More coming home 04-09-09

After we left Tulare Liz and I were so tired and sleepy we had to pull off the road and have a nap under some trees in a parking lot. We left the A/C on and had the doors locked, so we went off to dreamland for almost an hour! I rarely ever get sleepy when I am driving and when I recognize I am a danger to myself and others I 'do the right thing'. Boy, does that sound pompous! But you get it, right? I never got out my camera until we were heading up the grapevine and it was quite late in the day.

So the wildflowers were rather dimmed. A much better, brighter image is at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:GormanCAwildflowers.jpg

If you click on the photos to enlarge them you will see more detail. In this one there is a bright pink orchard at bottom center. The altitude here is about 4500 feet so it is still early spring. The orchards along I-5 have long ago lost all their blooms.

As we got further along the clouds moved in and it looked like it might rain - it didn't. Far off we could see one hill glowing in sunlight, but clouds were moving quickly to cover it.

We stopped for gas at an Arco station I discovered on my last trip - off of Hwy 210 at Roxford. We decided to explore the access road going west and finally ended up in a business area where I saw this building. It looks like something left over from the 1940s!

Coming Home 04-09-09

These four pictures were taken while Liz and I were driving home from Tulare, CA., today. There are not as many wildflowers as we expected, but the hillsides going over the Ridge Route do look as those thin layers of paint have been laid over the green. I have to say I am so tired I keep falling asleep while I am trying to compute. So, enjoy these views and tomorrow (Friday) I will try to tell you something about our trip and the lovely ladies at the Valley Oak Quilt Guild.

Through the narrowest section of the Grapevine.

Gorman at the top of the hill - I-5.

Paintbox colors

Showing quilts 04-07-09

As always when I am getting ready to go on a trip, I'm running around like a chicken with its tail on fire. I get worse every year. But Liz and I will be ready to leave tomorrow afternoon to head to Tulare, CA, so that I can give a program for the Valley Oaks Quilters Guild. Since we set this up last April one would expect me to be all ready - NOT. I take about thirty quilts, of all sizes, from TCQC, hang a few on quilt hanging racks and have helpers on stage to show the rest. I have stopped taking the really large quilts - they just weigh too much. And I have quite a few 12x12 that are not effective held up on the stage, so I put those out on a table and remind everyone to keep their refreshments away. This trip won't be as much fun as I thought because I could not get the Lexus back from the dealer today - as they promised! They are putting a coating on the outside to help protect the paint from the hot California sun and those darn seagulls in LBeach. They say I can have it by noon tomorrow, but that gives me less than an hour to get everything loaded. I'm too old - I have to load a little bit at a time. So, we will take the van. Liz was the first passenger in the van eleven years ago and I thought she should be the first in the Lexus. But she will have to wait.

No blog post tomorrow night, but I'll be home sometime on Thursday and hope to have some new photos to share.

Finally..... 04-06-09

A new-to-me vehicle. I have a tendency to drive my cars forever, unless a husband forces me to switch. Since there is no husband I have driven the Dodge Caravan for eleven years and the previous car, a Chevy Citation, for eighteen years. And I only gave it up because the transmission went out and my mechanic couldn't find even used transmission in a wrecking yard. Guess it was time,eh? I do love my vehicles - they are like comfortable old sweaters. However, the van has 219,000 miles and I worry about getting stuck out in the wilderness some place. My mechanic reminds me that even new cars can break down, but I think the chances are less than with a car of eleven years and all those highway miles. And the days when I could temporarily fix some problems with a screwdriver, a pair of pliers and a roll of duct tape are long gone.

This is a 2005 Lexus RX330 - a midsized SUV. Everyone has heard me talking about a Chrysler Town & Country for six or seven years. But I found that they only come in one length - long. If I parked one in my garage I would have to back it out in order to do the laundry or to get the mail out of the mail drop. More than I could handle at this stage of life.

I thought about the quietest cars I have driven and/or ridden in and thought I would check out a Lexus. When I drove one I could never tell if it was running or not - very quiet. I visited several different dealers, who were all so HAPPY to serve me, and I ended up at Tustin Lexus where I found this 2005 model in the perfect color. I'm not much of a bargainer and I suppose if I had taken a GUY with me he would have gotten a better price. I can only think that this "previously owned" car with all the bells and whistles is a little less than a brand new Town and Country with only a few perks.

I took these pictures in LBeach at Corky's house and think this one is interesting with the palm trees reflected on the hood.

This is a closer approximation of the color - maybe not quite so gold, but close. The one thing I miss already is the sliding doors on each side to provide access to the second seat. Of course, it will take months to get all the buttons and switches and touch pads and.... in my head. I may have to make a cheat sheet to refer to! My previous two cars had the shift on the steering column, but this car has it on the floor with the wipers on the steering column - so I wash the windows every time I try to shift. I find it irritating, but everyone else finds it hilarious - and I guess it is. I need to get up to speed so I can drive to Ohio in May - with the cheat sheet, of course.

This quilt started it all. 04-06-09

"Straight Furrow Log Cabin" Judy Mathieson 1985

20"W x 14"L

This is the quilt that lit the collecting bug in me. The first time I bid in an auction, the first quilt I ever purchased and the first one I hung on the wall (except my own pitiful creations). At the time Judy lived in the San Fernando Valley and belonged to a QGuild which held an auction along with their QShow. Quilt auctions were not very common then and people wondered if it would go over with those who attended the QShow. I don't know how much they made from their auction, but they wrung every penny out of me. I was bidding against someone who wanted this piece as much as I did, but she had her husband along and he finally put his foot down. I carried the quilt home, hung it on my wall and it has been there most of the last twenty years. I do take it down to vacuum and let it rest for a month or so, but it goes back on the wall and remains one of my most favorite quilts. It is also one of a very few hand quilted pieces in the TCQC.

In the last 20+ years Judy has become a well-known quilt maker, author, teacher and THE expert on intricate stars. I think it is interesting to see something she made early in her quilting career. The color combination is wonderful and the raw silk absorbs the light, creating a visual depth and richness of color not possible in fibers that reflect the light.

See Judy's website http://www.judymathieson.com/