Retreat (woohoo) and other news

 It's been a busy week working on my home improvment projects and just cleaning. I think the bathroom is finished now. I hung moulding around the ceiling (very poorly, I might add, but it is done, which counts as something, right?) so had to fill the nail holes and paint so I painted the cupboard in there white too. I hadn't painted it to begin with, but once I had the rest done, I knew I should have. I really like it. You know how you keep working on something til you say...ahhh...that's it! That's how I feel about it now.

The mirror hangs over the sink and the cupboard hangs over the toilet, just to give you an idea of this bathroom. It's small!

You can see the corner of the cupboard.

This is the view from the kitchen. The sink stops the door from opening all the way.  It's small, but handy to have. Our full bathroom is upstairs. I didn't include the beautiful new tile floor in this picture but it is still beautiful and still loving it. I applied the second coat of grout sealer to it yesterday. My sister says I need to seal it 3 times.I always do what she says.

I am leaving later today to spend the weekend at the Farmer's Dotter Quilt Retreat. There are 7 of us going to this bed and breakfast type retreat. She will cook all the meals while we sew....what could be better than that? We are all bringing our own projects to work on, but may take a little break Saturday to check out Quilts and Other Notions in Creston. We could run out of thread or something....

Still working on the house and quilting.....more vacation pix too

One of the things we did while in Seattle was visit the locks in Ballard. It was fascinating to see them work. Here is the lock filling up.

He is ready to go!

This is the water with tiny salmon coming from Lake Washington into the Puget Sounds. The spouts help them make it through safely, though if you are up above, it looks like the force of the water would kill the little buggers. It's interesting to note that the salmon are born here, go off to live their lives in the ocean and then come back to fresh water to spawn.

This is part of the stairs that the fish have to jump up to reach the higher level of water in the lake. They are coming back to spawn. It's intriguing  that they find their way back. You can see a fish jumping in the pic, though it is dark.

Yes they were waiting for me....lol

I finished quilting the sampler this morning, just in time for class tonight...nothing like getting done in the nick of time. Usually I hang these unquilted as I can leave them that way for long periods of time. But sometimes they get stretched out of shape so I have decided to try to get them all quilted, starting with the newer ones.

You are supposed to seal the grout between the tiles about a week after they are installed. With my painting and then vacation, I didn't get it done, so that is what is next on the list to do. I hung moulding in the purple bathroom too, which is not that great, as this was my first attempt. But it looks better than before and hopefully after I fill the holes and paint over it, it will look ok. My sister told me that you can work miracles with filler! We'll see!

Whatever normal is...

Picture postcard pretty...that was our walk in the meadow on Mount Washington on Vancouver Island. Not sure what mountain that is in the background....I'm sure my sister told me but I have forgotten.

There was still snow in places and more water than normal in the lakes. I guess they still had skiing on Father's Day up there!

 There was a wooden path for a good share of our walk, which was nice, as it was pretty muddy up there. I think the path keeps people from trampling all over the place too. There were a few benches and we rested and picnicked there. It was a gorgeous day as was every day I was there. The weather couldn't have been better.

Back in the real world, I quilted a few more rows on the sampler quilt yesterday and then went to Earling for my niece's bachelorette party. It was great fun. Around 8:30 they all left on the party bus and I came home.

I hope to get some more quilted on this today, it needs to be finished by Tuesday night. I am about half done.

The voting continues in the McCalls quilt contest. You can vote every day if you want...the link is also in the sidebar.

Getting back to normal...

I got back from vacation Monday night and have been busy trying to get things back to normal since. It is hard to get back on our timezone after being in the NW....plus I was just tired. But I had a great time. Here I am at my sister's house, we had a tea party with their friends. (My sister is front right above)

Close up of the pretty table and yummy foods.

We went to Hornby Island one day. This is the path along the cliff there...gorgeous view! You can see Denman Island in the background. We had to take a ferry from Vancouver Island to Denman Island then another ferry to Hornby Island. Both are short rides.

Seriously, you're not in Iowa anymore, Dorothy!

We took a picnic lunch and sat on this log and ate it. What a great day!

Vacation rocks!

I am having a great time in Canada with my sister and her husband. The weather has been beautiful, and we have been seeing the sights and getting in a lot of chatting time. We went up on Mt. Washington yesterday and walked around the meadows there. It's been great. We also picked out fabric for her first quilt....so that was fun as well. (Yes I bought a LITTLE fabric too. I like to help the economy wherever I go.) I will be heading to Seattle on Tuesday to spend the rest of the time with my daughters, Colin and Josh. Won't be posting much til I get back from vacation on July 20, but the voting continues on the contest I entered, the link is here and on the side bar. You can actually vote every day if you want.

On Tuesday we are spending the day in Victoria before I head back to Seattle. I love Chinatown there, and it is fun just to walk around the harbor and see what's going on. I will also be visiting a really nice quilt store, Satin Moon Quilt Shop. It is very near Chinatown  and always has a wonderful selection of fabrics. If you are ever in Victoria, it is the place to check out!

More painting and vacation

I have been busy painting my kitchen and the small bathroom right off it. I finished last night, so got everything put to rights today. I am also packing to go on vacation. I leave tomorrow to go see my daughter and son-in-law in Seattle and to see my sister on Vancouver Island, BC. My youngest daughter and her boyfriend are going with me. Should be fun. I probably won't be posting much from there, but will fill you in when I get back.

Before (above) and after pix of bathroom. Yea, I might've gone off the deep end. I knew the eggplant would look good with the curtains...and they do.

But it is a bit much. I am getting used to it. Funniest part was that my husband has not said one word about it. Of course I haven't been crazy enough to ask. He hasn't volunteered an opinion, though!

 The picture isn't hung yet, just resting on the towel bar for effect. I haven't had time to hunt down a frame.

This bathroom is tiny (4' x 5'), just a sink and toilet. This pic is behind the door when the door is open.

The kitchen as I was painting the ceiling. Nice wallpaper, huh? I thought I should change the color, thought about maybe a lighter rusty color. I have yellow countertops, so not a lot matches. But ended up going with yellow.

 I like it and will take more pics when I get home and get some things hung on the walls. I am so glad it is done. It is nice to have it all fresh and clean too!