Summertime Fun

One of the things we do each summer is take a family fishing trip to the Sierras.  It’s always such a great time for the kids as well as the adults.  This was our group this year after a fun day of fishing.



The scenery is spectacular and would be worth it even if we caught no fish.  Here are a few more photos from our time away.













Oldest and youngest granddaughter.

We missed the wild weather that we had while we were gone.  ;-(  We so seldom get lightening, thunder and rain so it was a shame that it happened while we were away.  However, we will take it whenever we can get it.  Following the storm we have had really humid weather – another rarity for us.  They say these are all good signs for an El Nino year for us this winter.  We shall see and keep hoping. 

We also spent a bit of time at the beach this week with some of the little ones.
 




I got three more Minion beanies done in the car while traveling and a bit of sewing done today, but I will share that in my next post.

I wish summer could last a little longer.  How about you?

Merry Christmas

I have been so negligent of this blog lately, but I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas.  We will have family arriving tomorrow and my computer will be quiet for awhile as we celebrate with our family and friends.

In an effort to catch up a wee bit, I have had some exciting mail arriving in my mailbox.  First off was this delightful postcard from Linda.  We participated in the postcard swap that Sheila sponsored.  Her quilting on it is just wonderful and my little ones here love it.



I also had a couple of really nice wins lately.  The first was from Carol of Just Let Me Quilt.  Look at these beautiful fabrics, folded in a Christmas star pattern – so clever.  Included in the package was a fabulous antique spool.  These have always fascinated me and I have a very small collection of them.  Needless to say, I was thrilled.



Nancy at Victorian Motto Sampler Shoppe has had a daily giveaway for Christmas and I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the winners.  She has such gorgeous hand dyed fabrics, floss and supplies for stitching.  Look at these stunning colors of floss. 



Last weekend DH and I took off to the beach for a couple of days before the busy week.  We enjoyed sitting on the beach watching the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets as we admired God’s color palette.  It was such a nice break from all of the busyness to relax and contemplate the real meaning of the season.







In closing, I wish everyone a safe and blessed Christmas.  It will be 2015 before we know it.

Autumn Day Trip

We have had a few cool nights here which is always a sign that the leaves are going to start changing.  One place that both my husband and I love to drive through is the wine country.  It is not only fun to see what is happening in the vineyards, but it is a gorgeous day trip.  On Veteran’s Day my vet husband and I jumped in the car and took off.


It is really only about an hour’s drive to reach the area, but there are some gorgeous sights along the way.  The surf was up and it is always fun to watch the surfers catching their waves.  This is the view from a piece of property that my BIL recently purchased.  They are planning on building a home up there.  Isn’t the view spectacular?




Can you see the surfers?  They look like little dots on the water.  The beach is a well known surfing beach called “the Rincon”.  We were fortunate to have been able to purchase one of the homes on the point about 30 years ago when real estate at the beach was affordable.  The family has enjoyed many wonderful times there and made some fabulous memories throughout the years.
 



It was a glorious day with warm temperatures and clear skies.
From there we headed north and into the wine country.  The leaves on the vines were all changing and made for a beautiful drive.









Do you think they have enough wineries on this one road???  This is the area where the movie Side*ways was filmed.




You can even see a little greening of the hills starting after our early rains of the year.

We took a side trip up to Figueroa Mountain – a climb of about 4000 feet.  It is mostly a one lane road – some paved and some not – so meeting another vehicle is always an adventure.



At some points there were even cows on the road!  They were probably wondering what we were doing there.









I loved how this tree looked like it was busting out of its bark.




These gates might look familiar to some of you who watched the Mich*ael Jack*son trial on television.  This is where the media waited to get a photo of him as he left Never*land Ranch each day to head to the courthouse.


I always have a hand project that I work on in the car when we are driving.  This time was no different as I wanted to finish up this months Raggedy Ann and Andy BOM. 



I have been working away on my blocks for the Thread Head Quilt Along too.



Lastly, I got caught up on the Christmas Cactus Quilt Along blocks.  Each block requires making four identical blocks, but the are really just nine patches and go up quickly.









This week I have a large order of embroidery work to do so there won't be much quilting to show in my next blog.