unload the suitcases. We did that yesterday. I had been notified on the vacation that we needed to get the bowling meeting going. They wanted us to start early. So, I spent all day yesterday getting texts out and phone calls made. I need to double check the list - but Patrick's phone has all that information. He went to print it and the printer is out of ink. He ordered it yesterday and it's supposed to be here today. Then I can call the rest of the people on the list. We will have a full league. I'm happy for that. I'm getting everything ready for the meeting and trying to get stuff ready for our first night. I hope it will work out okay. 

AMAZING WHAT WE CAN DO WITHOUT WIFI!

As for today - it will be a wait and see. I will post tonight and let you know what my day was like. I'm hoping it will be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Day 5 Vacation By The Lake

We woke early and started packing and cleaning.  We had to be out by noon. We only took an hour and then we were on the road. Gladstone is an hour drive. Stopping at the corner store for ice cream cones. 

We unpacked and got ready to leave. Both Susan and Chris wanted to take me shopping.  We stopped at the chocolate shop were I bought chocolate to take home. Next was the gas station that had sweat shirts and T-shirts.  I bought a lot. Next stop was Marshall's and not a place I wanted to go. Last stop was groceries.  We were almost back when Susan wanted to stop and see Chris' mom. Turned around and headed back to Escanaba.  

 

Chris' mom was so cute! She has dementia and was back and forth remembering us. I enjoyed visiting with her.

Came back and then headed out to dinner.  Had an awesome meal! 

My day didn't have time for much. My day is planned already for tomorrow.  Not real sure how that will go. Probably another day of not being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Day 4 Vacation

Today was a little better being able to sleep in. 

Patrick and I went out on the kayak today. I took a towel in mine, so I wouldn't get soaked like yesterday.  Worked great. I had so much fun in the kayak that I missed the fish.

It was time to sit and do embroidery.  

I worked on the pea pod. I like working the leaves. I hope I have plenty of floss to do them all. 

While they went out in the boat,  I beaded. I was able to get half way on the new panel. I did fix a few mistakes I found while working it. My book is down to the last 40 mins.

We then played Left, Right, Center with quarters.  Patrick and I won a lot! 🤣

Dad and Sue left to the house. We will be going to Dennis and Chris' tomorrow.

I am still finding time to be Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Day 3 At The Cabin

Guess there is no getting away from it. First thing in the morning dad starts talking LOUDY for everyone to hear. I was hoping to sleep in. Not so lucky.

Really wasn't in the mood for anything today.  Patrick and I went out on the water in the paddle boat. We had a good time. I was overwhelmed in clothes since I not only burned but also have bug bites. 

I finished this panel and ended up taking the bottom point area off and re working it because I messed up. At least I have my first panel done.

I went and took a nap while Patrick played cards with dad and Chris.  

They went down to the fire after supper and I stayed in the cabin. I worked on my embroidery and listened to my book.

Got a lot done. Was very Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Day Out On The Water

Today started with everyone talking loud and not letting me sleep in. So 8:30 am I finally got up. 

We had breakfast and headed outside.  I  went on the kayak with Patrick and we went around the island and Susan caught up with us on her paddle board.

Afterwards Patrick and Chris headed out on the peddle boat. 

While they were out I pulled out my embroidery to work on.

Not the best photo but I took it in the kitchen at 11 pm. I will do a better one tomorrow.  I was able to get all be lattice done and start on the stems. 

Then it was time to head back out on the water with Chris. We took the jet sli out. Love being on the lake water! 

Came back to then go out in the pontoon boat with Dennis driving.  Susan, Chris, Dennis and Patrick jumped in the water.  I thought it was just a tad too cold and stayed on the boat with dad.

After supper we headed to the corner store for ice cream. It was packed! But the ice cream is well worth it! 

I pulled out my beading.

I am close to finishing this panel. I did find a few mistakes in my word chart and trying to correct them as I go.

Having fun on the water and still Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!

Day 1 In The UP

Today we arrived at the cabin at 1 am. Talked another hour and a half. Then bed. Patrick couldn't sleep and chatted another half hour. Finally slept! Everyone was chatting at 8 am, but I slept till 9.

My sister in law and I paddle boarded around the lake. Such a nice day! 

I pulled my beading out and beaded with my feet in the water. So nice! After awhile decided to come up to the deck and listen from there while I beaded.

Love the view!

Really enjoying this vacation! Hard to believe my phone works here! 

It's fun to be able to have fun while on vacation as well as being Happy Stitching/Happy Quilting!