A Little Bit of R&R ... and Applique ...

Well, let me start by saying I hated to get back to work on the 5th of July.

I left home on Sunday, the 26th of June for a wonderful 5 day Retreat. Can you guess where ?

LAKE TAHOE!

Because of a prior obligation, I wasn't able to leave until the afternoon. A short drive (at least by my defination) then a quick stop to pick up my friend Deanna, and then we were on our way.

Check in was at 3 pm. But because of our late start we didn't arrive until after dark. We checked in, unloaded our things and found our sewing tables. A few people we knew were still up stitching, we visited for a few minutes then went to find our room and go to bed.

Next morning I woke up early and peeked out the window. OMG!

I cleaned up and then hurried outside to take the picture above. This was the view from our room!

It was so beautiful!

Did I mention that I hated to go back to work on the 5th?

A Hot Day in September ...

and a late afternoon coffee meeting with Pam. It was good to get together and gab, seems like forever since our last visit or sew day.

Well, we didn't have a sew day together this trip, but I was able to get some quilting time in. I attended 2 applique workshops in Livermore that were being held at Quilting in the Garden at Alden Lane Nursery. What a wonderful show once again. Cindy and her crew at Alden Lane did another fantastic job on the show. It was awesome.

I have pictures, but have to make this blog entry short as I head out the door. A lot has happened since my last blog post, so once again I have some catching up to do.

Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by.

Sew Days with Friends are always so much fun ...

Just to sit, sew and laugh ... always fun if you ask me.

These pictures are from a sew day we had at Debbie's earlier this year.

Debbie is doing the Civil War Tribute block of the month from In Between Stitches.

And she was also very busy making a million tiny Desden Plate blades for a quilt for one of the girls. Okay so maybe not a million ... I think it was something like 754 - it was over 700 anyway.

And I was busy working on these little gems.

And then I made the larger block in the background for a Block Lottery at In Between Stitches.

They have a different one each month. It was, fun even though I didn't win.

And also worked on making a bunch of these little guys too.

Have more photos to go through, but will leave that for another day.

Hope you are all able to spend fun filled days sewing with friends.

Thanks for stopping by.

I wish I could be home sewing today ...

but ... "duty" calls and I have to go to work.

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I have been working on a few things these past 5 months though. There was the Pirate Quilters Retreat, some sew days with friends and I have been also doing a Block A Month with an out-of-state friend. I have pictures to go through and post, so hopefully I will get my act together and get that done soon.

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So, for those of you that have been stopping by and have been seeing the same 'ol same 'ol, there will be some new entries for you to look forward to.

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That said .... I am out the door to work.

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I wish I was home sewing ...

Did You Adopt a Shelter Dog in 2009?

If you did, Pedigree has an offer for YOU!

If you adopted a dog any time during the 2009 calendar year you can send in an offer for some free Pedigree.

Here is the link to the Pedigree Offer to read all about it. But don't wait too long. The deadline is February 2010.

That's all I've got for now (I was reminded to update my blog).

A Good Start to the Day ...

Jim brought me birthday Banana Bread and a Peppermint Mocha. Now that's the way to start off a birthday.

The only downside is having to work today, but that's okay.

No one said life was perfect.

Time Slips Away ...

as it so easily does ...

Someone very close to me was getting after me about not updating my blog. And it is true, I have let time slip by ... always intending to update my blog but never quite getting around to it. Marlene would have definately been after me about not updating things here as well. She was good about keeping me on track.

A lot of fun things have happened since my last post and most recently something very sad.

This is Rio.

A very loved and some would say spoiled girl. But that's the best kind, right. This photo was taken just this past summer.

Rio passed away on Wednesday, December 23. She would have been 16 in May of next year. She was such a sweet and loving girl. She loved to travel with me and didn't care where we were going, she just wanted to be going too.

I miss you baby girl.