To the Coast

We are headed out this morning to spend a few days in Mendocino, visiting family and hanging out at the beach and (for Caroline's highlight) visiting a miniature horse ranch. I've packed up my Nikon D80 and am looking forward to taking lots and lots of pictures.

In preparation for this little outing, I've been working away at the stuff on my "must get done" list. I emailed off a bunch of work documents last night, which felt darn good.

And I have a quilt ready to quilt! Remember the red and white house blocks I was working on ages and ages ago? The top has been sitting in my closet waiting for the final borders to be sewn on. So, last week I got that done, pieced the back (why do I dread that task so much? It's never as bad as I think it'll be), and basted it all together while Caroline watched the much-advertised Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana 3-D concert on Saturday night. (Yep, she wore the 3-D glasses, even.) So now it's all ready to go and is sitting on my sewing table providing a comfy resting spot for a cat while I decide how I'm going to quilt it.

I also had the great fun of indoctrinating a newbie into the Great Quilting Cult last week. My friend Jane has been wanting to learn to make a quilt, so gave her a stack of books to peruse. She made various choices (lots of choices!) and we settled on one that is a good first project -- a basic snail's trail pattern in batiks. Ooh la la! Jane has great taste. Then we spent a day fabric shopping -- very very fun -- and selected a gorgeous assortment of fabrics. I was amused at how quickly Jane grasped the concept (and importance) of having a stash ... she kept adding fabrics to the pile, saying "If I end up deciding not to use it, I'll just add it to my stash." See? She's got the right spirit for this sort of thing. Next week we'll get together for cutting and the beginning of sewing. It has been fun to consider things from a newcomer's point of view ...and, not surprisingly, it has made me want to start a new project. Because i don't have enough started, you see.

Before we head up north, we have to stop at Caroline's school for a uniform sale. This will be her first year attending a private school and doing the plaid skirt, logo shirt uniform thing, and she is less than thrilled. And, not surprisingly, she was up at 5:15 am, standing by the side of my bed to say she was nervous about starting at a new school. Ugh -- remember that icky feeling? I can't blame her, and who wants to start thinking about school when it's still a month away? We'll get the uniform stuff done quickly (I hope) and then try to have wild beachy fun to put it out of her head.

Okay... time to finalize the packing and get the dog ready for her doggy camp. I'll be back with (I hope) stunning pictures and sandy shoes and a refreshed attitude. Later!