A Bucket List Quilt Retreat.... and new friends

So as I ended my last blog.. Wednesday morning rolled around and I rolled out around 8:20am to head to Quitman, TX for a bonus quilt retreat at Stitchin' Heaven. This place was on my bucket list. Can't thank my friend Sandy Y. enough for thinking of me and asking if one of my/our other friends might come too.  It was actually an easy drive. Just a couple of turns and I arrived in 3 hours and a few minutes.  

Stitchin' Heaven is a quilt shop and has a beautiful retreat house and cabins if there's an overflow of retreaters or a person could rent just the cabin but they wouldn't have access to the work room. When I walked in they had it set up for 40 retreaters but there's only 21 of us. Once everyone got a spot some tables were pushed around. We each had a 4'x2' table with a side table that was 4' x 18". I've already been thinking of how to arrange the runner tables to give us more space when I go back with my gals. Yes I will be booking a retreat here myself. I was told we couldn't move the main 4' tables but we can move the side tables however we want them. 

It looked really tight but it's amazing we made it work until we could spread the tables a bit more. 

And the outside area was relaxing and beautiful. Of course the rain made so we couldn't go down to the pond but hey we were sewing.

There were 2 blue and 2 green chairs on the other side.

Our rooms were spacious and comfy with luggage stands. Two to a room with it's own bath. I'm spoiled.

Plus there was a lounge area if you wanted to relax and not sew.

We walked over to the quilt shop to browse around (cough cough) You know we did more than browse. There were quilts hanging in the retreat house and all around the shop, the offices, classroom, etc.  While there our Liaison Anna Marie took the small group of us on a tour of the entire building.

 And of course we had to take a picture with Gus the Longhorn

 

We got to see everything. from the business offices, to where they laser cut the fabric for the BOM and kits, to where they plan the BOM, where they pack the kits and BOM, and shrink wrap the fabric bundles, and where they plan the cruises, the classroom and the warehouse. This place is huge and everyone was friendly and helpful.

Here's a few quilt tops that the ladies were working on. This one was done by Lisa. Wow. A lot of work went into this one and she finished this top and started another with birds in the next picture. She's good.

Here's the top Sandy Y. was working on and finished. And this one of the churn dash inside a churn dash was by her friend Gloria. 

Not sure which of the ladies was working on this one across the room but I love the bright colors.  The next one was being worked on by a gal named Tammie. It made for a perfect photo shoot frame. 

 

Now do  you see anything wrong here? Nope, the only thing wrong here was Jim used the wrong color. He had tossed it in the trash. What! Lisa dug out the several he had thrown away. LOL He then started taking them to her as he messed them up. Oh and did I mention that we had a husband and wife there. Jim was the quilter and his wife Barbara did needlework. Both were very nice. 

This is Charlene. She is the one organized the retreat for her quilt guild and Donna and I got lucky and filled the spots for two ladies that couldn't make it. Donna Marie said Charlene and I must be soul mates. We do a lot of the same things. Like taking pictures. Charlene was a lot of fun. Can't thank her enough for letting us crash their retreat. It was kinda nice not being the one in charge for once.      Donna Marie decided to get even with me while I wasn't paying attention and snapped a picture of me sewing. LOL 

Another cool thing Stitchin' Heaven does is provides us with a liaison. She came in every morning to check on us, back again mid-day and then checked on us that evening before she left for the day. Anna Marie was awesome. 

Here's me, Donna Marie and Sandy Y.  We all worked at CyFair school district. Well Donna Marie still does but Sandy and I are living the life in the country. 

And here's a picture a 3 of the cottages that you can rent or they use for an overflow from the main retreat house. They sleep 4. Cute.

Here's a cute bag that Donna Marie made. I sat my cup next to it to give you and idea of the size. I was the benefactor of one of these bags a few retreats ago when she gave me a gift in it. 

Saturday 10/28,,,And before I knew it, it was time to pack up and head home. My new friends Charlene and Tracey. Fun ladies.

Sad to leave but I plan on coming back. Bye bye Stitchin' Heaven for now.

The drive home was nice but a little wet. Found out what the big body of water was that we crossed going to Quitman. It's Lake Palestine. Big..

Somewhere outside Jewett I saw this cool log cabin sitting back off the road.

Because of the rain I didn't get to take pictures of some of the various animals/statues/figures around the town of Jewett but I got a couple. A unique little town.

     

So I get home and unload the car. Then I tell David about the retreat and the ladies. Somewhere in there I might have closed my eyes for a bit. But before I knew it John and Kelli were at the door and we were off to The Brown's Halloween Party. I should have taken some pictures of the     costumes. I mean Dolly was there and she was scared by this really tall   pumpkin creature. It was funny. There were witches, nuns, and a priest etc.   Fun evening. The moon was supernatural looking and they even built a big   bonfire.

There were no sacrifices, well not while we were there....bah haha

Nice party by Dendy and Jamie. Thanks for the invite.

That's it for now.. More adventures just waiting....

Until next blog... The art of being happy lies in the power of extracting happiness from common                                       things.   ~  Henry Ward Beecher

Busy Busy.... and what another retreat?!

Yep a week at quilt retreat play time is over and it's time to get back to the gym.  Three days a week I go to the gym to keep me and my knee moving. Trust me it's not my favorite thing to do and this week Kelli hasn't been there to keep me motivated but I pushed myself. But she says she'll be back.

On Monday (10/16) I went to quilting bee in Cameron. It was show and tell time.      Connie hid behind her finished quilt she shared. It's so bright and cheery.  Our newest member below on the left showed off her recent quilt finish. Too sweet. I went totally blank on her name as I type this but I think it ... Never mind.     

Thursday 10/19.. Was a Busy busy day and Long. We left the house at 8:15am to head to Houston. We still use our dentist in the Cypress area. Our hygienist Paula is a cousin. Once she was done with me she said to let David know she'd come get him in a minute after she cleaned up.  So David stood up and waited right by the door to scare her.

I don't think it worked. She was surprised but it didn't make her jump. Better Luck next time. But David does needs to remember that she holds sharp objects in her hand when cleaning his teeth. 

Once Paula finished torturing each of us we headed towards Spring to meet David's brother Gary and his wife Lynn. We've get to meet up more now that we're all retired. We met at the Cotton Patch off Kuykendahl and 2920. The first visit the staff seemed to be having issues getting the food and drinks out last time. Then they even had problems with the machine trying to check us out. We decided to give them another chance and wasn't sorry. The food was good and the service was spot on. In fact I think we had 3 different folks asking if we needed anything and if everything was okay.  Our tummies were happy.

After lunch we headed to my knee surgeon appointment. Dr. Laurita @Sterling Ridge Orthopedics said I had graduated out of his care and I didn't need to come back unless I started having problems. He was happy with my healing and progress. Yay! I mentioned to him about the bone, ligament or whatever running from the knee to my foot hurting if I have it angled just so. Such as when I forget and get out of the car with one foot first and then the right foot trails behind, it is very uncomfortable. He goes "well that could be my fault",  What! He explains that when he replaced my knee he straightened it out too.  Thanks I think. LOL But he did say in time it will be fine and I won't notice it. I told him that if and/or when I get my left knee replaced he won't be able to use that threat of putting me back in the hospital to manipulate the knee manually himself to get my range of motion back.  He done used that card. He laughed and said it worked didn't it. Mmmm I think my new knee did it when it was ready. I was working hard but it just wasn't ready to bend. But the new new knee feels much better and of course different, it's metal.

After this we headed to the Medical Center to see our good friend Sylvia.  Around October 1st she found herself in the hospital with secondary Leukemia due to the breast cancer treatment. She has a strong faith and attitude but please put her in your prayers. She'll be in the hospital for another 3-5 weeks because she has no immune system due to the treatment to kick this cancers butt. Love my friend. She even had the quilt I made her when she was going through breast cancer treatments on her hospital bed keeping her wrapped in love and hugs. We had a good visit. Hopefully we didn't tire her out.

Can I just say that the Medical Center is like a chaotic mouse maze. I can't believe how tight everything is with the buildings, all the construction, and watching out for the tram trains... Wow I'm surprised more people don't end up in the hospitals down there. But I'm glad Sylvia is in the best place for the best care. Now we won't comment on the food other than she's not impressed. Gotta love her. If I could have I would have brought her whatever she wanted but she's not allowed outside food or even flowers. Well how rude.

We left her around 5:30ish and headed home. We got home around 8:40pm. Our puppies were hungry and happy to see us.

 It made for a long but good day. We did a lot.

Pamela decided to try something new. She got rid of the blonde highlights and Brittany the stylist put a henna rinse on Pamela's hair. I love it. I always liked the blonde but I really like this color.  When the sun hits it the red tints pop out.

Saturday the 21st we went to check out the Rockdale Rodeo and Fair. There wasn't much happening at the time we went but we shopped the arts and crafts and clothing stuff.  We split a bbq sandwich and got a cold drink. And of course what else do you do but look at all the animals.                 First the goats. This little darlin wanted some attention so I scratched his head.  

Look at the legs on this pretty baby. 

Then we found the bunnies. Lots of bunnies. We found our neighbor Kate's bunnies. This particular day it was hot. We'd had a whole week of nice cool weather and the day the animals are shown it's hot. 

And I can't forget the piggies. I liked the color of this one. Pigs are cute when their little but I'm not so fond of them when they're big. This one seemed nice enough. LOl  She was hot and didn't care who was standing near her kennel.

Oh and we saw the same spider monkey that was in love with David the weekend before. He didn't want to walk to close to the area thinking if the monkey saw him again she'd coming scampering over. LOL  

From here we took a scenic drive over to Bryan/College Station. Did a couple errands and stopped at the Kroger that looked like the lot for the remake of the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds. Holy Cow there was many of them.

I had to take a picture of me in my new shirt that Kelli bought me. She's always giving me a bad time about not having any shirts that fit now that I've lost so much weight. This one fit just right.  And I love the western theme.

I have to share my new T-shirt I got the other day. LOL I'll be wearing it on the first of my retreat next March. I thought it appropriate. I saw another one that said I sew with a quilt gang but now I can't find it..                                                          So speaking of quilt retreats...  on Monday 10/23 I got a call from Sandy Y., a former co-worker/one of the gals that retreats with me and she asked if I'd be interested in going on a quilt retreat with her Quilt Guild Gals. I ask when and she goes on Wednesday the 25th. What?! Oh wow they're going to Stitchin' Heaven in Quitman, TX and it's on my bucket list to go stay there. Uhhh so I tell her let me get back to you on this shortly..  I've only been home 4 days from my retreat and oh wow what am I thinking. Going on another retreat so soon. I went to David and told him the deal. He did the same thing I did... "What Wednesday? The day after tomorrow Wednesday?" Yep I say. Of course he said go if I want to and I went back to Sandy and said Yes. She tells me 2 of the ladies had to drop and asked if maybe one of our other friends might want to come. And sure enough Donna V. wanted to come so we were roomies.  I hadn't finished unpacking my project bag from my retreat yet so that part was basically ready to go but I need to pack a suitcase.  And I'll be off again..

Tuesday the 24th was a bad day for Pamela because she had to let Sophie cross the Rainbow Bridge. Pamela got Sophie when she was 8 weeks old  and now at 11 years old she had to say good-bye. It's hard to lose our furry family members. I'm glad and thankful that Kaleb was with Pamela to help support her.  We're gonna miss our little pillow princess.

This was taken the week before Pamela had to say goodbye after her and Bri were groomed. She was a tiny and that made Bri look that much bigger. Bri seems to be a little lost and looks for Sophie but that too shall pass.

On that same day Kelli and I had a pumpkin succulent decor class at a cute place called Lissa's Restyled Sip and Shop in Caldwell, TX led by Texas Terrariums Creative director, Jessica Zamora. I was thinking we'd be planting the plants into the pumpkin but no we actually glued them to the pumpkin. If we water them with a spray bottle correctly they will begin to sprout roots and when the pumpkin rots we can gently remove the succulents and plant them in a pot.  Holy cow though the pumpkins were huge. We were expecting pumpkins about half this size or even smaller. LOL

There was 14 ladies present for a fun evening of pumpkin decor. There might have even been some wine involved. The wine enhanced the learning experience. I know Kelli would agree.

The first one is Kelli's and the second one is mine. I hadn't added the ribbon when I took my picture.  They came out pretty cute. They need more decor since the pumpkin is so big but for my first time it came out okay. Lissa is hoping to have a sign painting class one day soon too. I hope I can go.

Wednesday (10/25) morning arrived and I left around 8:20am to drive my 3 hrs and 12 minutes to Quitman to hang out and meet some new quilters and have fun. Donna had to drive 4 hrs and some odd minutes to get there from Houston. 

I'll close out for now but the next post I will share about the retreat and the awesome ladies Donna and I met.

Until my next post..I think I've discovered the secret of life -you just hang around until you get used to it. ~ Charles M Schulz