A Lucky Old Fart

And to think, this buffoon acheived all this in only 60 years....

My brother is a lucky man...

He has a gorgeous growing family that loves him...

Good health...

A sense of humor...

A peaceful spot on a lake...

A boat...

Money in the bank...

And, he's surrounded by 2 great ladies in the family order.

It's true he's getting older...but his life is VERY good.

Happy 60th Birthday, Bub!

I'm so glad I got to spend it with ya.

A Texas Sized birthday

Not to worry...I'm fine.

My older brother, (key word here is older), celebrates 60 years of life on July 29th.

A cutie pie, indeed.

Just look at how my Mom is adoring him in this pic....and it's Mary's bday!

Seriously, he was the apple of my her eye.

Take note...I was not alive for this shot.

I wouldn't want anyone to think I was fossilizing just yet.

Actually, I don't care about age.

But I do like to bring it up, especially with my brudder.

And my seesters.

Ok, maybe I do care.

But just a teensy bit.

And only when it comes in handy teasing the sibs.

I might be a brat.

Ok...I am a brat.

A selfie taken last evening with His Royal Pain in the Assness.

Actually, he's not a PIA...he's awesome.

In a bizarre kinda way....just like every single one of my siblings.

I shall blog my brains out about the trip upon my return home.

But, for now, I'm just enjoying this special time with my faraway family.

Make it a good one.

Shop Hopping Fun

What a trip...

Barb took me to 5 shops in 2 days.

The fabric prices in PA are too good to be true. 

I spent some money.

I may be a fabric pig.

Ok...I am a fabric pig. 

It could be worse. 

First stop...Wooden Bridge Dry Goods.

The owner, Anna May, is so stinkin sweet.

And her prices are great.

Too bad I didn't need any wide backs...she had lots.

Next up...Burkholders.

Burkholders is good again.  

Barb told me the old owner bought it back.

I could tell, it's like it used to be.

You can find whatever you need there.

Then we went to Sauders...

Wow!  20% off everything in the store.

And, many bolts of Quilty goodness.

After Sauders, we hit the Old Country Store.

We ran into my NY Quilty friend Vicki in there.

Small world.

No pic of Old Country Store or Vicki.

Oh well.

Vicki directed us to Zooks.

That Vicki is smart.

4 shops in one day...

We were exhausted.

But that didn't keep us from blabbing about all things Quilty and otherwise until midnight.

I love Barb.

Next day was LadyFingers Quilt Shop in Oley.

Oh

My

GOHD 

This was clearly the most unique of the shops.

While the prices weren't dirt cheap, they were still better than NY or FL.

And this shop is owned by Gail Kessler of 'Dimples' fame.

She had a selection of unique fabrics from different designers.

And so many cute kits...

The staff was lovely...

And, it was in a historic Stagecoach Stop.

There were friendly chickens in the parking lot.

I love chickens.

And I loved this shop.

I am so glad we got to go.

I would've loved to see the Hershey Show.

But I don't think I could've had any more fun even if I had gone.

Barb is a great friend...great company...warm lovely person.

And she loves to quilt almost as much as I do.

Even a quilt show can't beat that!

Next stop....TEXAS FOR THE 60th!

A Quilty Roadtrip

My favorite kind of Roadtrip.

I was a bit stiff after the ride, so I suggested a walk.

After a yummy salad prepared by my gracious hostess, we hit Allentown.

It was a great walk.

Barb & Lexie

Woodsy & Peaceful.

Historic, too.

Yep..that's a covered bridge, alright.

I got dizzy walking in there...

And that was BEFORE I had a skinny margarita.

Or two.

After a night of math & margaritas...

I got to crawl under this...

Those are my feet....

How many long armers do you know who get to sleep under a quilt they quilted?

And this was a special quilt cause it belonged to Barbs mom. 

I see a great sleep in my future.

I'll need it for Burkholders & Wooden Bridge tomorrow.

Goodnight.

Stating the Obvious

It's been simmering in me since I was south for the winter. 

It's a huge problem for dog owners.

In Florida, New York & every rest stop or park in between.

People who do not pick up thier dogs poops.

They just let Fido shit and walk away.

Are you kidding me?

Who are these people?

What the hell?

This girl should not receive dirty looks cause of bad dog owners. 

No dog should be viewed with disfavor cause of ignorant people.

The onus is not on the dog.

It's on the ones with thumbs who are capable of righting the situation.

It really burns my butt when you see it at parks that provide bags for you!

Altho lately I have seen a few larger mounds, most of the time, it's little piles. 

I think some owners of small breeds believe it's ok to just leave it cause it's not big.

IT IS NOT OK.

Big or small, poop is gross. 

If you don't want to pick it up, then keep your dog in your own yard. 

Or, better yet, don't get a dog.

That is all.

Carry on.

**After my pre-publish reread, perhaps it's time I designate a new subcategory on the blog titled 'Rants'?

Erie Canal

We were up early today again...

This time we walked the Erie Canal.

I love it there, it's flat and picturesque.

Don't look to closely at the water....lotsa algae.

Grody.

It was cloudy, then sunny, then cloudy, then sunny...typical CNY weather. 

And, it was a chilly 69 degrees.

Yep...it's lovely.

Selfie!

We are dorks!

This was still while I was in good humor.

Today, there was a biking event...Albany to Buffalo via the Erie Canalway.

There were TOO MANY bikes and the pathway is narrow.

Towards the end, I got bossy with the bikers, pointing for them to move over to one side. 

And holding my ground...I'm lucky one of them didn't run me over.

God forbid they should slow down.

What's wrong with people?

We made the best of it....

It was our longest walk yet!

Yay, Susan!

She's a trooper..she never complains.

The Lock is so cool.

I gotta research how they worked one of these days.

Tomorrow, we're going to try the Butternut Trail.

Sync Active

This is my new pedometer.

I bought it cause I never know how far I've walked.

Now I do.

8500 steps and it's only 9:30!

I'm trying to get 10,000 steps in each day.

The Chinese say this is the magic number.

I believe them, it worked in Florida.

I felt great down there. 

It's easy on the days, like today, when Susan can walk.

And it's not rainy.

(I'm so proud of Susan, she even worked out while she was traveling for business)

The problem I'm having is with my right heel and lower calf.

I have Achilles Tendonitis from the hills around here. 

I read up on it and it says to avoid inclines when walking.

If you know where I live...well, that's pretty impossible.

I've told Susan we need to walk flat routes from now on.

No more hiking...at least less hiking.

Poo!

I loved the hikes.

We found a nice flat route this morning.

We even met some new friends, Martha & Louise.

I left my phone in the car, so no pics.

They walk this route everyday. 

Between here and the Erie Canal, we can do it. 

Frannie has arthritis, so she needs 2 shorter walks a day.

So, I'll have to do the hill twice per day.

It's Frannie...I'll do anything for that face!

I have a lunch date with Herman today.

Then I hope to finish my Bargello Wall Hanging.

And binding ready for weekend hand sewing. 

Make it a good one.

Bargello Wall Hanging

Is almost done...

Just the outermost border is left.

Sadly, I've still no plan for it.  

Probably feathers. 

Or not.

I'm going to doodle tonight. 

I've got to get some binding sewn on before I go to NJ Saturday.

I'll need handwork to keep me from choking people!

A Dirty Job

The first clue is the clunk, clunk, clunk with every stitch.

It happens gradually, so it sneaks up on you.

Then this comes on...

And you know, it's time.

For these...

I know, I know...canned air is a no no on the DSM.

So, shoot me.

I use it after I have brushed it clean.

Removing the bobbin thingy (race?) makes me so jittery.

Technical?  

Me?

I think not.

Ewwwww!

This would've been left behind without the canned air, by the way.

My 440 is purring again.

The hardest part is getting that bloody oil light to shut off!

I cleaned her before I left and re-oiled when I got back.

That's only 3 weeks...

Have I really sewn that many DSM stitches in 21 days?

I've also LAed 2 1/2 quilts.

Yikes, I need to get a life!

It's rainy here...and cold.

I'm getting my roots done later...THANK YOU SWEET BABY JESUS!

Enjoy it, whatever you do!

Design wall Monday

Hmmm...I'm not sure I'll ever get with the program.

You see, yesterday, I had a design wall Sunday.

That's the wrong day.

All the popular girls post thier design walls on Monday.

At least I think it's Monday.

Good thing I'm not part of the 'In Crowd.'

I might get in trouble.

Yesterday, I only posted the LeMoyne Stars on my wall.

I have a few other bits up there.

And I made more LMSs today.

All results of my Quilters ADD.

It's a fact that I suffer from Quilters ADD.

Actually, it's not suffering...it's just how I roll.

Listen to me...'how I roll.'

I'm sounding pretty hip today.  

Is it hip to be hip?

Focus....

Here's a full design wall shot for Monday. 

 Confusing, huh?

Why do I reread my post before I publish?

It scares me.

Hope it was a good one. 

LeMoyne Starstruck

I'm loving this ruler.

I use it to reward myself.

For me, there is little more exciting than perfect points. 

Quilt nerd.

Clark Reservation

Today, Susan & I hiked Clark Reservation.

This park is so close to my house, I can't believe I haven't done it before. 

It was spectacular. 

It was also exhausting.

This is a shot of the lake, we hiked the whole way around it.

But first down the steps...lot of em.

Susan was a trooper.

She was a wee bit under the weather from last nights cocktail party with Chris.

I drank TWO dirty martinis last night at Cavalry with Phil, Jim & Dan.

I must be a bigger lush than Susan, cause I felt ok.

Should I be proud, or embarrassed?

Not sure....probably embarrassed.

The sights were gorgeous.

*sigh

I wonder who lives in there?

I wanted to hang a Home Sweet Home sign over it.

We saw many thickets and rabbit holes, it was cool.

Selfie

Most of the time, there were decent trails.

But some spots required serious body maneuvers to get past.

Look at this tree!

About halfway thru the hike, we spotted the green paint to mark the trail.

Sometimes it was on trees, other times on rocks.

It would've been nice to have known about the markers the whole way.

But, we made it.

Going up the stairs at the end...ugh.

But we made it...we hiked about an hour and I can already feel it in my bum bum.

More fresh air & filtered sun to start the day. 

What could be better?