Showing posts with label Paducah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paducah. Show all posts

Saturday, May 7, 2011

Gracious . . .

What a week-and-a-half it's been. In my last entry I shared how the weather was already kicking into high gear; it kicked into even high gear later in the day. We were fortunate, to say the least, and did not suffer any major damage. Even people who had uprooted trees or car damage didn't really have major damage, in light of the tremendous loss of life and property that some in our area experienced. Really, all of North Alabama is got hit hard. Several communities in our county were hit with the huge EF5 tornado that swept through Wednesday evening. If you've watched news at all over the past week, you've probably seen images. Photos can't compare to driving down roads and seeing it with your own eyes. It's heartbreaking.

As I said, we didn't sustain anything major. We were without power, but since we're in our RV (and Todd had JUST purchased a generator), we were sitting pretty. When the power went, the refrigerator automatically converted to LP and the battery kept lights shining. Todd was on shift when it all happened (it tends to happen that way), so I was up at the RV by myself. It was a wild, wild and scary evening.

James, Kim & Sawyer came and stayed with us while power was out. We were able to keep Sawyer's milk cold (and heat it) and it was lovely spending time together, and allowing Sawyer to become comfortable in our RV home! We actually had a marvelous time riding around the camp in the golf cart, exploring through Sawyer's eyes!

James, Todd, Jocelyn & Jason have all been able to volunteer and participate in clean-up efforts, and caring for those who were displaced by the storm. The donations of time and materials is overwhelmingly wonderful. A true picture of loving your neighbor as yourself.

Sawyer Graham is walking and walking and walking! I can't believe how fast it's all happened. He's gotten quite stable, although if he wants to get somewhere really fast, he still crawls. So funny! He doesn't need to grasp the concept of running just yet!

My last day of work was this past Wednesday. It's a very good thing. I'll be able to take care of the administrative side of our ministry and shoulder some of the burden that Todd's been bearing by himself. I'm excited, to say the least!

Our guild's bus trip to Paducah was canceled, due to the storms. We were under a very strict curfew, and our departure and arrivals times didn't work in the confines of the curfew times. This makes five years running that something has happened to keep me from going to Paducah!

Kim's last day of work was Friday -- and as happy as I am for her (because I know how much she wanted to be a stay-at-home mommy), I'm sad that I won't have those regular Sawyer days, once a week. Perhaps Kim will soon be ready for some "Kim time" in a week or so, and will allow me to watch Sawyer while she takes some time for her!

Quilting has mostly been on hold through all of this (for one thing, our office/quilt room is also the guest bedroom!), though I do have my finished BOM due next weekend, and a new swap project in the works. More on those next week.

And pictures. My camera has been taking a break; it'll be out and in action again next week!

:)

Monday, April 18, 2011

what's in a design . . .

I started this "Block of the Quarter" about 15 months ago. It's a gorgeous, gorgeous applique quilt called Spring Flowers. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about it before, but because the kit only comes once every three-four months, I sometimes forget about it.

The kit is offered by Melissa over at Honeybee Fabrics. The pattern itself comes from New Zealand Quilter, and Melissa picks the fabrics to put each block together with. She's done a marvelous job doing that, too! If you've never checked out this magazine, it's worth a look-see.

This quarter the featured block is, "Polyanthus"

Lots and lots of little pieces and stitching! Very sweet. Did I mention that I'm not actually working on this now? I'm saving these kits for later on down the line, when I'm retired and have time to do more serious quilting, but not the money to devote to it!

Be sure to check out Judy Laquidara's Patchwork Times to take in lots of quilt eye candy today!

Lots of changes this week; for one, I switched my off day to Tuesday, to accommodate Kim's new schedule at work. So tomorrow will be my Sawyer day. Yay for me!

I'm officially in my countdown-to-Paducah mode. I can hardly wait! I'm not so interested in shopping, though I am bringing a little spending cash. Mostly I can't wait to wander through the miles of beautiful quilts, and take a trip over to the museum! Yes, only twelve days to go!

On a non-quilting note, did anyone besides me get a kick out of that wedding video that went virul? You know, the one where all of a sudden, the entire wedding party breaks out into dancing? T-Mobile has spoofed it ... and the upcoming royal wedding ... and it's a link really worth checking out - right HERE. It made me laugh!

Have a great week - Happy Monday! :)

Thursday, March 31, 2011

going on a road trip . . .


Not until the end of April, but I've got my name on the list -- and it was a close one!

Our guild does an annual bus trip to PADUCAH, and this year, with one slot left, I made my reservation. I'm so excited! I've wanted to go for four years; it's just not ever worked out. I'd determined that I WAS GOING this year when the signups first came out, but then life happened, and it's been crazy, and with the cut in hours at work, money for extras like this is a little harder to come by . . . so I thought another year was going to come and go without a trip to Paducah.

Todd & I talked about it last night, and he told me to GO!! So I hurriedly e-mailed the coordinator to see if there were any slots left (this trip fills up fast, and with over 300 guild members, there was no telling). I got an e-mail this morning that there was ONE slot left . . . my check was in the mail within ten minutes!! Hurray, I'm going to PADUCAH!

Evidently one of the big stops on this trip is Hancocks of Paducah. Rows and rows of quilting fabric? Okay!

Don't laugh, but what I'm really looking forward to? Finding and having my picture taken with . . .

QUILT MAN!

LOL! There's a story there -- I'll share it when I post my picture with him!

:)

Thursday, May 7, 2009

A Little More From Paducah

I enjoyed exploring downtown Paducah.


The town is full of beautiful architecture.



River towns always have such grand old buildings, allowing a peek at times past when river commerce was king.


As a child I spent a weekend with my aunt and uncle swimming on the shore of the Ohio River. The river was as I remembered it, barges pushing coal and gravel up and down the river to some distant place.


If you are ever in Paducah make sure you take time to see The Wall or "Wall to Wall".

Murals painted by artist Robert Dafford cover the flood walls that protect the downtown area. Each panel depicts a different aspect of the local area history. I tried to find a link to more information about the wall but what I found was very limited. So instead I leave you with this link to the National Quilt Museum located 1 block north of the wall. This year the museum had a special display "Best of Show: 25 years of Quilting Excellence". It was a wonderful opportunity to see how quilting has changed in such a short span of time. This is a trip I will never forget.




Sunday, April 26, 2009

Hancocks of Paducah

Here are some photos of our stop at Hancock's of Paducah. I knew what I was getting into but it was still a bit of a shock. This is the largest fabric store I have been in to date! Oh so much to see. Many rows of drapery and upholstery fabrics.
The discount room...OH BOY!

Bolts and bolts of fabric. So many notions. And me...

Here I am with my empty shopping cart. This photo was taken so I could prove to my husband that I was well behaved at Hancock's. I was....almost.