Where, Oh Where Has My Blogging Time Gone?

How in the world could I have let more than a month go by without blogging?  My many fans have been asking where I am.  (That would be you, Faye.)  Life has a way of getting crazy busy sometimes, but I am hoping to make a few things more of a priority in the New Year.  Things like blogging, quilting, scrapbooking, spending time with friends, cleaning........oh wait!  How did cleaning get onto that list?
Just after my last blog entry we spent Thansgiving week in Seattle visiting our son and daughter-in-law.  I had the most interesting and clever blog entry all planned out in my head.  Oh, the exciting sights and visual stimulation of a cool, cosmopolitan city!  Of course that possibly award winning blog entry evaporated into thin air after I finally fell asleep that night.  Guess I should have gotten out of bed and written it down!

Seattle's Pike Place Market has to be one of the coolest places to visit.  Every trip to Seattle has to include a stop here.  Just the variety of merchandise available is stunning, not to mention the colors all around, the friendly vendors, and the busy shoppers.  It's exciting. 

We definitely got
some Christmas
shopping done
while we were
there!  And, I'm
sure that some
of the vendors
were sorry to
see me leave!

Here are a few of the folks we bought things from.

There is not only a coffee shop on every corner, there are bunches in between.  Each one has its own personality, but every one is special.  It's fun visiting different shops.  Aaron and Leah's favorite is Makeda Coffee, and I have to say they serve the best coffee I have tasted.  I love how many of the shops dress up their coffees with designs in the foam, like this:

Seattle has some of the most fascinating places to eat of any city I have been to, and so much variety it's difficult to decide on a place.   Just a few of the places we enjoyed on this trip were the Pig 'N Whistle, Red Mill Burgers,  Le Panier Very French Bakery,  and we can't forget Mike's Chili Parlor.

Our last night in Seattle we had an amazing Moroccan dinner at Kasbah Moroccan Restaurant.    They serve a five-course d'yaffa feast including traditional Harira Soup, B'stilla, Lamb dishes and yummy dessert and mint tea.  Did I mention the belly-dancing?  (Uh huh!)

Hey! We Survived a Road Trip!

Since the last time I blogged, I haven't been home a lot.  I've been travelling.  I certainly haven't had time to quilt, so there will definitely be no Show-and-Tell today.

From September 12th through the 20th Phil and I went on a little Vacation/Road Trip.  Now, I have to say I have been pretty spoiled and have really learned to like flying "wherever" for vacation.  We haven't done a driving vacation in a long time.  So, I wasn't sure how this whole Road Trip thing would work out, but considering we logged 2600 miles, we really had a great time!  

The first attraction was the BMW Performance Driving School in Greenville, S.C. Phil really loves his BMW, but he would never drive it as hard as he got to drive the cars in the Driving School. He had the biggest smile on his face when they finished! And not just because he placed 3rd in the timed course and 1st in the five-lap race on a wet skid pad!

Next, we spent a day in Washington D.C.  Since we had only planned to be there one day we focused on just a few special things that we wanted to see.   First, we visited the WWII Memorial and were both moved by the beauty of the structure and the special meaning in every aspect of its design. It was really awe-inspiring. If you ever have an opportunity to see this striking monument, it is well worth the time.

Then we saw the Lincoln Memorial. That is a very somber and beautiful monument, as well. It surprised me how respectful and quiet visitors were, but that is a good thing!

We rounded out the day seeing the Smithsonian's "Castle" and the National Gallery of Art and timed it just right to be able to experience DC's rush hour traffic as we headed out to West Chester, PA.

And just what is in West Chester, PA you may ask??  Why, that would be my BFF!

We have been best friends since we were 10 years old (except for that one year, 6th grade, when we didn't speak for almost the whole school year, but we don't talk about that.)  Phil has known Vicki's hubby, Bruce since they were in the 3rd grade, so we have a lot of history and plenty of memories!  While there we had the privilege of touring the House and Studio of American artist N.C.Wyeth and spending some time in the Brandywine River Museum, where quite a lot of artwork by his children and grandchildren is on display.   We also enjoyed an evening with Bruce and Vicki's kids and grandkids, and that was a real special and fun treat!  (And noisy!)
It was really hard to leave there, especially for me.  (I love my BFF!)  But we had reservations at a Bed & Breakfast in Marblehead, OH and plans to see a young friend of ours in Put In Bay.  (Yes, I did say Put In Bay!)  Jennifer works at Stone Laboratories there and gave us a great tour of the island.  We enjoyed a lovely dinner with her at Axel and Harry's and got caught up on what she has been doing and what her plans are.

Next stop, French Lick, IN where we spent a night at the French Lick Springs Resort and Spa. Ahhh, what a great way to finish off our Road Trip! This place is very cool. It's on the National Register of Historic Places, having been built in 1845 around the "miracle waters" of their sulfur springs, and famous guests include the likes of FDR, Clark Gable, Bing Crosby and many more. Not only that, but in 1917 their famous chef created and served tomato juice! How's that for a mini history lesson!?

We almost needed a vacation to recover from our vacation, but isn't that always the way? I can tell you, though, I was very happy to be reunited with my sewing room! Hopefully, I will have something "quilty" to show you one of these days, soon!

Vacation!!

Ahhh, summer vacation. This is the second year I have taken our grandson, Gavin, to Seattle to visit his Aunt Leah and Uncle Aaron. (He adores his Aunt!) I drove to his home in AL to pick him up and we headed out on our adventure.

Two flights and 13 hours later we were in the gorgeous Northwest. Gavin is a great traveler but Gramma is not! I was totally exhausted by the time we got there so the first day Aaron, Leah and Gavin wore themselves out at Wild Waves Theme Park. I slept off and on all day long - just the kind of first day of vacation I needed!

Since Gavin had "always wanted" a latte we indulged (just a half-shot of decaf espresso and using whole milk) and he's hooked. Every morning Aunt Leah took him for coffee. One of those mornings they ended up at the beach to enjoy their drinks and the beautiful atmosphere. We experienced the most perfect weather during our entire stay. It was great.

A few days later my hubby, Phil joined us for a long holiday weekend. We managed to fit a lot of very cool things into a short time actually -- Mike's Chili Parlor in Ballard, Cupcake Royale, Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo, and Mt. Rainier. WOW!!

Our son, Aaron and his lovely bride (of 6 years) Leah enjoyed the outting with us, including a snowball fight in July which just made Gavin's day.

Gavin with Gramma (that would be me) and Grampa on Mt. Rainier.

We had dinner one evening at Blue C Sushi in Seattle, a really fun concept in restaurants. Individual dishes of different kinds of sushi make their way around the inside of the room on a conveyer belt, and diners who are seated in booths all around the perimiter, select items as they are passing by. Each plate is color coded to match the posted prices and they are small enough portions to be able to try a real variety of foods. Gavin was brave enough to try something, but ended up with the Japanese equivalent of chicken strips. That's okay -- he braved it for Aunt Leah! Oh yah -- he tried the cream puffs, too!!

Even though I had planned a quilty day with an on-line friend it didn't work out due to a post travelling day migraine, but I'll fit it in for sure the next time I'm up that way. (Which, I hope, is real soon!)