Rock In The Glen (Glenrock, WY)

We are leaving Glenrock and moving tomorrow to Hot Springs, SD.  We are moving to the US Army Corp of Engineers - Cold Brook Lake Recreation Area.  It's been a long couple of days with a round trip to Hot Springs on Friday, making a decision to leave our present jobs, and finishing up the rest of our work week.

 Of course, it doesn't help that I haven't slept well for a couple of nights in a row thanks to thunderstorms, noisy neighbors, and a restless cat.  I have a feeling that will not be a problem tonight.  I am very tired.

You know I must be tired if I haven't touched a single project in several days, so I'll show you photos from Rock in the Glen park.

  I thought I better show you some of the photos I took before we leave the area.

A couple of weeks ago, Dan and I went for a walk around the Rock in the Glen where many settlers along with Kit Carson stopped to rest and left their names in the sand rock.  We did not find the names.

I like the rock's surface.  It is very unusual.  

Deer watching us

We did some exploring and climbed to the top to get a lovely view of the area when we realized we were being watched by a deer right below us.

small tree big root

We came across several trees growing in the cracks in the rock.

colorful lichen

Lots of colorful lichen and beautiful wildflowers.

Okay, so I need to finish packing.  I'm looking forward to moving to Hot Springs.  Lots of photo ops of the town and the local area.  Soooo....Happy Trails!

Quilts For The Summer (Glenrock, WY)

We had a small group of American Goldfinches stop by yesterday.  I will be able to do a little bird watching here.  I watched two Red-tailed hawks chase off a Bald Eagle down by the river.  It was one of those moments when I wish I had my camera.  Then again, it happened so fast, I'm not sure I would have been able to get a good shot of the fight.

On a different day, there were three Bald Eagles doing large slow circles over the campground, up the river, and over the town.  They did this several times while I was outside with the cats.  You can bet I kept my eye on them when they were over the campground.

Doesn't this dried out Yucca pod have some interesting texture?  I was tempted to pick a few, but what would I do with them?  I decided a photo was a better idea.  Best to leave them alone and let Mother Nature do her thing.  Besides, the cats would have chewed them to pieces.

On The Cutting Board

I took a break from making Happy Campers since the interest in them has slowed down.  Time to get these quilts in my shop.

Scrappy Sunbonnet Babies

This time, I decided to pre-wash all my finished lap quilts.  All the photos are after being washed.

Jungle Stars

I thought washing all the quilts might help anyone who is worrying about how well my quilts will hold up to washing.  Colors did not run.  My applique's and sewing did not fall apart.  My quilts are made to be used.

Travelers!

 Now that the weather is starting to get sunny with less wind, I got some good photos of all of them.

Summer Siesta

 I changed the names on some of the quilts with the hope that it will attract more views in Etsy.

Spring Fantasy

So, I have six quilts listed my Etsy shop.

The Penguin's Snowball Dance

Oh!...I almost forgot....and one new wall hanging...

Bad Kitty's Welcome

Dan is working some long hours helping out the owner meet his deadline.  They are trying to get four full hook-up sites in by mid-June.  In the meantime, I am off until Friday...soooooo, I think I'll get out my scrap bags and get a little sewing done.
Happy Quilting!

Under the Rainbow (Glenrock, WY)

We have been getting a thunderstorm every afternoon.  Most of them pass by us along the mountain ridge, but not on this day.  The storm came through with high winds, hail, rain, and two rainbows.  For some reason, my camera did not pick up the second rainbow.  It was an interesting sight to see with the black sky, the sunshine, and the rainbows.  Maybe we will see more rainbows.

On The Cutting Board

I'm starting on some new projects.  The Welcome wall hanging has been waiting for me to work on it.

Actually, I have three ready to work on, but I have been too busy with the mug rugs.  I love this yellow checkered background.  It has a very sunny feeling to it.

I have also started working on two new mug rugs.  For some reason, I am in a maroon and tan color mood.  I'm still deciding what kind of flowers and stitches I want to use so I started working on the second one while I give it some thought.

I have five of the seven Happy Campers left in my Etsy shop.  The names are linked to my shop if you are interested in one of them.
Happy Camper 21
Happy Camper 22
I can't say which one I like best.  I like the petite french knot flowers and the crooked windows in both of the ones above.
 Happy Camper 23
I was going for more of a zen feel on the pink one above by adding bamboo, wisteria, and a wind chime.
Happy Camper 24
Happy Camper 25
The last two are just fun with their whimsical flowers and colors.
Happy Quilting!

A Good Day for Snow (Glenrock, WY)

Dan has been working since we arrived while I have spent most of my time working inside our motorhome.  I did a little spring cleaning.  I'm waiting for warmer weather so I can open the windows and do some major cleaning.  Nothing like fresh air to get me in the mood for a good spring cleaning.

On Sunday, Dan had a snow day.  He was happy for a break.  He is enjoying his new job, but he is not use to the labor work every day.  This is probably the first time since we started full-timing that we were happy to have snow.  It snowed all day.  I'm not use to seeing the wind blowing so hard that the snow came in sideways, but it didn't stick.  Even the snow on the car did not stay long.  We heard that south of Casper got quite a few inches.  Talk about a late spring, eh?

Quilt Trip: A Southern Quilting Mystery by Elizabeth Craig

Another good quilting mystery!  This time Meadow talks Beatrice into crashing a meeting for appointing a guild to establish a quilting scholarship by an eccentric and very despised matron.  It doesn't bother Meadow at all that her guild was not invited or that the meeting is up a lonely mountain road or that it is in the middle of winter and it is snowing.  Oh, did I mention that no one knows where they are going?  Now, there's a lesson learned.

This has the shades of Agatha Christie when the invited and yes, the uninvited guild members are stranded at the matron's old Victorian home with no power, no heat, very little food, no cell phone reception (Oh No!), and a body.

Beatrice immediately takes over when she realizes the person did not die naturally and starts to investigate the stranded quilters.  Keep in mind, they are also stranded with a killer with a motive or is she just crazy and likes to kill?  This gives us a chance to meet more strange a quirky characters that I feel Ms. Craig has become quite good at creating.

I like the story, but there was more investigating and less quilting.  When Beatrice started interviewing each suspect like a police officer, I found myself starting to skim the pages.  I prefer the accidental conversations people have with the sleuth and the sleuth starts putting the puzzle pieces together instead of an actual investigation.  There is some quilting because all the quilters except for Beatrice came with traveling quilt packs.  Now, that is some well prepared quilters!
If you are a cozy murder mystery reader, I'm sure you will enjoy reading this book.

On The Cutting Board

I haven't started working yet.  I was suppose to start this Thursday, but I was told yesterday that I would not be needed for another week.  I get the feeling that they need Dan's muscles more than they need another office person.  Maybe they will let me paint some picnic tables...

Anyway, with Dan outside most of the day, I'm taking advantage of my unscheduled free time to get more Happy Campers done.  I wanted to get more tops done before I start assembling them on the sewing machine.

I can't stop coming up with new ideas.  I barely finish one and I have another idea of what I would do different the next time.  Since I don't want to change the one I'm working on, I go back to the drawing board to sketch out my ideas before I forget.  Then, I want to start on the new idea to see if it is going to work out.....and before I know it I have six tops, but none finished.

A sneak peek of the one I'm working on now.

Well, I finally had to put my foot down...yes, my own foot down on myself......and I told myself that this is enough. Yea, I don't always listen to myself.

If I can stop making new ones, I want to have the six above ready for the sewing machine by this weekend.  I haven't done a single buttonhole stitch to tack down the fused fabric on any of them.  Hopefully, I will get them listed sometime next week.

Happy Quilting!

Our New Summer Home (Glenrock, WY)

We settled into our new site on Tuesday.  We will be here until September.  This campground is brand new.  So new, that they are still building sites with full hook-ups. 

Casper Mountains with snow

Right now, there are only 10 sites and all are filled with natural gas construction workers.  NG has brought a small business boom to the area for the next two years.

view from office

This also means the place is very quiet during the weekdays except for the construction work going on around us.  The owners are doing most of the work themselves with Dan's help. He started work yesterday.  Lots for him to do!  I will start working in the office next week.

side yard view - owner's home

The other workcampers have cancelled out.  So, it will be just Dan and I as workcampers.  The owners will get some extra help from one construction worker and one of the wives.  So far, everyone is super friendly which is a double-plus in my book.

side yard view to the back

 I'm not much of a water person.  I prefer to soak up the sun and read then to be cold and wet.  I don't think I'll be spending much time on or in the river especially on a paddle board!....brrrr!

North Platte River

I have a feeling that I am going to have a hard time finding outdoor subjects to photograph this summer.  I hear they have a variety of wildlife coming through like deer, eagles, turkeys, and Canada geese.  Maybe, I'll get lucky and get some shots of them when they stop in for a visit.

Across from the river, but not seen from the campground

I'm a little worried about having no shade this summer.  I wanted to warm up, but I don't want to be roasted either.  We are really exposed to all the elements here.  I'm told that the wind blows everyday.  I guess I won't be spending much time sewing outside if that turns out to be true.

On The Cutting Board

So, I'm staying indoors and with the extra time, I am busy sewing.  I finished embroidering three more Happy Campers.  

I think I'll do a couple of more before I actually start sewing them together.

Happy Quilting!