A little trip...

This weekend was a great weekend for a little trip with my friend Staci. It has been quite a while since we were were able to take one of our road trips together. We make a great team since she loves to drive and I love to ride. We have logged many hours on the road exploring little side roads and taking longer trips. Cute man is not much of a fan of meandering road trips, so having a friend like Staci has been a huge blessing! We met more than 8 years ago when we both worked at a call center in Wichita. Isn't it funny how you can run into a hundred people but one person just clicks? That's how it was with us even though we are pretty different in just about every way--we just clicked. And the rest is history....

Saturday we went to Newton, Kansas so that we could log a road trip and look in the quilting store they have downtown called Charlotte's..It is a fabulous place. I found some sunflower and wheat pattern batik fabric that is just awesome! Since this is Kansas and we are known for wheat and sunflowers, this fabric may just have to go into the quilt for my oldest who is Iowa. I am going to have to go back soon since they had a really great selection of batik fabric and some purse patterns that I likes a lot. Staci does not sew or quilt (YET) so I am going to make a purse for her from a pattern she found there. We also got to hit a couple of the shops there and found some real gems! I found an old copy of a candy recipe book at one of the used bookstores and it was only $2.00! I usually make a lot of candy for gifts each Christmas, so this is definitely something I'll use. There is a bead store downtown that also sells yarn...BE STILL MY HEART!!! I can't wait to get their class list emailed to me!

Unfortunately I did not get pictures since my camera batteries were dead again. I have a vivitar vivicam 8300s and I have to say I am really not impressed with it at all. If anyone has any suggestions on a good and reasonably prices digital camera, PLEASE let me know. This one is on my last nerve. I need one that doesn't suck the battery dry every day and doesn't have a time lapse from the time you press the button til it takes the picture.....

All in all it was a good day Saturday. It got the itch out of my traveling feet and Staci and I got to spend some time conversing. Staci brought along her 8 year old cousin, Paige--who was one of the best behaved 8 year olds I've met. I know she must have gotten bored, but she never complained.

pictures from my weekend

Cute man and I went to Beaver Lake, Arkansas this past weekend so he could do a little scuba diving with a dive club. I tagged along as a non-diving spouse. I figured I would get a little practice in on the applique quilting techniques I learned on Thursday. Usually I over pack with tons of stuff to keep me occupied and never get around to using most of it. This time I packed really light and really wished I had brought at least one knitting project....I haven't actually pulled out the needles and completed anything in quite some time and I am starting to miss it. However, the water was really clear and the weather was beautiful, so it was a great trip. I had forgotten how much of a flatlander I was though. I wish I could say the scenery was the only thing that left me breathless--it was mostly the ride to the cabin once we got into the mountains..the realization that there is no guard rail and a 7 story drop is a pulse racing experience!!! I do want to go back with the kids so we can fish...

I am in the process of going through the daily reading of "Simple Abundance" again. this book came out in 2000, but it arranged by days of the month. Except for a couple references to the millennium, it is a timeless classic. You really owe it to yourself to pick up a copy. I try to do a daily reading every morning or late at night when I have time to think about her entry for the day. July has been about finding time to pursue personal past times and making time for what you desire in your soul. Not material want, these are soul desires.... I have picked up my paintbrush again. Not for huge, sweeping picture--I get white paper anxiety and never can make myself touch a pristine sheet. I tend to have a harsh critic...no, these are small, no pressure pages. I am trying to make myself turn off the inner critic and JUST DO IT!

When I started working at the law firm, one of the attorneys had an old retro 50's/60's couch in their office that had seen better days. Yesterday they decided it had to go. I offered $20 --they had a silent auction to keep it fair. I guess nobody loved that couch as much as I did, I got it for $20. I had the upholsterer pick it up yesterday. I guess he isn't used to someone telling him to come pick it up without him coming out and giving an estimate...I went by his shop today and actually picked out a suede like microfiber in a neutral color. All told, I will be spending $400 to get new foam (the good foam, not the cheap stuff that breaks down) and everything else. Considering most of the couches we looked at were at least $600, and I got what I wanted (plus this couch is really cool looking!), I am happy with the price. I had originally considered the same microfiber in a reddish, wine shade but he did point out that it would be an awful lot of red and that I would probably like it just as much in a neutral shade and get accent pillows in the red. I'm glad he pointed that out..it seemed like a good idea at the time....