Visiting Tammy and I'mani in San Antonio

March Excursion

During March I was privileged to visit my daughter Tammy and granddaughter I'mani who live in San Antonio. I love visiting my girls. It was a jam packed week. We went to a strawberry farm where we picked strawberries. We ate them for a week for desserts. Strawberries dipped in warm, melted chocolate chips are the best!
 

 I'mani made sand art, painted a pot and planted gourds and played on a bouncy. The highlight of the farm trip for I;mani was petting the horses and feeding the farm animals. I think Tammy loves the animals too.

             

              

During the week we ate out several times. I was treated to breakfast at Snooze, a fun and interesting restaurant. I'mani and I made brownies from scratch. She is quite the little baker with great math and mixing skills. The highlight of the trip for me was spending Mani's 11 birthday with her. I brought a dress fit for a princess, and she looked like a princess in it. She loves fancy dresses for her piano and choir recitals. And oh my, does she have some piano skills!

We spent her day going out to breakfast, IHOP of course. Then to Dave and Busters for fun and games. Being hungry after a day of fun, we ate at Olive Garden. She ate at her two favorite restaurants in the same day. Then home where there was cake and ice cream.

Tammy and I spend my last day in San Antonio with some mother/daughter time. We went out to brunch and had much needed massages. Then came the sad good byes. I hate that part. Scott and I love and miss our girls so much. Hopefully we'll see our girls later this summer.

Retreating With the Lost Girls

I had a lost girls retreat this weekend in Cle Elum at the Crazy for Quilts retreat house. First, I should probably explain our name. The original lost girls had a habit of getting lost no matter where we went. Somehow we always found our way. The group has changed and been added on to, but somehow, someone gets lost upholding the tradition of getting lost.

Thank you Karen Reynolds for driving. We upheld the tradition of getting lost. Neither of us looked up the directions to the center. I had the address, I plugged it into my phone GPS, but did not believe the first turn. Oh, well, at least we found the center without much difficulty. The weather was beautiful -  warm and sunny. There were eight of us on this trip. Our friend and fellow quilter Kat had some shirts made up for us. Here we are eating at the Yellow Church in Ellensburg.

Yards of fabric  shopping occurred at the center and at the Purple Door in Ellensburg. 

The scenery at the center was beautiful. Lots of deer came to visit:

Besides field trips to Ellensburg, lots of sewing and quilting was accomplished. I made doll clothes. The rest of the group made various stages of quilts. I did not capture pictures of all the work, but here is a sampling: 

I made mostly for dolls being donated to Wishing Well, a local group that provides for children who ae in foster care. These two dresses and t-shirt still need some lace and Velcro. The following dresses need Velcro.

This dress is for me. The outfit still  needs its headband and sandals. I need to be able to drive to Connie's school The Sewing Project to finish. 

Here are pictures of my fellow lost girls and their creations:

I found a new gadget. Thank you amazon. It was waiting for me when I got home

Why do women go on sewing retreats? I like to think of it as a big girl slumber party with sewing machines, knitting needles and sometimes wine and/or beer. There is lots of comradery, companionship, comfort, hugs, laughter, sometimes tears, good food, field trips, retail therapy and beautiful scenery. It was a fabulous trip. Thank you June Moore for organizing it. Till next time we meet, may your lost times be fun and adventurous.

Musings from someone with several chronic conditions

Day 2, part 2

Being tired and having full bellies, we went back to the lodge to rest before starting out again. Rested, there was a tribal gift shop right by the lodge. It had jewelry, a lot of Pendleton wool items, the typical types of souvenirs, and a special surprise, a mini museum of Native American basketry, dolls, and beaded items. We enjoyed the mini museum very much. It was like a step into the past. We did 
not take pictures. The items were behind glass making pictures difficult with our camera and somehow it seemed disrespectful.

Our last stop of the day was the daffodil and tulip fields. We did not get out and walk the fields. It was raining and the fields were muddy. Since we did not desire to purchase bulbs, we just enjoyed them from the car. The multitude of colors was breathtaking. You could see patches of color from a distance. 

 Tulips

 Tulips

Daffodils

The last dinner of our trip was spent at the casino's Sports Bar and Grill. It offers a variety of food. Scott had a Cuban Sandwich and sweet potato fries. The sandwich was so large that he took half of it home. Since he forgot to take it to work on Monday, I had it for lunch. Both of us thought it was delicious. I had smoked salmon fettuccini. It had the most huge chunks of salmon that I have ever had in any fettuccini. And the taste was magnificent. 

The only downfall of the whole experience was going through the casino to the restaurants. Even the casino has non smoking areas, the smell dissipates through the whole a rea. That is a given going in  any Native American casino, so we can't complain. The rooms were smoke free and the lodge did not smell of smoke. A pool and a hot tub would have been nice, but we were so busy that we really did not miss it. We took naps and went to bed exhausted both days. 

Day three we got up, packed and headed home, excited to see our fur babies. We did miss them. Thank you Tara, Tammy, Tory, and I'mani for a fabulous and much needed vacation!!!

Anniversary trip to La Connor and Anacotras Courtesy of Tara, Tammy, Tory and Imani

Day 2, Part 1

Our exciting adventures on day 2 started with Moka Joe coffee, a local blend, and our pastries from the Scone Lady. We did not let the rainy weather stop us from heading out on great adventures. Our first adventure was to drive around a nearby peninsula. I chose it because I thought the drive around Padilla Bay would be beautiful. It was. It also offered a huge surprise, a Shell oil refinery, Neither of us had ever seen a refinery. Not just a refinery, but tanker ships unloading into an oil pipeline and huge storage silos.  "Shell oil operates the Puget Sound Refinery located on March Point outside of Anacortes, WA. The plant is the largest taxpayer in Skagit County and one of the county's largest employers." (Wikipedia). After seeing the refinery, I expected the water to be murky, but it was not. 

 Oil Tanker Offloading

 Oil Pipeline

 Refinery at work and a Part of a Holding Container (green)

Second Oil Pipeline (there were two tankers off loading)

We thoroughly enjoyed checking out historical downtown Anacortes. We wanted to stop at the Skagit River Bakery for pastries for Sunday breakfast, but the bakery was closed on Saturdays until May. We went to the Pelican Book and Coffee Shop where we spent time browsing among many used books. The picture below shows just a small portion of the book inventory. I found a couple of unique cards for upcoming events. Funny, I asked the clerk who checked us out if there was another good bakery in town. We explained  out trip to the bakery where the clerk responded, "There is no other bakery and it is not worth a tip back there." On our way our, we bought a figgy bun for Sunday breakfast. We laughed in the car, not being sure if her comments were true of if she said it because the coffee shop had a few items.

Photo Courtesy of https://www.yelp.com/biz/pelican-bay-books-and-coffeehouse-anacortes

A neighbor was taking care of our cats, and she needed a special present. Her favorite wine is 14 hands Riesling. We found her thank you gift at Compass Wines. The clerk was extremely helpful in finding a comparable Washington produced wine. They also had some sea salted chocolate caramels to add to the bad. Who doesn't like wine and chocolate together? We recommend this shop as a must stop for wine lovers.

Photo From https://www.bing.com/maps?q=compass+wines+anacortas&form=EDGEAR&qs=PF&cvid=4d5c6c110af54993b8bd11a36984ed5a&cc=US&setlang=en-US&PC=HCTS

Lunchtime in Anacortes found us with many dilemmas. So many options. Scott told me to choose. I choose Adrift, advertised as known for its seafood and local organic produce and beef. It also features local wines and brews. Scott had a hamburger and fries. He said the hamburger was OK. I had half of a grilled cheese sandwich, a cup of curry, sweet potato and roasted squash soup and fries. The sandwich was oozing with cheese and the soup was exquisite. I would have that again in a heartbeat! Neither of us ate the fries. They were limp and tasted of old potatoes and old oil. 

Photo from https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g30266-d822790-Reviews-Adrift_Restaurant-Anacortes_Fidalgo_Island_Washington.html

Anniversary trip to La Connor and Anacotras Courtesy of Tara, Tammy, Tory and Imani

Day1, Part 3

We stayed at the Swinomish Casino and Lodge. Funny, because we never gamble when staying at casinos, but the rooms are reasonable and clean. Service is typically excellent. Picture this room with a king size bed. We spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening watching the eagles, the water and relaxing. 

Picture courtesy of Swinomish Hotel Sweets Web Site

Our view included the Padilla Bay and the Swinomish Channel with views of Mount Baker and the Cascade Mountains. During our two night stay we saw full tide and low tide twice. Pictures of a full tide:

Pictures courtesy of Scott and Sue Biles

What a transformation of the area when the tide was out. 

Pictures courtesy of Scott and Sue Biles

Dinner was at Manchu Wok for me and FatBurger for Scott. The amount of food at Manchu Wok could have fed three people easily. Needless to say, much was taken back to our room. Bellies full again, it was time f or bed.

Anniversary trip to La Connor and Anacotras Courtesy of Tara, Tammy, Tory and Imani

Day 1, Part 2

After visiting the museum, we headed to find some lunch. We scouted the whole city including the main street into LaConnor and downtown. We circled each area several times looking for parking. We finally found the city parking lot, a paid lot, but within walking distance to downtown and marina. We decided on our first choice, LaConnor Brewing Co. 

Photos from Trip Advisor

We ate there several times in the past and know the quality of the food. We ordered homemade root beers and a Greek pizza. It has always been a long wait for the food, but the service is good and the food does not disappoint. The pizza is possibly the best pizza I have ever eaten. 

After lunch we made a stop at the Scone Lady to pick up something for Saturday's breakfast.

The Scone Lady

Scott picked a marionberry scone and I picked an almond chocolate chip scone. They were excellent. If you are ever in LaConnor, you must stop at The Scone Lady. She has a space in a big red building on the marina side of the street. There is lots to see and do in LaConnor, but this girl could walk no more. Besides, I have seen it all before. If you are new to LaConnor, take time to enjoy the many shops and the marina. Tired and with full bellies, it was time for us to head to our lodging.