Belated Hello from Beautiful Santa Fe

This great sculpture downtown just says "Hooray, I'm here"  IMO

Here I am in Santa Fe.  Finally. Reunited with Mr. SBQ and the cats. Surrounded by boxes. But I'm here.  It's taken me awhile to get back to blogging.  No sewing posts at the moment as I haven't unpacked the wall fortress insurmountable  numerous boxes labeled "quilt room."


I thought I'd give a quick recap of the trip in this post.

My beloved Dodge Dakota "Xena" on her way.

My dad, who I cannot thank enough, flew down from Michigan to Georgia to load up the last of the stuff, load up Xena the truck, close up the house, and drive across the country to NM.

By some sheer luck and karma, I planned this move the week between two crazypants weather events in metro Atlanta (an epic 2-inches of snow snowstorm and a shutdown-the-city-for-2-days ice storm).  With all the crazy, unprecedented winter weather across the country, we decided to take the southern route to NM on I-20 through AL, MS, LA, way too much of TX, and head north to reach I-40 in Amarillo.  We left Thursday, February 6th.

Mississippi River in Vicksburg, MS

Glad we took the "southern" route (and that my dad is an expert winter weather driver) as we encountered snow in Meridian, MS of all places and generally freezing cold weather everywhere else.  Snow flurries and horrendous road construction was the highlight of our drive through Dallas, TX.

View of the most boring road in America

We drove on the most boring road in America for approximately an eternity plus 8 hours.

beautiful sky through a very dirty windshield

After two long days of Dad driving and me commenting on how cold it was every time we stopped, we crossed the state line into New Mexico on Saturday, February 8!!

(Bad through-the-windshield photo courtesy of the city of Amarillo, who had approximately 2 inches of salt brine solution on the roads which covered our truck and Xena to the roof.)

 Starbucks boxes are great moving boxes (perk of working there!)

Mr. SBQ and the cats were very excited to see us; we were very happy to see them and arrive safe and sound; and Dad was happy to be done driving.  After getting everything unloaded, we took Dad sightseeing for the two days he was here before he returned to Michigan on Monday, February 10th.  We went up the mountains, drove along Canyon Road, walked around the Plaza and shopped for souvenirs, went to a fascinating cowboy exhibit at the New Mexico History Museum, and ate lots of great New Mexican food.

The remainder of the week, I ran errands, got driver's license, etc. and started unpacking all the boxes.



The cats are very happy to have both their humans to boss around. They are also happy to have their sofa and comfy chairs.  I am unsure of my position in the rankings versus the furniture.

Holiday Weekend in Washington, DC

Happy Hanukkah to all those that celebrate! Hope you are having a wonderful holiday.

Last Thursday, S., E., and I went to the greater Washington, DC area to visit S.'s family for a long weekend.  We planned the trip far in advance, and because I had never been to the White House on past trips to DC, I thought it would be a great time to visit while it was all decorated for the holidays.

The process to tour the White House is much more complicated in this post 9-11 world than in Thomas Jefferson's day when each morning visitors could just walk right in. Today, you have to go through your U.S. Congressperson's office and submit information for a background check.  You only find out if you are accepted for a tour about two weeks before your trip so it's good to have backup plans.

I was overjoyed that we were accepted for a tour, especially since we would be five out of the 90,000 people expected to go through the White House this season.

There was so much to see from the architecture, paintings, portraits of former Presidents and First Ladies, flower arrangements, antique furniture, not to mention the beautiful Christmas decorations.  It is impossible to adequately describe everything.

To add to the festivities, on the day we visited, an a  capella group from Smith College sang carols in the ground floor visitor's entrance and a group from a New York church played English hand bells in the East Room.  

Here is a view of the official White House Christmas tree in the Blue Room.  The theme this year was "Joy to All" and the tree was decorated with red, white and blue ornaments made by U.S. military families from around the world.   This tree was nearly 19-feet tall.

The White House gingerbread house complete with the First Lady's garden and beehive on the right and First Dog Bo on the left.  I just love gingerbread houses and this one is incredible with the painstaking details and stonework-like finish.  It is also huge, weighing 300 pounds.  Wonder what happens to it after the holidays?

A portrait of President Lincoln in the State Dining Room.  I thought the decorations in this room were delicate and airy looking and matched the plasterwork on the walls, the gold tablecloths, and the floral pattern in the carpet.  

Can you image what my cats would do to garland with glass ornaments?!?!? Remy would be hanging from the walls, breaking everything!

The State Dining Room is much smaller than you would imagine and seats 130 for dinner. Can you tell I read my White House brochure?

Here is the East Room, the largest room in the White House. The portrait is Martha Washington with the famous painting of George Washington on the other wall.  The Christmas trees are just amazing. You could spend all day looking at one to see all the different ornaments. Unfortunately, there are 80,999 other people wanting to see it too so time to move along.

Here is the famous portrait of President George Washington by Gilbert Stuart that Dolly Madison saved when the British burned the White House in 1814. The portrait was painted in 1797.

Yes, I paid attention in art history class.

And read my brochure.

In the grand entrance hall and cross hall of the White House were four large Christmas trees decorated with ornaments representing past First Ladies as well as ornaments honoring Gold and Blue Star military families.  There were also gold and bronze star metals on the trees.  A poignant reminder to remember our troops and their families this season.  

For more info about the White House history and decorations and to download a tour book and even  try a White House cookie recipe visit this link: 

 http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/inside-white-house/holidays

There is also a super-cute You Tube video of Bo giving a tour of the White House decorations. 

For even more history about the White House visit the White House Historical Association website at this link:  http://www.whitehousehistory.org You can see decorations and Christmas cards from the Kennedy administration through the present. 

And because a post is not a post without one or more references to Remy, here is a statue at the National Gallery of Art that reminded me of a certain leggy kitty at home.

Savannah Trip

 Well I am still two weeks behind on everything so I'll go ahead and post photos of my Savannah trip from two weeks ago :)

S. and I escaped for the weekend (Sept. 7th-Sept. 9th) for a very relaxing trip to Savannah.  

It was the best kind of trip, no where to be at a certain time, no place in particular to go, we have both been to Savannah numerous times so it was fun to just walk around and enjoy the end-of-summer weather and eat lots of good food. 

Savannah is the most walkable place in Georgia.  

I think it one of the prettiest places too. 

River Street

Gen. James Oglethorpe monument in Chippewa Square

 Savannah is famous in recent pop culture as the location for movies, books, ghost tours, food, famous people on the Food Channel, St. Patrick's Day green beer festival, etc. etc.

Savannah is also famous among architectural history and urban planning geeks for its historic plan (1733) that is laid out into squares. 
This is one of the best aspects of Savannah in my opinion. 






 Along with amazing architecture. 

Congregation Mickve Israel (est. 1733, building dates to 1878)

Savannah Row Houses

 

Colonial Cemetery (est. 1750)

Colonial Cemetery 

This ice cream is TO DIE FOR!!!  Coffee Chocolate Chip with Hot Fudge

One of my favorite houses

More from NC Trip--Places to Stop

On the way to Snowbird, we always stop in Franklin, North Carolina, to have lunch and do some shopping in the historic downtown. Franklin is a great little town.  We were very sad to see that our favorite restaurant, The Frog and Owl, had closed and a sandwich shop and gift shop called Rosebud Cottage replaced it.  We ate there and the sandwiches were good. We also found out that the owners of the Frog and Owl had opened an Italian restaurant (Rana Rinata) just outside of downtown so we'll have to try that next time. Some of the antique stores had closed.  The wonderful yarn shop, Silver Threads & Golden Needles, was still on Main Street.  There is a great bookstore called Books Unlimited with new and used books and a bookshop cat.  I picked up a Dr. Seuss book for Mackenzie there.

 Franklin also has a great quilt shop called Deb's Cats n Quilts.  The shop had expanded and added an addition since I was there in March 2010. 

In the lower level addition, there was a huge selection of reproduction and Moda fabrics, lots of samples, and a huge classroom space.

 The shop also is a participant in the western NC quilt trail program. We saw lots of other quilt blocks on barns as we traveled to Snowbird. 


I highly recommend a stop by the shop if you are in the area.  The staff is friendly and they have a large selection of cat (and dog) fabric. 








Of course I *had* to help out a local business.  Here are my purchases--on the left, all of this was from the sale area (bonus!) and on the right, some Civil War reproductions for the FWQAL & CW BOW I'm working on.

 On the way home, we stopped by a great big farm stand north of Gainesville, Georgia, called Jaemor's Farm. I loaded up a cart full of peaches, blueberries, blackberries, lady peas, cantaloupe, and mayhaw jelly.  Some peach fried pies to take home and some of the most super awesome peach ice cream rounded out the trip.   

Back from Michigan

Hey everyone! I'm back from a week long trip to Michigan to visit family and escape the heat and humidity of Atlanta. I need to catch up on everyone's blogs and find out what's been going on in the world. I do know that the Netherlands are going to the World Cup finals. GOOOOOO Orange! Photos and trip details soon....

Planes, Trains, and No Automobiles

S. and I are back in Atlanta and the kitties are very happy to have us home (even though they have a wonderful cat sitter and they get extra food when we're gone). S. was going to present a paper at a conference in Washington, DC and I went along for a little vacation.
(I wonder how many photos have been taken of the Washington monument?)

We left Tuesday night and took the train to DC. I had never taken a long train trip before and liked our little sleeper compartment. The next morning we arrived at Union Station, a fabulous historic building.

This building was almost demolished like so many other great American train stations during urban renewal. It's almost unimaginable that someone would want to tear it down.
Look at this fabulous interior! I see some great quilt motifs in this room--patchwork and applique.
Wednesday night, there was a state dinner at the White House. My invitation must have gotten lost in the mail...

because this is the closest view I saw.
I love Washington because you can either walk or take the Metro just about anywhere you want to go in the city and I became pretty adept at taking the Metro here and there from our hotel near Georgetown and walking all over the Mall area to the museums. It was really nice not using a car for several days.

Walking everywhere also means you can have a treat for doing all that exercise. I recommend Firehook Bakery on Dupont Circle for coffee and cookies the size of salad plates (huge cookies!!!). I had the Presidential Sweet cookie (oatmeal, chocolate chips, pecans, dried cherries, and coconut). Across the circle, take a side trip to Kramerbooks for some great book browsing. I love finding really great independent bookstores and this one is way cool.

Coming up next post--Georgetown, my new favorite places, and the perfect house for Stella.

Nearing the end of March

Another busy week. I've enjoyed catching up on the blogs of all my Atlanta quilting friends. Last weekend was the Atlanta quilt shop hop and Silver Thimbles weekend. I missed both but that was OK because S. and I went to our favorite lodge in North Carolina (Snowbird Mountain Lodge!)

Never fear, I did sneak a little quilty stop on the way in Franklin, NC. If you are ever in the area, be sure you stop at Deb's Cats N Quilts. The ladies there were really nice and friendly. They have a great selection of fabrics and lots of older Moda lines in case you are searching for something you may find it there.

How cool are their bags??!!!?? I bet Stella would like a mini version. Here's what is inside the bag Judy Martin's new book Stellar Stars (I love star quilts don't you? These are stunning.) And a new Moda jelly roll (told you I needed a new one for one of those free BOMS hee hee) in yummy blues, greens, and browns (the "Cherish Nature" line).

It was a lovely, warm spring day and perfect for driving up to the mountains. (The Smokey Mountains always look like this--smokey and hazy--I really love the colors in this photo) We had a great time and went hiking on Saturday.
Since it was so warm and spring-y, we didn't plan on seeing this when we reached the beginning of the trail. Ummmm snow??!!?? Lots of snow in the higher elevations.
Should have brought snow shoes and maybe Jack and Shiloh with the dog sled. Being intrepid infrequent weekend hikers, we carried on and hiked away. We even had a picnic lunch on the top of a mountain since the sun had melted all the snow at the very top. A wonderful weekend all around.

I came back and was home for a day before I had to go on a two-day trip to south GA for my day job then back to the office and Starbucks and now it's Friday again. Whew!

I'm looking forward to some sewing time this weekend.

Busy Life Syndrome, Jack's sister, I do remember how to quilt, and cat photos

I hope I still have readers out there. Here's a long post in case you missed me. And some cat photos because I know Karin and her furry guys have missed seeing my furry guys. I have been suffering from busy life syndrome for the past two months. I hope to get back on a regular blogging schedule right this minute. Now where did I leave off? Oh I was in Washington DC (note to self--don't wish for plane delays because you will get them!). I was supposed to leave Tuesday March 2 at 1:00 but it was snowing in Atlanta so I was delayed and then the flight was canceled and then it was rebooked and I ended up in...

Minneapolis/St. Paul.

OK look at the map. Do you see where Washington is? Now see where Atlanta is to the southwest of DC; now see where Minneapolis is?

No, I don't get it either....

Although there was snow on the ground in Minneapolis, but Northerners can handle that. Atlanta cannot handle more than 2 flakes. Really.

I had a lovely 4 hour stay at the Minneapolis airport. There are lots of great quilt designers in Minnesota. None of them were are the airport that day. Glad I brought two books to read because I finished one.

Remind me again why travel is fun?

Anyway I ended up back to Atlanta at 11PM. At least it was the same day. And there was not a bit of snow to be found. Delta apparently is not reimbursing me for the 7 hours I lost but I do thank them for getting me home.....

the long way......

Between that trip on the 2nd and today the 14th is mostly a blur of work work work. All work and no play makes me a boring blogger...
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One big bit of news arrived on March 5th via voice mail.

This is my nephew-dog Jack.

Jack is five.

Jack likes me because I bring him fancy organic dog biscuits when I travel to Michigan. I like Jack because he's a sweetie and has icy blue eyes just like Daniel Craig. Jack also has freckles on his nose (I don't know about Daniel Craig but I'll let you know if I ever meet him).

Jack now has a (human) sister as of March 5th.

And I have a niece!

My brother and SIL now are the proud parents of a little girl (who looks nothing like Jack but a lot like my brother). They have had a bit of a rough time these past nine days but everyone is doing well and hopefully will be coming home Monday or Tuesday. I'll check and see if I can post a photo but believe me, I think my niece is the most beautiful baby ever. My first job as an aunt to a human baby has been to be on the phone a lot checking up on everyone. I can do that.
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Along with slacking on blogging, I have been slacking on quilting. Yesterday, I was pleasantly surprised to find out I still remembered how to sew and caught up on my FQS designer mystery BOM blocks.
Three months worth! Only two more months left in the series. I better get working on the finishing kit.
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Gratuitous cat photos taken yesterday at nap time.
Morpheus and Stella.

Edgar Poe and Gomez.

Thanks for coming back!

Hello from Washington, DC!!

I am (not quite) joking when I say I had to leave town to have a chance to rest and post to my blog! Wow what a busy week I had last week (nothing exciting--just work work work). I am here in DC for a super quick trip for work and then it's back home. I arrived yesterday in time to get to the hotel, find some food, and watch (and nap a little during) the US vs Canada Olympic hockey game. Great game!!! Congrats to our Northern neighbors for well deserved gold metal and an all around fabulous Olympics!!!!! Thank you Vancouver for a wonderful winter Olympics!!! I will have to check out Cathi at Quilt Obsession and find out what metals Lester and Smudge won in the Catalympics (did I mention I have around 400 blog posts to read??!!??? I better hope for some plane delays in order to catch up). I bet Smudge won the gold in lounging.

Anyway, I have an all-day workshop today and then I leave for Atlanta tomorrow so it's a very quick trip. No time to see anything in DC really except the metro stations and hotel.
The Mayflower Hotel (historic hotel built in 1925). Highly recommended for over-tired travelers wanting to rest and watch hockey.
I did venture down to Dupont Circle (fountain in Dupont Circle and yes, that is SNOW still on the ground--not a good day for sightseeing--very cold and very windy!)
yesterday for brunch but that's about it.
Luna Grill and Diner--highly recommend for starving travelers walking in cold and windy DC. They have the best coffee (organic & fair trade & brewed strong!!!! Perfect!) and Belgian waffles.

I also found this delightful shop (S.--it's in a Brutalist building--I think I actually like Brutalism when it's paired with cupcakes :) I highly recommend Hello Cupcake. In fact, I may actually be having a Raspberry Beret cupcake for breakfast instead of paying for overpriced eggs in the hotel right this minute. Yes, I most definitely recommend cupcakes for breakfast! I also am drinking some Via from Starbucks. OK time to get ready for the workshop.

One of My Favorite Places in Michigan

Why has this short (three day) workweek seemed like a five-day workweek? I have tomorrow off from both jobs (woo hoo!) and am going to...guess what.... (not clean house)... sew all day! When I was in Michigan last week, I got to spend some time sewing with my mom, aunt, and SIL, who all quilt too. I worked on "Glory Bound" and have all the blocks made and tomorrow I'll work on sewing the quilt together. Karin already has hers done (maybe because she has such a great helper).

I still need to get some photos together of my Michigan fabric purchases so that will be another post. I do want to share another one of my favorite places to go
Cook's Farm Dairy! Cook's is located out in the country and is a family-owned working dairy farm (soapbox alert: please support your local family farms and family-owned businesses--I did, we went there twice!!!!).
Cows! Admit it, the word just makes you smile. It was feeding time when we were there and the ladies were too busy to turn around and pose for pictures.
You can also see new cows! How cute is this little sweetie.

Cook's produces their own hormone-free milk and butter and unbelievably delicious homemade ice cream. I think it's the best I've ever had. Actually I'm glad Cook's is located in Michigan and not anywhere within driving distance...especially since their version of a single scoop is huge!
This is my favorite ice cream (yes, this is a single scoop)
It's dark chocolate with caramel sauce swirls and chocolate-covered cashews. The name is very tongue-in-cheek funny...

...it's called Cow Pie! I kid you not.


PS: Don't forget, the deadline for my post #250 giveaway is tomorrow!