Looking An Alligator In The Eye (Key West, FL)

Well, not quite in the eye, but close enough to get some good photos using my telephoto lens.  On our way to Key West, we spent two nights at the Midway Campgrounds so we could spend the day exploring the area.  With 26 RV sites, we almost had the place to ourselves except for the one family that decided to park only two sites away from us.  

We visited the Oasis Visitor Center at the Big Cypress. just to view the alligators.  

There were only two close enough for us to see from the walk area.  

This guy was directly under us so I got some good close-ups of his leathery skin.

I'll never complain about dry skin again!

This is the second one.  The water was clear enough for us to see his legs floating in the water.  Perfectly still.....

Okay, back to Key West... We are enjoying our days in the sun by taking walks around the base, sitting outside with our cats, and watching the sunsets.  We have only been downtown a couple of times.  Between different celebrations, crowds, and too hot to walk, we decided we can wait until it is a little cooler.

We have rotated twice from full hook-ups to one night stays in dry camping. 

We have been very lucky with cold fronts cooling off the area just in time for our dry camping making for a perfect night's sleep with open windows. 

Since our arrival, the weather has been above average.  No complaints since I have been monitoring the weather in Sutherlin, OR.  It has been a wee bit chilly there.

We are trying to get our walks in early which is perfect for viewing all the wildlife.

The Ospreys have been busy building their nest.  Soon, we will be able to see little ones begging for food.

This Egret was up early looking for handouts and not having much luck.  

So, that's it for now.  Not a whole lot going on and yet, I go to bed every night feeling like I had a full day enjoying paradise.

On The Cutting Board
I guess I am doing more than just sitting around and watching sunsets. 

I am getting ready for the Yard and Crafts sale.  Hopefully, the MWR will schedule one in mid December.

Small Happy Campers $12 - $12.95

I have 25 new Happy Campers ready for my table in addition to my items listed in my shop.

Medium Happy Campers $14

I'm hoping to sell as many as possible before I need to list them online.

Large Happy Campers $14.95 - $15

While I wait, I decided to make three muslin bear angels with crazy quilted wings and bent halos, so back to sewing!

Happy Quilting!

Rainy Days and Rainy Nights (Foley, AL)

We left Texas last week and made it to Foley, AL in two days.  Our first day of travel was uneventful except for driving through pockets of rain.  The second day was more fun as we crossed through Louisana's waterways and many swamps.  I spotted two 2 alligators!   The highlight of my day!😁

We also crossed the Mississppi River.  As we were going over the bridge, I was reminded of Clive Cussler's Flood Tide.  The adventures in this book brings Dirk Pitt and Al Giordino to the Mississippi River to foil the evil genius.  It was fun trying to imagine the two men on a boat pretending to be local fishermen while an old cruise ship tries to sneak up the Mississippi.  Yea, I know.  Sounds a little over the top, but I do love reading all about Pitt's adventures and I love visiting locations featured in fictional books.

Mississippi River

 Our first day in Foley, AL was a trip to Florida's state park office to get a new pass.  We stopped at Orange Beach which was quite busy with the last vacationers before school started.  I have missed the white sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast.  The sand is soft and as fine as sugar grains that it squeaks if you drag your feet while walking.  Oh! And the big Turtle to the left offers free beach toys for the young visitors to borrow while they are on the beach.  It looks like the visitors are doing a great job of honoring the Turtle because the bin had quite a few toys in it.

Orange Beach, AL

A couple of days later, we visited the Foley Depot Museum & Model Train Exhibit.  The following are photos of the park.

With the look of rain coming our way, we decided to move inside to see the model trains. ☂

 

Below are some photos of the Model Train Exhibit.  The guide turned off the lights so we could see the town with all the night-lights on.  He told me that a group of men got together at one house and spent 14 months building this small, not to mentioned, very detailed town.  The town got so big that they had to cut it into pieces to get it out of the house.  A great place to bring everybody.  The kids were really enjoying the display with the lights off.

 Lots of moving parts.  The ferris wheel is going around while the drive-in behind it is playing a movie with Lucille Ball.

Towards the back, the Fireworks building is on fire.  The firefighters are trying to put it out. 

 My favorite part is the man trying to escape the bear.  According to the guide, the bear is protecting the moonshine still from the revenue guy.  🤣LOL!

And what train track doesn't have a Hobo camp?  Looks like they have found themselves a nice little camping site.

 They even have a list of Hobo Codes. The "Jail with good lodging" is a good one.

 But, my favorite one is the "Kind Lady" code!

Kitty!

Lots of rain in this area which hasn't cooled it off.  It is still hot and humid.  After seeing what is happening in other areas, I am quite happy to deal with this weather.

The fires and the floods seem to be getting worse.  If you are in the NW or the NE states, I hope you and your families are safe.

On The Cutting Board
I'm getting a few things done.  Well, sort of.  I'm not sure what is up with me lately.  I just want to work on a few things and then I put them aside for later.

I started an English Cottage garden themed for the Happy Campers.  I'm really loving the Hollyhocks.  I have actually found them relaxing to make and a joy to watch them grow.

I have finished embroidering quite a few of them, but this is as far as I have gone on them.

Now, I am working on a new ABC Animal quilt.  I'm on the 'B' now and should have the 'C' done soon.

Maybe once the weather cools off just a little, I will fill more like pulling out the sewing machine and getting all the UFO projects done.  In the meantime.....
Happy Quilting!

Spring Equinox (Sutherlin, OR)

Spring is here!....or almost here.  Either way, I'm ready to start celebrating spring by getting back on the road and doing some traveling.  We leave on Monday!  We will start with Eugene first before heading south.  Oh, did I mention that we have changed our travel plans?  Yep, the weather is not cooperating.  Instead of heading due east to Bend, we will head south.

On The Cutting Board

I decided to celebrate the beginning of Spring by making new Happy Campers with little gardens.  Only three designs so far.  I'm hoping they will be a big hit so I can make more.  I miss gardening and this is as close as I will be getting to having my own garden for quite a long time.  Best part with this kind of gardening - no backache or bruised knees.😎  I made a total of 13 Happy Campers, but only four have the garden theme.  I'm adding one a day to stretch out my new items in my Etsy shop

Since we were spending quite a bit of time at home while Dan was healing, I managed to make several quilt tops.  Below are six more quilt tops ready for their appliqué add-ons. 

I made two Sweet Pea's Garden tops in different colored sashings and borders.   A sweet pea vine will go up the side and across the top.

Below:  the one on the right is just a panel with a border added.  I have had this fabric for a long time because I could not cut it up.  I decided to just leave it whole with a border and add a couple of appliquéd animals.  The one on the left is a scrappy star quilt with dog printed fabric, so I'm adding a puppy appliqué design from "P.S. I Love You Two, A Sequel".   I'm think I will call this quilt Cosmos, The Star Puppy.  I might add some paw prints across the quilt as well.

The last two are fabric leftovers from the ABCs and the Sweet Pea's quilts using the Crazy 8 pattern.  I have two more tops still being sewed together.  I hope to have them done before we leave next week.  Including the Peek-a-boo Bear quilt that I showed in a previous post, the total comes to nine quilt tops since November.  That's if I finish the last two before Monday.

Sewing in the bedroom has definitely made a difference on my sewing time.  I'm amazed I was able to get so many done in such a short time.  Less distractions?  Maybe I should go figure it out...

Happy Quilting!

First Snowfall (Sutherlin, OR)

Two weeks ago I thought Spring was on its way with the flowers popping up and my allergies suddenly going out of control.

Our days were sunny and the temperatures were starting to rise.

Max soaking up the sun.

Then Winter decided it wasn't quite ready to leave us with a mild winter.  

We are finally getting much needed rain and snow.  

 Well, the snow isn't lasting, but it is nice to see it change the landscape around us for a short time.

The cats have not been too happy with the change in weather, but I'm sure this cold front will not last long.  It would be nice to have more rain before summer gets here.

Hitch is tired from being up all night.

Dan's foot is healing and he is back to walking on his own two feet without support.  Below is Dan's  itinerary for this year's travel plans:

  We have rough plans for the coming year. We will stay in the Sutherlin OR until 26 March for medical and dental appointments, then buy eight new motorhome tires locally (no sales tax in Oregon), and add one more 180 watt solar panel in Springfield OR.
  Weather over the Cascade passes permitting, we will move over to Bend OR on the east side of the Cascade mountains for a month or two.
  After that we will drift south through Nevada on back roads, into AZ spending around one month in Benson AZ near Tucson.
  After that into New Mexico to Texas. Several months in various places in east TX and motorhome work in Nacogdoches TX where our motorhome was built.
  After that towards FL, staying at several military bases in FL, perhaps Disney or Thousand Trails parks, and eventually to Key West FL for fall and winter.
  While this is somewhat backwards by moving towards hot weather for the summer months, it also puts us into low season in campgrounds for less crowding and more space/availability.

On The Cutting Board

While Dan was on crutches and space being limited in our motorhome, I decided to try sewing in our bedroom instead of using my 6x3 foot folding table in the living room which left no space for Dan to move around.  He had a hard enough time moving around without me hogging all the space.

There is no place to sit, but I do have a desk with enough floor space for my foot pedal and for me to turn around to the bed.  The desk has enough room for the sewing machine and the small cutting board if I am doing paper foundations.  The bed makes for an excellent place to lay out my quilt blocks...

....as long as the cats are not spread out across while sleeping.  The desk with the sewing machine is the perfect height for me to stand and sew.  I'm actually enjoying my new setup and the standing is easier on my back and neck.  I can move quickly from sewing to ironing in the kitchen.  Plus, I can leave my sewing sitting out while I eat lunch or take cats outside without worrying that my stuff is in Dan's way.

So, what have I been working on?  I have finished four quilt tops.  They are waiting to be appliquéd. For now, I'll show you my most recent project and will wait to show the others after they are appliquéd.  I found a cute baby pattern called Zoey's Quilt in one of my old Quiltmaker magazines.  I like it so much that I decided to make two of them.

Quiltmaker's All-Time Favorites Winter 2005 Zoey's Quilt

I thought this pattern would be perfect for the leftover fabrics I used in Sweet Pea's Garden quilt since the pattern has an appliquéd sweet pea vine growing up the side.  The appliqué will be a big project between the long vine with the leaves and sweet peas, not to mention, I will be doing this appliqué design twice.

Below is a photo of the first top.  In the second quilt, I will replace the dark blue sashings with dark pink and the yellow borders with aqua blue (in photo above).

 I also liked the way the top and side borders are wider than the other two borders.  It looks lopsided now, but when the vine is added it will be very cute.  

 I have also been working on more mug rugs for my Etsy shop.  I have not listed them yet since I am still working on the photos.

It has been a quiet month, but very productive for me and a well deserved rest for Dan.  Time for some more sewing!  

Happy Quilting!