Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Things I have learned this week.....

since I have been back from Des Moines many things have been achieved. 

I unpacked and did laundry - so I have clothes to wear.

I dealt with all the paperwork that had built up and paid all the bills - I am a little tight in the bank.

I rested up for a couple of days, ran errands and caught up with everything that needs to be done - my to do list is two miles long.

I ran a 5k race and didn't come last!

I went out for a training run this morning with Caper and met up with a black lab that escaped its collar and charged us - Caper did her best to protect me but I fell over the ensuing set to and landed on my knees, hand and face.  So I look like Booboo the clown.  I have a very grazed and red nose, top lip, hand and knees and they should all look spectacular tomorrow.  Not much sympathy (more hilarity) today, but wait until you see it tomorrow.....

I have done some work on the mystery quilt and I have also been working on the challenging prospect of putting two quilts into every AQS show this coming year.  The entries for Phoenix have been sent and I should hear back by December 6th if they have been accepted.  Lancaster entries are due by November 6th so some serious work needs to be done to get something ready by then - not sure what yet but I am excited.

Enough for tonight - if I can get caught up on custom quilting I hope to begin the mystery quilt next week.  It is a fabulous quilt and will look spectacular when it is finished so I hope you will play along with me.  Time for bed....

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Back from Des Moines......

and very glad to be home.  It was a wonderful show and there are many new members of the PQ3000 family and it is going to be FUN!!!

The advantages of 17 plus hours each way (wow, 35 hours of my life!) is that my scrappy notebook that I scribble in when I am driving (trust me, a lot of the time I can't read what is there as I have to write with my eyes on the road) is full of silly thoughts.  This trip I worked out a very pumped up playlist for my 5K runs - maybe not music that most 56 year old ladies listen too, but full of energy.  I love it - 41 minutes of pure beat. 

So here is the challenge for 2014 - remember the 'at least one a month 5K' year with 12 T-shirts in the quilt? - well next year is the 'at least one a month 10K' year for the quilt.  I am going to DO IT!!

So I am listening to my new playlist while I am writing this and I am excited.  There are no more shows until February so I can concentrate on the mystery quilt and developing patterns for PQ3000 quilts and getting videos out there.  (And getting fitter).

On the trip I saw a lot of strange things being transported on very long trucks.  I spent a couple of hours wondering what they were.  They were very long, white and kind of fish wing shapes - then I got into farmland and worked it out - each one was a blade from a wind turbine.  I love those things - there is one in Wales that you can stand right next to, and it makes a wonderful, peaceful, swooshing sound. 

I was lucky on the trip up - the weather was wonderful.  There were also some lovely people at the Des Moines show who helped me to unload and laid the flooring in the booth.  And then they sent a volunteer to give me a bathroom break mid morning and mid afternoon.  I wish I could say I saw anything of the town, but I can't - just the show and the hotel.  The trip back was more eventful as I caught the remnants of the bad weather in Louisville KY late on Sunday night, so I got off the road and stayed safe. 

Some years ago, my late husband, John, had made a trip to Hiawatha, Iowa and traveled much of the same route that I took to Des Moines.  So there were many points of the trip that gave me memories - he would call me at regular points of the trip and tell me where he was - my favorite was when he called to say that he wanted to get off the road at 'Stinking Creek Road' to see it the creek really did stink!  As I drove past that exit I really missed him and his sense of humor!  And I also wanted to check it out...

And there were times on the trip when I missed him so much I didn't think I could carry on, but I did - and that is all that you can do after losing someone you love - just carry on, because the alternative is not pretty and, I'm sure, not what your loved one would want for you.  So, for tonight I will finish there.  Moving on there is the mystery quilt and lots of fun thing with the PQ3000 and quilt patterns, classes and books.  But for now there are memories and many happy years....