Show Low visit

I've had a great break from the Phoenix heat - Show Low is on the Mogollon Rim, and about 30 degrees cooler than here.  What a delight to have it actually cool off at night!  I wasn't exactly thrilled to be leaving the cool(er) mountain air and returning to the furnace today, but certainly did not want to wear out my welcome at Jan's - after all, there's only so much space in an RV!

I had an uneventful drive up on Tuesday, and on Wednesday she took me on a driving tour.  In Greer, we got to see a mini-quilt show at the Inn, which was a bonus; she hadn't even known about it.  I hadn't brought my camera with me (still need to get another memory card) but did snap a couple of pix with my phone.  Look how nicely this wall quilt is 'framed'.

And talk about tiny yoyos...

In Alpine, we ate lunch at the 'famous' Bear Wallow restaurant.  Lunch itself was mediocre, but as Jan had heard, the homemade pie was scrumptious!

And in Springerville, we shopped at their answer to Wall Drug.  (Anyone else remember seeing the signs for Wall Drug 1200 miles on their travels cross county?)

Thursday we took a short hike on the Mogollon Rim, and that afternoon/evening we celebrated the 4th of July in style with worm races (my worm lost big time; Jan's was ahead until the last minute) and a dinner.  Everyone was seated on time and waiting for the food (traditional fare: burgers, corn-on-the-cob, potato salad, beans, and watermelon) but there was some sort of delay.  After the MC stalled for a while, I went up to the mike and regaled the folks with a recitation of The Cremation of Sam McGee.  For the next couple of days, I was constantly stopped by folks telling me how much they enjoyed it.

Of course everyone was dressed in their patriotic tees in honor of the day, and mine just happened to be from Ocean City, Maryland.  Turned out that the folks sitting across from us at dinner (Susan and Lou) not only were from Maryland, but she'd taught English at Paint Branch High School (a stone's throw from Riderwood) and she's a quilter.  Needless to say, we had a lot to talk about!  

Friday morning, while Jan played golf, I visited with Susan, and then met the golf bunch for lunch.  The food was good, but (as I'd already heard from Roxanne) the service was so far beyond lousy that it was truly unbelievable.  After lunch, Jan and I hit a couple of craft shows and a quilt store.  I do admit I made purchases at all 3 places.

Friday night we had a potluck dinner (I contributed the beef stew I'd whipped up last weekend) with Susan & Lou, and Barb (a retired history teacher.)  We were all on the same page politically, and during the course of the evening had some wonderful discussions sitting out on the deck.

Great ambiance on the deck... check out these delicate string lights!

Saturday morning was a Mexican breakfast at the RV park, and then <sigh> I headed home to the heat.

At least I've got some more exciting stuff to look forward to.  Cindy called me the morning Jan was playing golf, and we're finally (!) going to get together (next week?) and work on the t-shirt quilts for her kids.  (We've been planning this for several years, during which time all the t-shirts have resided here.)  

Here's the one I made for Mom from Dad's t-shirts, before it was quilted.

I also got an e-mail from Karin, saying that she and Garry are planning to come down (from Canada) the middle of this month for a visit.  Speaking of Canada, check out this Canadian flag quilt:

Guess I'll go finish unpacking the car.  At least I've refilled the hummingbird feeders; they were all empty, and the little guys were buzzing the windows to let me know!

 Estera just brought over the mail (nothing I need to deal with) and the newspapers (most of which I'd already read up at Jan's) so guess I'm on track to just relax!

  Hope everyone had a glorious 4th of July!