Good Morning, Everyone
February 22
It is a cool, windy day here in the valley and everything is trying to bloom! I think Spring is coming and with it, my allergies, and a lot of new ideas. By the way, has anyone visited this site lately? Riley Blake is giving away patterns at his website. You go here: http://www.rileyblakedesigns.com/newsletter/signup/?Pagesource=FaveFeb12Ad, sign up for his newsletter and you have access to over 30 free patterns to download! I love it! I love patterns almost as much as fabric.
Spring also leads to cleaning, which I really need to do. Not just my housework (YUCK), but straightening out my stash closet and bins. That may have to wait though as my guild is having it’s Quilt Show at the end of March and I still have a few things to finish for that. PLUS, I have a baby shower for Kathy and Yoon, my daughter and daughter-in-law, on the same weekend as the Quilt Show. I have the patterns chosen for the baby quilts, but those will have to wait until after the next guild meeting. And sandwiched in between that, there are a few birthdays in March, my father’s, my birthday, my nephew and a few others. Very busy month.
A little family news, my sister, Candis, is back safe and sound from Burma. Yes, the country that borders India. She went with 2 friends and visited there for about 2 weeks and had the time of their lives. She wrote about it and I felt that I could see where she was. Am anxious to see pictures! Watch out, Rick Steves, here comes Candis! She had a wonderful time and the people were so friendly and helpful. What a great experience for her!
March 4
A little more news on the family, Jenny had her ultrasound and she is having a girl also! I don’t know who is more excited, me or Kathy, as Kathy is hoping that once Jenny and her family move back to California, that their daughters will grow up together! Sew much to do and sew much fun shopping!
Speaking of shopping, our tax refunds came in early and DH and I went on a shopping spree last Sunday. We each had a small amount plus for gas and lunch and off we drove down to Visalia and Tulare area. Really pretty weather, almost too warm for a sweater. We drove down to the outlet malls in Tulare and did a little shopping, actually things I don’t really need but liked. Did buy a pair of shoes that I liked at K-Mart for a good price, calf leather with a very low heel, good for walking in. I did walk in those the rest of the day after trading in my tennies. Very comfortable.
At the outlet mall, there is a store that sells kitchenware and I needed a new coffee maker. Mine is getting tired and is used a lot. I looked in the aisles and checked the prices. Even on sale, they were just too much for what I wanted to spend. I hate those that have the timer on them and the coffee goes cold after 2 hours. I want mine to stay hot for as long as I want. I started looking around and they had a clearance section. There were 3 or 4 coffee makers for $11 each. What a great surprise. They were the same as the others, but they were on sale cuz they made only 10-cups not 12 cups. They were discontinuing them for that one reason. I bought one and even used a coupon for more savings!
We then went to the Chocolate Factory. Yes, I know, a big NO NO for Doug and his diabetes. They had a large assortment of sugar free chocolates and the best peanut butter fudge! Yummy! I bought some of both (I later put it in the refrigerator at home and saved it for later). They had a special, buy $15 of candy and you get a chocolate covered strawberry for free. Well, I did. Not hard to do, considering their prices. Doug and I shared this huge strawberry covered in white chocolate with milk chocolate drizzled on the sides! That strawberry was huge but worth it! We hardly ever do stuff like that but it was so much fun and really sweet!
Onto Visalia. We arrived in Visalia about noon and we were hungry. We had probably walked about half a mile already just up and down the malls, parking lot and wherever. Doug doesn’t believe in parking close, he likes to park as far away as possible. Also, parking on Sunday in downtown Visalia is hard to find and we had to park quite a distance. Yes, we were still in Visalia where we parked. (LOL)! I’m surprised my feet were still speaking to me at the end of the day! We had planned to go to a little Mexican restuarant about 2 doors down from Beverly Fabrics. It was closed. So disappointed, such delicious food. Well, we went two doors down on the other side and there was a brewery/cafe/bistro. We decided to try it out. We went upstairs and ordered. Doug had fish and chips, his favorite, and I had a french dip, my favorite sandwich. It was delicious and huge portions! I had onion rings that were fresh and hot! Very good lunch at a good price. It’s always nice to find a good restaurant. We will go there again. I had hoped to go to some more fabric shops, but out of 5 shops, Beverly was the only one open on Sunday. Saturdays are too hard as I have to work in the afternoons.
I went to Beverly’s and Doug went to the Army Surplus store just down the block. They have a sales table in the back, actually 3 rows of tables piled high with fabric for half off, so about $4-5 a yard. Then, there is a wall that has bargain fabric starting at about $3-4 a yard. Sew, I bought 8 pieces of fabric, half a yard each, for under $20. Time to head back home but not before stopping at a stand on the way in to Fresno. It’s one of those roadside stands that sells fruit, cheese, nuts, etc plus has an antique section (very small). We walked around for a bit and came home. All in all, it was a great diversion for a Sunday!
The rest of this last week was pretty quiet, not much else has really happened. I am getting ever closer to my deadline for the Guild and plan to spend today and tomorrow in there, sewing.
It was great chatting with everyone, but I will close for now!
Delightful Designs 