A Busy Few Days

It's been busy but a nice change of scenery from the hectic everyday. Here's the highlights:

I did get a quilt finished. Not a great photo but you get the idea. It's a row robin from a few years ago.


Wednesday we left for the NC Society of Surveyors Annual Conference in Greenville, NC. The Hilton at the Convention Center is pet friendly so Miss Shelby got to go. When I say pet friendly, I mean they roll out the goodies. Check out the dog bed and mat and bowl and the little bag of doggie treats that welcomed us. Plus, the pet friendly rooms are on the 1st floor near a side entry so it's easy to go outside and take care of business. I still can't get over how great this hotel was.



Miss Shelby was loving life.



My folks came down for the banquet. Here they are standing by the quilt I donated for the silent auction for the NCSS Education Foundation.



My husband won an award and was sworn in as President-Elect. Here he is with his fellow board members. (He's second from the right.)



The entertainment for the evening was Mike Cross. If he's not considered a North Carolina Living Treasure, he should be. He's a fiddle playing, songwriter, story teller and I've loved him since I was 15 years old. After the show, he wanted to meet the "quiltmaker". I was beside myself.



Friday night they were calling for snow but we didn't believe them. It rarely snows in eastern North Carolina. We woke up to 6" of snow. Luckily by the time we left the roads were completely clear.


It sure was pretty coming down though - great big mushy flakes.



Shelby was having none of it though. Here she is refusing to take another step.



I spent Valentine's Day sleeping in, going to yoga class, meeting Bonnie for lunch at Nawab, planning menus for the next two weeks (yeah, I said it...two weeks...I'm determined) and plotting my next quilt. Then...we went to the church Valentine's Chili Supper and Square Dance. What a hoot!

There was yummy homemade cornbread.



There were cowgirls on horsies.


There were thirsty cowboys.



And there was lots of dancing.



My cheeks still hurt from smiling.

For a Few Moments

Life has been hectic and stressful. I know I'm not the only one experiencing this right now but sometimes don't you feel you're the only one out there barely holding your head above water?

Work is nuts. I have now taken over three office spaces just to keep all my paperwork from crushing me. (One office is my old office space with a door and walls where all my business development stuff remains. One office is a cubicle with piles of plans and specs and permits and forms and all that other #$%&* EPA and NC Public Water Supply need to make these ARRA (federal stimulus) projects go. The last office is where I sit and chaos ensues.)

Home is nuts. It's hard to maintain a household when you're never there.

And it seems to be true about after 40 things start falling apart.

I could go on and on you get the picture.

What's a girl to do?

I like to think of Dori (you know, from Finding Nemo...the one that had a problem with short term memory...paint me blue and I'm Dory).

Remember?

Keep on swimming. Just keep on swimming.

That's all we've got to do.

But for a few moments yesterday, I got a break from the chaos. I met Karen and Bonnie for a spur of the moment lunch at Soups.

It was wonderful to sit down with friends in a cool restaurant eating something not so bad for you and talking and laughing and forgetting for a moment that the world is trying to swallow you up.

The afternoon was a little easier because for a few moments, I was just a girl at lunch with some friends.

Then after work I went to a new class at a new quilt shop in our area. The class is based on the book Fearless Design for Every Quilter. There are 11 of us in the group, each from diverse professional and quilting backgrounds. We are going to work our way through one chapter each month. It is going to be a great learning experience.

And for a few moments I got to be a designer having great conversation with other designers.

Afterward there was dinner at Asian View with my bff where for a few moments I got to unload to someone who loves me and listens to me and knows when to look at me and say "get over it" or "here's your options".

Then, I drive home in the silence where for a few moments I was just me by myself which is comfortable and healing.

For a few moments I escaped from the stress and the mess and the disappointments and the demands.

"For a few moments" adds up everyday.

"For a few moments" makes the "keep on swimming" worth while.

Busy Week

While everyone else was snug at home during the big snow last Sunday, I (meaning me, my husband and Shelby) went in the office to take advantage of the quiet and get some work done. I had a deadline so it had to happen.

As usual Monday was meet, meet, meet, conference call, conference call conference call, go home and collapse. I did manage to get the binding done on a quilt in between my eyes slamming shut. Here's finish #1 for February - the last of three "Fruits & Veggies" quilts. Why three of these quilts? I have no clue.



Tuesday was finish up for that pesky deadline, get ready to go to the conference...oh, and go to the dentist to get that stupid crown cemented back in. (Part of the festivities at the office on Sunday was my post and core crown deciding it was done and popping out. Why do dental emergencies always happen on the weekends...not to mention the 10" of snow on the ground?)

Wednesday and today were spent at the NC City and County Managers Association Conference. It is fun but grueling. I have to smile a lot...and talk alot...and stand all day. (Here's Gus ignoring me and my camera.)


Then after that, last evening I made up 20-some little gift bags to be delivered to a few of the folks who visited with us during the day. Did I mention I assembled these 20+ bags from the back of my car standing in the parking lot...in the dark...cold...wet parking lot...while the two men where inside smoozing...inside...where it was warm...dry...uhh...not a parking lot? Well, I did and it got done and I didn't have to smile or talk and well, I was still standing but 2 out of 3 isn't bad.


It was all worth it for this right here...a tickled client (and no, we didn't mean to be color coordinated but that was fun too).



After I met the guys back in the hotel and we got the concierge to deliver the bags for us, we finally left for dinner. We ended up at Texas Roadhouse which is okay. I was too tired to care (so were the guys). We had a nice dinner and then at the end of it the manager (who was 12 if he was a day) comes over to play their little card game. Seems that on Wednesdays you get to pick a card out of the deck. If you pick a Jack - your drinks are free (drinks as in coffee, tea...not DRINKS). If you pick a Queen, you get a free dessert. A king gets you one free entree and a joker gets free everything (except DRINKS) for the entire party.

Steve and I decided Gus was the luckiest of us all and he should pick.

We were right.

Gus is the luckiest.

He drew the joker! How cool is that?


See how tired we look? Right after that we headed to the hotel, checked in and said see you after the first vat of coffee in the morning.

We were supposed to stay tonight as well but decided to head home because, once again, they are calling for a winter storm. This one is supposed to be more ice - yuck. I'll take 2 feet of snow over and ice storm. Ice storms mean no driving anywhere and a high chance of no power. I can take the no driving (ooooo...I HAVE to stay home and quilt? Okay!) but the no power thing...no thank you.

Regardless...tomorrow is Friday...I'm staying home...period.

I need a quilt day.