It Has Been One Of Those Weeks (Newport, OR)

Well, we managed to survive our four nights in the motel while our motorhome received its solar panels.  Now, we have plenty of power when we are dry camping. 

Solar panels being installed

Look at that innocent face.  Hard to believe that every night we were in the motel, this little guy turned into a banshee.  If the howling did not disturb us enough to please him, he would stand on my chest and nip at my chin or use his claws lightly on my cheek.  Just enough to make me roll over and cover my head.

Who me?

We packed up our cats and headed back to the coast.  This time we moved to Newport, OR.  All I can say is that I was very happy to be back in our motorhome and to get back to a normal routine with a couple of good nights of sleep, but little did we know that we were entering the SNAFU twilight zone this week.  It started with Dan falling off the ladder and landing on his bad ankle.  After four hours in ER, Dan has a sprained ankle with multiple fractures in his foot.  There's a chance he might need surgery to set the bones.  Hopefully, we will know more by the end of this coming week.

Shaun in Newport, OR

That was the beginning of a strange week for me.  After a sleepless night for both of us, I had to take the car to the Honda dealership to get the airbag recall replaced only to find out the part had not arrived.  So, I made another appointment for after Thanksgiving knowing our son Shaun would be here.

Wednesday, I was discovering mold growing on our wood panel walls and along the window frames.  About a quarter inch thick in some spots!   How fast does this stuff grow?  I have been using Lysol spray to kill the mold.  Usually I will spray some on a damp paper towel and saturate the area while cleaning away the mold, but the carpet in the corners also looked like it had mold so I started spraying the bedroom carpet.  The next thing we knew, an ear-piercing alarm sounded throughout our rig!  It was so loud that it was disorienting as to where the sound was coming from.  Not the smoke alarm.  We finally figured out it was the propane leak alert.  Wow!  There is no worry of ever sleeping through the motorhome's alarm system!

Yaquina Lighthouse

Thanksgiving day turned into a long one while waiting for Shaun.  He ran into very heavy holiday traffic and arrived after dark.  Which turned out to be a good thing because he noticed the dome light on in the car.  Yep, the light had been on since Tuesday when Dan had his accident and the battery was dead.  Lucky for us, Shaun had brought along a small car battery charger.  He had our car purring like a cat the next morning.

After dropping off the car, Shaun and I went to Yaquina Head Lighthouse to view the natural tidepools during low tide that I had checked the day before.  What I did not realize was that the tide wasn't going to be all that low and we could only walk the beach area.  At least, we had some beautiful weather and some gorgeous blue skies.

No tidepools today

The lighthouse did not open for a couple of hours, so I thought we would eat lunch at Izzy's while enjoying the view of the beach. OF course, it wasn't open!  We were too early because I miscalculated the low tide.  So, we ended up at Super Oscar's Mexican for burritos that were quite good and filling.  Just no view of the beach for Shaun and I to enjoy while we were eating.

Saturday was better despite the cold drizzle.  Shaun and I walked around the downtown area to view the marina,  and to see the sea lions.  The sea lions did not disappoint us with their entertaining barking 'move over' and 'stop moving, I'm trying to sleep here'.  Looks like they are quite happy with their new cement floats.  Beats the old wooden ones that were rotting away.

So, all in all, it has been a very strange week for us.  I can only hope that things will get better and Dan will not need surgery on his foot.  We will be leaving Newport early and heading back to Sutherlin for Dan's next appointment at the VA hospital in Roseburg.

On The Cutting Board

Before all the odd things started happening, I opened my shop with 21 new items with two of them being the quilts I showed in my last post.  Tis the season to find that unique gift, so I am hoping people will be stopping by my shop soon.

I have already mailed out four mug rugs since opening last Monday.

I hope the others will soon find a new home!

Well, time to catch up on my sleep so I have energy to do some more quilting.  It hasn't been that long, but I am already missing the touch of fabric and a needle in my hand.

Happy Quilting!

Miles of Walking and Photos (Newport, OR)

We were seeing more of the sun since we moved to Newport and we took full advantage of the warmer, not to mention, dryer weather.  Even the cats came out of the back to start soaking up some rays.  

Squirrel:  my sunshine

 Dusty kept telling us if it's sunny outside, it is time to for cats to go for a walk!  Of course today, the weather is cold with rain and heavy winds.  A good day for staying indoors.

Dusty

Our first walk was to go see the sea lions in Newport's Historic Bayfront area.  Not as many sea lions as there had been in the fall, but they were just as entertaining to watch.

Looks a little cold

warmth in numbers

We also went back to Yaquina Head Lighthouse.  This time we climbed the Communications hill behind the lighthouse for a different view and what a view!

 We could see for miles up and down the coast with blue skies and not a single rain cloud in sight.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Below is a view to the north of the lighthouse.  Can you see the cave in the rock on the left? It goes all the way through.  If the rocks were closer together, I could imagine it to be a great hiding spot....a smuggler's cove....arrrgh!

We watched a sea lion fishing in the water below us.  He ate quite a few not so small fish and then he caught what looked like a small shark.  It was too far away to tell what kind of fish it had been but I can tell you that sea lions have a big appetite!

This is a view to the south of the natural preserve area.

And below in a tidal pool:  Looks like the starfish like to keep each other company with the way they are all huddled together.  I can spend a lot of time watching tidal pools.

 Okay, one more of the lighthouse from below....

On another gorgeous day, we went for a walk around Nye Beach.  After walking the beach, we wandered through the downtown area checking out shop windows and reading some of the restaurants' posted menus. 

Pastries seem to be a very popular item here.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try something different so I got a strawberry with lavender scone.  I have had lavender cake in the past, so I was a little disappointed because I had a hard time tasting the lavender in the scone.  It was still delicious and I enjoyed every bite.

We walked up the hill to take a closer look at this piece of artwork called "Absence of Emptiness" with this sign below.

It is interesting to see what inspired the artist and what he did with his inspiration.

I'm not quite sure what the artist is saying.  Maybe someone can explain it to me.

One more photo of a lovely recycled angel and the last of our beautiful weather.

The angel is just like a quilt....Very scrappy!

Happy Quilting!

Not So Wordless Wednesday (Newport, OR)

The weather has been very cooperative so we have been spending more time outside taking long walks.  Here are some more photos from our walk on Ona State Park Beach.

Many of the small streams were now large creeks.  I'm glad I had on my boots!

Where the creek meets the sea

Pals - Black Oystercatcher and Seagull

We can only walk a little over 2 miles before we come to cliffs blocking our way.  The big rock to the left is the beginning of a bird nesting sanctuary with Seal Rock Beach on the other side.  The last time we were here, we had a seagull challenging us as we walked near his territory.  We did not stay long since he was looking very agitated and neither one of us wanted to be dive-bombed by a seagull.

Backside of the Seal Rock Beach

What a gorgeous day!  I hope to see a few more like this before we leave this area.  

When I have some spare time, I have been working on my new projects, but none have made much progress.  Probably because I'm trying to do too many at the same time.  Plus, I'm reading another good book by Susanna Kearsley that I am finding very hard to put down.  I'll have to look for this author on Audible.com so I can enjoy her books while working on my too many projects.

Happy Quilting!

Sea, Sand, Sun (Newport, OR)

We had a great first couple of days back in Newport.  The sun has been out with just a light breeze.  The best part - it wasn't too chilly for a walk on the beach.  

Ona Beach State Park 

We walked almost five miles yesterday and I am certainly feeling it today, but it was so nice to be outside with the sun warming our faces.  I hope we have blue skies for the next couple of days.

It is certainly nice to be on the move again even if it is back to a place we have been to several times before.  I'm looking forward to our travels to South Dakota.  It has been quite awhile since our last visit....five years to be exact.  Amazing how time flies.  In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy this gorgeous weather.

On The Cutting Board

We have full power....yipee!.... so I have been working my iron extra hard.  Lots of fabric to get ready for my new projects.  So far, I have cut out about 10 new Happy Camper mug rugss.  I'm transferring patterns for embroidery now.

I finished embroidering the last block for the All Creatures Great and Small quilt.  I started cutting the fat quarters and I am finding that quite a few of my fat quarters are so crooked that I am having a problem getting the exact amount of required pieces.  According to the instructions, each quarter would have given me 8 large pieces with 12 smaller ones with very little left over.  I will need to add a ninth fat quarter to make up for the lost pieces.

Well, I need to go hunt through my stash or maybe go shop for some matching fabric.....
Happy Quilting!

I'm Actually Busy! (Pacific City, OR)

On Th Cutting Board

All Right!  I finished my second custom order and within a week's time.  Of course, it helped that I already had the templates from the first one.  So, here's the finished Harvey J.

I like the deeper colors of the new one.  If you are wondering what I am going to do with the blotchy first one, I'm going to mail it with the other one.  It was almost done, so why let it go to waste?  Now the customer can hang one up and use the other one.

I have a new custom order for two new mug rugs.  This one is for "Travels with Emma".  Emma is the dog in the left-hand corner.  The blue is for the windows because Emma is going to be looking out the window.  This will be a new challenge for me.  So far, I have found some good samples of royalty-free cliparts of dogs that look similar to Emma and matching fabric.  I hope to get started on the mug rugs today.

 Today, I was on Facebook and there was another one of my mug rugs being advertised by Etsy!  This time I clicked on "Quilts on Etsy" and I was surprised it took me straight to my Vintage Trailer!  That is so cool!

Of course, this one sold already, but at least it is taking customers to my shop.  Thank you Etsy for the free advertisement!  All four of my Vintage Trailers have sold!  Which means I better get busy with making more mug rugs.

The following photos were taken at the Yaquina Lighthouse and the rocky beach area from Newport.  I'm glad I uploaded the following photos earlier this month.  I don't know if I could have done them while we are here in Pacific City.  I can't even get the link to the state park's website to share with you.  Oh well.

 

Anyway, we had a great time watching the harbor seals sunning on the rocks..

listening to the birds...and smelling them too...

exploring the tide pools....

and getting some great close-ups of sea life...

Even though I have seen this lighthouse a couple of times, I never tire of looking at it again or any of the other lighthouses that we have visited in the past.  They are so fascinating.

As much as I enjoy the rustic lifestyle, I'll be so happy to move next Monday to Seaside....back to civilization...back to cell phone service....back to WiFi....back to some kind of TV signal...Yes!  We are only spending two weeks at Seaside.  Before we head back to Pacific City, I do hope to get caught up with everything online.

Well, time to get back to work.  I have mug rugs to wrap up for mailing and a new custom order to get started.  Pinch me!  I can't believe I am this busy!  

Happy Quilting!