Gator Country? (Clermont, FL)

When I think of central Florida, I think of Disney World and talking mice.  Not this time.  No, instead I find myself thinking and watching out for alligators and snakes.  

We are staying in a campground in Clermont, FL.  About 20 minutes away from Disney World. So far, I have not seen a single alligator in the campground's lake.  Although, we did hear a story about a woman finding one near her rig's doorstep one day.  Imagine stepping on that by mistake in the dark!

The only bad thing I have seen has been one big black snake high-tailing it for cover away from Dusty while I was shooing all the cats away from the bushes.  I gave them all a lecture to stay out of the woods and away from snakes.  Did they listen to me?...of course not, but I'm happy to say I have not seen another snake since then....well, not near our site anyway.

We see the Sandhill Cranes almost twice a day during our walks.  These two are smaller than I remember from our last visit.  They are about 3 feet tall.  They are not shy of humans and often walk right by us if we stand still.

It is starting to get very hot as we move into Hurricane Season.  I am starting to see the old pattern of a hot sunny mornings, dark threatening clouds by noon and sometimes a dump of big, not to mention, very cold rain drops.  By evening, the clouds have cleared for a cool evening.

We re-arranged our schedules to walk early in the morning and again late in the evening for cooler walks.  This is when I look for alligators, but they are staying well hidden.  Probably a good thing that they stay away from people, right?

On The Cutting Board

I usually like to spend my evenings sewing.  Now I am trying to get my sewing done in the afternoons.  I thought this would work out quite well for me.  For once I can sew without Max in my lap complaining about fabric and thread tickling him.  Ha!  He caught on real fast and started showing up in my chair by the third day.  There's no fooling him.

Begging puppy

 I finished all of the mug rugs.  Now, I just need to photograph, edit, and list them all.  That's a chore that I do not cherish, but I will be happy to have done.

Hello Friend!

 And Hooray!...I am finally listing the pictured mug rugs on Etsy.  But wait!  There's more!  Santas and Snowmen will soon be available!  :)

Wind-blown hair

Amazing!  I actually finished three Uncle Sams in time for the 4th of July this time.

and....3 Uncle Sams!

I'm making progress on my Hawaiian turtle block.  Batik is great for applique because it is so forgiving.  When I put a crease in and I can iron it right back out when I make a mistake.   So I was quite surprised that I find it is very hard to hand quilt through two layers of batik fabric plus muslin and batting.  I hope to finish it before we leave this area which is about 6+ weeks from now.

Time for some sewing....shhh, Max is in the back....if I am real quiet I might get in an hour before he realizes that he is missing out.....

Happy Quilting!

Strawberry Shortcake Festival (Summerdale, AL)

We left Livingston, TX last week and after 2 long days of traveling, we have settled at the Escapees park in Summerdale, AL.  We found out staying in Camping World's free overnight parking was very noisy.  It turns out they have people working all night long.

I'm beginning to think the rain is following us since we left Corpus Christi.  Either we are dealing with flash flood warnings or soggy sites.  We were going to stay for one week, but the weatherman says we are in for a week of rain, so we decided to extend our time for another week.  I'm hoping once this front passes us by, we will start seeing a little sunshine.

We went to the Baldwin County Strawberry Festival last weekend.  A good day to be outdoors with it being overcast and - Surprise! - one of the few days that we did not get rain.  Apparently, we were not the only ones that thought it would be a good idea to arrive early.  The park was already packed  by the time we got there by 11 am.

Of course, I could not pass up a fresh strawberry shortcake....sorry no photo!  I ate it before I even thought about a photo.  It was delicious!  Along with arts/crafts and food booths, they had a small carnival setup..........

along with a classic car show.

I took a lot of photos, but the slow internet has been too frustrating for downloading.

My favorite thing to do is people watch and there were plenty of people to watch.  Quite a few were styling like the two men below.

I kept seeing this young woman in the crowd walking in front of us.  I love her over boots.....or galoshes or wellingtons...anyway, I wanted to get a picture of them. She was on the move and disappeared quickly into the crowd, but not before I managed to get one blurry photo.   I think I have a weakness for polka dots, although I never wear them.  These were too cute!  

See, even the dogs were styling at the festival.  This one looks quite comfortable in his yellow slicker.

Apparently, someone was in a hurry for their strawberry shortcake and did not want to wait for the parking attendants at the intersection.  They tried to cross the ditch from the highway to the empty parking space next to us.  I wonder how often this happens during the festival?

We drove along the coast to Pensacola on Sunday.  We stopped at one of the Florida State parks along the way to stretch our legs and to renew our state park pass.

There were boardwalks every where inside this one park.  It must be hard to maintain so many miles of boardwalk between the weather, wildlife, and people wearing down the wood all the time.

On The Cutting Board

I finished embroidering 14 snowmen.  Between heavy rains and flash flood warnings keeping us indoors,  I have been focusing on hand embroidery for the last couple of weeks.  It might be springtime outside, but I am building snowmen indoors!

4th of July will be here before I know it, so I thought I would finish embroidering the three Uncle Sams before I start layering the snowmen.  I can do them all together.

Maybe...for once....I can actually have these guys done in time for someone to buy for the 4th.  I'm usually too late by a month or two.

So, back to sewing or maybe a quick walk before it starts raining again.
Happy Quilting!

Running to Catch Up (Las Vegas, NV)

I'm exhausted, but in a good way.  The last few days have been very busy, so I am going to get you caught up with what I have been doing.

Cruisin' The Strip

We cruised The Strip on our first night here.  So much to see all at once is an understatement.  I have whiplash from trying to see everything as we crept along The Strip.  Jam packed with buildings, people, lights, music, smells of food, huge advertising signs - it's another world that's for sure!

New York New York

Paris on The Strip

Easter Sunday

I hope everyone had a great weekend and Easter.  We went to Boulder Station for the Easter Brunch Buffet yesterday.  So much food, not to mention delicious!  We spent the next four hours walking around to different casinos to view gardens, fountains, and massive decorated hotel lobbies. 

I have so many photos to edit from our walking around yesterday and that is just day 1.  I'll be chained to the computer for awhile after this visit.  This photo is from the Bellagio's Conservatory.

Floral Camouflage 

I'll catch you up on Las Vegas later...

On the Cutting Board

Off the cutting board is more like it!  All three Uncle Sams are done!  WooHoo!   Kim was right.  I needed a break.  After a nice rest, I picked up one Uncle Sam and I could not stop working on them.  I will list one a day - starting today.  

So, I'm all caught up on my Etsy projects.  Time to start some new ones....hmmm

Thoughts on Pahrump

Our stay at Pair-a-Dice Skp Co-op was pleasant, but we did not find the area appealing.  People are friendly and very helpful.  Pahrump doesn't have much to offer except for a super Walmart, and a few small grocery stores.  I found the area a little too dry and not much to offer for my quilting needs...okay,  wants.  Not even a JoAnns or a bookstore.

Permanents with building between them

There is very little imagination going into the park so I did not take very many photos. The Co-op offers one cookie-cutter style building with two connected sheds.  They are all painted in similar colors.  No different designs or styles so there is no individual tastes except for what the owner does with the porch and the front yard.

view of shared building.  Front yard belongs to the other side.

The shared owners are parked on opposite sides with plenty of space for a large rig and their vehicle.  Hopefully, everyone likes their neighbor since they are sharing the building.  Each owner also gets a porch/patio and a front yard on the opposite sides facing the street.  There are quite a few permanents so less are available for travelers.

Patio and covered porch with front yard on our side.

Everyone looks for something different.  For us, our two favorites are Benson, AZ and The Ranch, NM.  We still have a few more to visit though so there's always a chance we will change our minds.

Oh! and last but definitely not least ~ 
I won a $50 Amazon card from Social Strand Media.  WooHoo!  All I had to do was follow them on Twitter then Tweet that I was following them.  I have been getting their newsletter for awhile now and I have learned a lot.  Social Strand Media advice is great for business and non-business bloggers.  They plan to have another contest on 20 April, so go visit Social Strand Media!

Whew!  I'm winded!  Have a great week!

Wild West Burros and Gunfights Oh My! (Pahrump, NV)

Yesterday was a travel day for us.  No fooling...okay, I had to get that in there for April Fools day.  I have to wonder who the first prankster and fool was to make such an impression to cause us to acknowledge a Fool's day.  Yea, I know.  I can Google it.

Anyway, we moved from Needles, CA to Pahrump, NV.  Before we left Needles, we went to Oatman, AZ.  A former gold mining town with shops and a couple of restaurants on Route 66 in the Black Mountains of Arizona.  A fun way to spend a quiet afternoon....hmmm....semi-quiet...well, you'll see what I mean as you scroll down.

We had a nice afternoon walking up and down the streets while eating ice cream from the Oatman Hotel and I took a few pictures along the way.

Old tractor parked near the street

Lots of wagon wheels

I thought the best part was the wild burros roaming around town looking for handouts.  The shops sell burro feed for a dollar.  The burros are descendants of the miner's burros turned loose when the mines closed down.  They are relatively tame, but I'm sure there have been some incidents since signs are posted to be careful around the burros.

This IS my good side

This is a photo of Olive Oatman - the town's namesake.  Inside the Oatman Hotel there is a photo and Olive's story.  I found her story to be very interesting and came home to do a little more research.  As usual, the stories vary so here's my summary of what I read:

Photo of Olive Oatman

During an Indian attack on their lone covered wagon, a young Olive and her sister were taken captive.  All of the Oatman family were killed except for one brother who survived a clubbing to his head.  Olive and her sister were later sold and adopted by the Mojave Indians.  Her sister died during their captive years.

Olive was traded back to U.S. soldiers when it was brought to their attention there was a white girl among the Mojaves.  She lived with her brother for several years while touring the country talking about the book written on her captivity.  Later, she married and lived the rest of her life in Texas.  Olive became the first tattooed white woman in America.

To me, it sounds like the "White" society had no problem accepting Olive despite her years in captivity and facial tattoos.  It is nice to know that our ancestors were more understanding than what Hollywood would have us believe.

We also watched a street show of the ol' West.....This is when the afternoon got a little noisy.  Some people jumped at the gun fire...okay, I jumped.  What can I say??  Anywaaaaay....

Old West Shoot Out Show

I was kneeling on the street while taking photos of the show.  I felt someone get close to me, but I didn't look up to see what they were doing.  Dan quietly said that I had a visitor and when I looked up......I saw the cutest burro trying to sniff my camera!  He left when he realized I had nothing to give him.

Pssst! Yo, got any apples?  Carrots?

A bunch of burros showed up after the first gun shot.  The warning shot must be like a dinner bell to them.  They know there will be the largest gathering of humans and food for them during the gunfight.  Oh, and none of them so much as flinched when the shots were fired.  Nerves of steel, I tell ya.

If the gun doesn't convince them to give money,
I'll help by convincing them with a kick, okay?

I thought this was a great ending to the show with all the burros and a stage coach showing up.  The stage coach stopped right next to us.  The driver asked us if anyone was killed and Dan answered "only one!".   Yup, great day!

Stage coach has arrived

On the Cutting Board

I think starting this project over was the best thing for me.  The applique work on this one is going so much faster.  I decided to pencil in the positions for each piece.  I made sure the markings were at least 1/8 of an inch inside the actual piece so all the pencil markings will be covered.  Because I marked the background ahead of time, I have saved a couple steps with a light box and trying to pin the piece in its proper spot.  

To me, this has been a lot less stressful.  With the light box, something was always slipping out of place which had me  pinning, re-pinning, re-checking, and re-positioning.  So my couple of steps could add up to a good 15 minutes of pinning and positioning before I was satisfied.

 My Uncle Sams are coming along....

Well, we are off to explore Pahrump, NV.  Catch you later!

Happy Quilting!

Learning From My Mistakes (Yuma, AZ)

On the Cutting Board

I'm almost done with the first of three Uncle Sam mug rugs.  Yesterday, a dust storm kept our errand running short, so I managed to get quite a bit done on this mug rug.

Oh, and remember the applique Art Nouveau that I posted recently?  I had to toss it out.  I must have missed two of the greens for pre-washing.  I was spraying out the water-based pen and ...you guessed it!...the green batik bled all over the white background!  Oh man!

Well, I'm starting from scratch.  A little discouraging, but I learned a lot while working on this first one, so I'll try not to make the same mistakes.  In the meantime, all the batiks will be getting a pre-wash before I start.

New Cat Box

Another recent mistake came to our attention when the cats recently started missing their litter box.  Talk about a pain to clean all the time. ugh!  We also noticed that Dusty would often wait until I pulled the larger box out from under the bathroom cabinet to be cleaned and use it. We thought he just wanted a clean box, but now we are thinking that he did not like the cramped space under the bathroom sink.  So, maybe it is time to make some changes for the cats.

We decided to find a larger box for them, but one that would not get in our way when sitting out in the living area.  Considering our small living space this wasn't going to be an easy shopping trip.  Surprise!  We found the perfect litter box at our first stop at PetSmart.

Thank you for the new kitty box!  I can see everything from here.

It is shaped to fit in a corner with a wide entrance and a tall ceiling.  Not to mention, it is big.  So big, I can put a 20 lb container of litter in the box and it barely gives them the three inches deep of litter.  The cats seem to like it especially Dusty, our largest cat.  I hope he feels a lot less cramped sitting in this one.

Hitch does know he can use the bottom level too.

Oh, and as far as cleaning up the cat urine, we are going to try Fizzion.  We caught a couple of shows called "My Cat From Hell" with a cat whisperer - Jackson Galaxy.  I found the show interesting to watch a spitting, very unsocialable cat become man's best cuddly friend.  Whew!  and we thought we had problems with Dusty missing the box.  He's just a pussycat compared to some of these troubled cats.

Anyway.... While watching one of the shows, Jackson said the only way to clean up cat urine was with CO2 Charged cleaner.  The only pet urine cleaner with CO2 that I could find on Google was Fizzion.

Our New Toy!

I rarely carried my cell phone because of bulk and I never used it.  A couple of calls to or from family was about it.

We received our new Droid Razors in the mail a couple of weeks ago and I'm carrying it all the time.  This is our first smart phone so we are slowly learning all this phone has to offer.  The best part is being able to find restaurants or stores while we are visiting a different town.  We try to look everything up on our laptops, but we can't always think of everything or always know where we will be when we get hungry.

I like having my Kindle books available along with iBird.  I used my phone to identify a couple of birds so far.  Pretty cool!  Yea, it's just the beginning of opening up a whole new world of technology....for me that is.

Bougainvillea

Happy Quilting!

Our Last Week at Patagonia

On The Cutting Board
I thought I would have a lot of free time to get caught up on my quilting projects.  Well, I was half right.  We are staying fairly busy, but not to the point that I am too tired to work a little on my projects.

I ironed together two rabbits and three Uncle Sams

And....I sewed all the feet and wings for all eight mug rugs.

Great Horned Owl
I can't believe how lucky I was to see this Great Horned Owl!  Visitors kept telling us about sighting them, but I wasn't finding a single one.  Every once in awhile, I would hear one hoot with no luck in locating the owl and now I can see why...

I was walking with a visitor and showing her some of my favorite spots for bird watching when a huge bird flew across the creek and landed in a tree.  Using my trusty 500mm lens, I was able to identify the big bird as a Great Horned Owl.  I explained to the visitor where I was looking.  Just as she spotted the owl, he flew away.

I groaned because I didn't get a very good picture and said "oh no, he flew away!"  The visitor said she was still looking at the owl.  I thought she was saying she saw where he had landed.  It turned out we were looking at two different Great Horned Owls!  And this one....was a LOT closer!   What a day!  I got my photos!

On the Road Again!

We leave the Preserve on Monday, 12 March.  We have plans to visit Bisbee, AZ before we go back to Benson for a week.  Then we are off to Yuma, AZ to check out another Escapees campground.  We are on the move once again!  Happy Trails!