Our Lady of the Blue Highways

Our Lady of the Blue Highways
Portrait in oils by Jackie Poutasse

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

WEE BEASTIE SPEAKS

Wee Beastie says he's tired of the cold and it's time to head south. We are packed up, and ready to roll tomorrow morning. Well, if Mother Nature approves, that is. We are expecting snow in the morning, and my first stop is in the mountains of Massachussetts.

I'm looking forward to some of that 70 degree weather in Virginia.

I'm very grateful to Amanda and Angie for giving me the place and opportunity to complete all my sewing projects. If not for them, I would never have been able to complete them.

Remember the 40 sewing projects I wanted to do once the quilts were finished? Well, I completed 60 of them. No, that's not a typo - the list just kept growing.

Never fear, I still have unfinished projects to keep me busy on my travels.

I'm not rushing to get on the road in the morning - I still have some stuff to stuff into Luv. Then I have to drop off books at the library, stop by AAA to see if once and for all I can catch the correct road, and miss the NJ turnpike. A stop at a thrift store - to drop off a box, and gas up and go. Oh, yeah, a stop at BJ's in Saratoga for a couple bags of Almonds on the way.

It's time to detox all the sugar I've been indulging in. It starts tomorrow - Brooke will join me in detoxing for the week I'm there, and Betsy will aid and abet (?) me while I'm staying with her. I have to lose some weight quickly - I refuse to buy any larger clothes (after having disposed of my "big" clothes before I left VA last fall) And all I have that fits are sweat pants and PJ bottoms.

I donated a huge pile of fabric to a quilt guild here in Glens Falls, managed to leave behind some storage totes I no longer needed - but I still need to reduce what I still have. I'll have Betsy stand over me and challenge me to get rid of more.

I had a plan on how to pack the truck. My grandson helped me and he had a different plan - I kept quiet and let him do his thing.

My Mother was an AAA champion packer. I remember way back when - she drove a VW Beetle from California to Montana - With my Sister-in-law, her 4 kids - age 2 years to 14, Plus all their necessary clothing, books, food, etc. In Montana, she picked up my two oldest - ages 12 and 14 at the time, and drove the 600 miles to Seattle, where my SIL, and nieces and nephews debarked, and Mom continued on to California with my two girls to spend the summer in California.

Another fond memory I was reminded of while tying up a roll of batting. Without thinking, I tied a bowline in the end of the twine, pulled it around the bolt, and secured it with a couple half-hitches.

The summer I was 8 years old, my Father had read and article in the Reader's Digest about a family out boating on a river. The motor died and wouldn't re-start. The boat drifted under a bridge where people threw down ropes (the boat was headed to the falls). No one on the boat knew how to tie a secure knot, and the family was lost.

This prompted my Father to teach me how to tie a bowline - a non-slip knot! He gave me a piece of clothesline rope about 2 foot long which I carried with me everywhere that summer. First he taught me the mechanics of the knot - when I mastered that - he had me tie it wearing mittens (using no fingers, just flat hands). Once that became easy, I had to tie it with my eyes shut, and finally I learned to tie it with my hands behind my back. To this day, I can tie a bowline, but not if I look at it.

It's getting late folks - time to hit the sack for an early launch tomorrow.

Until next time,

Bear Hugs

Luv 'n Boots

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