Good Morning, Beautiful Thursday!

Up and at it….ear buds and ipod ready! Off I went for a 6 mile walk jog this morning! I woke up about 6am…I LOVE early mornings! Seconded only by that time right before evening falls..when shadows are long and the sun is working it’s way down…that 3 hours of time left before dark…

And lest you think that I run the whole thing……there is a reason I call it a walk/jog. I tend to walk a song, run a song, walk a song, run a song as I listen to my music. I can’t DO long distances just running. I’ve never been able to….but I think the important thing is that I am out there moving my body. I’ll never win any races, I probably even look pretty ridiculous, but you know what? Who cares. My health matters to me, and that means exercising when I can.

I ran by some orange orchards!! I admit I don’t know a lot about farming, but these all seemed to have just left last year’s crop still on the tree….they are just rotting there. How sad!

You can see them still on the trees. I’m sure there are reasons why…like…maybe orange prices were down and it cost more to harvest them that they would bring in…but I still think it is a shame that someone wasn’t able to pick these when they were good!

However, I did see LOTS of trees with exciting abundance of NEW FRUIT for the next harvest! These oranges are looking quite happy as they grow!

Last evening another huge storm rolled through….and that squashed my plans to be out and about….so after dinner, I braved the rain to go to my car and bring in some handwork. The lobby has a nice seating area and a big screen TV…so I sat and finished the binding and hanging sleeve on my pineapple quilt! YAY! It’s really REALLY done!

I know….that blue/mauve piece does NOT go with the backing fabric! But you know what? When showing quilts and handing them to the holders during my lectures, we have the hardest time finding which way is UP if the sleeve MATCHES the backing fabric! I don’t care what the hanging sleeve is made of. It’s a great way to clear out a 1/2 yard of some old 1990s cutesy calico! Gone! Good bye! Good Riddance! LOL!

I haven’t written on the label yet…it’s just an 8” square of white on white ((Yes, I want that all GONE from my stash…Labels are a great place to use it!)) folded on the diagonal, pressed, and placed in a bottom corner. The binding seam anchors it, and the edges are covered and secure by the binding folding over the edges. All I had to do was hand stitch that folded edge. DONE! I’ll write on it when I’m home. I want to include things like how many pieces it has, how long it took, the name, the date, that kind of stuff. But for now…It’s FINISHED. Whew! :c)

Yesterday’s Star Struck Workshop was FUN!! So many different fabrics, so many different ways to go!

		Star Struck, Sebring, FL June 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Today I move on to Lakeland for a lecture tonight with the Ladies of the Lake guild!

Tomorrow? I’m meeting up with my friend Lisa who is here from Stuttgart, Germany with her daughter doing all kinds of fun Orlando things!! We are going to EPCOT!! OH YEAH!! I’ve never been….and I’m looking forward to spending the day with them!

Evening Edition! Free Kindle Book!

Yes, it’s another cook book! But the list of recipes sounds really good to me right about now. I love Hungarian food, and there are just not a lot of Hungarian places in the cities I’ve visted lately. Lots of Tex Mex and plenty of BBQ --- but the last time I was in a specifically Hungarian restaurant was when I was in Ohio a couple of years ago! I’m wanting myself some Chicken Paprikash!

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Review

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Product Description

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I was enjoying the pool this afternoon after the class was over….Beautiful blue sky, hot hot sun, about 4pm. Doesn’t this look inviting?

This is the pool at the Kenilworth Lodge. I swam a bit, lounged a bit, talked to a friend on the phone with my eyes closed while basking in the sun….but within 20 minutes..I couldn’t feel sun anymore, only shade! Peeling one eye open and glancing up revealed that the sun was now covered by mean looking quickly approaching clouds!

Within 5 minutes, the clouds were definitely rumbling overhead and I know enough to not be by a pool when a thunderstorm is rolling through..and let me tell you…it is HOSING RAIN out there as I am writing this post!

SO here I sit, in my room….dreaming of Chicken Paprikash, and wishing I had brought some handwork in from the car with me….can’t go get it now…it’s ACROSS The parking lot…and it is COMING DOWN…

NOTE TO SELF : Whether you think you will need it or not, never NEVER EVER leave your busy bag in the CAR!

When the rain slows down, I’ll run out and get dinner…..and spend the evening stitching….I’ve got the pictures from today’s Star Struck workshop to edit down and will post those in the morning…we had so much fun today!

Toodles for now!

Hello, Sebring!

This picture is an aerial view of Lake Jackson, Sebring, Florida!

I should Never never never trust a Tomtom ((yes, even my new one)) to get me to somewhere I’ve never been before!

Well, or….maybe only trust it as far as you can throw it. And then…..double check with google maps to be sure!

Yesterday morning, after my fiasco with nary a hotel luggage cart in sight to help me load my “way too much needed stuff” back into my car….I keyed in the address for the Women’s Center where the guild meeting was being held, and headed on my way.

((Yes, it is a HUGE pet peeve when people take the carts and keep them in their rooms over night....Other people NEED them TOO, ya know? GRRRR!!))

I had no idea WHERE Sebring was on the map, really….just that it was about 90 miles from Brandon, and off I went. It was pretty much an easy jaunt, out into the countryside! I’ve never seen much of the agricultural side of Florida, and this was so fun seeing cattle, horses, fields, orchards…very different from the high rises and sprawling beaches of the gulf coast!

And I let Tomtom take me…..16 miles PAST where the meeting really was, on a DIFFERENT Lakeview drive, out in the middle of nowhere! And I was at this point nearly running late.

In desparation, I pulled out my trusty iphone, googled the women’s center……and used the GPS on google maps to get me where I was REALLY supposed to be. And all was well. And we had a great time!

It was SO stinking hot, my car thermometer registered 100…I was SO glad when temps dropped as a storm rolled in right after our dinner!

I am staying at the NEATEST old hotel-- You know how I love historic places, right? Well…get a load of the Kenilworth Lodge in Sebring, FL!

This is a post card from 1940….

This is the picture I took today!

Other than the parking lot, it hasn’t changed much!

The hotel was built around 1916. It’s like stepping back into time as you climb the steps and see the chairs on the veranda…

It was SO SO SO hot though, that I couldn’t wait to get into the lobby for a bit of “COOL!”

Beautiful stair case! My room is on the second floor, so I’ve been up and down these stairs a few times already. The sewing stuff? I left most of it in the car. I did bring the hexagons in with me, and a couple quilts to bind should the mood strike, but after the storm, I decided to put on my running shoes and go pound some pavement…

On my way back out I took these pictures in the lobby as well:

Do you know who else has stayed here? There is historic memorabilia all over the walls, and I found THIS list while exploring:

You may have to click it to biggie size it. And I admit I didn’t know many of the names in the left column, but as I followed the time line into the right hand column, these names caught my eye:

Very cool!!

So out I went to enjoy the cooler evening temps after the rain…in a bit of a hurry because sunset was quickly approaching! Down the side walk, along the lake…and found a public beach access!

Lonely empty shore of Lake Jackson! I loved the look of the pier going out over the water, so I wound my way around and found how to get onto it…

Evening colors are so brilliant!! There was still some rumbling of thunder going on in the clouds across the lake, but here the rain had stopped and it was just beautiful out.

This is the view from the end of the pier back toward shore…just catching the last rays of the sunset reflecting here! It was a great evening to squeeze in 5 miles…..come back to the hotel, take a shower, relax in the room, take care of email, and get ready for today’s Star Struck workshop!

And They Came Prepared!!

I have to tell you I was mercilessly teased by the Brandon group after my post regarding how much STUFF we take to class with us! I was so worried I had offended some…but I am so the same way! We have to bring it ALL because what if there is something we don’t bring and we find out we needed it all along? It’s always better to bring it all, and bring too much, than not enough, right? RIGHT!!

So…..for a 6 hour small wall hanging class, how much fabric do YOU bring? I think this Quilter was right on the money with her wheelie cart loaded with four huge bins of scraps and crumbs….it’s all about the variety you know? But still….I’m not sure how many of these tubs actually got opened up and pawed through! :cD

One gal said she read my blog and decided to leave some of her stuff at home. Did I shame her into it? I hope not…and I hope what she needed was not IN the bins that she left at home!

We just need our stuff. To be surrounded by it. To be able to dig through it. And sometimes, simply to know it is there, even if we don’t open that box or bag at all.

I had to laugh out loud at one comment that was given toward the end of the day:

Nancy: "It's all YOUR fault!"

Me: "MY fault? Why?"

Nancy: "I've worked really hard at getting Claudia to let this stuff GO, convincing her we can't save it ALL...and you've RE-corrupted her!!"

We just have to have it all, no explanation needed! :cD

My own sewing this trip has been much the same. I brought two quilts to bind. Have I sat at them yet? Nope.

I’ve been on the road since last Thursday. I have sewn ONE evening out of 4. ONE. And I am hauling this stuff hotel to hotel to hotel! But you know what? If I decide to, if the mood hits…it’s here. And it’s ready.

My only dread is not being able to find an available luggage cart to haul it all BACK to the car in one trip…lol!

We had a lovely lovely fast paced time for yesterday's workshop! I hope you will enjoy the slideshow of the projects in progress!

		Love Shack Workshop, Brandon FL 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I’ll be in Sebring until Thursday when I move on to Lakeland! Bring it on……….let’s keep quilting!