Whirlwind! (and a giveaway)

Let's go back to Friday. Because of all the rain in Philly, the two schools I was supposed to visit were closed. Luckily, one of the counselors informed me of this the night before so I didn't get up early to be thwarted by locked doors and empty classrooms. Instead, I spent some more quality time with my sister and nephew. How rewarding to visit her where I get to sleep under a quilt that I made and see my nephew on his quilt and wearing a bib I made him. THAT is why I quilt - to see my creations in loving use.

On my way back to Virginia, I stopped in to see my old neighbors. Unfortunately, the husband's alzheimers is so bad that he is in a special unit and the wife, my quilting buddy, is living alone in a room in the assisted living facility. I miss them so much, not just them being my neighbors, but them also being the vibrant, energetic, independent people they used to be. My friend and I went out for a nice late lunch/early dinner, and then I rushed the rest of the way home to pick up my boys for one last time at the drive-in movies this season. (Incidentally, on Sunday, there was a membership meeting at the drive-in, and it turns out I volunteered 14 times this summer - wow! I had no idea!)

Ideally, Saturday should have been a day of rest. Ha! You know better! We started the day with karate testing - Jason and I got our brown belts and Donald got his yellow belt. (and my husband failed his photography test)

My mom came over to watch/support us, and we all went out for lunch together before she headed back over the mountain, and I headed home to my sewing room. I want to get some Dresden Plates ready to take on my next trip with me. However, wouldn't you know it, my machine started acting up! I took it apart, cleaned it, fiddled with the tension, and finally got it working, but by then it was time to leave. Argh!

Off we went to a cub scout campout. It was loads of fun, but I was super tired, so I jumped at the chance to sneak off to bed when I noticed Donald falling asleep around the campfire.

This campout was LIGHT YEARS better than the last one - an air mattress makes a HUGE difference!

On Sunday, I finally made some headway in the sewing room, but not with the Dresden Plates. I cut up a strip of yellow to make centers for some log cabin blocks, and started piecing some scrappy log cabins. I added another column to the scrappy lap quilt I started two weeks ago. And I made this drawstring backpack for Donald to keep his karate uniform in.

It is made from another old t-shirt that I never wore, with the reverse applique D, the top edge and the lining made from fabric from my stash - I'm not just busting fabric stash, I'm busting T-shirt stash, too!

Right now, I'd love to catch up on all the blogs I've been missing these past few weeks, but I need some sleep. Today was another lunatic day with work, karate, grocery shopping, checking on the painting job at our rental property and all the every day activities that make up living and loving a family and pets. I wonder if I can convince my husband that he wants to massage some of the tension out of my shoulders...

But before I sign off, I noticed that I've passed 200 posts. I'm not sure I have anything to give away that anyone would want BUT I am headed to Mexico, Costa Rica and Ecuador starting this Thursday. I would LOVE a reason to go shopping. How about a giveaway? I don't know what the prize(s) will be yet, but they will be from one or more of those three countries. Leave a comment by midnight Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, October 7th to be entered, and I will choose a winner (or two, or three) to be the recipient of some of the booty I am sure to find in the "mercados artesenales" that I am sure to visit! I am happy to ship anywhere in the world. Be sure to leave a way for me to contact you.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who reads my rambling posts about my adventures in quilting and child-rearing and life, in general. The connections I make with the people I "meet" through blogs bring me comfort and give me hope in a world that I find harder and harder to understand.