Monday Meanderings 5 - 27 - 2024

Not a whole lot of stitching was done this week.  But I did get at least 15 minutes everyday.  Here's what I did get done on my goals list. 

5/20/24

✅Quilt and bind one of my quilts — quilted, binding to come later.

✅Finish the inside of the star quilt for VSQ — ready for 2 borders.

👎🏼Plan something for May UFO challenge — nope!  — nothing done. 

✅Cut out a quilt using the scattered forest animal print — done! 

👎🏼Pull out a block set and plan a top — nothing done. 

Here's a picture of the quilt I quilted...I don't think I showed it when I made the top a few weeks ago. (And yes, that is remarkably fast for me to quilt a top but I found that red and white polka dot fabric in the stash.) 

Several years ago I found this Knuffle Bunny fabric on sale.  Then I found Baby Goose from Villa Rosa. I actually changed the sizes of the flying geese because I had a Accuquilt die for the half square triangles. When I get it bound I'll share better pictures.

Next up my goals for this week.  

5/27/24

Make some placemats (3 -4)

Bind Knuffle Bunny quilt

Pull out a block set and plan a top

Quilt one of my quilts 

Sing in local community concert 

Look what I found last week! He's known as the white seed bug. And he is a real insect. You can read a little about him here. The biggest issue was he was in our sun room which is open to our living room and the rest of the house. Pat heroically caught him and put him out side. I've never seen one of these before all though they are suppose to be all over North America and South America. 

I've nicknamed him the Quilt Bug.  Nice red, black and white.  Hum, do you think I should make a bug quilt with him as the star? Aimee might like a quilt honoring this bug. 

On to Stitching Stuff. I succeeded for another 7 days with at least 15 minutes of stitching. Unfortunately not very many days bloomed into hours of sewing like they often do.  Maybe this week will have some 'blooming' days. 

Week ending 5/27 — 147 days in to 2024. 

• 15 minute days/week = 7/7 days
• 15 minute days/April =  26/26 days
• 15 minute days/2024 = 140/147 days
• Success rate = 95.2%

Here's why I didn't have as much sewing time this last week.

 

The Spotsylvanians sang the National Anthem at the Fred Nats baseball game Friday night. (I would be standing next to the gal in the red shirt except I took the picture.) Afterwards we were in a Sky Box and had a nice ball park meal. We'd invited some old friends to join us.  I have been friends with Barb since freshman year in high school.  We reestablished our friendship once I moved to the East Coast from the West Coast.  We get together a few times a year.  Barb and I chatted all during the game and have no idea what the guys talked about. But we both noticed they were talking just as much.  The night ended with some great fire works.  We were gone for about 5 hours due to the early call time so we could sing and then stayed until the fireworks were done. Pat and I were both exhausted. 

The next day we were meeting Kevin and family at the local Renaissance Faire which was about 30 minutes from home.  We were there for the very beginning where Queen Elizabeth I was welcomed to the town. I'm sure it is an honor to play the queen at these Faires but it was mid 80s by the middle of the day and people were sweating like crazy.  I loved her dress but I sure wouldn't want to wear it in that kind of weather.

Aimee and Ellie dressed the part but Theo only came with his sword and shield. (wooden, of course.) 

Kevin and family ran into traffic so we had some time to spare. We spent it listening to a flutist who was really wonderful.  Everything was improvised but was beautiful and calm.  I suggested Kevin get me her CD for Christmas.... I was just being helpful, eh? 

We spent some time at a field that was used for several events. (It had seating and was covered.)  Basically we saw some medieval style hand to hand combat with swords and long swords with men in armor. Several times the fights were stopped to determine points and to make sure the fighters were okay. Can you imagine how hot it got in the armor? 

Next up was some falconry.  There was a beautiful barn owl being shown. Unfortunately I didn't get a good photo of her.  Last up was jousting, again in metal armor.  I can't imagine how the people were holding up under that armor!  We lasted until a little past noon and then decided it was time to go home to hydrate, sleep, and read.  I enjoyed it a lot but the weekend had been pretty busy for people who tend to hang out at home a lot! 

Now to finish the last of our Costa Rica trip.  The last day was a doozy.  We said good bye to Kevin and family at 8 am.  They had an airplane to catch about 2:15 or so. Jen's family was staying in San Jose that night. And we were flying to Panama in the evening and then on to our local airport that night.  The rest of us left around 10:00 am or so.  

Time stamp on the photo says 8:00 sharp about a minute before they went. The distance between Monteverde and San Jose is a little less than 110 miles.  It should take about 2 hours and 40 minutes.  Do you know where this is going?  Yea. Reality hit. We were taking our time as we stopped along the road to get this beautiful picture.

We turned on our GPS and followed it down the mountain. Hum... twisty road and should be a 3 hour trip. Arrival time 1:23. 

We followed the GPS that suggested we take back roads. Sounded reasonable, so we did. This was the new route. We were all by ourselves so could make better time then just sitting in traffic. (Ha!)

There's the car mirror and a field.  No cars around. Just driving a little slowly as we didn't want any damage to the car driving on the dirt road. The picture below might look familiar -- it was the example of fences that grew into trees. Again, no cars in sight. 

We passed a stray house or two, lots of fields, roads going off through more fields. Except, eventually lots of people started down this same road.  There were spots where only 1 vehicle could get by.  Cars overheated.  

Anytime the road was only 1 car wide we waited until it was our turn. Or for oncoming traffic to go.  We also crossed a small river (creek?) And on, and on. 

We started getting family texts. Are you in a lot of traffic? Yes.  We just passed the oil tanks.  Oh — finally we are back on the paved road. It was a mess. I don’t remember what time it was when we hit the paved road and could drive at a reasonable speed.  I was very happy I didn’t have to go to the bathroom! We stopped for lunch and then headed to the airport. 

After turning in the car and going through security we were finally in the waiting area around 4 pm. Lucky for us our flight to Panama didn’t leave until about 6 pm.  Kevin didn't have as much luck.  They evidently made it to the gate but it had already closed. (Yea, about 5 to 6 hours to go what should have taken 3 hours or less!) They ended up finding a hotel with a swimming pool so I'm guessing the grands liked that. 

Here's what greeted us on the way to our gate.  Doesn't Pat look tired from the drive? 

We arrived back at our home at 6:00 am on Sunday morning. We were able to upgrade to business class so it was nicer than our original seats.  I slept for an hour or so although Pat didn't.  We landed at 3:40 am or so but it took a while to go through customs, grab our luggage, and walk to where the car was parked. Luckily there wasn't a lot of traffic on the drive home. I was totally worn out and fell asleep for several hours. 

I’ll end with my own happy plants.  Frequently when we travel I move my house plants into our shower. I use plastic pails and tubs to set them in.  Each tub has water in it to give the plants enough moisture to see them through our trip.  There’s a window that lets in light.  During this trip they seemed to thrive.  Some of the plants I have: fiddle leaf fig, peace lilies, Chinese money plant, jade plant, and a Thanksgiving Cactus. (Or at least that’s what I think it is.) (I originally planned to share this after all the flowers in Costa Rica. But my watering methodology did seem to work well.) 

We have no more travel plans so far.  Who knows when we might decide to travel next. 

I’m linking up to these parties: Stitching Stuff,  Oh Scrap, Design Wall Monday, and Monday Musings. I hope you can take some time to go check out these Linky Parties.  

Happy Quilting All! Bonnie