Art Quilters Unlimited

I'm in kind of a funky mood today. I should be floating on air because Sophia spent the night with us last night and did really super duper well. 

Pedro and Hillary went out dancing with a couple, Antonio and Paula, visiting from Cali (which is a few hundred miles southwest of where we live but still in Colombia) which is why we got to keep Sophia. 

What a nice couple. Theirs is an interesting story and, from what I can see...a perfect love match. We met them when they came by the house a few nights ago after they'd been out to dinner with Hillary (while that lucky Pedro was in Bogota) and I totally enjoyed meeting them. Wish I had a picture to show you.

Anywho, we got to keep Sophia overnight which has been a rare treat over the past year. :) The last time she came to spend the night, she had been sick for a month with everything that came down the pike and wanted Mommy and only Mommy. Well, Daddy too. We did everything except stand on our heads to make her happy but ended up taking her home just before dawn and haven't tried again until now. 

When she first got here, I was back to sorting beads and she joined right in. She loves doing that kind of thing as much as I do...

After playing, reading, watching cartoons, eating dinner, & running up and down the stairs a few dozen times, we made a little pallet on the floor at bedtime and she was tickled to pieces to sleep there. (Her idea). 

We collected some of the thousands (well really it's only hundreds) of stuffed animals from the guest room downstairs, got her favorite blankies (the pink ones), had a discussion over which pillow she would use (she wanted my new feather pillow) and then took turns reading Dora the Explorer books. 

Boy are they horribly written. Soooo boring. But she loves them. 

I don't get it.


Here's my precious puppy just before waking up at 6:30 this morning. I think the camera shutter sound woke her. She was happy as a lark.

We had a lazy daisy morning with her and loved every minute of it. I got a bunch of cuddles. 

I guess when she went home, I felt lonely.


Jerry was here and ready, willing and able to go out for lunch, or to a movie or even grocery shopping, but my funk kept us in. 


I worked on beading my mini quilts most of the day. Here's what I got done...

And talk about making stuff; here's Jerry's humming bird feeder hanging on our lanai that he finished Saturday! We haven't seen any birds come to it yet but didn't spend much time out back today.

 And speaking of Jerry, I wanted to show you this mobile he made a couple months ago when I was putting everything in it's place in the house. 

I have this small collection of cow bells - among them, one of which is real, two from the Tampa Bay Rays - GO RAYS and a couple strays. Actually, the black one is a musical instrument that I'll have to look up later and let you know what it is and the story behind it.

I didn't know where to put them and Jerry suggested a mobile. After thinking about what he'd hang them from, I thought of the record album. (It was scratched pretty badly). It's really warped now from hanging out in the weather but just adds to the coolness of the mobile don't cha think? 


And as you can see behind that, Sophia's new swing! Remember a few blog posts ago when I told you we bought her something and not to tell Hillary because they said she already has too much...? 


Welp, this is it...

Today is the first day she's been near it since we first showed it to her last week. When we sat her on it the first time, she couldn't get a grip and it wobbled a little too much and scared her so after exclaiming, "Oh Wow, my yellow playground"! and then trying it out, she hasn't wanted anything to do with it. I tried to put her on it a couple times during the week with no luck. 

Waa Waa Waa.


Jerry and I were so excited about it coming here. 

But! 

Our landlord and their son came by yesterday and Sophia saw him swinging on it which is why I think she got this close today (see picture above). We're sure she'll eventually sit on it again - and love it.

I feel better now. It helps to write things out here.

I think the reason I was blue is because I talked to a couple of my friends from Southwest Florida where we used to live and AQU (Art Quilters Unlimited) is having their annual retreat starting today. 

I instigated the retreat a few years ago and Joyce, one of our charter members and a Woman Who Gets Things Done, arranged it. 

We go to Sebring every year to Kenilworth Lodge and play for 4 days. 

We bring our sewing machines and accouterments and make art like it's going out of style. We also shop the local quilt, bead and thrift stores, eat out every meal - except breakfast which is included at the lodge - and stay up all night or sleep all day if we want with no cleaning, cooking, husbands or kids. It's always been so much fun and I'm missing them like crazy right now.

Special hugs to all of you!

You girls drink one for me!