Turkey? No Thank You! (Sutherlin, OR)

Happy Thanksgiving!  Gosh, it is that time again.  Time to gather around the turkey with friends and family.  This year will be different for Dan and I.  I won't be cooking a turkey or eating it.  In May, we changed our diets to all vegetarian.  We changed our diets for health reasons and I can say we have a lot to be thankful for this year.  I feel better than I did at the age of 40.  Less creaks in the joints, less headaches, more energy, and I lost 15 lbs (Dan lost double the weight).  I really did not think I could change my diet.  The big surprise for me - I don't miss my old ways of eating.

It's still cold here, but not as bad as places

This doesn't mean we will be missing all the festivities.  We plan to join our new RV park friends for a thanksgiving dinner.  I plan to make a big dish of brown rice stuffing with carrots, celery, mushrooms, and almonds.  I'm sure we will have no problem finding other dishes to eat.  This will be the first time since our son was four that I did not spend two days preparing our thanksgiving dinner and I have to admit - I am enjoying the freedom!

Hitch:  yea, sure, I remember you

Speaking of our son, Shaun left yesterday.  We had a great time visiting with him.  The cats seemed happy to see him too. Although, they did not come right out and say so.  Always playing the cool cat attitude.

Shaun is officially "moved' to his new home in Everett, WA.  I'm positive that he will be happy living in Washington State.  He loves to hike and camp.  Not to mention, there will be plenty of new places for him to explore from Canada to Northern California.  I wish him all the best on his new adventure.

On The Cutting Board

After Shaun left yesterday, I received a package from one of our friends and a quilter.  It is a John Flynn quilting frame.  I have never used one, but I'm willing to give it a try.  I have slowed down on my free-form quilting because it is hard on my back and shoulders.  I'm hoping this frame will make the quilting a lot easier.  Storage will not be a problem since the frame breaks down.  The three arms fit in my closet and the rest goes into an overhead compartment.    It is so sweet of her to give this to me when she decided to upgrade to a longarm machine.  As soon as I get some PVC, I plan to start practicing with my new frame.  Christmas came early this year!

I'm running a little late with this post because I really wanted to go shopping in Eugene today.  We spent most of the day going from one store to another.  I needed to do some shopping at Trader Joe's and since I was there and loaded with coupons....I might as well do some shopping at Joann Fabric Store too.  

I wanted to get some fabric for this embroidery project from "All Creatures Great & Small" by Natalie Bird that I have been working on for over a year...or is it closer to two?  Anyway, I am almost done with the embroidery blocks and I was a little worried about finding fabric that would match the threads.  The more I thought about it, the more I worried.

Eh, I worried for no reason.  I took some of the blocks for comparing colors and this is what I found.  They are quite a bit brighter and yet, they seem to go well with the embroidered blocks.  I plan to split up the embroidered blocks into two smaller quilts instead of making one large one.  Hopefully, I bought enough fabric for both quilts.

 With a new quilt frame to try and a beautiful pile of fabrics to use....I am very motivated!
Happy Quilting!

Summer Days (Tucson, AZ)

I feel like summer has just started.  I actually pulled out my t-shirts and capris.  So nice to wear light-weigh summer clothing even if it is just for a little while.  I hear Patagonia is getting down to the low 50s at night....darn.  Oh well.

We have been busy this week doing a lot of shopping.  Stocking up for our winter stay at the preserve.  Of course, we can drive back to Tucson anytime, but we prefer not to do that very often.  

I did a shopping trip to Joann's during the Columbus Day.  So many items on sale for 50% off really made it hard for me to stay on course with my shopping list.  My main item was to buy a new OttLite bulb that usually goes for $34.99.  Pricey, but I have had this one bulb for over 6 years.  Not to mention, it has saved my eyesight. Lucky for me, Joann's had it for half price!  Yea!  I also stocked up on batting and a few other quilt-y items....okay and some fabric.

I also stopped by Trader Joe's and stocked up on a few staples like my favorite peanut butter, almond milk, and a variety of nuts.  We have also made trips to Walmart (of course), Target, and grocery shopping.  I am enjoying the warmer weather so much that I made some Quinoa Tabouli with fresh parsley for a quick snack.  Delicious! 

1/2 cup Quinoa

1 1/2 cup parsley

1 cucumber

3 medium tomatoes

1/3 chopped green onions

2 tsp. dry mint

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 - 1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. ground pepper

On The Cutting Board

During the last couple of weeks of travel, I have been keeping myself entertained with embroidering a new project from "All Creatures Great and Small" by Natalie Bird.  Aren't they adorable?  They are so tiny (4.5x7in) that I can finish one block within two days.  Once I have finished all of the blocks, I will add them to a quilt. 

Owl and the Pussycat

Elephants

Goldfish

Oh, and I do plan to start working on some more Snowmen soon

The Devil's Puzzle: A Someday Quilts Mystery by Clare O'Donohue


I finished the last of the Someday Quilts Mystery series.  I hope Clare plans to write more.  I really enjoyed the quilt talking as well as the murder mystery.  This time Nell has been volunteered to organize a quilt show during Archer Rest's anniversary celebration.  I thought this can get quite interesting since I have never seen behind the scenes of preparing for a quilt show.  Even though it was fun to read, there wasn't a lot of detail on the setup.  I did like the visions of quilts hanging from the store fronts.  Sounds familiar, doesn't it Sisters?

Of course, having a body dug up in her grandmother, Eleanor's backyard was a big distraction.  I actually found this mystery a little slow compared to the previous books.  I think part of it was that Nell wasn't fighting with the Chief of Police and she did not seem very interested in solving the case.

I did finish it and I did enjoy the story.  Most of all, I loved a couple of things Claire wrote about quilters and quilting.  Here are my two favorite quotes:  "It is our meditation, our therapy, and our connection to the soul."   "We are all joined by a love of needle and thread, by the usefulness and the beauty of a quilt, and by the friendships that form because of it."
Happy Quilting!