From Here To There And Back Again

We've taken another road trip, albeit a quick one. Augie continues to excel as a traveler, we never could have asked for a better car companion. Since last Sunday was both Father's Day and my mother's 90th birthday we drove up to New Hampshire to celebrate the joyous, double event with my parents. It was a beautiful day.  Mom and Dad live in what is known as the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, as we drove north and got closer to their home last Sunday we experienced the mass exodus of motorcycles headed south on the highways and by-ways, having only just concluded the 100th anniversary of Laconia "Bike Week" that day. (another reason that we chose not to arrive any earlier, the traffic is crazy during this event!).  Time spent with Mom and Dad this past week was laid back and easy, they've established a new normal routine since my mother has returned from her rehab stay. Physical therapists and/or Occupational therapists come in to their home daily to work with her and assist her in growing stronger and more independent again. We helped out as we could with repairs, yardwork and household chores.

As you can see, above, Augie did his part too: offering pet therapy in the form of "lap time", as often as needed! We did take advantage of the location to eat some fried clams while we were there and made a trip (or two 😉) to the local ice cream stand for a cone. Ah, summer evenings in New England.

Augie celebrated "National Dachshund Day" on Wednesday, the Summer Solstice, (the longest day for the longest dog)! 

I didn't take many pictures this trip (other than of the pup) but was happy to receive this one yesterday, as we were in the car again, traveling back home. Mom goes every Friday to the beauty shop to have her hair done and, following that, she and Dad have lunch at the diner next door; it's their weekly custom. Yesterday, when they entered the restaurant they were greeted with all this at "their" table: a party tablecloth, balloons, gifts and even a birthday hat! Isn't that just the sweetest gesture? My parents are dearly loved. 💗

Back home again, someone has dragged out all of his toys and settled right back in. I've tackled the laundry mountain, watered the plants and baked a loaf of bread already. 

It's good to be home again; there's no place like it, Dorothy was right!

Life is Good! 

Heading For the Border(s)

My late summer obsession has been pulling out all of those accumulated blocks-of-the-month from years past and setting them together. I got a border on this one (L) just this past week. A sweet off-white marbled fabric was special ordered (with fingers crossed) to border up and surround these six year old blocks and rein them in, success(!); it blended perfectly with the background fabric from 2015! One more to the full-flimsy stage!  The next ones out of the closet and onto the wall, a week or so ago, were these blue and white blocks; from an "I can't remember", long-ago year! I did the same blocks in red and white too, and have finished those up a few years back. I could see that I needed four more blocks here to be able to complete this into a square table topper. I'll turn my attention to that sometime soon; but, in the meantime, I had packing to get done and a retreat to attend!

And we were off, toward another border or two (or three); to a quilt retreat house in Ohio.

The accommodations were warm and welcoming. I've never slept better on a retreat.

Our individual work spaces were spacious and comfortable; the lighting was fabulous! 

We had a great, fully-equipped kitchen right off that same open space for easy meal preparation.

Check out this built in ironing space- with a window! 🙂

This was the view that I had, out the back window, from my sewing table.

And, we were treated to parachuters, compliments of the Sky Diving School behind the retreat house!

A couple of us stepped it up on the last night to complete quilt tops to bring back home. The Snowflake in flannels will bring some warm snuggle time when the snow flies. I stitched this offset coin quilt.

A parting shot before we packed it all up and headed back home again, full of inspiration and happy  memories.

Since returning home I've applied yet one more border! 

This detail shot is more representative of the colors in these low volume coins; it's sashed and bordered in a chambray blue Essex linen, actually much blue-r than gray, as these photos show. This flimsy measures 63" X 74". I have big ideas for custom quilting this one. And sew it goes...

Today's Labor Day, the official end of summer, it's time for the minds to once again return to back-to-school. The above two offerings are the newest Block-of-the Month programs at my LQS. Have I signed up? Of course I have; and not for one, but for both! Yep, it's back to the classroom for me (X 2)!

Don't let it ever be said that 

I ran out of things to work on!

Life is Good!

  

A Week (and A World) Away...

Well maybe not a world away... but now that we're back home and settled in again our adventures of last week seem that distant. Some of you guessed from my teaser photo that we were in the midwest; but, no, that photo was taken somewhere in Lousiana. This photo might me more indicative of our Gulf Coast exploration, we drove across a few swamps and bayous as well as through cotton fields and sugar cane plantations. Our route took us from Panama City, FL along the Gulf of Mexico to western Lousiana, we took in all the sights and lots of shrimp along the way!  My birthday lunch last week was a shrimp Po' Boy... it might just have been the best thing I have ever eaten! Oh. My. Goodness!!  C'mon along with us...

Panama City Beach, FL 

We heard that a stop here might just include a training session by the Blue Angels if we were lucky... 

We were! 

 This might have just been the highlight of the trip as far as Mr. Goodneedle was concerned!

The Pensacola Lighthouse, the oldest light on the Gulf Coast. 

 Lunch on the beach along the Pensacola Boardwalk, Hannes rested under the table (he was welcomed and had his own water bowl served) while we feasted on... what else... gulf shrimp!

The sugar-sand beaches of Gulf Shores, AL 

The almost 25 mile Lake Pontchartrain Bridge leading into New Orleans, I had no idea how vast this body of water was until driving across without being able to see land in any direction whatsoever!

The Metairie Cemetary was one more thing so much bigger than I ever imagined. There are driving maps to navigate among the named streets(!) between the elaborate marble tombs and statues. 

Historic and picturesque downtown New Orleans, LA

Yes, we had a beignet; it was required! 

New Orleans 

Lake End Park,  Morgan City, LA

 This was the perfect place for a slow-paced afternoon stroll... the weather was perfect.

One more stop along our way home, north of Dawsonville, GA; the spectacular Amicalola Falls. This waterfall, at 729 feet, is the highest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi.

 A strenuous uphill hike of 600 steps to the fall's summit, this photo was taken at the halfway mark.

This was our weary pup on his backseat perch. I had taken a couple of quilts to bind in the car and his favorite position was leaning off to the side while he dozed with his head resting on them. Awwww! 

I did visit a couple of quilt shops along the way... Quilting By The Bay in Panama City, FL; this shop was fanatastic, well-stocked with a friendly and enthusiastic sales staff, I picked up a few things here to make some quick surprises for the grandchildren.  The second shop visited was Bright Hopes Quilting in Mandeville, LA; this shop was a disappointment to me. The sale room here was wonderful; a huge number of discounted, beautiful, bolts were artfully arranged for choosing... however, actually getting a sales person's attention was impossible. The staff here seemed much more interested in themselves than any customers; sadly, I felt as though one needed to belong to the secret sorority here to be acknowledged. My hopes were dimmed and I left empty-handed. We drove out of our way to visit Ginger's Needleworks in Lafayette, LA. if I had read my Quilter's Travel Companion for content ahead of time we could have saved the gas. Ginger's is only open to the public on Thursdays, we pulled up to a locked door on Friday morning! That's when I walked back to the car and read the fine print. Sigh. The remaining days of the week Ginger's fills mail-order, online sales, only. Live and learn.

Well, that's it; last week in a photographic nutshell.  

Thanks for riding along.

Life is Good!

Road Trippin'

  Where in the world are the Goodneedles? They've been on the road again... details soon~

                                                                       Life is Good!

Road Tripping... Again!

Mimi, my Aunt Julie and Mom

Good morning, it's me; Hannes, I'm bringing this blog up to date because Mom is busy today unpacking and doing laundry... some days she's just too busy to keep up with the things that are most important: tummy rubs and behind-the-ear scratches, just to name two. We've been on the road... again!  A quick trip to new England to visit with my grandparents and my aunt and uncle. Mom and Dad said the foliage was spectacular and the food was delicious; you'll have to take their word on that, I was either sleeping in the car or left behind at the house when they were visiting restaurants and the like. Don't feel bad for me though, there were welcoming laps to sit on and lots of stroking from my grandparents during my visit, they love me.

Autumn in Vermont

Mom will be back soon with photos to share, she finished up the handwork on two quilts in the car and found lots of interesting ideas to post about while reading those quilt magazines that she never has time to sit and read  when we're at home. I wish she would learn to sit down more... I really am a lap dog; how can I possibly be expected to live up to my full potential while chasing her to and fro?

It's a dog's life... and it's all good!