Quilting Retreat

This was a wonderful time for me to be with all my daughters.

Diane made this great sewing bag. Above you can see it open. On the left you can see it closed. All the ladies were very impressed.

Donna helping Debbie with her quilt. Debbie is making the quilt for Sophie. That quilt makes a wonderful present for a first Granddaughter.

On the right, Diane is sewing the many strips that it took to make my quilt. My quilt is for a Queen-size bed.

Debbie working on her beautiful quilt for Sophie. Debbie came to the Retreat under "protest" but in this picture I see that she is smiling. I think she had a good time. All the ladies want her to come back.

This is a picture of Fabric Depot in Portland. The girls told me it was huge but I was not expecting how huge. We spent close to three hours before I could make the final decision on the materials I wanted.

I had an absolutely great time at the Retreat. The Retreat is on the Columbia River Gorge on the Oregon side. I enjoyed all the beautiful scenery. This was a very easy trip for me. We drove to the Retreat in Donna's car. Debbie was our official driver. This is the way I like to go on trips is in a car with someone driving me. I did fill Donna's tank a couple of times, which was well worth the price in the comfort of riding in a car.

The Retreat was in the conference room of the hotel we were staying at. We were right on the river and the view was wonderful from our window. Also the railroad tracks were right below our window. I cannot believe how many trains go by day and night. There were earplugs for you in the room. I didn't use mine. Actually I like a little light and noises at night. Sometimes I don't sleep too well when I am not home but I slept amazingly well.

We did not have to leave the hotel to eat. The gals who put on the retreat fixed the food and there were snacks all the time too. Saturday night we had a delicious Lasagna.

I had such a good time. It was so fun visiting with everyone and seeing all the beautiful quilts that were being made.

Donna took my quilt home to finish it.

I really had such a great time. I am hoping to go again.

Summer in March!

What a glorious day! Yesterday was nice but today was just like Summer. I took my book, my water, my sunblock and wore my big pink hat and just spent most of the afternoon in my deck chair. I do take breaks and move around. Our neighbor, Marylin, visited with me a few minutes. She and her husband just got back from a 17 day cruise through the Panama Canal. The pictures below is what I see from my deck chair.

I know today was just a sneak preview of warm weather to come. Now that Spring is here, Summer cannot be far behind, right!

S is for sun. U is for umbrella, beach umbrella that is. M is for Melon, Watermelon. M is for melon with Icecream. E is for easy living . R is for relaxing on warm days.

Put them altogether and they spell SUMMER! The best season of the whole year.

Spring is here with the usual pattern of strange weather

Out with the old and in with the new.

Spring is a great time because it will not be long before Summer.

I have managed to live through 82 winters. My first four winters were in Montana. I am glad I do not live there now.

I have not written on my blog for awhile. Yesterday was a beautiful first day of Spring. I took my camera out to the yard to catch a couple of signs of Spring and as you see I snapped these pictures of Daffodils. When we were in the house I always had Tulips, Daffodils and Hyacinths. Hyacinths smell so nice that I planted them near the front door. I miss having Rose bushes and flower beds but life changes and we have to accept changes. Our lives are continually changing all the time. The hybrid Yellow Roses are the easiest to grow in this part of the country. The bushes are easy to take care of and are resistant to most of the problems other bushes have. Actually you can grow any kind of Roses here if you want to baby them all the time.
I added a picture that I took of the kitchen on March 19, 2009. Just a reminder of how much has happened in just one year with the house. On April 18, 2009, I took a picture of the "new" kitchen. That was certainly a big spring project for Kent and Debbie. Erik helped on the kitchen too.

Snowing this afternoon-March 8, 2010

This is not a picture of today's snow. This is a picture taken on March 9, 2009 when we were waking up to a lot of snow days during the winter months.
The snow that is coming down now really doesn't look like it will amount to much. This is the first snow we have had here so far this winter. It is unbelievable how rapidly the weather can change.
Saturday was just an absolutely gorgeous day. Diane, Debbie, Donna and I all went to the Northwest Women's show. I really enjoyed it so much. Ann Rule, one of my favorite authors, was not there this year as she is recovering from a serious spinal infection. She is older than I thought. Debbie found out she is 74. Ann Rule used to be a detective for the Seattle Police Department. She mainly writes true crime stories. The stories are so well written you can hardly put her books down. Ann Rule at one time was a friend of Ted Bundy. You can read about that in her book entitled "The Stranger Beside Me".
I was glad to have the little outing Saturday. The crowds were smaller than last year and some of the booths that were there last year were not there this year. We still had a lot to see and free samples to enjoy. I always look forward to the Bone Density Screening. My bones are still good for my age so I feel good about that.