So Long Key West (Clermont, FL)

Before the end of February, we said good-bye to Key West.  Below are highlights of our winter outings since I never got around to posting them earlier.  

We have been spending the past month in central Florida enjoying the cooler nights and mornings.   As much as I enjoy warm winters in the Keys, I have to say I'm glad we decided to leave early.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park

Dry camping was more of a struggle this year due to record breaking heat all winter long.  We spent most of our dry camping days sitting with our cats outdoors in the shade.  Nights brought little relief from the heat and humidity which left a lot of the dry campers looking a little exhausted at times.  

After the winter most people in the north experienced, I am grateful for the warm winter and not having to experience the constant blizzards of ice and snow, but I am more than ready for a change of weather and full hook-ups.

We did manage a few outings.  We spent a couple of hours watching the Super Boat races, but even that became almost unbearable with no shade.  

A view of our 'hot spot'

After a couple of hours of sitting in direct sunlight, I started to worry about my Nikon.  The black casing started to flake off, so I tried using my body to keep it in the shade.  I'm happy to say the camera is working well.  At least the inside was not damaged.

Still, it was fun to watch the boats fly by.  I think they spent more time flying over the water than in it.

For my birthday in December, we spent the day downtown.  We walked the boardwalk looking for Tarpons along the way.

We checked out the marina for interesting yachts, sailboats...

and holiday decorations.

We had to stop for some Key Lime Pie and to try some different free key lime flavored samples such as nuts, cookies, and even dipping oils for breads.

Isn't this gorgeous?  This is the sitting area offered by Kermit's.

We walked all the way to Mallory Square to visit the shops and the Sculpture Garden.

Shipwreck Salvaging 

But, my favorite part of the day was visiting Hemingway's home.  Look at those paws!  The place was packed with visitors.  I am truly amazed with how mellow the cats can be with so many people trying to pet them.  I even saw one woman pushing a cat down to keep him from walking away.  He was struggling to get out from under her hands without a hint of wanting to fight back.  She stopped when she saw me looking at her and the cat just sauntered off with a twitch of his tail.

This one told me exactly what he thought of all the tourists:  "Talk to the paw, Lady.  I'm not interested in having my photo taken, so just move along."

Later in the year, we visited the Key West Botanical Garden.  I will never tire of visiting the gardens.  I took a lot of photos, so I decided to make a collage to keep this post from getting too long.

I was disappointed to see the old tree and arch fell during Hurricane Irma.  Photos below are from our visit in 2015.

2015

2015

Our last outing before we left was a drive up Hwy 1 to Bahia Honda State Park.  We walked around a little and checked out the campground.  This would be a nice place to stay for a couple of days with access to the Gulf  and ocean-side beaches within walking distance.  Maybe next time.

All in all, it was a good stay.  I finally got back into my walking routine.  I often started before sunrise when it was a wee bit cooler.  The best part was watching the birds.  I got quite a few shots of this Little Blue Heron catching his meal for the day.

Can't say that I find lizard appealing for lunch, but he seemed quite happy with his find for the day.

Dusty (our older cat) also thought lizards were a great catch.

He not only caught one, but he almost had the lizard in our coach before Dan caught him.  Surprised, Dusty dropped the lizard and yep, sure enough it was still alive and quite fast on disappearing under our car.  That was a close one.  Dusty never forgave us for making him give up his catch-of-the-day.

The Ibis were my favorite birds to watch with their funny walk and grunting sounds.

On my walks, I loved watching the Ibis cross a road.  They always cross the road in a single line.  I rarely saw two walking side-by-side.

We are starting our trip north.  Our plans were to visit family in Alabama and Oklahoma, then start heading towards Oregon by way of New Mexico and Nevada, but that got changed when we realized we needed to go back to South Dakota to renew our licenses.  Sooo, change of plans: after Oklahoma, we will drive directly north through the mid-west to Rapid City, SD then we will head to Oregon.

On The Cutting Board

Since my last post, I have signed up for four Craft sales.  I am finding that I enjoy it more because I can actually talk to people interested in my hobby.  

Sigsbee NAS

I also sold close to half of my inventory of mug rugs and quilts.  

Thousand Trails Orlando

But, no one has bought my Angel Bears.  I'm not sure why they are not selling.  Looks?  Price? or maybe because they are not a toy.  I would think an eight-year old would be all right with the bear.  Anyway, I'm hoping to find them a home in the near future.

Since I am no longer making items for my Etsy shop, I pulled out a lot of my UFOs.  I decided to start with my A to Zzzz Snowman quilt project.

Now that I can concentrate on one project at a time....

...Okay!  more than one project, but not as many as before.............

......This project is going a lot faster.  I'm actually on M for Mittens now.  

from our full hook-up site in January

One last shot of what it is like to sit outdoors with such a peaceful view of the ocean and palm trees while quilting.  What a life!

Happy Quilting!

Light, Colors, and Textures (Key West, FL)

We like to visit one of Key West's most beautiful gardens built by the Key West Garden Club inside the old West Martello Tower.  A Civil War fort that was never finished, but was used later during the Spanish American War, WWI and II.  

 

The link gives you a brief history about the fort and how the Garden Club became the owners.

What it doesn't mention is the amount of time and loving, yet back breaking work went into making this garden.  All the dirt had to be hauled in and distributed around the fort.  If you are in Key West, this is a must see.  There is no charge.  They only ask for donations.

One of the volunteers made a comment along the line that my camera would be like wearing blinders in the garden and to look at the whole garden not just the flowers.  He said this because we asked if Key West had a better floral season over the others.  The answer - all seasons are different, but just as good due to the mild climate changes so flowers bloom year round.

That one comment rather bothered me and it isn't the first time I have had someone say something similiar.  People seem to think the only way I view the world is through my camera lens.  That is so far from the truth. 

I tend to look at the world from many angles and quite often I don't have my camera when I'm doing it.  I also get a heck of a kink in my neck from all those odd angles and from whipping my head around to take in every thing around me while walking.

I do love to focus on the unusual textures, the light, and colors, but then I pan out my view to include the overall effect.

Sometimes, I just have to focus on that one tree to see the forest.

On The Cutting Board

I am making new covers for our living room's throw pillows.  I have been looking online for the past couple of years for a southwest applique design when I came across this pattern on Pinterest.  I followed the link to QuiltWoman.com.  I did not think twice about ordering this pattern.  It was exactly what I had been looking for!

There are some very small pieces, so I decided to do the needle-turn applique.  I'm marking the pieces as I go.

I bought the Fons&Porter hand applique needles just before we came to Key West from JoAnn Fabrics store.  This is the first time I have used them and they are the best....Ever!!  I plan to stock up on them when we go back to the main land.  They are so slim that they do tend to bend if I am not careful.

But that is the best part about them.  The needle is so slim that it just glides through layers of fabric and grabs the smallest part of an edge without fraying.  Can you see the difference?  The red is stitched with my old needle and the gold circle is stitched with the new slim needle.  Well, I can and the best part is how much easier it was to stitch with their applique needle.  I hear John James needles are very good too, so I might try them too.

I picked out four block patterns from the quilt: the horse, the wolf, the rabbit, and the bear.  It took me awhile to collect the perfect colored batiks from different stores to match our motorhome.  Did I mentioned I had been planning this for a couple of years?  Finally, it is coming together!

I'm loving this so much that I might have to make a wall hanging or a quilt....hmm, I wonder if I could turn one of blocks into a mug rug.  Well, something new to think about...
Happy Quilting!