Saturday, May 30, 2020

Not much to say on this terrible night. 05-30-20

I don't have TV, but there are clips on the Internet about what is going on around the country.  I cannot do anything to help anyone, so I am just at home with KoKo.  Reading and sewing and behaving myself!  While KoKo watches out the window for the invasion of the mailman.  So, I have nothing to post tonight.  Maybe tomorrow will be a better day. 


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To Pacific Grove, CA, and back to Placentia, CA 05-29-20

The trip to Pacific Grove was a really fast one.  Up one day and home the next.  Perhaps more than this old lady can do anymore. In the future  I think I need to plan more rest time between two long drives.  I chose to drive up on Hwy 101 along the Pacific Ocean and to come back through the inland valley on I-5.  A nice loop that I have driven many times before, but separated by stays in Pacific Grove or San Juan Bautista.  

North of Santa Barbara there was fog over the ocean and hamging over the highway.  No delay, but I couldn't see the blue ocean except for a few glimpses. 
This is one spot where I caught a lucky shot. Nothing out there for thousands of miles. 




Hwy 101 switches from freeway to surface in the blink of an eye.  There are always signs indicating what the designation is, but you can also tell when you see farm equipment moving along in the lanes.  Not on a freeway!


This is the same picture I showed earlier, but it is such a great shot and it contrasts with the next image.  This is looking east from 101 where there are miles of low hills, some with cattle, some just grass covered vacant land. 

But the railroad runs along the valley and brings signs of the big city.  Lots of graffiti on the low freight cars stopped along the way.  

And then I was in Pacific Grove where I stayed at the nice Centrella B&B which is about a block and a half from Back Porch Fabrics.  It is an old house (1893, I think) and the décor is in keeping with that era.  I have stayed there previously and it is quite comfortable and convenient to the main part of town. 

They have interesting plants in their landscaping including a bush that produces these pendulous flowers.  I can't remember their name, but they grew them in Portland when I was growing up there.  

Along a picket fence these nasturtiums were peeking out, like colorful prisoners trying to escape. 

And along the road that follows Monterey Bay there are carpets of ice plant.  This house has it instead of lawn. 


The color is wrong in this image, the flowers are much pinker. There used to be  great fields of the ice plant along the water, but it is not native and most has been removed and replaced with native plants in keeping with the state parks of California rules. 

It was a gorgeous day with just a slight breeze and there were hundreds of people out enjoying the sunshine.  Didn't see any masks or social distancing.   There were vehicles parked bumper to bumper on both sides of the road. 

The water was quite calm and the tide was high as I was driving along.  My intent was to drive through Asilomar, but access was blocked off.  Of course, it is a California State Park and therefore closed due to the virus.  So, I drove back along the Bay and headed north and then east. 

And then over Pacheco Pass along the San Luis Reservoir. 


The reservoir has many fingers that go to into the surrounding hills.  At some time since it was constructed the water rose to the level of the top of the darker area.   Not for a lot of years now.

The hills are covered with the grass which is yellow-white most of the year.  The green trees are live oaks that are native to the area. 

On the opposite side of the road from the reservoir the hills are fenced and there are many fire breaks cut into the soil.  They do have fires that run for miles through the dry grass.  With the closeness of the roadway I suspect a lot are cigarettes thrown out of car windows.  Dumb.  

Soon I was on I-5 heading south for another four hours or so.  I did stop at Harris Ranch thinking I would rest for a half an hour or so, but it was 103F and I wasn't tired enough to sleep.  Arrived home about 8:30pm and waited until the next day to pick up KoKo from the KoKo Keepers.  They enjoy him and he always seems happy to be there.  But happier at home, I think.  I'm going back into isolation.  Who knows what I might have picked up on my journey.  
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Thursday, May 28, 2020

Just a brief note. 05-28-20


I apologize, I am just so tired tonight I need to get to bed.  Yesterday at Back Porch Fabrics we took down the 32 quilts from the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection that have been hanging since early February.  Not many people were able to see them because the Virus shut everything down.  Back Porch opened May 4th and there is another exhibit lined up to be hung tomorrow.  So, I drove up on Tuesday on Hwy 101, an easy drive in lovely weather and light traffic.  Of course, there were those construction zones, but since there weren't that many travelers there was only slow down, no delay.  Spent the night at the Centrella, a B&B right down the street from Back Porch Fabrics, and we started taking down the quilts at 10am.  It is always sooo much faster to take them down than to hang them.  We were done in about an hour and a half and the quilts were in the car.  I drove along Monterey Bay to Asilomar and was surprised that the entrance had barriers.  Of course, it is a state park and they are still closed in California.  So, back along the Bay with many, many people walking, riding, sitting running, etc.  So much sunshine and all that lovely blue and white surf.  Then I just headed home.  I thought I could stop if I got tired, but I just kept driving.  It was 103F at Harris Ranch on I-5 near Coalinga, CA, where I took a break.  Then just go, go, go until I was home about 8:30pm.  Really too late to get KoKo from the KoKo Keeper and my legs were shaking from the two days of driving.  I slept ten hours!  10!  Of course, I got up a couple times, but was able to slip right off again.  Today has been busy and I did not get a chance to edit any pictures.  It is on the top of my list for tomorrow.  KoKo is home so he can keep the chill off tonight, I hadn't realize how much he keeps me warm, I needed a quilt last night.  




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Tuesday, May 26, 2020

On the road again 05-26-20

Today I drove up Hwy 101 to Pacific Grove to spend the night and tomorrow I will help take down the TCQC quilts at Back Porch Fabrics.  Gail Abeloe will quickly hang a display of quilts by the ladies who work in the shop and some customers, I believe.  The quilts come down MUCH faster than they go up and Gail does all the ladder climbing.  

It was rather an easy drive today with mostly light traffic and only a few construction delays.  It seemed the traffic going south was much heavier than the northbound lanes, but I can't imagine why that would be.  The scenery was great, a little fog along the cost north of Santa Barbara, but nothing to delay traffic.  I have some good photos, but I am too tired to edit and post tonight.  Here are two views of the blonde grass that covers the hillsides.  Lovely contrast with the very green crops growing on the flat land.  



Same picture with different orientation. 

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Sunday, May 24, 2020

Still isolating 05-24-20

I have completed 66 Little House blocks and set three aside to provide space for the palm trees.  I still think two more trees are needed.  Although they are displayed here in a horizonal arrangement the finished piece will be vertical. And there will probably be a minimal border.  I am moving the blocks around to get a better distribution of color. 


Little Striped Houses - in progress. 

With the bag of scraps open on the floor by the cutting table I couldn't help but notice all the green pieces and I was inspired to create a fused background for some future quilt. It is only 14" square and I am picturing a spreading tree fused to the background.   The method I use is to cut a backing piece of fabric and fuse on a layer of WonderUnder.  I peel off the paper and lay the strips on the fusible, pinning as necessary to keep them in place.  After a few rows I heat up the dry iron and fuse what I have done, then continue to add pieces and fusing sections until all the backing piece is covered.  There are some very skinny pieces to cover what might show of the backing fabric.   It is sort of like doing a jigsaw puzzle and since it is on my cutting table which I pass whenever I go to the bathroom I can't help but stop and add a piece or two.  It is very addicting for me.  

Yesterday I met a friend in Oceanside for lunch!!  It was a momentous occasion since neither of us has been out for lunch since the Virus appeared in February.  We went to the Rosewood on Mission just west of Ditmer.  They are not seating inside, but have an area fenced off in front with tables and chairs.  Our food came in takeout boxes, but was just a delicious as the last time we ate there - inside on actual plates.   I recommend this for a lunch in Oceanside.  

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