WESTWARD HO

Over Easter I spent a week in Mesa, AZ visiting my gal pal Nancy and sister, Linda.  I had a great time. I enjoy visiting this area and love the mountains, but sure was glad to be back in Georgia where it is GREEN! 


Nate and me

 A highlight of the trip was meeting my second cousin, Nathan, son of my cousin, Scott. The last time I saw Nate he was six weeks old. Now he has hair, teeth and is no longer in diapers (joking here) and is all grown up into a very nice and handsome young man. He is attending the University of Arizona on a full scholarship and going into enginering.  Linda and I had dinner with Nathan and his mom, Kaye and had a great time. It was so good to make this connection and next time I am in Arizona I hope we can get together again.



Sister Linda, me, Nate and Kaye, Nate's mom

 Nancy and I went to the Desert Botanical Gardens.  I took a ton of pictures, a few of which are shown below.  It was spring time in the desert and so many plants were in bloom.  It was a lovely day there.
Nancy and I always have fun together and this trip was no exception.  We ate laughed a lot, shopped a little, shared secrets and ate great food (YUM to the Thai and East Indian place, and Agritopia).  The best part is that Nancy is purchasing her very first house in Gilbert, AZ!  I got to tour the house three times and it is just charming.  She closes in a few weeks and I hope to return soon so I can see it all decorated and really made into "Nancy's home."

Alice rocks!

I also stopped at Coopertown - Alice Cooper's bar/restaurant so I could pick up a birthday present and tee shirt for my nephew, Paul.  That was fun.

This was the first time in almost a year I ventured more than 100 miles from my new home here in Georgia.  It felt good!  I'll be back soon, Nancy!



Feeding a squirrel noodle salad!



The three Chichuly glass sculptures at the entrance to the gardens. Fabulous!
If you EVER get a change to see his art, GO!  I have seen his art in various locations
in the United States and it is always wonderful



Arbor Day Celebration in Canton, GA

The City of Canton offered free tree seedings as well as trees and shrubs you could purchase a few weeks ago.  My friend Tanya and I went to take advantage of the free seedlings and check it  out.  We both bought a lot of plants and my car was jammed full of them!  It was a fun thing to do on a nice February morning!



Tanya selecting a tree



Volunteers loading up my car

Both the trunk and back seat were full of plants, even Tanya's side had some!

A Walk in the 'Hood on a Fall Morning

Most mornings I walk Sam up the hills to the far end of the subdivision, about 2.5 miles round trip.  I finally remembered to take my camera along.  Due to the clouds, the mountains can't be seen.  However, the clouds are beautiful in these pictures and you can click on the pictures for a better view.  The pictures are in random order, not our specific route.  Too hard to move pictures around when posting,  Anyway, come along and enjoy the walk with me.   



Looking down the last hill before we turn around to come home.  This would have the best mountain views, if not for the clouds. 



First hill we climb (view is looking down).  Don't be deceived, it is a huge hill!

 

Houses in the area are decorated for Halloween.  This is simple and my favorite



Scarecrow "love birds" at a house in the 'hood

 

You might have to double click on the picture to see this house all decked out for Halloween



After over a month of walking this hill, I am still out of breath at the top



Looking down to my street.  You can't see my house, but it would be on the left.

 

This house always is landscaped beautifully



First of two round-abouts we walk around.  Now if Americans would only learn how to drive around them!

Another pretty view

I love living here!



My street

 

Witch cat statue in front of my friend's house.  Too cute!



Meeting Meandering Mary (and more)

Saturday Meandering Mary (the name of her business) came down to Ye Olde Schoolhouse to meet some of the ladies she has been doing long arm quilting for. Mary lives in New London, WI. When Jeanie (owner of Ye Olde Schoolhouse) goes to her lake house in that area, she hauls quilts back and forth. It is great of Jeanie to transport all of the quilts. Terri and I decided to go out to meet her. I really wanted to meet and to thank Mary for the beautiful work she does.

Mary had one of my mystery quilts completed so Terri snapped a couple of pictures of us. The pictures also show some of the great class projects offered at the shop.

It was so nice to meet Mary. Her work is outstanding. I will post more pictures of this quilt when I get the binding on, but is it very pretty. She has oak leaves around the border. Mary was having a little drawing, too. Terri won a gift certificate for 25% off her next quilting job and I won 25% off of my next batting. Of course, Terri and I bought additional quilting supplies while at the shop.

Terri and I then went to Bay Shore for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. Then we shopped. Nine West (we both got shoes), Coldwater Creek (Terri did damage there), J Jill (I got a top) and Talbots (we both purchased items, but I really did damage!). We had so much fun and everything was on sale. After Bay Shore we stopped at a jeweler where I had ordered a dog print charm for my charm bracelet. I dropped off the bracelet so the charm can be attached. Then we drove back to my house along the lakefront. Traffic was bad, but it was worth it as the lake was beautiful and there were tons of sailboats out which made it even prettier to view.

It was a fun, busy day. I even had time to get a pedicure and my nails done. Later I trimmed down the mystery quilt so I can machine sew the front of the binding on.

Out to walk my doggie girls now and work in the yard most of the day.

Weekend at Sally's Part I

I drove to my dear friend, Sally's home in Watervliet, MI Wednesday afternoon for the long holiday weekend. I hit a lot of traffic from Dempsey through Jackson in Chicago. Caught the Skyway and breezed through the rest of the trip. Got to Sally's in time to celebrate her birthday with Amy and Jerry. We had a yummy dinner in Coloma and returned to Sally's where shortly afterwards Amy and Jerry went their separate ways back to Illinois. I'm glad I made it in time for dinner as it is always fun to see Amy and Jerry.



Thursday we hit the road. Stopped at an antique store in Watervliet and several stores in Benton Harbor. One was a great dollar store and the other a health food store. I wanted Sally to candle my ears that night. However, before these stores we found 2 quilt stores.


Carol's Cozy Cottage is outside of Benton Harbor, really in the country. It is even down a dirt road. It is very cute on the outside. However, it is small and she doesn't have a large selection of fabric at all. Maybe 30-50 bolts? She seems to cater to her church group or other church groups. But, it was nice and Carol is very friendly. I bought something to hand stitch while at Sally's and Sally bought a cute tea place mat kit. More on this in my next post.







Next we found Loving Stitches in Stevensville (?), MI. And, we found Holly - the awesome owner. Not only is it a quilt store, but Holly has a perfectly charming English cottage garden that people are free to explore and enjoy. Sally and I were amazed at the wandering paths and all of the different flowers.

Holly in front of her shop





When Sally and I walked into Holly's store there was a very young girl there, maybe 14 or 15, who Holly said was her daughter, Heather. I was surprised as Holly has over a dozen kits she made up for sale and all have been sewn and most were machine quilted by Heather. Also, on several of these quilts there was some with beautiful applique work, also done by either Holly or Heather. Sally and I oohed and ahhed over these samples. Holly has a very nice variety of fabrics, too.
Sally and me in Holly's garden



We got to talking with Holly (who is a lovely person) and in the course of conversation she showed us pictures of Heather quilting at age 5. In the photo album was a picture of a young woman on her wedding day. Turns out the young woman is Heather! Holly, with a twinkle in her eye, asked us how old we thought she was . I said 35-37 and Sally quickly agreed. I looked a little closer at her and thought to myself, "Well, maybe 42 at the most." Ha! Holly is 62! Yes, SIXTY-TWO. Sal and I were flabbergasted. Truthfully, this woman doesn't look older than 42 max. She has beautiful long blonde hair - all natural. And, Heather? Not a young teenager, but 25 years old and married!



Of course Sal and I asked Holly her secret to looking to young and beautiful. Holly said she never smoked, never drinks anything but milk, water, and fruit juices, eats healthy, loves to be outside, loves to golf and she keeps herself busy. She also has a great outlook on life, which is very evident.



Sally and I asked her about guilds and classes for Sally and Holly told us about a quilting guild and a group that meets at a nearby library.





When we got home Sally made us a wonderful dinner (she is just a great cook). We worked on my little lady project and later cut out all of the pieces for Sally's tea place mat.



It was a great day.

Plaque in Holly's garden

Plant ID Needed

I planted this pretty little plant a few years ago and forgot what it is? Does anyone know? It sits low on the ground and is almost a complete circle. It blooms now and turns darker green later in the year.

Here's a pic of the flowering Louisiana crab apple tree Phil bought me 4 years ago. It is loaded with blossoms and I should have taken the picture yesterday when the sun was shining. It is really lovely and smells sooooo good!

Dragonfly Miracles

Yesterday I looked out my back hallway window to check on Lucy Lou, who was sunning her old doggie bones in the late afternoon sun. I noticed something(s) flying and buzzing around my yard. I went outside and found dozens of dragonflies in the air.

It must just be the time of year. The dragonflies where the huge, double winged, green species. They were beautiful. Upon closer notice I could see little white insects also flying around, which were dinner for the dragonflies. The dragonflies darted, they hovered, they flew backward and I even saw one do a perfect triple somersault. Those poor little gnats didn’t stand a chance to these flying aces. The other amazing thing is that they basically stayed in my little yard. Occasionally one flew over into the neighbor’s yard, but flew back into mine again.

Dragonflies have held a special place in my heart ever since Phil gave me a beautiful dragonfly pendent (which he thought was a butterfly). They seem to be messengers for me (us) and when I see them I believe they bring good energy. You can check out their animal/insect totem by clicking here. There have been times in our relationship when I was worried about Phil or concerned about where we were headed and I would see a dragonfly and know that all would be well. And, it is.

I stood outside for a long time, smiling as the dragonflies zoomed all around me. Even Lucy Lou watched them, her ears pointed and alert. We both laughed with amazement, Lucy Lou with a silly doggie grin and me laughing at the thrill of all those dragonflies.. Phil was here and he came out for a while to watch them, too. It was truly an incredible sight to see and experience. I’m glad Phil experienced it with me.

In a short while they were gone.

Today I left work early (thank goodness for FMLA time) and went out to see my Dad. I got there early enough to feed him lunch, which the aides appreciate as they are always are busy at meal time. Afterwards I put a blanket on his lap and a hat on his head and Dad and I went out to enjoy a beautiful September day. I wheeled him all the way down to the Bark River, which runs through the property his health facility is on. We sat and watched the water flow, the birds fly and the trees move in the breeze. I knew Dad enjoyed being outside with me. There were dragonflies all along the banks of the river. Many different kinds, but none like the ones I had seen the night before in my own backyard.

I tried to show him the dragonflies, but I don't think he could move his head or eyes enough to see them. I told him about the beautiful experience I had with the dragonflies in my yard. His eyes flickered a little. His speech is almost incomprehensible, but he tried to talk. Maybe he understood. I'd like to think he did.

I hope when Dad passes it is on the wings of a dragonfly, the light creatures of the air.

How Does My Garden Grow?

Last winter looking out my windows at over 90+ inches of snow, I didn't think I would ever see green grass or my garden again.

Oh, me of little faith!

Here's a small sample of my lovely yard.