The last 63 hours

Friday, October 15
6 AM: I woke in time to get in a run and some weight lifting in the hotel gym before my first school visit. Trying to run at 10,000 feet above sea level when you ordinarily live at 1,000 feet above sea level is quite a challenge. It took me 12 minutes to run a mile because I had to keep slowing down to a walk to breathe. Oh well, it is the thought that counts, right?


8:30 AM: I'm at my first school, starting my presentation and one girl in the front cuddles up with a friend and closes her eyes to take a nap. I stopped mid-sentence and said, "Don't go to sleep; that is rude," and then continued on with my presentation. Little twit! They were some of the rudest kids, as a group, that I've ever encountered. Ugh!



10:25 AM: Even though my next school visit was scheduled for 10 AM, and I was there 5 minutes early, the counselor didn't come get me until 10:25. Just in time, too, because I had told myself that I was leaving at 10:30 - c'mon, do you know how far I traveled to get there!?! Show a little respect! So I shouldn't have been surprised by the kids' lack of respect when I finally got to see them, since the counselor was so lax. They were eating, doing homework, talking amongst themselves; I couldn't wait to get out of there. I have a feeling I'll be cutting those two schools in the future - nowhere else do I experience such rudeness.


12:00 PM: My flight from Quito to Atlanta doesn't leave until 11:30 PM, so I ask my driver to take me somewhere I can try some typical Ecuadorian food. I can definitely say it is not my favorite type of food, although I do love that avacados are so pleniful there. Here's an example: I try the soup. It is passable. I recognize potato and onion and, "oh, what's this?" I ask. I thought perhaps it was calamari, because that is kinda how it was cut. Think again, it is pig intestines. "I'm full; let's be on our way, shall we?" Yeech!

2:00 PM: Since I have so much time to kill, I have the driver take me to Papallacta, a small town about 40 miles outside of Quito, known for its hot, natural, mineral springs. $7.00 gets me admission to a series of tiled pools. I tried them all, but spent most of my time in this one, the hottest and therefore my favorite.

5:00 PM: I'm paying the driver by the hour, so I have him drop me at the airport where I can kill time before my flight for free. It turns out, I couldn't even check in until 8:30, so I spent 3.5 hours just sitting in the lobby reading. And then, when I do check in and go through security, you KNOW what happens (read my last post if you missed it). Not the most pleasant 6.5 hours I've ever spent.

Saturday, October 16

1:30 PM: I'm finally back in Lexington, VA after 2 long, miserable, uncomfortable flights and a two-hour maintenance delay tacked onto my 3.5 hour layover in Atlanta. I was so glad to see my family, and the screech of joy the boys let out when they saw me was the loveliest ear-splitting noise I've ever heard.

8:00 PM: I'm finally back home. We couldn't come home once I picked the boys up from their father at the gym because there was a cub scouts cookout at 3 PM followed by a fundraising event at the elementary school at 6:30 PM and we wouldn't have had time to come home and go back out again. I am a walking zombie, but I am proud that I stayed awake through reading the boys a bedtime story.

9:30 PM: I'm showered with a fresh (home bathroom) haircut and swept floors. I crawl into bed with a book thinking I'm going to stay awake until my husband gets home from basketball practice. Think again.

Sunday, October 17

9:30 AM: I can't remember the last time I slept for 12 hours, but I feel great! I spend the next 3 hours cleaning house and doing laundry and unpacking, then spend a few hours outside with the boys enjoying a spectacular fall day. I'm so glad to be home!

9:30 PM: After a wonderful day, which included some belly laughs as the boys decide to give yoga a try,

I'm ready to head down to my sewing room. This week's goals include:

• 2 more Dresden Plates prepared for Wednesday's trip to Atlanta and this weekend's wedding festivities
• Finish sewing together the rows for the scrappy lap quilt currently on the design wall
• Sandwich and baste my great-great-grandmother's quilt. I'd love to have that one done by Christmas

What do YOU have planned for this week?

Me robaron!!!

When they took my tiny sewing scissors in Costa Rica, I wasn't so upset, even though I've traveled with those very same scissors for years; after all, I had my backup thread cutter medallion. But now they have gone too far! I'm in Quito, flying Delta, and they removed EVERY SINGLE basting pin in the tablerunner I'm (still) quilting, took two packs of quilting betweens, and all my flower head pins that I've been using to hold my Dresden Plate blocks together!

I have been traveling with sewing supplies for years, and the only thing anyone ever objected to before was scissors. This is outrageous! I have 10 and a half hours of travel before I get home, and I can't even sew! Argh!

(Actually, I had a pretty good day today, which I will share when I get home. Right now, though, I am just seeing red. I never thought of those pins and needles as weapons, but oh, what I was tempted to do to the security guy with them!!!)

Greetings from the middle of the world!

Quito, Ecuador. I'm in my third time zone in a week. What day is it? What time is it? Yawn!! But before I retire here (loving the rose - nice touch),

I thought I'd share my purchases from today. After I arrived in Quito this afternoon, I walked to the Mercado Artenesal. I love the place, and could spend hours and mucho dinero there. But I was good. Kinda.

For me, a necklace and a hat.

Up for grabs for giveaway winners and/or officemates and/or my mom and sisters, (and you know I'll be keeping a little something for myself),

a zippered, lined bag,

a scarf/shawl that I had a terrible time trying to photograph,

a table scarf, although I must say, I like the way it looks draped over the bed,

a bunch of earrings made mostly from seeds and nuts and wood (a weakness of mine in case you hadn't noticed),

and some artwork made from leaves and bark and whatnot which reminded me of applique

Check out the detail of the flowers

Anyway, giveaway winners, I'm probably done making purchases. I hope you see something that you like either in this entry, or this one from Costa Rica or on this one or this one from Mexico. If so, let me know your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice in an email or comment, and I'll pop your winnings in the mail to you when I get back to the States. Thanks for hanging in there with me on this trip.

Now, off to bed so I'll be ready for tomorrow's school visits...

Costa Rica

I left Mexico on Sunday morning, early. Too early. When I arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica, it was still only 10 AM. I came to my hotel, played on the internet until it was late enough to eat lunch, ate, sat reading by the pool for a while soaking up the Costa Rican sunshine, then came up to the room to take a nap. I spent the rest of the night in my room (you KNOW I was tired if I missed dinner!), watching TV, doing some work on the computer, appliqueing my second plaid Dresden Plate.


Monday morning, I had to leave the hotel at 6:30 AM in order to make it to my first school visit on time. How lovely to have a driver to deal with the traffic! I sat up front and practiced my halting Spanish with him all day as he drove me around the city. Did you know that they don't have actual addresses in Costa Rica? The addresses are like "200 meters north and 300 meters south of the catholic church". Can you imagine being a foreigner trying to find your way around here?


Anyway, Monday was a long day - I didn't get back to the hotel until 7:30 PM. It was all work except a quick brunch at a small corner restaurant eating a typical Costa Rican dish, gallo pinto con huevos revueltos (rice and beans with scrambled eggs). Isn't this the cutest little place with the colorful walls, the hanging bunches of onions and plantains, the coffee bags covering the ceiling? And the food was GREAT!



Today there was a bit of time between some school visits, so my driver took me to the Sr. y Sra. Ese Souvenir factory and store where they make and sell wooden souvenirs from some of the fantastic exotic wood found in Costa Rica. Of course I had to pick up a couple trinkets, wooden earrings,

a little wooden painted lizard,

and a wooden hotpad(?).

There were so many cool things there, just not many that I could 1) afford and 2) fit in my luggage. Exhibit A - this awesome carved bull's head.

This evening, I'm lounging in my room, watching TV, sewing, reading, catching up on blogs, and generally just relaxing prior to tomorrow morning's flight to Ecuador. I'm still having fun, but I SO miss my family!!

I love tequila!

Remember when I posted yesterday that I was a bit tipsy? Today I am sloshed! If what I have to say makes no sense, please blame it on the tequila. I swear to you, I only drink one of two times a year, only when I am traveling and with friends and not responsible for my children. Today, I let loose!

We had a 4 hour college fair today. 4 hours standing behind a table saying the same thing over and over again. 3 hours is torture. 4 hours is unimaginable. But salvation came in the last hour when a girl approached me and asked tentatively, "Um, do you have a twin sister who is a guidance counselor at a high school in Western Massachusetts?" My answer, of course, was "Yes!" How is it that I met a girl IN MEXICO for whom my twin sister had been her guidance counselor two years ago? It's a small world, after all...

After the fair, I hit the executive lounge in the hotel for some free hors d'oerves. I'm loving my upgrade!!!I get free laundry service, so I sent my gym clothes off to be laundered this morning (I've been hitting the gym for a mile run and and upper body free-wight circuit while abroad), and lo and bhold, they are back in my room wrapped in a cute package - free of course. Then, my two new professional friends, Lisa and Leticia, joined me on my adventure taking the Metro to a place to buy traditional Mexican dress. Jackpot! I bought this dress

and this shirt. Loving them both!

I also bought a small woolen bag in autumn colors with a butterfly on it.

When we returned, there was a reception for all us college counselor folks and the bar was serving a drink called a Paloma (dove). Lemon juice, tequila and Squirt (grapefruit soda). It is my new favorite drink, and I drank them down like lemondade, and didn't notice until I stood up that I was drunk, having drunk more than I have since before I graduated from college 17 years ago. My wake up call is in 5 hours for my flight to Costa Rica, so I'm not sure tomorrow morning is going to be all that pleasant, but boy did I have fun hanging out with the girls this afternoon and evening!

And before you think I have spent all my waking hours in a cup of tequila, I did finish one Dresden Plate block, and started in on number 2.

And guess what I forgot to share with you all? Remember my string quilt that I sent away to be quilted last February,

only to have the quilter disappear off the face of the planet? Well, she's back, and she contacted me on Thursday to get my mailing address to send my quilt back to me. Yay!

OK, must go. My cheeks are numb and my eyes can hardly stay open. I hope to catch up on blogs when I get to San Jose tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, ciao!

Greetings from Mexico City!!

I'm not going to lie to you - I'm a tad bit tipsy. I just drank a frozen tamarindo margarita the size of a toilet bowl. Oh, that sounds gross. Maybe the size of a fish bowl. Not much better. Let's just say the bowl of the glass was about the size of my head. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

I arrived in Mexico City Thursday night at about 8 PM. An hour and a half later, I was through customs and the longest taxi line I have seen in life, and on my way to the JW Marriott. For some reason unbeknownst to me, I was upgraded upon arrival, so I'm staying on the Executive Level on the 23rd floor where everything is free. No joke. I can have two items of clothes pressed each day within one hour - free. I can have 5 articles of clothing laundered every day - free. Wi fi, free. I have access to the Executive Lounge with free food and drink at all hours - I'm nursing a coffee right now, hoping to counteract some of my tequila buzz. And get this, I can have fresh hot coffee and all the fixings, including real cream, delivered to my room each morning at a time that I specify - FREE! I am being royally spoiled right now.

But that is good because you need something to make up for the HOURS spent in traffic. I presented 2 sessions at the American School Foundation this morning, then sat in traffic for hours getting to an Education USA event, then sat in traffic some more on the way back to the hotel. I didn't even go to my room - I made a beeline for the Executive Lounge and poured myself a hefty glass of Merlot and snacked on the hor's d'oerves.

Then I got together with some other college counselors and set off in search of some Mexican goodies - after all, I have a giveaway to start collecting goodies for. Speaking of that, according to one of the online random number generators, the winners of the giveaway are:

#23 - Rachel, who said, "Oh Erin, you ARE a busy girl. Your adventures wear me out haha. Love the photo of your adorable nephew on that beautiful quilt. I agree - that is why we do this!
Have a great trip. You deserve some fun...and a rest!"

#18 - ShelleyK, who said, "I bought a house ~7 months ago. The only room that I got around to painting was my guest room - with a Central American theme! I've been to Guatemala and El Salvador, so I've sworn to only fill the room with authentic artwork - whether it be colorful paintings or woven fabrics. I would absolutely LOVE another piece to put in there! By the way, I don't comment often, but love following your blog. Your quilts really get me in the sewing mood."
and

#20 - Debbie, who said, "I hope you have a safe and uneventful trip. I don't comment often but I do enjoy reading your blog. I have even checked out some of your reading suggestions from my local library. I would love to entered into your giveaway."

So, ladies, congratulations, and be sure to stay tuned to see what treasures I find in my travels. Not too much today, because of all the time spent in the bus, but I did find some drink stirrers with red and green chiles on top, and some typical colorful paintings on parchement-like paper.

I've just arrived back at the hotel after a late dinner with an alum from the university where I work who wants to be involved in spreading the word about Washington & Lee University in Mexico. He is a delightful young man, and I had a great time talking with him. Plus, he took me to a wonderful traditional Mexican restaurant with fantastic food (I had fish tacos - yum!), a live mariachi band, and drinks the size of toilet bowls. But we've covered that already, haven't we?

Tomorrow afternoon, after the college fair, I am hoping to hop on the subway back to Templo Mayor, where I visited 2 years ago during my last visit to Mexico City, to look for some traditional local crafts. Then, early Sunday morning it is off to San Jose, Costa Rica. But for now, it is off to bed for me. Despite my reservations about all the unrest in Mexico right now, I've been having a great time. Here's hoping the rest of the week goes as well!

Checklist

As I prepare to leave for this trip to Latin America, I keep noticing little ways in which my little guys are growing up, and I fret about what I will miss while I am gone. Donald seems to incorporate more and more sophisticated words in his vocabulary every day - he doesn't sound like a little kid anymore. And he has moved into his own room and has been busily setting about making it his own space. Jason is running for Student Council Secretary (because 3rd graders can't run for President) and spent last night working on his campaign speech. This weekend he is headed to New York City with his grandmom to do A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM at the Natural History Museum. I hate to miss any of this!

However, duty calls. (For all of you misguided folks who thought this was a pleasure trip - NOPE! I'll be working or traveling every day, including Saturday and Sunday. I'll try include some fun stuff in there to share with all of you - and to get my mind off the fact that I am working every darned day!)

I need lists to keep me on task as I prepare for this trip abroad (my plane leaves in 4 hours). Unfortunately, the list shows me how much I have yet to do. The truth is, some of it just isn't going to get done!

Prepare some Dresden Plate blocks to applique onto backgrounds on this trip - check!

Finish another color word - YELLOW (W really threw me for a loop!) - check!

Stock up on books and PlayAway audio books for this trip - check!

Catch up on laundry and recycling so my family doesn't have to deal with it in my absence - check!

Help the kids clean their rooms so their Daddy won't throw away all their toys while I am gone - check!

Clean the fish bowl - check!

Prepare presentation for Friday's conference in Mexico City - nope

Edit scholarship market letters for this year that were supposed to have been mailed already - nope

Make travel arrangements for prospective students to visit campus next month - nope

Finish project for Board of Trustees meeting later this month - nope

Pack for this trip - other than my quilting and reading materials, nope

I'd better get cracking! (You can kinda see where my priorities lie, though, can't you?) Next time you hear from me, I'll be somewhere exotic...stay tuned! And be sure to leave a comment on my last post by midnight EST tonight if you want to be entered in the giveaway for a mystery gift from my travels.