Janurary 23: Great Weekend - Back to Reality

Kevin and I had one last play weekend before he started back to  classes this week.  We slept in and then did a little stuff around the house before heading off to Montpelier, VT.  We made a few quick stops on the way including Joann's for a backing, Home Depot, and the credit union (needed lunch money).  We had intentions of going to a more specialized woodworking shop and planned to explore some antique shops as well.  And as always if we stumbled across an open quilt shop we knew we would stop.

There was a light snow falling as we drove east.  The snow on the ground seemed to increase the closer we got to capitol, but we still have not had any really heavy or deep snow this year.  Therefore, we are thinking that we will not be experiencing snowshoes this winter.  (Did I jinx us, Connie?)

Our first stop was at the specialty wood shop.  We found it interesting to browse and even found the rubber bumper feet we wanted for the trivets Kevin is making.  The other purchase was odd for that type of store.  We bought a cookbook for next summer.  It is called Pizza on the Grill: 100 feisty fire-roasted recipes for pizza and more by Karmel and Blumer.  It was fun to read and created a lot of discussion about what we would do with it in the summer.  (Wonder which of my siblings or friends would be willing to play.)

As we continued to explore Montpelier, we discovered a quilt shop named A Quilter's Garden.  It was a very cheerful shop and one that I would return to often if I lived in the area.  It had so many different fabrics to feast my eyes on, but Kevin was the first to comment on how much he liked the colors of the very first fabric wall - warm autumn and cozy.  As I have been doing since we started this adventure, I purchased a green fat quarter, and I was also lucky enough to find a new small leather thimble for my more slender finger.

After lunch, we found a few antique shops and explored.   One of the shops we went to was one of the first we visited when we arrived in Vermont.  It is very pleasant and easy to navigate, as well as filled with little flashes of memories about our grandparents.  The second shop was smaller and very interesting.  We made just one purchase that will be part of our Ho! Ho! Ho! next year. It is about a family tradition, but I can't share yet. The third shop is just starting up and had a few interesting things, but NO HEAT.  Obviously we were not there too long.  Kevin commented that he actually thought it was colder inside that outside.

Since it was light out, I tried once more to capture the fish tails, but just as I snapped we hit a bump.  Can you make out the tails on the top left?  I am just going to have to keep trying because it is such an odd phenomenon to see in the middle of a field.

Thought I would also share one more shot of the mountains near our house.  There is snow, just not the amounts they usually have according to the locals.

Because we went to church on Saturday, Sunday was a lazy, at-home day.  Kevin worked on his portfolio and our home loan paperwork, while I pieced.  We did take time out for a few games of cribbage, as well.  My Sunday evening project was to put the last side of border on my hand-stitched quilt.  Did not get it finished, but hopefully I will get it done and have a photo for tomorrow.

Now to quilt the QOV tops I finished over the weekend.  ---Always something in progress!