Winter Retreat

A few months ago, I shared a little slice of heaven with you.  And when we were there in August, we bought another week, which happened to be last week.  The last week of the year.  


The beach in December?  Why would we do that?  Well, honestly, to relax.  


Pictures are the best way for me to tell you about the week, so if you'll humor me, here you go...

Snow, friends, and the beach!

Our home away from home.

The ocean was in a frenzy.

We're in the top floor, far right.

And while I was there, I had the opportunity to visit Endless Possibilities.  By all appearances, it looks like a great little boutique/crafty store.  But under the surface, it's a fundraising project for local hotlines and charities.  They take discarded clothes that were donated to local thrift stores, and are unsellable, and volunteers create rugs, bags, and more to sell. 


And more importantly, they have CLASSES!  

Here I am in the beginning stages of weaving my rug.

Taking this bin of scraps...

And weaving them bit-by-bit...

Into a rug.

And the back.

(I think it's going to end up as a wall hanging, and not as a rug....)




And the sunrises and sunsets are pretty good in the middle of winter, too.  See:

Sunrise, from right outside the door.

With a view like this out the window, what's not to love???


AMW

Happy....

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy Whatever Else you celebrate!

AMW

MMC 2010

Back HERE I mentioned that I joined the Make-My-Christmas event again this year.  This was it's 17th year, and my second participating.  This year I drew someone I knew, and really had fun.


DT's favorite color is TieDye followed by Purple.  I've never tie dye'd anything myself, but figured I'd give it a shot.  So I cut twenty 13 inch squares of bleached muslim (on sale, of course) and spent a day twirling, tying, rubberbanding, twisting, etc...  and dying.  Then rinsing.  And rinsing.  and rinsing.  Oh, did I mention rinsing?  About 6 HOURS of rinsing.  And when I was done?  Yep, RINSED some more!


And ended up with some cool looking squares.  Got some way cool purple fabric for the sashing.  And pieced a very simple quilt.  


Then decided to Tie Dye a solid piece for the back.  So I twirled, rubberbanded, twisted, tied, and dyed.  And then I rinsed.  Again.  And yes, again....  You get the picture.


Ok, fine - you held in here long enough to see some pictures...

The front.

Close up of a few blocks...

The back.

Close up of the back (with a little of the quilting).

Folded on the pool table.

And it was a hit!  I'm so happy that she like it as much as she did...  Here's a couple of pics:

She walked around the place wearing it as a cape for a bit.

The smile says it all.  On both of us!  


Oh, what'd I get?  Something very special!!!  I'm gonna save that for it's own post...


AMW

And here it is...

Well, this is officially my 200th post!!!  Pretty exciting for me...


I've thought and thought and thought some more about what to post for the milestone, and couldn't figure it out.


A few years ago, before starting this blog, I found a few blogs that I liked.  And would check them everyday to see what was new.  And then a friend started blogging (even though she rarely does now that she is a fairly new mom!)  Then I found out that someone else I knew had a blog.  So I figured, why not?  


I said in that first post, that it was likely going to be pretty random, and I think that's been true for the most part.  I've covered everything from trips, to pets, to quilting, to sinking kayaks, to rants about work, and on, and on, and on...


Why do I do it?  Hard to answer...


Sometimes I blogged to get something out.  Sometimes, I blogged to so I wouldn't forget the details of a fun event.  Sometimes I blogged to share my experience with others...  And sometimes I blogged because I felt obligated to.  And then when people started commenting, I realized I blogged to get responses.  It's so exciting to get a response.  And then there were followers, and I blogged so that they would have something of mine to read.


Sometimes I didn't blog, because nothing exciting had happened.  And I felt like I had to have something important to share.  Sometimes I felt I had something to share, then couldn't find time.  Or didn't have the pictures accessible.


I "follow" over 60 blogs.  Some publicly, and some anonymously.  When I look at the list, it's pretty random, too.  Some haven't posted in over a year.  Some post AT LEAST once a week, and many post either everyday, or several times a week.  And for the most part, I'm a lurker.  I rarely comment.  But love it when people comment on mine...  I guess I have only partially found my voice.  


I've been blogging for 986 days.  Or 2 years, 8 months, and 12 days.  Or 140 weeks.  Or 23,664 hours.  Or 1,419,840 minutes.  No matter how you look at it, it's been a good amount of time.  


While I can't make any specific promises about the number of posts I'll do or how often, I can promise I'll still be here, still posting as it hits, and definitely still lurking in blogland out there.


AMW


PS - WHEW!  Now that this post is out of the way, and the pressure is off, I can focus on a post about Make-My-Christmas (MMC) from Saturday night!  Stay tuned for that one with some fun pictures!!

No pressure, right???

So my next post will be my 200th post.  And I have no idea what to post for such a monumental occasion.  So, instead, I've been putting off posting at all...  Silly, right?


Some of my favorite blogs do giveaways for milestone blogs.  And I don't really have anything to giveaway.  And being so close to Christmas, I don't really have time to make something to giveaway.


Perhaps a list of random facts about me?  Or a post about some of my favorite posts?  (seems kind of redundant?  Or a "year in review" picture style?  So at a loss...  


Suggestions???  What do you want to read???


AMW

National Mutt Day!

I was not aware that today was National Mutt Day, until I saw it on another blog.  I've featured my girl before, but it's been a few years.  And well, I LOVE her!!


Casey is a 15 1/2 year old Lab mix.  Her momma was a lab, and her daddy was a travelin' man.  She was born in a barn in eastern NC, and most of her litter mates died of liver disease fairly early on.

Doing what she does best (and most of the time!)

Here she is begging for attention (and showing her cataracts...)

Here are just a few other random pics as well:

And there's the little things that you know you'll miss when they're gone.  One of the funniest things I'll miss is her opening the bathroom door.  I'm convinced she thinks there is an escape hatch in there, and if we shut the door, we'll be gone.  If you don't shut the door (and latch it), she'll nudge it open, and just pop her head in.  She won't come in, she'll just check to make sure you're still there.  She's been doing this for about 4 years, and it still makes me smile.  Of course, we do know to shut it all the way if we really need privacy.  Even then, you can here her nose nudging it, and can almost see the wonder on her face as to why it won't open.

I am soo, sooo, sooooo fortunate that I've had her as long as I have.  And that at 15+, she's still holding her own.  I'm thankful for every day I get with her....

Happy National Mutt Day!

AMW

YEAH!!!!

Over two years ago, on another blog (that is pretty much defunct, I haven't posted on it in over a year) I did several posts about a new roof we had put on.  HERE are the before pictures, HERE are the in progress pictures (and basically finished, because I apparently didn't do an after post....  Sheesh!)

Well, mostly finished.  It was 99% done.  I've been waiting over two years for the finishing touch.


And here it is.  THE most important part of the roof:

This mermaid weathervane has been sitting in the shed, just waiting for someone to put her up.  And now that she's there, she's BEAUTIFUL!  We live just blocks from the water, and no other weathervane would have represented us as well as this one.

I LOVE it!  She makes me smile every time I pull in to the driveway...


Happy Turkey Day!

AMW

Quotes from this week

This week while watching the TLC reality show "Police women of Dallas",  I heard two of the funniest lines I've heard in a while.

#1 - Drunk guy walking his bike and talking to it.  Being questioned by officers -
Drunk Guy "You're about to get your knees cut off."
Officer "What?"
Drunk Guy "Well, not really, but you're about to get your knees cut off."
Officer "Just my knees?"
Drunk Guy "Yep, just your knees"

#2 - Another Drunk guy - stopped for driving while intoxicated.  Being asked to take a breathalyzer.
He pretends not to understand how to blow into the machine.  Several times.  After about the 10th to 12th time of not getting it right (trying to mess up on purpose, I assume) he states, "My blow is broken."
Yep, his blow is broken.


Ah - the things we say when we've been drinking....

Hmmm...  Maybe I should get plastered and then BLOG!

TeeHee
AMW

Highlight of a Roadtrip

Went on a little road trip last weekend to western North Carolina for an annual event.  While there were MANY, MANY fun moments, and lots of highlights that include seeing folks that I sometimes only get to see once a year, I really want to share one specific highlight.


While driving home on Sunday, we took the scenic route for part of the trip.  An one point, we were driving through the little town of Salisbury, NC.  We saw several signs for "Historic Mural" and after the 3rd or 4th sign, we were convinced to stop.


STUNNING!  And after the first few pictures, we decided to make it interactive.......

Just in case - I'm in the yellow jacket...  


Have you ever encountered a great piece of art and jumped in???


AMW

Where did this year go????

Wow!  I can't believe it's November and that Christmas is a mere 53 days away...  It really does feel like summer was just here.   


Oh wait....  That's probably because we had temperatures in the 80's (almost 90) last week.  


But now that the temperatures are falling (much to my dismay), it's finally setting in that fall is here, and the holidays are peeking right around the corner.


I'm reading blogs with folks working on holiday projects, and thinking, OH SHIT!  


I signed up for Make My Christmas (MMC) again this year.  In case you're new or forgot, MMC is similar to a "Secret Santa" gift exchange, but you MAKE a gift for the person whose name you draw.  And in return, you get a handmade gift from whoever draws your name.  Last year was my first time participating and you can read about my project and the results in the second half of THIS post.  


Luckily, this year I drew someone's name that I know.  A little bit.  But I've gotten some good info, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a clue about this blog, so I just might post some preview pics along the way.  I'll say this:  I'm going to once again step outside my comfort zone and do things with fabric I've never done before.  


Easy now - don't go going anywhere crazy with your thoughts on that last sentence......  ;)  It's a quilt, after all.  


Ordered some supplies and books on amazon today to help the project along.


Off on another out-of-town adventure this coming up weekend, and then I'll be home to get started....


That's about it for now...


AMW