Epcot Day!

When was the last time you did something that made you feel like a kid in an amusement park!? Seriously….WHEN did you last let your inner child out?

I met up with Lisa and her daughter Sabina at their hotel in Kissimmee yesterday morning and off we went for the wilds of Epcot!

It’s been about 20 years since I last did anything Disney….and Epcot was one place I’d never been before. I have to say I was amazed at what my ticket cost, but I just coughed it up and knew it was a day where the memories would be priceless in comparison….

Sunscreen? Check!

Water bottle? Check! (complete with a couple extra packets of crystal light singles to keep me DRINKING!))

Phone battery fully charged? Check! And off we go!

The first ride we did was like a trip into the future and the monitor in front of us asked us to answer questions about ourselves and our health! And then it makes this cartoon of you….it was SO funny! So I started snapping pics at the screen. Many of them turned out really blurry, but I think you can guess what kind of fun we were having!

Lisa and I eating our healthy salads and being served by a robot, Jetsons-style! :cD

It was a very funny start to a very fun day!!

My favorite part was going down around the Lagoon and seeing all the different countries represented. The first place we hit of course, was MEXICO, and because we were so hungry, we stopped for food! ((Yeah, really spendy too of course, but the grilled chicken tacos were delish!))

Hot Hot Hot! Oh yes….high 90s and the humidity was building as we made our way from one area to the next. We sought out shade and A/C at every opportunity!

Our next stop? Norway! Yes, I have a thing for posing with statues…I don’t know why…but it’s fun! This guy was so high on the rock I had to go on tippy toes to even get to shoulder level! The Norway exhibit has a beautiful film with areas of the countryside…WOW. Put Norway on my list. I’d love to go there, it’s so beautiful!

From Norway to China? Oh yes, we are crisscrossing the globe at lightning speeds by this time! What’s fun too, is the “cast members” at each country are young people FROM those countries here on Visa. So you have German kids in the Germany site, you have French kids in the France area, you have Chinese kids in the China area etc…Got to thinking what an interesting job that would be away from home! I guess they come and work for a year, and when their visa is up they go home.

And it wouldn’t be Disney without running into at least ONE princess along the way! Here Snow White was entertaining the crowds, and posing for pictures with little princess wanna-be girls!

The USA area is representative of Philadelphia during the revolutionary war. I was enamored by the fife and drum corps! They were very fun to watch, and I really admit to wondering how they were handling the heat with those red coats, wigs, and tricorn hats! Did I mention it was STINKING HOT?!

SO Stinking hot that we escaped the heat by ducking into a 3D movie version of Michael Jackson in Captain EO circa 1986 or something. Yeah, blurry, and yeah, definitely sweaty, but don’t you like my funky glasses? :cD

Our wish was about to be granted though! While we were enjoying the A/C and the exciting 3-D-ness of Captian EO…a huge thunderstorm had rolled through cooling off EVERYTHING! The rest of the evening was wonderful….We even got a by stander to snap this great picture of the three of us enjoying the cooler temps…

It was an AWESOME day! I took more pictures, but it would take too long to describe them all, so I’m posting them here for friends, family and YOU to view:

		Epcot, June 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

And with that….It’s time for me to bid Florida farewell! I’m driving the 9 hours home today…..It’s been a wonderful trip, and I know I’ll come back in the future!

Antique-Mall Road Show!

You know me, I just can’t resist a sign that says “Antiques Ahead!” I didn’t think I’d find many quilts down here in Florida. In fact, what I found were definitely more of the tropical to pastel color range of quilts…light weight, and fun!

I never know what I will find. Some places will have more junk than most. Some will have quilts that are really dirty, smelly and over-priced. Some won't have any quilts at all...but you just never know. And if you don't go looking, you won't know what you could be missing! And rest assured, I have come across MANY MANY quilts that say "Vintage, Rare, Hand Stitched, Hand Quilted" and you don't even have to look at them closely to know they are the "made in china" ones....falling apart at the seams, inch long stitches, polyester batting falling out! It cracks me up when something says "made in 1850" and it has poly batting peeking through the seams!

But still...we look. Because we have to. Because there ARE gems to be found amid the junk!

Of course this wonky string quilt caught my eye! Lots of 50s/60s fabrics in it..maybe some into the early 70s too. If it looks retro, it’s because it IS…or the epitome of what retro is trying to recreate anyway! This one was used and used hard…It was tied instead of quilted….

I fell in love with this tiger oak parlor cabinet! I SO wanted to buy this JUST for the cabinet ((ARE YOU READING ME DIANE?!?)) But there is so much stuff in my car, I couldn’t fit it in if I wanted to. Am I going to shoot myself? For not getting it? Probably! I definitely thing my next car is going to be a mini van! I never wanted a mini van….I made it all the way through kids without one…but now? Yep. I think I see a minivan in my future!

Here is a pic of the machine itself….seriously. I just wanted the cabinet! This is a Free, No. 5! Probably needs a good cleaning, but the bobbin shuttle was still there, and all the parts moved…at least it wasn’t frozen up!

But…the price?

$165.00! Should I shoot myself, Di?? Should I? Auughhh…..next time, maybe next time. LIke I said, there is NO WAY JOSE that that will fit in my car anyway!

I LOVED this beauty in two colors…a watermelon pink and crisp white! I definitely see this quilt in my future! I love how the broken dishes units just criss-cross through the bigger pinwheels. Isn’t this fun?!

This Jacob’s Ladder was really fun too! All the blocks used different yellows, and the other fabrics were very fun 50s early 60s prints! I love these big splashy roses:

Aren’t these fabrics great? The quilt was pretty badly stained in some areas…the price was well..PRICEY! But sometimes a picture is worth more. Besides…I really am out of ROOM to store these things!

Isn’t it fun how the blocks and areas look so different depending on which fabric was matched with what yellow? I’m thinking I’m going to have to start some yellow 4 patches for my next leader/ender project! Looks like 5 identical 4 patches, 4 half square triangles also using the same two fabrics per block….anyone want to join me? :cD

THIS lovely took the cake!! It was SO BEAUTIFULLY appliqued and embroidered! It’s a shame it was in as bad of a state as it was…looks like water stains had yellowed in in several areas…and it was too pricey to want to bring home and fix, but I loved looking at the ladies! I am NOT a Sunbonnet Sue lover….but these Colonial Ladies are charming!

		Colonial Ladies Quilt VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I didn’t get pictures of ALL the blocks….I was trying to be discreet in my photo taking! If I had a daughter….I might have snatched this one up. I hope it finds a home with someone who really appreciates the workmanship that went in to it!

I’ve got an antique top like this one at home that I’d love to hand quilt some day! Would I ever want to piece one? NO WAY! LOL! But I sure love the look of the chains those leaf shapes make as they criss cross their way through the quilt too. Designs that are strongly positive/negative have always caught my eye as well…

And as always, I wonder what the NEXT jaunt through the Antique Mall will unearth! Oh, how I love a treasure hunt!