I'm home from Havasu, and had a wonderful time!  

It's been a while since I've driven out of town on I-10, and I was somewhat surprised to find that they're widening it all the way to the I-8 exit (to Yuma.)  Of course it will be nice when it's done...

Piper welcomed me Friday afternoon, even though I'd left Brownie at home.

This dog decal graced a vehicle at the quilt show:

I did a LOT of walking yesterday (admittedly slowly) and the WONDERFUL news is that my foot behaved!  Naturally that had been a bit of a concern, but considering that there have been no repercussions, even today, it seems as if I'm (finally) over the hump!

We picked up Sherry (she and Dave snowbird from New Hampshire), and then before heading to the quilt show we swung by Tami & Allen's new 'house' which is finally (partly) framed.  It's been in the works a long time (of course everything is slowed down these days) but by the time I visit for their next quilt show (in two years) it should be finished!

The quilt show was wonderful, of course; so many beautiful quilts to admire.  This year's theme was A River Runs Through It, and I enjoyed their Challenge display. 

This quilt was a sweet tribute to those quilters they've lost.

After viewing all the quilts (and yes, I took lots of photos and do plan to share many of them in upcoming posts) I 'shopped' the vendors around the perimeter, almost completing the circuit without making a purchase.  But then I spotted a couple of bright fabrics that begged to come home with me, so how could I resist?

On our way out we stopped in at the boutique, and while we were looking around they announced a "5-minute special" on the heart baskets.  I bought this one for the upcoming gift exchange at quilting.

To support the Havasu quilt guild, I 'donated' $20 (bought 25 raffle tickets), as did Tami and Sherry.  We all had fun dropping our tickets in the various containers for a chance at bringing home one of the wonderful baskets.  

FYI I loved the way they did the tickets.  Instead of us having to write our name/number on all 25 tickets (as is usually the case at shows) we got a sheet of tickets with 'our' number on them, and they wrote down our name and phone number on a master sheet next to that number.

Also as a gesture of support, as always I bought one $1 ticket for every quilt being raffled off by the various organizations, like this one:

We spent a lot of time at the show, and then lunched al fresco under the bridge, at Burgers by the Bridge, taking advantage of the absolutely perfect weather.  BBTB is a dog-friendly establishment, and there were a lot of dogs in attendance - though (of course) none quite a cute as Brownie.

I treated Tami to lunch.  Since I wasn't inclined to order one of their 1/2 lb. burgers, I decided to go for their other option, a wrap.  Tami said they were huge (which they were), and we could easily share one.  That sounded like a perfect plan, and since they all sounded good (chicken? turkey? chicken Caesar?) I let her pick; turkey it was.  Who knew it would come with bacon?  

However Sherry had ordered the chicken Caesar wrap, and graciously offered to trade one of her halves for my half.  

After we dropped Sherry back at home, Tami and I visited some of the foo foo shops in town.  We saw lots of cute stuff, and enjoyed many laughs at some of the very creative items.  By the third shop I was starting to flag, so we headed back to the house, but we hadn't been back long when my phone rang.  It was Jone (who, as it turns out, lives right across the street from Tami and Allen) to let me know I'd won a basket!  

That was pretty exciting, since I hadn't expected to win anything.  We got back in the car (which meant I got to negotiate their tall flight of stairs yet again) and returned to the Aquatic Center to pick up my winnings.  

I haven't yet unwrapped it, but Anne (L) and Suzie (R) both contributed to the contents.

w

Unfortunately Audrey King, the maker of this adorable Santa quilt (which is what had originally caught my eye) had already left, so I was unable to get her photo.

After dinner Tami, Allen and I sat out on patio until bedtime, enjoying their first fire of the season. (I snapped this photo this morning.) 

During the evening I was lucky enough to see a shooting star, always fun.

Brownie was thrilled to have me return today, and naturally very interested to sniff where I'd been.  Pretty sure <g> he knows I 'cheated' on him with Piper.

Now just relaxing for a bit...