Cute Quilt Shop

I needed my quilting fix while I visited family in Ohio. I found this shop in Kent. It was a lovely
little shop that I never knew existed.





She had great samples. I nearly bought six patterns that were ugly in the package but the samples allowed them to sing. Fortunately I came to my senses and remembered my watch what you buy motto. I ended up with a striped homespun I needed to fill in for my retreat quilt.

Deer,Dear

This is the view from Ms. CCCat's home in San Marcos. Texas. Her home here has COWS in the front yard! This is the view through the front door! I'm such a city girl! Between the deer and the scorpion, I practically had a full camera!

Have YOU ever seen a scorpion?

I can now proudly say, I have. Wellllll I can afford to be cavalier because the scorpion is smushed somewhere in San Marcos, Texas!! I spent the week with CCCat in San Marcos. I was repacking my suitcase. Both the suitcase & I were sitting on the floor. I my black pants up, from INSIDE my suitcase and, being the quilter I am, noticed a bunch of camel colored thread on the pants. Luckily I stopped to take a second look at the blob because IT MOVED! I threw those pants as fast as I could!!!! I was frozen, just frozen in my place! My GOSH, A SCORPION, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

I'm just a transplanted northerner who was aghast to discover that cockroaches go into ALL houses in Texas not just the disqusting ones. I suddenly became a whirlwind of activity when I realized that at any moment the DEADLY scorpion could skeedaddle out of my pant leg and come and get me. I jumped up and franticlly looked for something to move my pants. I found a curtain rod. A-hah! The right criteria....long enough for me to jump away if the scorpion decided to take aim at me. I picked those pants up with the curtain rod like they were .....well, like they were harboring a scorpion! I took it out side and THREW the pants. That scorpion didn't even bother to get off of my pants.


It musta been taunting me. I had to use the curtain rod to prod the dumb thing and get it off of not only my pants but the porch. THAT, IT DIDN'T LIKE! Up came its tail and it came CHARGING AT ME! Oh, did I mention that I was barefooted? Also I was certain the thing was the size of a small alligator and didn't really want to smash it. PLUS I WAS CERTAIN THAT SCORPION BITES KILL! Finally I got it off the porch and in the flowerbed. When CCCat came home from her walk and I told her of my ordeal, she wasn't' even phased! She chuckled at me. I was being stalked by a killer and she laughed at me. (We actually found a second scorpion in the doorway....or was it the first one coming back for me....She just picked up a shoe and WAP! took care of it!) Ok, ok, so she told me that it stings like a wasp. That you don't actually die from the scorpions here but instead writhe in pain. But I had been convinced that if it had bit me, I would have needed IMMEDIATE medical attention. In actuality, if it had bit me while she was gone, in my state of ignorance and gross-outedness, I would have called 911! (Boy that would have been fun. CCCat laughing at me and the entire San Marcos Emergency Services having a chuckle at my expense!) Not only did Mrs. CCCAt laugh at me, so did MR. CCCat! Sure, they are south Texaners....they have weathered hurricanes, cockroaches, cows getting into their backyard, and scorpions! I have experience with snails and ladybugs! They got a really big kick out of my ORDEAL. Luckily, Mrs. S & Ms. A. understood my trauma! {{{{{bleeccchhhh}}}}}}} The next time I visit with Ms. CCCat in San Marcos, it's shoes, clothes hangers and NO PICKING STRAY THREADS!

I'm safe, having a good time and excited

I drove to Austin yesterday. OMG!! With as many exclamation points as you would like to add! The drive was the absolute worse I've made since we were coming home from vacation in 1990. To say it was raining would be a major understatement. I couldn't see anything but a watery view of the headlights in front of me. We were going about 35 mph on the freeway. I would have pulled off but I was too afraid of pulling off to a flooded access rooff ramp, an unknown area or any other unseen water hazard. I had no idea where I was other than almost to San Antonio. I just kept going praying that the watery red lights of the little red car in front of me didn't pull off the freeway. Those lights were my lifeline. I was so scared that I felt like I was going to throw up. I just couldnt' see anything. The closer we got to the bypass 410, the more worried I became about how I would drive up the ramp while not being able to see anything. I decided that no matter how slow I went, the cars behind me would judt have to deal with it. Luckily the entire group in front of me took the 410 ramp and we all continued on. By that point we were driving just a bit faster so the rain must have slowed just a bit. The rain finally let up near New Braunfels, after about 1 1/2 hours of driving. I stopped, gratefully used the potty, bought a diet coke, took a deep breath and continued on my way. It rained the rest of the way, hard at times but nothing like the deluge I'd just been through. Oh, did I mention that when the rain first began, I missed an accident by about 30 secs. They weren't even all out of their cars yet as we went past. While watching the news last night we saw a story of a couple here in Austin that got stuck in a low water crossing (why they call it a low water crossing instead of high water crossing is beyond me). The rescue workers were able to get ahold of the elderly couple and put a life jacket on the woman but not the man. While trying to pull them to safety, they were washed away. The woman survived but they found the man today. It is so, so, so sad. I mean, they had them in their hands! Then the news has shown them over and over being washed away and only the woman popping up. Sad, sad, sad. This is the reason I didn't pull off the freeway. Since moving to Texas, I have learned a healthy respect for Mother Nature, rain, wind, and the power of water. I don't mind if I have a dull and boring ride back home. I won't even mind if I feel like the time is passing backwards it's going so slow.

Exciting news, happier, much less scary and depressing.....not quilty but exciting. It seems my cousin that lives in Ontario comes to Austin every year for the South by Southwest music event. I don't think I've seen him in over 20 years. Well, long story short we are meeting for coffee in the morning. I'm so excited.

On a quilty note....well, I don't have a quilty note! I'm doing so good on not shopping that I drove past a quilt shop today and didn't stop in. I bought Ms. A curtains instead of going into Joanns! (it was probably alot cheaper)