IT'S GONNA BE A CHALLENGING DAY

UPDATE:     Arizona Earthquake

If you recall, my last blog post ended with me being a little rattled. I was sitting alone writing my post around 11 o'clock and things started shaking and rattling and there was a semi loud rumbling noise and I was pretty sure we had just experienced an earthquake. Mr. O roused slightly from his sleep and when I told him, he just passed it off as a possble rumbling from a train going through. HELLO! My Dad was a railroad man when I was a young girl and I have lived close to train tracks several times and I know what a train sounds like and that did not sound like a train! I have also experienced an earthquake before of a higher magnitude (5.6) and I was pretty sure I recognized it as such. There is nothing quite like it. A train indeed!!!  As it happens I reported it on line before CNN... maybe when I am finished all the quilts on my bucket list I will become a roving reporter for CNN; Lord knows I travel as much a reporter does! 

Back to my challenging day. 

CHALLENGE #1 

The day before yesterday, I was eating a little piece of a turkish taffy candy that my husband bought and over half of my tooth broke off! Not just any tooth but one that I recently had a root canal done on. It had not been capped yet because there seemed to be a bit of sensitivity yet and they wanted to be sure it would not have to be removed...well I have a Dentist appt. at 1:00 p.m. and I am thinking that will be the end of my tooth. I have a slight toothachey discomfort and actually have mentioned a few times in the last week that there seemed to be pressure in my sinus on that side so Trouble maybe have been brewing for a while and I am really hoping there is not an abcess to deal with too.

CHALLENGE #2

Getting settled in and set up getting acquainted to our new surroundings for the winter.

Cupboards are stocked and little bits of business seen too.

I even have my little quilting corner set up and ready for action!

As you can see in the above photos I am well set up. I have a counter in a wide hallway area that is strictly designated for my quilting/cutting area. I have a table and rolling chair( just need a cushion to raise my up a but higher). I have lots of cupboards for storage, drawers for tools, notions and patterns, and I even have A Tassimo coffee maker strictly for my work area!

To my left is an entertainment center...

And a built in ironing station.

It's not home but I'll adjust...

CHALLENGE #3

Last year before leaving here our little quilting group decided to do a fabric challenge. One of the ladies that organizes the group purchased some fabric. It was cut into fat quarters and if we chose to participate we purchased a fat quarter and could make what ever we wanted but of course we had to use as much of our challenge fabric as possible in our "masterpiece". Because I have had a pretty busy year I just did not get to it although it was always niggling away in the back of my mind whenever I saw a fabric that might go with it or a pattern that might work. Well this is D Day and I am going to start my challenge. 

This is my challenge fabric and I don't work a lot with batiks so this in itself is a challenge but I have picked out some fabrics I want to use with it and it may need a bit of tweeking but here they are

I think my biggest challenge today though will be dealing with this......

IT'S RAINING! What's up with that? This is my third time here and we have only ever 1 day of rain! I have been in Arizona less than a week and I have had to deal with earthquakes and now rain! I'm a strong person, I can handle this!

Where In The World Do I Start????

To say it has been hectic for the last two months would be a bit of an understatement! I realize I posted for Remembrance Day from Saskatchewan, but the month leading up to that post and the three weeks since have been very full.
I am on the road again and it has been the craziest month and a half you can imagine. My husband and I met other family members in Quebec City for a memorial for his parents and to spread their ashes together at a specific place as requested. 

It had been postponed too many times and we really felt it should be done before we left for Arizona again this winter. We were away from the 10th of October til the 13th. 

I had plans to attend our Fall retreat on the 17-19th inclusive and then leave for the west and eventually Arizona the day after. That however was not the way it happened, and I had to cancel retreat. As we were unlocking the door upon returning home From Quebec, the phone was ringing with very sad news and we ended up unpacking and repacking to drive to Newfoundland for the funeral of a pastor and dear friend who died suddenly of a brain aneurism.  Of course the hurricane delayed our return and because of cancelled ferry crossings and we arrived back home later than planned. We arrived home Wednesday at supper and again unpacked and repacked and left for Ontario by noon the next day. Since then it has been steady going. We drove to Shipshewana, Indiana to meet with friends for a getaway we had planned this past summer. From there we continued on to Wisconsin Dells for four very full days of sightseeing.while in Shipshewana we did a bit of shopping and the guys wandered about town while we gals shopped in two different local quilt shops. Yoder's and Lolly's. Yes 

I recommend both of them! Lolly's has a bargain basement with a large selection of discounted good quality quilting cottons. The staff is very friendly and helpful and I had no trouble filling a sizable shopping bag with fabrics I "needed".

Even the outside entry was welcoming to a quilter!...and the staff had a wonderful sense of humour!

Have you ever heard someone say, "I have a boatload of fabric." Well Lolly's really does!

I am told many friendships have been made sitting around this boat helping someone find "just one more fat quarter of that lime green swirl fabric".

While staying in Wisconsin Dells, we had several things planned. Mr O and I wanted to visit another Frank Lloyd House, so Taliesen was on our list of things to do in Spring Green, AND as luck would have it, there just happened to be an amazing quilt shop that was on my list of places to visit! 

Last Feb. when my sister and I met Carrie Nelson in an Arizona quilt shop she mentioned that The Country Sampler in Spring Green was a wonderful shop to visit, even if you didnt buy a thing, just walking around and seeing the displays and samples was an amazing treat. The second story of their building is a retreat center...how perfect is that? 

I have to agree with Carrie...this was a real treat to visit and even though I really didn't NEED anything, I still managed to walk away with a large bag of treats on BOTH days that I visited. My friend Denise was as overwhelmed as I was and dropped a penny or two there as well. I wandered around totally mesmerized and felt like I was walking on hallowed quilting ground! My loot is packed but maybe after we unpack in Mesa I will share some of my treasures with you.

Country Sampler   Here is the link, go check it out, but don't hate me cause I went and you didn't! 😝

While in the area we also visited a most unusual and bizarre place. Check the link to see what Roadside America has to say about HOUSE ON THE ROCK

After a thoroughly wonderful time spent with old friends we parted ways..they back to Southern Ontario and we to Sault Ste Marie, in Northern Ontario to spend time with my sister and brother. 

I have to tell you I did not map the route but you'll never guess what little town was between where we were and were we were going?

Menasha, Wisconsin. You know where I am going with this...Primitive Gatherings.  AHHH-maaazing! The samples throughout the shoup were so enjoyable to see and so many kits made up all ready for shoppers on the run...yes I bought a few...enough said...photos will follow.

CHECK IT OUT!

I had planned to catch you up on the rest of my wanderings but I am just a bit shaken at the moment...while I was typing out this last bit the hotel room started to rumble and shake....a lot! It lasted for what seemed like five minutes although I know it was probably only 5-10 seconds but my heart is still racing five minutes later. What a fright! I will be curious to hear tomorrows news to see if it was an earthquake. Apparently Arizona has had a few in the last week or so.

Stay tuned for further updates...

We want a story that starts out with an earthquake and works its way up to a climax.

Samuel Goldwyn

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/s/samuelgold102217.html#jVUZRIqW7G33XpLd.99