50th Year Finale- SKYDIVING

This was a fantastic year. it started with a wonderful Caribbean Cruise with my hubby and will end my last month of being 50 with skydiving. At the beginning of the year I had no desire to skydive, but as I was considering what to do for April, I knew I wanted to go out big!

Sven was with me, but I kept him as ground crew in case he didn't care for free falling.

Pre-flight and pre-jump instruction included how we were to be situated in the plane. The very small plane, I might add,

We will be attached at this point and crawl forward on our knees.

Then he will step out....

Then I will step out and assume the position! Arms crossed, in tight, ready to fly!

Once we're out the door the most important thing is for me to do what I've been told ahead of time. It is so noisy falling at 100+mph that you can't hear a thing.

Time for the gear.

A quick prayer.....no, not really. Ok, how are we all going to fit? The pilot is wearing the sandals, (he will be the only one in a seat) the guy with the white tennis shoes will be attached to me and the two other guys are going out for fun. Yep, that's 5 of us in that plane.

It was like putting together a puzzle, but they know how everything fits. (very cozy!) I had to put a seat belt on too and that was pretty comical.  The door closed and we were up up and away...

It was cloudier then we really wanted so we had to climb to 11, 500.

 

Love this photo.

Ta-Da!! Landed safely and it was so awesome!

March Adventures with Sven

Remember Sven?! He waited until the very end of the month to help me celebrate 50 in the month of March!

Anybody recognize him?

We rock and rolled to Joe Walsh and Bob Seger! It was so much fun! Loved them both!!

One more month to celebrate 50 and it's going to be a good one! Happy Wednesday!

PS If you want to get in on the book giveaway go to this post.  I'll be drawing Friday.

February Adventures With Sven

This AAQI quilt was on my lap on the drive to the coast. I brought 5 AAQI quilts with me to get quilted. I sewed the binding on ahead of time so that would be ready as well. I got 4 of them quilted, none bound. I'm excited to share them with you soon.

Look at that sunshine! In February? On the Oregon coast? Unheard of! You can tell we are dressed warm but it was so beautiful.

We brought Porter to the coast with us. It was his first trip!!

It is off-season but we opted for a sleepy little town. We pretty much had the beach to ourselves.

 

The condo we rented was AMAZING! It was huge, so modern and so relaxing! This was the view from our deck. If you are looking for a vacation rental  (Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Idaho, California and even Alaska)  I would highly recommend Vacasa Rentals. They were so professional and easy to work with. From experience it isn't always that easy.

Sven did a bit of kicking back as well. Beach combing is hard work!

Happy hour, of course. Thanks Sven for the reminder to slow down and relax.

Sunday was a bit breezy. Loved the way the sand looked blowing across the beach.

Garibaldi, Oregon

Thanks for letting me share my weekend away.   Next month my celebration ramps up a bit!!

January Adventures with Sven

I thought before the month was over I'd share Sven's adventure. It was a perfect week for a quiltalong and I enjoyed reading the comments and emails and seeing the wonderful photos of Abundance!!

Here's my bags when I took off for Ohio. I also had a pack back that was pretty fat too and that is where Sven rode safely. Crazy quilters haul all kinds of things. The black duffel bags was 38 pounds worth of quilt tops, quilt backing, and quilt projects. I checked both bags and they made it fine round trip.

The first morning I was in Ohio it was snowing! It was lovely so we went and stomped around in the snow and fixed the feeder for the birds.

The next day we woke to beautiful blue skies so we knew we had to have a road trip.  Don't you love the name of this shop?

Sven found something at the next shop that reminded him of his relatives.

I knew when I saw this fabric I'd have to have a little.

Is this the cutest quilt shop you've ever seen?  It may be tiny but it was jam packed and the owner was young and cute and so friendly!

And it's called Olive Grace. Very sweet....

 

So pretty and picturesque.

 After all that shopping we had to revive ourselves at Paladar Latin Kitchen and Rum Bar. Need I say more?Yum!!

On the last day we went to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. They were very strict about photos, but I did manage to catch Sven wishing he could have played this guitar.

It was an awesome week spent with my good friend Kat. It was relaxing and we got A LOT of stitching done!!

On Thursday I'm posting my A Little Porch Time Quilt. It was a lot of applique this month but my top is complete!! I want to see everyone's quilts, even if it isn't complete. I know many of you have been working hard on it.

Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker -Winner

Paulette is the winner of the book! Congrats Paulette. Please send me your winter address and I'll pop it in the mail soon. I'm close to being finished....

Here is Sven getting ready for his January adventure! I'm gathering all my quilting projects....gee, I hope I have room for some clothes!!

Holiday Musings

 Here is a little quilt I made for AAQI. I'll get the binding added this weekend. I used the hidden star patter and am calling it Hide & Seek. If you've been reading my blog for anytime at all, or you have a loved one with Alzheimer's you'll understand the title. I like that at first glance you don't see the star, but have to search for it within the pattern.

 I haven't been doing too much sewing but getting a little prep done for the applique of a Little Porch Time. How are you all doing on yours? Half way on the border?

 One Christmas tradition we have is making  Danish Aebleskiver Christmas morning. I like to think we are paying homage to my Danish ancestors.

 My brother home from China for a visit. My mom continues to look forward to seeing him. She doesn't remember where he is living but so far she remembers him. They have the main room in the assisted living home all decked out with Christmas decor.

 All the cousins (and me) went for a walk Christmas day. I LOVE this picture!! My niece and nephews lived with us for about 5 years so I feel like they are partially mine. I'm glad they are close with my two kids.

 Santa's reindeer?

 Sven thought it was a good time to celebrate Christmas while I'm 50. We opened the 50 year old vintage wine my sister had got me for my birthday. Yep, 1962 was a good year for wine in France!

A few of you asked to see my tote that I had in the photo in front of the outdoor Christmas tree. I got this bag at the Smithsonian Institute probably 15 years ago. It is still one of my favorites.

Have a fantastic weekend. My last post of the year will be the Porch Quilt so be ready next week.

Adventures of Sven the Nisse

What a fun Christmas weekend we had!

 We booked a beautiful room overlooking the Willamette River in downtown Portland. The idea was to see the Christmas Ship parade. We ended up missing it! I'm afraid I had too long of a  list of things to do this weekend

Accidentally came upon VooDoo donuts. Crazy iconic place in Portland to get a donut or two!

 Shop till you drop!

Had a silly time walking through Peacock Lane. It wasn't as good as it looks like from the website. But for so may Portlanders in the neighborhood it is a yearly tradition.

Had a festive time after dinner at  Pioneer Square .

Sven experienced his first snow!

And so this is still related to Humble Quilts here are my wool stocking ornaments. Pretty silly and prim but fun to make!

 

If you want to see what crazy thing I did on Sunday click here- Get to Goal.