winter pics

My BTAE friends started a group post of winter pictures. They all went out and took picutres of their yards covered in snow or just dead with cold. I think they wanted to comiserate. I don't think I can comiserate. This is my yard on Wednesday.
Nova Scotians, up to their butts in snow, will have to comiserate with each other.

And this is Mary Shelley wishing she were in the yard on Wednesday.

After returning from the Design Outside The Lines retreat, I was enthusiastic to sew more. However, I have not really had the opportunity. Rats. Piecemakers Quilting Guild Community Quilts Project is hosting what they call Retreat Lite on the first weekend in March. It's local, in Newark, so getting a room is possible but not necessary. Arranging care for Janow et al is can also be skipped, so I signed up for that. Retreat Lite will not have teachers and classes or projects, just opportunity to set up machines and sew for 48 hours straight.

Someone in GThreads Group posted about the demise of another independant fabric store in her town. These are falling by the wayside, in favor of megastores that sell all kinds of stuff from prestretched canvas to playdough. This is a lot more walking for those that find that difficult. A sterile mega environment is harder to feel inspired for fabric choice. Quality is lower, in general. So my weekend plans include a visit to Sisters 'n' Stitches in Fremont. Support local independant stores.

Joseph is flying to Reno to visit his Grandparents for "Ski Break" next week. He leaves on Monday and he is SO excited he can't stand to be with himself. Flying as an 'unaccompanied minor' adds to the excitement. A non-stop flight lasting less than 1 hour, along with airport security, makes it comfortable for us to put him on the plane.