Hold Please

OK I've been busier than I had thought I was going to be. Hold tight and I'll post my goodies from shop hop. In the meantime, click on over to Becky's blog. She has great photos from the shop hop (I forgot my camera).

A Flurry of Activity

There's been a flurry of activity here at Stella Bella Quilts the past two days.

Well some of us have been busy...

Yesterday I took the day off of work and got up early to get the house cleaned and straightened before my parents arrived for a week long visit. Edgar Poe was a big help supervising and making sure the Swifter was attacked at appropriate intervals. Mom and dad arrived safely from Michigan before rush hour in Atlanta traffic (which starts around 2 PM and goes til 7 PM).

This is also Atlanta Shop Hop weekend and Becky invited me and my mom to go with her. We had tons of fun and did our part to stimulate the economy. (I'll post photos and a report tomorrow.) After we got home it was back in the car to go to our favorite Chinese restaurant (Mahjong) to celebrate E's birthday. Then it was off to Bruster's for ice cream. Whew! I'm exhausted. I better get to sleep soon since I have to work at SBux tomorrow.

BIG Thanks to Becky for the invite and for driving in the horrible rainy ATL traffic.

Still Life: Quilt Block and Cat

Well not quite a still life because the camera caught Gomez in mid-"hey what are you doing? Are you taking a picture of me? How about a treat? "

Here is the Little Quilts BOM block #2 (sans Gomez). I love the fabrics--very March-y.

Weekend Report

As I wrote in my last post, I spent the weekend at Snowbird Mountain Lodge in North Carolina. It was so nice to get away, especially because there are no TVs or cell phone service at the lodge and the laptop was left at home. That means getting away from all the bad news and economic mess and all. Wonderful. It also was nice and quiet and peaceful. Lots of time was spent in the lobby/library in front of the fire, reading a book, and looking at the great view of the mountains. In the afternoon, there was an unless carafe of Starbucks coffee and fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. A little piece of heaven that is! Meals are included with the room price and just to make everyone hungry, here is what I had for dinner one night:

Carrot and thyme soup

Hazelnut and blue cheese stuffed dates wrapped in bacon served on baby lettuce with blood orange vinaigrette

Beef rib eye served with a sour cherry reduction sauce, savory blue cheese and kale bread pudding and sauteed asparagus

Mixed berry cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream

And a sample breakfast:

Blueberry scones

Seasonal fruit salad

Homemade sausage

Lemon & ricotta pancakes with whipped blood orange cream cheese

Are you hungry yet? I am--let's go back!

After all that food, some hiking was required. We went to the Joyce Kilmer Forest, which is a mature hardwood forest that remarkably was never timbered.

Here is the dedication plaque

Here is a view of the trail

Here is how big the trees are!

It was so quiet in the forest, I actually heard a bird's wings as it was flying by (I think it was a cedar waxwing). The views in the forest were wonderful because the leaves aren't out yet and you can see for long distances.

Don't forget to look up.

The next hike was to the top of Huckleberry Knob. This was a hike from about 5,000 feet in elevation to over 5,500 feet, which is really high for the Great Smokey Mountains. The top of this mountain is "bald" and was used historically for grazing cattle. The U.S. Forest Service keeps it mowed to show its past use.

The Smokey Mountains always have a blue haze over them, hence the name, however in more recent years, a lot of the haze is smog. Not good.

Well now I am back to harsh reality but a little more rested and a little more relaxed and really grateful that there are National Parks and National Forests to escape to. Oh yeah and for lodges that serve coffee and cookies in the afternoon.

Back from the NC Mountains

I know most of you didn't even know I was gone! A weekend at Snowbird Mountain Lodge was my Christmas gift from S. and this trip was planned way back last year. We had a fabulous time! I'll post photos and info tomorrow. I hope everyone enjoyed National Quilting Day. I didn't get any sewing time in nor did I get to visit any quilt shops but I did have a wonderful time enjoying peace and quiet and nature and good food so I'll make up the sewing time later. I also missed my Silver Thimble Club meeting and seeing all the Thimbles. I'm catching up on emails and blogs tonight and will post more tomorrow.

Happy National Quilting Day!

Happy National Quilting Day to all by quilty friends! I hope you got some sewing done or went to find future UFOs at your local quilt shop or just played in your sewing room.

I love this year's block in honor of National Quilting Day

Click on the link in the first sentence above to find out about the block.

Spring!

Friday is the first day of Spring (in the northern hemisphere)!! Otherwise known as the vernal equinox. Enjoy your equal day- and night-time. Does anyone have plans for the weekend? We are supposed to have fabulous weather here in the ATL and I plan on enjoying some of it before the KILLER POLLEN hits and I am forced to stay inside with a giant box of kleenex.