We took a day trip to Sedona – about 100 miles away. It was a beautiful drive, from the floor of
the Valley of the Sun, through the foothills, climbing up to the high desert
plateau, with views of mountains in every direction, then up and up again until
we were over 4000’. The temperature
dropped about 15 degrees.
We stopped for a break at a Dairy Queen (What can I say, with Diane it was Cheetoz
and Coke, with Kit it’s Dairy Queens) – it was already cold out, but for some
reason, they had the air conditioning blasting away. By the time we left, we were all shivering.
While we were inside – Tucker made a break for it. Ken was walking Christi and when he returned
her to the car, Tucker escaped………. And headed right for the DQ’s kitchen door
where Ken caught up with him. His name
should really be “Houdini” – he’s a very adept escape artist. The only harness he can’t get out of is the
last one I made for him. Unfortunately,
I haven’t had time or space to make more – soon, I hope, because it’s starting
to wear out.
Our mission to Sedona was not just for sight seeing, but to
a certain quilt shop which had a goodly amount of Australian Aboriginal print
fabric. Kit was born in Australia and
has asked me to make a quilt with the native prints. We were quite successful – and were able to
pick up nearly 75% of what she needed for the top. The back will be American patriotic prints .
. . . or not. Perhaps Southwestern. No one knows at this point.
The colors of Sedona are seductive – not just the red rocks,
but the buildings as well. Sedona has
decreed that any new construction must be of desert colors. The hues range from sand through soft sage
green to rust red. It’s really awesome
to look at.
We drove up to the airport – which is the only place to view
Sedona at sunset - the red rocks are at
their best then. We planned to eat at
the airport restaurant – but they weren’t serving dinner yet – so we left and headed
for home. Along the way, we stopped at
Desert Castle Casino for dinner. The
food was good, basic, and plentiful!
The Casino was a beautiful stucco building which loomed out of the cliff
top! One thing I noticed about Casino’s
in Arizona – they are few and far between, and each one is a palace. In Montana – the casinos are as plentiful as
mushrooms after rain - sometimes 3-4 in
a block. They are small – sometimes
just a small structure hanging on to the end of a gas station. Not that there are not some big ones – just
not as spectacular as those in Arizona
And, no. I did not
“try my luck” I learned that lesson in
Atlantic City - I ran through a roll of
quarters there in about 2 minutes flat – then decided I’d rather have a new
pair of boots than to feed the machines.
We were still searching out fabric for Kit’s quilt. We found our way to the “35th
Avenue Sew and Vac”. It didn’t “sound”
exciting – but folks, let me tell you!!!!!
This is the biggest quilt store I’ve ever been to! Over 20,000 bolts of fabric. I spied a tote bag made from a Southwestern
print – my hand started shaking – then my knees followed suit. I kid you not!!!!
I’ve never had a
reaction to fabric like that. It was
like nothing I’ve ever experienced before – at least not in a fabric
store. In any event, they were out of
the fabric – maybe they’ll get more in , maybe not. What a let down – I was already making a
mental lists of what I could use it in – and adding up the amount needed. Well, what can I say. We wandered around the store for awhile
longer – and I decided I needed to come
by myself when I can really take my time.
On the way out, I spotted some placemats that I thought Brooke might
like (She’s commissioned me to make sets for every holiday and season)
They finally dragged me out of the store, with knees still
shaking, but without spending a cent.
On the way home, we stopped at a small quilt shop
recommended by the previous store and they had some native prints – not many,
but they happened to have just what we needed to finish up on the quilt
top.
The weather here is beautiful – at least this week – storm
is on the way. I may have to extend my
stay in Arizona because……
“THAR’S COLD IN THEM THAR HILLS!!!!” We’ve been watching the weather for Demming,
NM which is my next stop – the plan was to stay there at the LoW’s home ranch
for February and March. Well the
daytime temps have been the high 40’s to mid 50’s, but the night time temps
have been 25 – 35 – with wind chills as low as 15. I don’t think we are quite prepared for
that.
I kept telling myself that if it’s too cold to stay, I’ll go
to Plan B. Unfortunately, I don’t have a
Plan B.
Anyway, there is a chocolate festival here the middle of
February – if the Demming weather stays cold, I’ll just stay here until after
the festival – I had planned to drive back for it anyway.
I’ve been reading a lot since I’ve been here. Kit and Ken are both avid readers, so I’ve
been soaking up the words. I also
downloaded a Kindle app to my computer and have downloaded about 20 of the
classics – all free, and started buying some of my favorites so I’ll have
them. I thought maybe I could put off
buying a Kindle for awhile, but it’s just not that convenient to read on the
computer (can’t read myself to sleep as easily with a computer on my lap) so – I’ll be making that purchase any day
now. In addition, Amazon’s Audible
program has my favorite book series on sale for $8 each from now to May 1. ( I paid $40 for just one on CD) Can’t pass
that up!
Until next time
Bear Hugs
Luv n’ Boots, and Tucker, too.
The Bear is still hanging in with us, too
She believed she could do it, so she did![]]]]]]
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