I did go to the bluegrass festival yesterday even though I was still dragging considerably.   On the way there we got to see the bizarre "melting mountains" mirage effect (twice); no surprise the kids always loved seeing it.  It wasn't until we were almost to Quartzsite that it dawned on me that with the time change in California this time of year (Blythe is just over the state line) I would get there in time to hear the Sonoran Dogs' first set after all.  

The weather was perfect (though still a bit cool in the shade) and the small (as expected) quilt show enjoyable;  all I had to do was kick back in my chair and enjoy the music. But by mid-afternoon it was apparent I was fading fast so I headed back to Quartzsite to pick up my 'chauffeur'.  Tom had been indisposed all day, and in hindsight we both should have just stayed home.

 Driving home there was "some" construction on I-10 outside of Buckeye; at least the cones were still up, though there was absolutely no sign of workers (not that surprising on a Saturday) nor even any equipment .  And the really frustrating thing was that the lane that was closed off was in no way torn up and looked no different from the one were were all herded into so there didn't seem to be any logical explanation for screwing up the traffic flow and aggravating all the drivers.  

It took almost 30 minutes of stop/go traffic just for the two lanes to merge into one, which was somewhat understandable.  What was not understandable was that once all the vehicles were dutifully merged into the sole remaining lane single file we still continued to inch along at a snail's pace, stop and go.  

By the time we reached an exit, at Miller Rd., we'd been stop/creep, stop/creep for an additional 20 minutes.  Tom bailed off the highway, drove south for several miles, then took a back road for miles before heading back to pick up I-10 again.  That made our return trip from Quartzsite over 3 hours instead of  the usual 2. I'm definitely glad I took care of business before we left... 

Today I hope to put side borders on the quilt, truly finishing that up.  Tom was kind enough to make a run to the quilt store for me the other day because I just wasn't feeling up to it; with specific instructions (and the selvage) he had no problem bringing back a yard of the correct fabric.  After the borders (and of course I'll need some for the binding) I'll still have some left.  I'm planning to try out the Eclipse pattern Laura loaned me using the leftover batiks from the wedding quilt, and I'll need the border fabric for that.

Saw Alex briefly last night - he had some friends over - and later in the evening they were heading up to Flagstaff so they could get an early (?) start on the slopes today.  Lots of new snow up there after the recent rains here, and all lifts are open.

Snow in the past 7 days	20"
Settled base depth	25-32"

At the festival yesterday I did get more reading done, and also last night.  As of this morning I'm up to page 600.  I'm definitely enjoying Tartt's writing (plan to check out her other two books), and I'm wondering how The Goldfinch is going to end.  Will see how my predictions pan out.

As for today...

  

I'm off to soak, and then sew.   Sounds like a great plan for today!