Spa treatment and then a quilt give-away...
Oh yeah, it was a good, good week. sigh. That's me feelin' all warm and fuzzy. We stopped in North Carolina to spend the night on our way home from Florida. My Uncle Tommy and Aunt Shelia live there in a gorgeous hilltop home. My parents were there because my dad was helping to do some concrete work. My mom was coming home with us. So we got to see my dad, visit my Uncle Tommy and Uncle Paul- it's a big family- and bring my mom home with us. It was a good place to stop and a little over halfway home. I spied a double wedding ring quilt in their basement- I have a talent for that, and as it was covered in saw dust- they are still working on their house, my mom and I shook it out and wrapped it in a sheet to keep it free from more dust. The next morning, we mentioned to Aunt Shelia what we had done, so she'd know where to find her quilt. And she says that she was probably just going to throw it away. "Umm. Can I have it?" "Oh honey I have tons of stuff you can have if you want it." So I came away from Aunt Shelia's house with 5 antique quilts and one quilt top and one crocheted afghan. Oh, and a tea cup and saucer that will make Sarah green. How cool is that? And she wasn't kidding about having tons of stuff. Really great stuff. There were boxes and trunks in basements and closets. Every bed in the house had beautiful quilts on them that her grandma had made. She said that she didn't mind giving some of the old ones to someone who would enjoy them. Now, I figure I fit that description. I am so tickled with the ones that she gave me. This old quilt- which was made by her great-grandmother, was in the best condition. It is all hand-pieced and quilted. The backing is that very coarse linen-type fabric that was used in the late 1800's. I figure it is pretty old. The colors are still very nice. There's a lot of red and brown, blue and even some cheddar. And doesn't it look real sharp over my piano? And the others? Well, you'll just have to wait until I get them hung and pics taken. A couple of the other ones are quite worn and a little sad, but I hope my quilts are that well-loved. I'm not making any decisions about their restoration until I've lived with them for a while. I have a long rack in my bedroom and three of them are there to greet me each morning. A double wedding ring, a crown of thorns, and one I am not familiar with. The other one is hanging in the guest room, so there's really no reason why I haven't taken a picture of it yet. My great grandmother Oe would have liked it- lots of red and blue. I need to get her grandmother's and great-grandmother's name so I can make some labels for them. You know how I love proper documentation. Ok, any documentation.

I am headed for Dayton, tomorrow, to set up for the quilt show there. I am just the grunt pushing and pulling everything into place- Tonya has made me 5 different planograms- so far. That's the deal when your boss is a landscape architect as well as a quilt shop owner. Lots of blueprints. We'll see which one works. She is going to Spring Market, so I guess she'll never know if I don't get it all just right. I'll do my best. Then, since I am halfway there, my Mom and I are going to Toledo to see her twin sister- my Aunt Patsy, and my Uncle Greg- the one who quilts. It'll be a 2-day trip in all. I'm looking forward to it, and I'm looking for a Cracker Barrel along the way.

I made 18 different entrees for 10, yesterday. Once a month cooking- done halfway. Really, doing all 30 meals is a real killer. I didn't get to bed until 2:30am as it was. And I kept it real simple. It helps if you do all the shopping the day before, but it didn't turn out that way. It is such a good feeling to know that the meals for the next 2 weeks are all, just about, taken care of. I love to cook, but sometimes, I just hate making the decision early enough in the day about what I'll be cooking. This way, there isn't too much to think about. I think we have already discussed the fact that my braincells are all on layaway- for when I can afford to get them back.