The Ladies of Gold Coast Quilters 09-24-16

Mary Lou Weidman is always taking pictures of her audience, which seems like a nice thing to do.  So, last Wednesday I took pictures of the ladies at my presentation of TCQC quilts.  And here they are.  Such a friendly, welcoming, appreciative audience.  The first two pictures are of their Block of the Month which seems to be a variation of the cut nine-patch - this is cut diagonally. 

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Friday Feet 09-23-16

 

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Wordless Wednesday on a Thursday 09-22-16

 

(Acadia Nat'l Park, Maine)

Statistics on Maine trip 09-19-16

Part of taking a Road Trip are the statistics, so if you are ho-hum about them skip this post!

From Placentia to Schoodic Institute/Acadia Nat'l Park, Maine  3861 miles
From Schoodic Institute/Acadia Nat'l Park, Maine to Placentia 3556 miles   Why the difference?  Well, I drove around the Park and that part of Maine for about 150 miles.  And I came home a different way that I drove out.  Total miles: 7417
 
Outward I took the 91 Fwy to I-15 to I-70 in Utah then east to Columbus, Ohio.  North on I-71 to Cleveland, and the east on I-90 to Portland, ME, and various small highways to Acadia Nat'l Park.  Schoodic is actually a separate part of the park on a penninsula slightly northeast.
Returning I drove the opposite way on the same roads, did not take a detour to see Ruth McDowell in MA, until I arrived in Limon, CO.  Then SW on US 24 to Colorado Springs to pick up I-25 south to Albuquerque, NM.   From there it is I-40 all the way to Barstow, CA. where I was back on I-15 and thence home.

This was not a sightseeing trip and I only stopped at two quilt shops and the New England Quilt Museum  (for a total expenditure of $214.94 for gifts and fabric)

I ate out twice. First at The Painted Pony in St George, Utah, where I enjoyed a meal on a previous trip and again on this one.  And at the Marriott in Portland, ME, on the advice of AAA and it was good advice - perfectly cooked salmon.  Other than that I ate from my small ice chest which I restocked periodically with stops at grocery stores and gleanings from the "free" breakfast at the motels I stayed at. .

Motel cost:  $2078.69 for 15 nights.  Comes to $138.58/night which is less than the estimated $150.  With the exception of one night at Comfort Inn and one at Fairfield Inn, the nights were all spent at Holiday Inn Express.  

My gas cost was $684.42.  The cheapest gas was $1.959 In Missouri  going both ways.
The most expensive at Cove Fort, Utah (which is, admittedly, out in the middle of nowhere) was $2.599.  Ten cents a gallon more than I paid before leaving Placentia.  And I used 271.41 gallons of fuel. 

Although I had sprinkles here and there, the only real rain was in Lowell, MA, Albuquerque, NM, and Las Vegas, NM.  Seems that almost the entire country is suffering from drought.

When I travel I eat crackers, which I rarely eat at home.  Most commercial crackers are too salty for me, but it is hard to find unsalted crackers.  I tried some gluten free at Schoodic and they were perfect, but I couldn't find any of those at the market.  I bought Blue Diamond Gluten Free Artisan Nut-Thins with Flax seed which were good, if too salty.  Also ate Nabisco Good Thins Potato with White Cheddar which were delicious but even saltier.  And Triscuits with Olive Oil and Rosemary which anyone with a taste for rosemary would love if they can take the salt.  At home I eat Trader Joe's unsalted water crackers which go with anything.  I had a box with me on the outgoing drive and I ate them all.

The most common flower I saw was the sunflower - in all it's multitudinous variety.

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This one, at least two feet taller than I, was growing in a yard in Corea, Maine.

The flowers were quite lacy and lovely.

 

 

 

This is a more common roadside variety growing in Maine along the roadway.

 

Unfortunately, I saw few live wild animals, only a sad dead porcupine.  There was a dark colored rabbit at Schoodic and some type of chipmunk.   Along the way I saw lots of cattle, horses, milk cows, mules, alpacas, llamas, sheep, goats, and buffalo.

 

It was a good trip and I would do it again given the right time and destination.

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Another night away 09-18-16

I was in San Diego last night (at an HIE) so I could attend the art quilt group meeting yesterday and the annual members meeting of Visions Art Museum today.  The art quilt group  presented their quilts for our "challenge",  Urban Elements, except for Del who only has the background finished.  I had sent to have a copy on fabric, but that came back the wrong color and the wrong size.  So, I am back to using my original background that I made in Elizabeth Busch's class in  Maine.  I'm thinking of just quilting it, details and all, and presenting it as a whole cloth quilt.  Decisions, decisions.

 

The annual member's meeting was poorly attended, I think.  Maybe we need to have a program to attract the  members.  But it was interesting to hear all that the museum has done in the last year and see what is planned for the coming year.  The biennial Visions juried exhibit opens on Oct 15 and promises to be as interesting as all those that have shown in past years.  The opening will be attended by many of the artists and it is always fun to meet new ones and refresh the friendship of those we have met in the past.  Beth Smith, the Museum Director also showed off some of the new merchandise carried in the gift shop, so keep it in mind when you are doing your holiday shopping.

 

KoKo caught a "case" of fleas and during his stay with Nancy this weekend, she bathed him with flea shampoo and brushed him free of fleas - we hope.  He has not been scratching and biting and seems to be flea free at the moment.  Do possums have fleas?  I just saw a big one in the backyard and wonder if that is where KoKo got them.

 

I plan to sleep tomorrow, as I haven't had much time to recover from the marathon to Maine.  Or maybe I should say FROM Maine.  I'm still working on the statistics and may finish them tomorrow.

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Back home again, only to leave again tomorrow! 09-16-16

Along with my friend Liz I drove up to Morro Bay to give a program on Wednesday.  We left on Tuesday about 4:30pm, but had a stop in Santa Barbara to deliver some things I brought back  from Maine for a fellow student, since she was flying.  Then we decided we needed to eat and found Bouchon, an elegant restaurant downtown where we had soup (onion for Liz and velvety corn for me) and delicious crab cakes.  The service was somewhat slow and we took too long, so were driving on Hwy 1 in the dark.  I just don't see as well as I once did and it was a sort of scary drive.  By the time we got to our motel it was 11pm.  Fortunately, the program for Gold Coast Quilters was at 1pm Wednesday, so we were able to rest up a bit, have a nice breakfast at the Coffee Pot and visit the "nursery", which is a great shop that sells plants, pots, fountains, statues and a lot of other lovely things.  I left some money to support the economy. 

 

The ladies in the guild were very welcoming and friendly and seemed to enjoy seeing the quilts from the Thomas Contemporary Quilt Collection.  I took about forty pieces of a broad range of styles, artists and ages.  I try to hang as many as possible so they have a chance to get up close and really see the workwomanship and techniques used.  

 

We stopped for a late lunch at the Taco Temple on Main Street (old Hwy 1) near Spencer's Grocery.  What they call a taco we might call a loaded tostada - no way could one pick it up in their hand to eat it.  Knife and fork required.  We shared a cup of Albondigas soup, just to see how authentic is was and it was authentic.  One big albondigas and lots of hominy.  Yummy.  But, be warned, one taco is a meal for a big eater!   The burrito at the next table might have served three normal eaters.

 

Then on the road home.  Again we were driving at night, but instead of darkness, we had construction, accidents, bright lights, and heavy traffic.  I was so tired I missed the turn off in Pasadena.  Remind me not to drive at night, uh?  I dropped Liz off at her house and was home by 10pm.  I picked up KoKo in the morning about ten.  Then today I dropped him off with Nancy Ota so I can be gone for one night for meetings in SDiego.  Poor guy probably wonders if I will ever stay home with him.  But I know he is happy to stay with Dee or with Nancy or with Cherie.  Or, really, with just about anyone.  He is the most adaptable dog I've ever known.  

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I'm still here 09-11-16

I'm sure you think I dropped off the earth after my marathon drive.  But I had to hit the ground running when I  came home because I had so many things to take care of.  I'm sorting quilts tomorrow for a program at Gold Coast Quilt Guild in Morro Bay at 1pm on Wednesday.  And Tuesday morning is Surfside  Quilters Guild meeting  after which I will be driving with  Liz to  Morro Bay.  It is about four hours - depending on the traffic..  We'll be home on Wednesday evening so I can tackle a quilt that is on deadline and there is no way it will be done.  But it will at least be further along than it is now.  The weekend is San Diego for the Visions annual meeting and on Sunday my art quilt group.  I hope I can be caught up with myself by the last week of the month. 

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