Thursday, October 17, 2019

Really Random Thursday, 10/17/19

Here we are in the middle of October already! I am constantly amazed at how quickly 2019 is speeding by.

Two weeks ago we were at Lakeview Cottages for the week.
Beginning on Thursday morning and ending after breakfast on Sunday, I spent my days at a quilt retreat held at the campgrounds right next door to the cottages. There are always two groups of women there--those from our church, sewing in the dining hall, and those from other churches, sewing in the chapel. We share meals. Our group was small this year, just four of us. But it was really fun and I think we each accomplished quite a bit.
Marilyn, Gisela, me, and Dotty
This is the entire group.
I completed my ghost quilt top (but only got a picture of some of the blocks...)
And began a project that has been floating around in my brain for awhile. I'm still not sure if it will look as good in reality as it does in my head, but this is the beginning.
On Saturday evening, the other group came to the dining hall and we had a show and tell, something we have not done in previous years. It was really fun to see what they had been working on.

It was a very relaxing week, something I look forward to every year. I had initially kind of dreaded it this year because of the cold temperatures that were in the forecast, but Mark and I had enough warm clothing and blankets that it was quite pleasant in the cabin. By the end of the week, the temperatures had warmed up and the weather was beautiful.

On our way home Sunday, we stopped in Shaver Lake for lunch. There is a new restaurant there called Seasons Bistro, with Cordon Bleu-trained chefs, something you would not expect in a small mountain town. I hope the restaurant is a hit because, wow, the food is amazing!! This burger had melted brie with bacon, arugula and perfectly grilled onions. We have heard the bananas foster is out of this world, so we plan on making a trip back for dinner one of these evenings.
On a weeknight last week, Mark and I went out for dinner and headed to a movie. The sky, lights and palm trees made for a beautiful picture.
I haven't been quite sure how I have felt this year about October being breast cancer awareness month. Little did I know last year at this time that cancer was already in my body--I just had not found it yet.
I kind of reluctantly changed the profile pictures on my Facebook and Instagram accounts. And then I received a text from Grace, one of Charlotte's good friends. She is on a volleyball team. Their game last Thursday was called Dig Pink, and each of the players was to choose a friend who had been touched by cancer. Grace chose me. I was very honored.

I wish I could have attended the game, but it was at the same time I was presenting a guild trunk show.  I keep forgetting to take pictures. This is what the dining room table looked like in preparation.
This is the only picture I took--after the presentation, and during the guild show and tell. That is Mark helping to hold up a quilt.
Aaron and Christa headed to Mammoth for a wedding, and we had grandchilden from early Saturday morning until Monday night around 6:30 p.m. We had the best time!

Saturday was mostly taken up with soccer games.

Ella got these vampire teeth in her treat bag after her game.

In the evening, we celebrated Gabe's birthday.

Mark built a fire and we roasted hot dogs.
The evening was really beautiful, so we ate outside. In fact, we ate outside all three nights.
Bubble time.
We gave Gabe the classic game, Clue.
We watched Aladdin--the newest version. About midway through the movie, we took a break to make s'mores.


 Sunday after church, we decided to go to the zoo for lunch. We have the best zoo.

There is a special exhibit right now called Zoorassic Park, so we walked through that. The dinosaurs move and make noises. I have never been a fan of dinosaurs, but it was kind of fun to walk through the exhibit.


Family pic.
Silly Levi.
The kids wanted to end the time at the zoo by walking through the reptile house. That is a NO WAY for me. You could not pay me enough money to walk through there. Ever. Instead, I watched these two for awhile.
Gabe decided he wanted to sew a pincushion. I think learning how to do a little hand sewing is a great skill. We both laughed when he sewed part of it to his shorts. But I assured him that even seasoned seamstresses have been known to do the very same thing.
He learned the running stitch, stuffed it, and then learned the whipstitch to close it. It always makes me happy when they want to learn a skill related to sewing.
Our Double Delight roses are showing off one last time. They are by far my very favorite rose.
We had no trouble with getting the kids to sleep either night, but I still thought this was funny.
And I'll end with these. Happy fall...



5 comments:

05 08
Robby said... #

These are always such fun posts. I think that corn maze might also be for people who are claustrophobic. How nice that Charlotte's friend wanted to let you know how important you are to them. I'm not really a center of attention person, but when you discover that a young person thinks of you that warmly, it would be an honor. Everyone roasting hotdogs and s'mores looks like a great evening. Thanks for sharing your random life with us.

Anne / Springleaf Studios said... #

I love your Thursday posts Cindy. It's fun to see what's happening in your life and how the grandkids are growing. Gabe sewing his pin cushion to his shorts made me laugh. And so did your letter signs. You always find the funniest things to share. Thanks. Have a great weekend.

FlourishingPalms said... #

Such an interesting post, Cindy! You have a much more varied and interesting life than I do, though we both have a special place in our hearts for breast cancer awareness month. I hope you are doing well related to that. Thanks for giving us a glimpse of your life. It looks pretty darned perfect to me.

OPQuilt said... #

Charlotte is nearly as tall as you! How did this happen?? It's been fun to watch these children grow up in your posts, and I enjoyed their activities, even if the pincushion had to be surgically removed from Gabe. Glad the trunk show went well, and your retreat at the cabins sounds like bliss!

(P.S. Glad you made it through all the cancer treatments, and if you want support for not putting out the pink ribbon or referring to yourself as a "survivor," read Barbara Ehrenriech's "Welcome to Cancerland," [it's online--an article in Harper's] an account of when the disease struck her, for another view.)

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