I returned from the VOS quilt retreat yesterday afternoon, where of course I had a wonderful time!

  Brownie was beyond ecstatic to see me return. 

FYI today is his 3rd GotYaVersary:

He was so displeased with my absence that he peed on Tom's bed.

(That's happened once before, though I can't remember where I was.)

 Before heading to the retreat I'd made a quick run to TOQS for some rotary blades - but Sherri's notions wall was bare of a lot of stuff... like blades!  However as a "preferred" customer she offered to sell me some from her personal stash (the ones they use at the cutting table) which saved me from running around to get some.

And as long as I was there I just had  <g> to use that week's coupon to pick up a yard of bright fabric ("just in case".)  It turned out to be perfect for the outer border of this cheery charity quilt Cathy whipped up from Denise's birdhouse blocks.  

She, like so many of the attendees, was working on finishing up quilts of Denise's, who was sorely missed throughout the weekend!  (FYI Denise was the one who started the VOS retreats, which in the beginning were held at her condo.)  We did have a Celebration of Life memorial for her on Saturday afternoon, when for an hour the ladies shared touching Denise stories, and many finished quilts were gifted to her daughter (on the right, admiring one of them) to distribute to various family members.

Sharon, who was also working with Denise's fabrics (she hadn't schlepped any of her own projects to work on) used some of it to whip up this microwave bowl for me.  She'd made them before, but liked Jan's directions (that I'd brought along in case I found time to make my first one) better than 'her' method.

Denise's left-behind fabric was 'up for grabs', and the sheer amount of it makes my rooms-ful of fabric look paltry by comparison!  I was really good (really) about not taking much since I have WAY more than I can ever use, even in several lifetimes.  

But HOW could I pass up this bag of ready-made four-patches in black-and-brights?!

I was happy that my 3 quilts were admired during Show & Tell (even though I ended up going after two incredibly amazing quilters.)  

My room at the hotel was absolutely lovely (might be the nicest place I've stayed?) though the sewing room was cramped.  Not only did the group have to trim down the number of attendees to 24 (from the usual 32) but the cutting/ironing was elsewhere, down the hall past the bathrooms.  "Somehow" <g> we managed!  

There's my area circled in red, where our threesome included Kim and Mel.  

The ladies were (again) jealous of my 'recliner', where I sat to give my back a break at times and worked on the binding of Tom's quilt (which I brought home ALL DONE!) Though I did take some late afternoon breaks to head upstairs and lie on the heating pad, I was able to stay up "late" and sew until 9 pm each evening.

One evening we played LRC, and with 15 of us participating the haul ended up being $45.  I came within a whisker of winning, when it was down to just Ellen and me, both with a single dollar to our name.  (At one point I had accumulated quite a cushion, with a pile of 8!) 

Unfortunately I rolled a Right, so my dollar passed to Carrie, and since immediately after that Ellen rolled a Center Carrie ended up with the cash.

Out of time - need to get dressed and head to PT. 

 Yesterday was fine weather for ducks! 

We got a LOT of rain - and have the puddles to prove it.

At least it wasn't snow, like in some places.  

But while we knew Flagstaff would get a whole bunch of the white stuff...

it was big news when it even snowed here in The Valley!  

A winter storm moved through metro Phoenix, dropping rain across the area. Around noon, the National Weather Service received reports of snow in Fountain Hills, Carefree and north Scottsdale.

I should be taking advantage of the soggy, soggy ground to address the remaining dandelion crop out front, which unfortunately seems to be expanding...

but I can't afford to make my back unhappy since I'm heading to the VOS retreat this afternoon!

Also in the "ought" category: I should have thought to bring my red chair (which IS going to retreat with me) back under the covered part of the porch before the storm arrived so it would have remained dry.  

Alex rescued it for me when he joined us for dinner last evening, and I'm hoping it's (reasonably!) dry when it's time to load up the car later.

Speaking of Alex, I've been doing my daily 'homework' assigned by him, and seem to have absorbed everything on the current list.  

In fact I have gotten so used to talk-to-text I mentioned to him that I miss it when I'm on my iPad.  

Turns out <LOL> that I've always had that option available to me.

Could not fall asleep last evening ("maybe" I shouldn't have accepted a slice of chocolate marble creme cake for dessert last night?) 

It was not at all a good thing when I was still awake after midnight.

At that point I finally took something to combat my insomnia -

though it would have been nice to sleep past 5:00 this morning.

Brownie is back to his normal self.

As expected he's quite pleased with the 'new' item on his breakfast menu, wet food instead of dry.  However (also as expected) he's considerably less pleased about taking a teensy half pill of doggy Ibuprofen to help his sore mouth. 

 Luckily that slips easily into a chunk of Pupperoni, which goes down without any complaint!

Organized my quilting stuff yesterday, so I'll only have to pack my clothes and other personal stuff today.  

Also need to make a quick run to TOQS today for some rotary blades.  And since this week's coupon is for fabric, it's "possible" that I "might" pick up a yard of something while I'm there!

 I wasn't really worried about my recent mammogram, because if it had been bad news my oncologist would have already contacted me.   Still, it was reassuring to receive this actual confirmation from Banner Imaging in yesterday's mail: We are pleased to inform you that the results of your breast imaging performed on February 10, 2022 are normal.

Brownie did let me know when the pool guy arrived this morning (early, just beating the rain) but fell down on the job later, when Melodie stopped by with my label.  

Our doorbell has finally quit working altogether, so she did knock as instructed on the sign - but I was in the laundry room transferring clothes from the washer to the dryer, and didn't hear it.  And apparently Brownie didn't either!

 

She left the label at the door for me, and I think it turned out great!

I had planned to show her the book quilt - 

but she'll just have to see it another time.

When I'd emptied out the previous load from the dryer (done last evening, but it sat until this morning)  I discovered s a BIC lighter that must have been left in the pocket of Tom's jeans.  Just for shits and giggles I gave it a flick...  

and was amazed when it actually still worked!

Had a difficult time taking a selfie (one hand holding the lighter, and the other trying to hold the camera and still find the 'take' button) so after many hilarious tries settled on this - yet still managed to get my finger in the way.

This morning's final laundry load was a small one comprised of some darks that 'might' run, including my new jeans that arrived yesterday, and a new black hoodie of Alex's.  I put in a color catcher sheet to document any dye that ran, and obviously a fair amount did - though I had assumed the sheet would turn a blackish-blue rather than brown.

 It was another good workout at the gym yesterday.  I admit I was a little uneasy when Davon was nowhere in sight as I was warming up; usually he's working with another client during the half hour preceding mine.  Had he quit also?! 

I warmed up, but when 10:30 came and went, I checked at the front desk.  Apparently he was there (good news!) but just had lost track of time playing basketball.

Brownie, as expected, had been thrilled to "go" yesterday - until we ended up at the vet for his dental appointment.  However the paperwork that came home with him (Alex picked him up because I wasn't sure what time Teri was coming by) included this under Additional Notes: Brownie was an excellent patient and was very sweet!  

The good news is that his teeth are now nice and clean.  Happily no teeth needed to be pulled this time, though there are two that will "probably" need to come out next time. The vet did call to recommend packing Brownie's gums with doxycyline gel "for the treatment and control of periodontal disease" , which I okayed, and he will be on oral antibiotics 2x/day for the next five days due to the very deep cleaning. The "bad" news (though not unexpected...) is that it will be another hefty VISA bill this month.

As expected Brownie was still laid back all afternoon, no doubt experiencing after-effects of the anesthetic, though I was a bit surprised that after skipping breakfast he wasn't interested in food when he got home.  He did sniff at it a couple of times, but apparently his mouth soreness overrode his hunger? 

At least he did eat when we sat down to dinner last evening, and seems back to normal this morning.  He will be on soft food only for the next week, which (I'm pretty sure!) will not make him at all unhappy.

In the late afternoon Teri dropped off the skiing and snowflake fabrics, at which time she approved of the white-on-white snowmen.  Here are the four fabrics:

Naturally I'm excited to get started on the baby quilt after the retreat - but with groceries in the car she couldn't stay to browse possible patterns. (We wanted to wait to make that decision until we got all the fabrics we'd ordered to aid us in deciding what will work best.) 

That planning session is scheduled in another week or so, when (with a little luck!) I'll have narrowed down the myriad of choices for her.  

I'm guessing it will include some pinwheel blocks since she seemed to really like the ones on the placemat I showed her. 

Maybe a pattern similar to this one I made for charity last year 

using Barb's donated adorable kitty fabric?

A cold front is moving in, and it has been raining here this morning.  While our weather won't be nearly as bad as what much of the country is experiencing...

it is certainly unfortunate for those retreat ladies flying in from nippy northern climes.  

I know that they were expecting to get a break from their crappy weather, escaping the grip of winter as they revel in our usual 'winter' weather.

In previous years they have been able to dress in t-shirts (and some in shorts), 

even taking an afternoon  break out by the pool for a bit.  

Of course weather is relative, so while we Arizonans will be bundled up <g>, there might be some who consider highs in the 50s or 60s 'balmy'!

Melodie is stopping by mid-morning with my label for the book quilt, which reminds me that I still need to make the sleeve for the quilt. (note to self: DO IT!) 

Since I'm taking the quilt with me to the retreat as one of my three Show & Tells, I could kill two birds with one stone if I hand-sew both on at the retreat while I sit and visit with the ladies.  

Not sure of the March deadline to drop off the quilt for the show, but at least I don't have to go far; TOQS is one of the drop-off locations this year!