Evening Edition! Errands, and some recipes!

This morning was full of errands.

I had a $20 rewards card to redeem at Staples before it expired…..$20 is ENOUGH of a chunk to make me NOT wan to waste it…and I bought something I have been telling myself to get for months, but just never got around to it..or forgot about it..you know how it goes! But never mind. I bought it.

What did I buy? A WHITE BOARD! I need to make notes for myself so that I don't forget things. I fel like I've forgotten a whole lot of everything lately and I'm hoping this will solve the problem!

While there I talked to the computer tech guy about this $9.99 computer diagnostics and tune up they are offering. I’ve been having trouble with my desk top stalling any time I open itunes. He told me what it “could” be…and he said they didn’t have a long line of things in for servicing right now so it was a good time to bring it in.

Living without my desktop is NOT easy for me because I love the big monitor, and I prefer to type on a regular keyboard as opposed to a laptop. I know everyone loves their laptops or tablets, I have both…but really? I’m much more comfortable with the scale of things and how I can type when sitting at a “REAL” computer! :c)

SO --- I’m desk-top-less for a few days. Which means I can’t update the website calendar as I only do that from ONE computer. It’s easier that way. That way all my masters are in one location, and ftp’d from one location, so I can’t forget and start editing on an obsolete file, uploading it and messing things up. Ask me how I know this is a PROBLEM!

That was stop #1….but stop #2!! Do you see that picture up there at the top of this post? We ran over to Home Depot for an area rug for the sun room ---- and I passed this display!

I DEFINITELY think that Santa needs to gift me with a new tile floor in my studio, and use this in the entrance way or something, don’t you? It was lovely! I think what I really liked was the subtle neutral tones. I’d love to do a mariners compass quilt in just neutral tones like this. Has anyone seen one?

I also came across THIS tile sample…..I would SO love this in my kitchen, or master bath!

So on to the recipe part! Remember I said I’d send these as soon as I found them so you have a greater chance of getting them before they aren’t free anymore??

The Everything Potluck Cookbook by Linda Larsen is free today from the Amazon Kindle store.

Category: Cooking

Book Description:

Potlucks are a great way to get friends and relatives together without the pricey grocery or restaurant bill! In this cookbook, veteran cook Linda Larsen gives you an array of options for every meal and course. In addition, easy-to-understand icons indicate whether a recipe is easy, healthy, quick, or inexpensive.

Everything you need to host, or attend, a successful potluck is here, including: 300 tasty and creative recipes; Tips for transporting food safely; Indications of whether a recipe can be made ahead of time; Menu suggestions for a variety of potluck parties. Guests can make the dishes on their own and bring them to the host’s home, or they can all gather in the host’s kitchen and make them together. With this book, cooking for the perfect potluck party has never been easier!

With the holidays just upon us…..I thought those of us with guild potlucks or work potlucks or just gatherings with friends might be a reason for you to download this book and give it a try.

Enjoy your weekend!

SEW MUCH FUN!!

Do you know how long it has been since I’ve participated in an “AT HOME RETREAT” with a bunch of Internet Quilters? This feels like THAT!

You know, I had a hard time explaining to others who didn’t “GET IT”-- What was the difference between sewing at home on my own --- and participating in an “at home retreat” with a bunch of other quilters all over the globe who were also just basically at home, sewing at home, doing what they usually do……

But there is a difference in feeling isn’t there? Like we ARE participating in something TOGETHER…instead of being in our own bubble at home all alone.

THIS is why I have to wait for November to do this!

I want to be here...I want to read your excitement, and field whatever questions I can and share in your joys and triumphs and struggles and even fears and frustrations!

I know step 1 is a whammy....but I figure if I start with THIS unit, no one will say "Oh, this is so easy, let's do TWO of them!" LOL!!

Those of you just joining us and wondering where to find the other parts if you’ve missed some? Look up! There in the tabs at the top of the blog, just look for the tab that says ORCA BAY MYSTERY and you will find the previous parts there.

For those with blogs --- I'm thinking of doing a "Mr Linky Monday" during this mystery so that you can show progress on your units! Would you like that? I hope so! Be watching for that post on my blog this coming Monday, November 21st!

Those who HAVE done the Mr Linky thing...any words of advice? I've not set one up before!

I hope you'll participate! It will be great to see what everyone is up to through this Mystery!

You are also welcome to post your photos over on our Quiltville Friends Facebook Page, simply click LIKE on the widget in my right hand side bar over there and we’ll show up in your news feed! I know some of you aren’t facebook users, and that’s fine too –just happy to have you following along here!

One thing I'm having trouble with is answering comments like these:

There are so many things I don't understand. String piecing on paper then remove the paper????? How to sub our color choices for what you are using???? I don't want reds, blues and blacks, but blues, purples and greens. Please take into consideration that some of us aren't experienced quilters and don't know the "lingo" as well as experienced quilters would.

This person commented as ANONYMOUS. No way to answer back. And if she had left a way, I would have directed her to the INTRO page where it said that if you didn't want my colors, you could choose your own. Where I use black, substitute what you are using instead of my black, where I use blue, substitue what you chose instead of blue....but it isn't really UP to me to decide which of your fabrics goes where if you deviate into a different path of your own. That's why it's called a MYSTERY, folks!

If you are inexperienced...either wait until you see the steps unfold, or email me so I have a way to reply. And please read ALL the steps up there in the Mystery Tab to see if the questions are already answered there. Chances are, they probably will be!

That said, if you are a rank beginner, or have only been quilting a little bit, maybe you want to wait it out anyway to see if something this intricate is really what you want to cut your teeth on. In writing this, I'm assuming that everyone have some basic knowledge of rotary cutting, quilting terms, 1/4" seam allowances and general quilting experience including knowledge of the lingo.

Now let's get sewing!

PS. I know some people get "fed up" with blogs that are posted too often! However, when I have information to get out in a timely manner, this is the best way for me to do it. You can easily skim over the posts that don't apply to you. Just know that during Mystery time, this is the best way for me to answer questions that might be beneficial to everyone, or if I think of additional info that I could have explained better -- etc. In other words...I may be more verbose than usual, but bear with me please!

It’s Orca Bay Eve!!

All week long I’ve been giggling to myself!

Never in my wildest dreams could I imagine the build up that would present itself over the past few weeks, including mails asking what TIME this first clue would be posted tomorrow morning!

OH. MY. GOODNESS!!

I had to think about it. I live on the East Coast of the USA. Someone asked if it was going to go live just after midnight my time tonight….I guess those people on the WEST coast think they can get in a day early if they can start sewing at 9pm the night before..LOL!

Let’s just say that I will post each part on Friday Morning --- sometime during the morning! When I am able to write posts ahead, I usually set them around 7am eastern time. But it could be as late as 9am or so…do I want to be up that early the day after Thanksgiving? I plan on IGNORING Black Friday and sleeping in.

So they post when they post, with no set schedule, because I really have ENOUGH deadlines right now.

Posting these clues has to go along with what is going on in my life. I’m done with my traveling teaching for the year, but I’ve got Thanksgiving and Christmas to deal with too – and a little upheaval has happened the past couple days.

DS Jeff has reached irreconcilable differences with a really bad room mate who isn’t paying their share of the bills. Jeff can’t afford the 2 bedroom apartment by himself. There is no one else to move in, and we can’t afford to pay his bills for him…he’s working all the hours he can at this job, but they’ve hired on new holiday help…meaning everyone is getting their hours readjusted, and his hours aren’t enough to cover what he is needing too. They love him there. They don’t want to lose him. He is a great worker.

But I think the past nearly 6 months on his own has not only helped him mature in many many positive ways ((Those of you with 21 yr old sons understand where I am coming from here! Growth comes in micro-millimeters sometimes!)) and he wants to go back to school AND work…and can’t afford an apartment right now on his own, and he doesn’t WANT a room mate anymore. We’ve all been there, haven’t we?

So he came home last night….through a thunderstorm with tornado warnings!

This was also prompted by the fact that he’s been dealing with a “cold” the past few weeks that I suspected was MORE than a cold ---- but who would listen to mom over the phone?

This morning I hauled his coughing and hacking carcass off to the doctor. VERY bad case of bronchitis ((Oh, don’t *I* Know these symptoms SO well?!?)) and it’s aggravated his asthma. He’s drugged up here at home on a Z-pack, Steroids, and cough medicine.

I’m making a big pot of soup for dinner!

I just need to love on this guy a little bit.

He brought home ALL his dirty laundry! ((I was always told they do this, but this is the first time I’ve witnessed it—>_<)) and that is running as I type this.

There is a possibility that he will be able to transfer from his job at Fatz Café in Columbia SC, to the Fatz Café location up here in Greensboro. His boss is supposed to call and give him a good recommendation. We hope so.

He will be heading back to Columbia "temporarily" tomorrow..he plans on finishing out his work schedule. He is working Thanksgiving....maybe move up the weekend after Turkey Day.

Regardless, things are in a bit of a transition HERE again….I guess I need to move all the quilt-stuff back out of his room, cuz I think he wants it back!

And with that, I’m back to writing up the directions for clue number 1, to go live tomorrow morning, my time. Sometime. During the morning ;c)

Shore Day 2! St Thomas!

Of all the places we were seeing on this cruise, the one place I was looking forward to was St Thomas! It’s just the most beautiful place!

We were off the ship by 9am to meet with our guide out on the pier --- today’s adventure? The Water Island Bike Adventure!

We hadn’t done much research before leaving for this cruise – there just wasn’t time. So we had a couple days on board before we started reaching ports to decide what we wanted to do – and there on the St Thomas day, was the listing for the Water Island Bike tour --- however, it never said anything about Water Island being a completely separate island from St Thomas! Adventure indeed!

We left port with our guide….only FOUR participants in this group! I guess you could say we got very personalized attention! A Van took us to the ferry dock, a ferry took us out to Water Island, which is a 3 mile by 5 mile stretch of land not far from St Thomas. There are only about 200 residents at “peak” season on the island, it’s very remote --- very beautiful, and VERY MOUNTAINOUS!

Much to my alarm, we did NOT have Granny bikes with comfy cushy seats as we did in Puerto Rico the day before --- we had Cannondale Mountain bikes! With GEARS! LOTS of them!

After the ferry dropped us off, we were trucked up to the highest spot on Water Island ….here we are looking over toward St Barts --- I just love seeing the mountainsides dotted with the white buildings!

Water Island has an interesting history. During WWII It was a strategic place for defence from U Boats….there is an underground fort at the top of the mountain, and that is where we are standing to take these pictures!

The underground bunker was literally abandoned around 1950 --- and today the residents use it as a hurricane shelter. There are lots of rooms and things underground, but if you want the best spots, you have to show up early --- oh, and bring lots of food and beverages of the adult variety and any other kind, it’s a huge party down there!

When Hurricane Hugo came through in 1989, it completely wiped out a BEAUTIFUL resort on Water Island --- it’s never been replaced.

More history can be found HERE! You know I love history, and it was all so interesting to me…

A little instruction on the changing of gears, and using which brake for what..and we were off! Climb climb climb…..down hill down hill, NOT TOO FAST!! ((Oh, I’m afraid of out of control speed, I don’t like speed at ALL!)) The roads were mostly unpaved, the vegetation was very very jungle like!

We had a GREAT time, burn baby burn! We crossed muddy areas, and even saw where the remains of the resort stood….we found we were there standing on all that was left…tennis court concrete. And off we went again, winding our way down toward the beach…..

This little guy was curious as to what we were doing --- crazy tourists! From what our guide told me, this one is a male, because his cheeks are rosy red. He didn’t stay long, decided he’d had enough of us, and dove right into the water ---

There ARE a few businesses on the island, but you know how laid back island life can be? I got a huge kick out of the “Hours of operation” sign:

LOL!! I love that last line! “On some days we’re not here at all, but lately we’ve been here a lot, unless we’re not.” Works for me!

A glimpse of a US flag, and a St Thomas flag…..and the water beyond!

Would we do this again? In a heartbeat with helmet hair and sweaty dirty gritty everything!

Ahhhhh! Swim suit on, feet in the sand!

A lazy cove with aqua turquoise water, blue skies, but enough cloud-shade to keep the glare away….we swam here until it was time to meet our ferry to get back to the ship!

On the ferry back to the dock…..

Pretty enough for a calendar? I think so! This was just standing at the dock waiting for the ferry ---

That evening, as our ship left port…we sat on our balcony deck and watched the sun sinking low into the west….stopping to pause a minute on top of Water Island, where we had spent our day. The sunset was magnificent! It was definitely a moment to stop and appreciate all that we had been gifted with this fantastic trip ---

And then to pop a couple ibuprophen, drink some more water --- and realize that there is yet ANOTHER bike tour the NEXT morning! ((OY!!))

We are on our way to the Samana in the Dominican Replubic! The trifecta of terror --- a bike, hike AND kayak tour!

Afternoon Edition–Free Kindle Book!

Oh My Goodness --- there is no fighting it! As I am typing this, Harry Connick Jr is singing “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year…..” on my radio station --And I am SO not ready for this! I guess there is no stopping it though, and I thought this little freebie MIGHT..just MIGHT get me a bit closer to being in the mood for the holidays just around the corner.

Angel Be Good by Kathy Carmichael is free today from the Amazon Kindle store, and has received an average user rating of 4 out of 5 stars based on 32 customer reviews.

Category: Humor / Romance

Book Description:Romantic Comedy
Sensuality Level: Warm

Miracles still happen in modern day New York when “Scrooge” (Nathaniel Danvers) meets “Heaven Can Wait” (Daphne), who has been sent to give him one last chance at redemption. ANGEL BE GOOD captures the essence of the classic Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and offers a touch of humor and romance. A perfect holiday feel-good read.

I like that it is listed as WARM but not over the top --- I just don’t get into that graphic stuff, please leave SOME up to my imagination. At the same time, I love a feel good story with a happy ending, because, after all, this IS fiction!

Some more from the Amazon page itself:

"ANGEL BE GOOD is another heartwarming and funny tale from romance's latest and ever-so-talented romantic comedy author. Kathy Carmichael makes you laugh and makes you cry and always leaves you satisfied."
--Trish Jensen, bestselling author of Stuck With You

"This is without a doubt one of the sweetest renditions of "A Christmas Carol" I've ever read. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every page. "
--Kathy Boswell, Managing Editor, The Best Reviews

"...ANGEL BE GOOD is a read to fill your heart with warmth, and is filled with emotional scenes that have you laughing as well as bring tears to your eyes. Don't miss the inspirational message hidden between the lines of this romantic comedy."
--Carol Carter, Reviewer, Romance Reviews Today

About the Author

Award-winning comedy author Kathy Carmichael resides on Florida's west coast, along with her Scottish husband, two not-so-wee-sons, and a bevy of cantankerous felines. Kathy's women's fiction/romantic comedy, HOT FLASH, was named as one of the Top 10 Romance Fiction titles for 2009 by the American Library Association's BOOKLIST magazine.

Check before clicking to purchase that it is still free --- things change rapidly and what was free earlier may not be later by the time you get around to it!

Enjoy!

A bike tour through San Juan!

Our first port of call, and a short one! As far as day light hours goes, that is….we pulled into port about 3pm, and we were there until 11pm, but we only had 3 hours of daylight left to cram in all we could!

Being as I had lots of beach time and boat time and snorkel time on the last cruise ((Quickly translate that into SUNBURN time, ya’ll!!)) and was not really in the mood for repeating those activities, DH and I did something REALLY fun this time ---we planned bicycle activities for THREE of our port days!

This should be easy-peasy! After all, I was just ON a bike last---- ummm---- well ---- JULY!?

All of a sudden I had the feeling I should have packed bike shorts! A little padding would have been a welcome addition, and I’m not talking about the kind of padding I’ve gained from too much travel food over the past year!

It was hot when we disembarked….only about 90 degrees! We met our group at the end of the pier, and we were walked over to where our bikes were ready and waiting for us. My first sigh of relief! GRANNY BIKES with large comfy seats….no gears, pedal backwards to brake. This is a good sign!

But the San Juan traffic is hot and heavy and hectic! Our guides were quite the dare-devils getting right in there and stopping traffic for us to cross intersections, etc! The one hard thing for me, the shutter bug that I am….it is impossible to take pictures when you are pedaling like mad to keep up. I kept seeing things that I wanted to take pics of…houses with cool tiled fronts! Oops, there it goes!! Zoooom---maybe we’ll catch that on the way back? Oh heck, just quit worrying about it and ENJOY THE RIDE!!

One of the first landmarks we did stop at was the capitol building. Beautifully constructed of marble, The capitol building was started in 1919, and inaugurated in 1929. It’s also commonly referred to as Palacio de las Leyes, or the Palace of Laws.

I took several pics of the inside….of course, phone cam pics are not the greatest in inside light..but check out the inside of the dome! And I loved the marble staircase as well :

		Capitol Building, San Juan, Puerto Rico VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

There’s even a pic of DH looking up as the guide tells us what all the different corner depictions represent ---it was just beautiful!

On our bikes again and off we went, riding single file through the city, traffic being stopped for us, just soaking up the feel of what San Juan is all about!

This was the one pic I managed to catch of DH and our guide on the bike path section ((We didn’t always have this)) telling him little bits about San Juan ---as for me..it was all I could do to pedal pedal pedal to keep up!

We stopped at a park for a water break…..thank heavens! My legs needed it! Granny bike or no, did I tell you this was a 12.5 mile tour?

Little snaps of local buildings --- we stopped at one local place for fruit smoothies. Clear out of the touristy area, into the REAL San Juan. I’m sure all the locals out enjoying the evening were thinking….crazy tourists! It’s too hot to be on a bike today! They were enjoying the shade of umbrella tables, families out enjoying the Sunday evening beauty.

A lot of businesses are not open on Sunday afternoons….but that was fine with me! How was I to shop, and how could I get anything back to the ship on that bike anyway!?

I just love colorful buildings! There is a time and a right place for it I guess. I’m not saying I’d be happy if my neighbor painted their house purple, but when I am somewhere where it is part of the culture, I just love it!

Hello, pussy gato!! This little girl was just there in the midst of all the people in the marketplace where we got our smoothie! DH says…don’t pet the animals!! I know…but she is so beautiful, I at least have to get close enough to get a picture! Look at those eyes!

We rode past more beaches as the sun quickly began to set. Our guides said we needed to really pedal fast to get back to where we started by dark time. Our guides had lights on their bikes, but ours didn’t! Oh pictures, I got so FEW of you on this day!

Getting darker still….we are waiting for the slow pokes to make it up the hill behind us..LOL

Quick, DH! Take a pic……can you see the cars with lights on over my shoulder? And believe me…the hair is so sweaty it’s a better idea to leave the helmet ON to hide it!

Our final photo shoot place! This is the statue of John the Baptist, whom San Juan is named after. He looks ANGRY doesn’t he? Pointing back over his head, out to sea? What’s the deal with this? :cD

So…our guides had us all mimic him for our silly group photo…

Don’t we look JUST LIKE the statue? LOL! What a fun fun tour! I’d recommend this one to anyone…we saw a lot of the city, we got away from all the touristy areas, and had a blast while getting some beautiful ocean views and great exercise!

One more of us all in front of the Capitol building! Awesome!

It was completely dark by the time we got our bikes back to the starting point, and we walked our way through piles of cruising tourists to get back to the ship, sweaty, tired, and exhilarated. There was another ship in port besides ours, the Carnival Victory. What a nice ship that was too! Our first thought was that we would go back to our room, take showers, get rid of the sweaty clothes and sweaty helmet hair and go back out to dinner in Old San Juan….

But we were both so tired by this point that we wimped out on finding some San Juan night life, grabbed our dinner in the Windjammer and spent a quiet evening on the ship instead.

Afterall --- the next port of call was just the next morning in St Thomas, and we had bike excursion #2 to deal with.

Yep --- at this point I was REALLY wishing for those bike shorts I’d left back home!