CGC Finishes......

A local quilt shop has a stash clean out deal this time of year. You donate your unwanted stash for charity, and they give you $$$ per lb. I came out with lots of $$$ and a general feeling of pessimism about my addiction. I think I am needing this.....

Here are my two finishes, and I love them both so much. This was a simple rail fence, but....

....when you send them out to be quilted they become even MORE gorgeous!!! What a luxury....and I am worth it ( sometimes )!!!

This lovely layer cake became this...

.

Thanks Moda Bakeshop for the pattern. I think I am circle quilt obsessed. It was SEW much fun.

Next week is quilt camp, which means more starts that will eventually need finishes. Thank goodness for the motivation of this fun club. I am VERY slowly seeing some progress!!!

It is never hard to come home again....

We had the most lovely vacation.....

It is sad to leave beautiful country roads abundant with wild flowers....

....and views that make your heart soar.

Remembering the fun times we had with dear friends......

....but when coming home means you get to stop and cuddle the dearest of babies,

....then rock them to sleep,

...and celebrate first birthdays with your furgrandchild!

You are welcomed by your own kitty who was resting patiently by the front window waiting your return.

Your own garden is abundant with beauty.....

.....and there are so many flowers you can't wait to fill the vases to celebrate coming home again.

Vacations are wonderful....and coming home is the best. Sometimes it is the smallest things that make you the happiest!

Who Knew????

When I was a little girl my brother and I would play endlessly....my brother with his train set and I would always make a farm for the train to go by.

I would dream that someday I would have a farm just like this, where animals played together in harmony. This week I got to visit my dream and it was called "Happy Acres".

This is "Doc"....the hospitality KING of the Apple Farm. He has become a dear friend and now organizes all day bus trips to the most wonderful sites on the Central Coast.

He has asked us many times to join him on one of his excursions. We never seem to make enough time for an all day event, but he talked us into meeting him at one of his favorite destinations...and now it is our favorite too.

Doc introduced me to "Patty". She is the cutest baby goat born on St. Patrick's Day. I think she weighed as much as our kitty!

We got to feed the goats in the pasture. Stephanie ( who runs the farm) yelled out "who fed the white goat".....and worrying that I did something wrong I quietly told her it was me.

She said that it was the first time that she had come to the gate...usually very shy. So she asked me my name and told me that since she hadn't been named yet she is now officially known as ANNIE!!!!

I have a goat named after ME....now there is an unusual honor.

There is a sequence of events that I was taught about goat farming. You feed the goats....

....you milk the goats ( which I never did master, but Jim did).

The goat milk is pasteurized, placed into "Cheese Cloth" and it becomes cheese. See I CAN be a farm girl!!!

Then you mix in some yummy ingredients ( sun dried tomatoes and olives) and you have your evening snack. I LOVE farming!

Jim and I had so much fun and mostly because Stephanie made it so joyous.

I got to enter the stall and pet a two week old miniature horse, cuddle goats and load up on goat soaps and other products in her delightful farm stand.

So....if you are ever in the area of Templeton on the Central Coast, be sure to visit "Happy Acres". It really is the farm of my little girl dreams.

Paradise Found....

Welcome to Carmel....a Dutch door and a bottle of wine. What could be more welcoming than that?

Carmel is the land of quaint cottages.....

....and breathtaking vistas.

A storybook village of the most delightful shops......

I could LIVE here happily ....sigh.

Art galleries are a large part of the Carmel experience. This one was named the "Dutch Touch" and featured artists from Holland.

The bakeries are delightful...and believe it or not this tray was filled with Doggie Treats!

We knew a certain sweet doggie was celebrating a first birthday....reason enough to invest in a bag of gourmet treats!!!!

A side tour to Pacific Grove ( and a quilt shop and yarn shop....of course) took us along a scenic route of dramatic ocean views.

I found this tribute to John Denver along the beach....a sad reminder of how his life ended in this turbulent ocean.

Our last day took us along Big Sur drive. It certainly has to be one of the most lovely places on the planet. We enjoyed our stay in Carmel immensely. There were lovely hikes, delicious picnics and endless photo ops.

The beauty of our State flower and a reminder of the blessings of Spring. Tomorrow I will share the next part of our trip where this city girl proves she can be a farmer.....sort of!

Here we go again....

Retirement is agreeing with Jim...and with me too. There are some learning curves, especially when you have spent the better part of your working life on the road.

Jim does get a bit antsy to pack a suitcase and hit the road.

I do not complain...just pack my favorite magazines, a bit of knitting and off we go on some very unplanned but fun destination.

This time we began by visiting the Adamson House. We had passed this site so often on our trips thru Malibu to our Central Coast destinations that it became a bit of a joke between us. This time we actually stopped to investigate and we are so glad we did!

Would you like to visit one of the most lovely Spanish Moorish homes on the coast? The home saw lots of families enjoy the simplicity of this abode. After all this was merely the beach house...the mansion was built on the OTHER side of the road ( and sadly was lost in one of the many Malibu fires).

The beach cottage is a history of the most amazing tile work which is featured through out the home. No indoor photos were allowed, but picture quaint rooms that seem untouched since the hey day of the house in the early 1920's.

Here is a pretty view of the back of the home.

The view from the children's wing.....a huge veranda on the second floor that overlooks a scene from Coastal Paradise!

Looking down from the veranda onto the back patio. Another great use of tile and another view to take your breath away.

All over the lawns were water color artists....who loved the serenity of the home and the immense beauty of the coast. It was fun to chat with these talented artists and I just might be inspired to grab my own brush some day!

As splendid as the Adamson House is, the gardens were equally wondrous. The first day on our trip was restful and very enjoyable. Tomorrow I will share our time in Carmel...what a beautiful stay it was.

Making Progress....

The sweet delight of finding time to sew.....

Nothing like Ric Rac to make you smile....

....especially when you add the strips to this adorable quilt !

I am even making progress on my knitting.....it has been a very good week SEW far!!!

Blog Obsessed.....

I do have to admit I have a lot of obsessions....Clare being at the top of the list!!! Please excuse this chance to insert this gratuitous photo of the world's sweetest baby girl (G)!!!!

Back to my blogging obsession which takes MUCH to much of my time, but I just LOVE it. I have met the dearest friends ( many of whom I have only cyber met, but adore all the same), and I have learned SEW much from the endless tutorials that I download, copy and sometimes actually work on!!!

I can begin by praising Moda Bakeshop for quilting tutorials and Prudent Baby for helping me to fill all of Clares sewing needs!!!

When Clare's Mommy told me that she loved the bibs I have made, I did what any adoring Oma would do....make TONS more!!!!

.....and when Clare's Mommy tells me that she is still so tiny that even newborn dresses are to big, I got on Prudent Baby's site and proceeded to make this.

What fun I am having, and I know that this baby will not only be well loved, but she will be well dressed too!!!!

In fact I have to share that Clare's Mommy and Daddy have stopped teasing me about "all things Bloggy" and have decided to join the fun.

So check out my link and you can hear all about our baby straight from Clare's own Mommy and Daddy.

I am in blog heaven....but then you probably already knew that!!!