January RV Trip

QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA

Nick and I headed east to Quartzsite, Arizona for the big RV Show and the "Endless Flea Markets" last Thursday, spending the first night in Indio, CA.
We arrived in Quartzsite midday on Friday and picked our spot near some of these other RVer's. We were on the north side of Interstate 10, not far from where everything was happening. Talk about affordable--$5/night!! It's a unique camping experience if you've never been out there. You just get off Interstate 10 at one of the several exits and pretty much park anywhere you choose!!! There were RV's as far as you can see, on both sides of the freeway.

There isn't much to say about the small town, nothing really special, but from January till March every year thousands of people flock to this desert community, to see Rock and Gem Shows, Flea Markets, people watch and every kind of gadget you can imagine!! We shopped these vendors for bargains for a couple of days, finding some goodies we just couldn't live without!!

(The RV Show is in the big tent seen in the picture above, left middle)

Besides all the great bargains you can find and the interesting people you see and meet, there are some beautiful views of the sky!!
No smog in Quartzsite, but the traffic in many places in Arizona, here and in the spring training towns of Surprise, Goodyear, Peoria and the like, almost rivals the LA freeways at rush hour. These towns get thousands of visitors every year, but most of the Arizona roads can't accommodate the numbers of people who venture there for these big events!!

We left a day early(on Monday rather than Tuesday) to try to beat the rainstorms predicted for the Southwestern states. We hit some rain on our journey home but not much. The pouring rain actually started right after we returned home-which made for some difficulty in unloading the motorhome.

A favorite site of our family's, when heading to the river or Laughlin or Palm Desert to visit Nick's parents back in the day, is the windmills east of the Palm Springs area, pictured below.
The winds blow them 'round and 'round even when it rains!!

Another Creative Talent in Our Family

T-SHIRT DESIGNS BY ALEX

Have you seen this t-shirt at a Kohl's Store near you??
Isn't it a COOL design?!?
It was so exciting when we found it yesterday at our
Kohl's in San Marcos, CA!!

Why, you might ask?!? It's Simple --it's the second t-shirt, designed by
our son, Alex, and bought by a company to market and sell!!

Of course we had to buy a couple, and below it is proudly worn
by our son-in-law, David!!

So, you might want to check our the men's graphic t's at your Kohl's, too!!

Alex's first t-shirt design was bought by Target for their boys department.
Talk about a proud parent moment when we saw his first design
hanging on display in Target!!
It is currently on sale at many Target locations.
It sold out in a couple locations near us!
This t-shirt has been selling at Target since before Christmas.
It has been sold in San Diego county, Orange county,
and Pierce county, Puyallup, Washington!!
So check out your local Target.

We are so proud of our talented son, Alex!!!!
You can read more about these two designs, how they were picked,
see more of his t-shirt designs,
and other graphic designs at his website,
AlexanderPavone.com

PS My new blog header is another Alexander Pavone Original!!

Creative Projects

My Creative Projects TO DO List for January:

[For both OPAM (One Project A Month Challenge)
and the Charming Girls Quilt Club]

1 & 2 Hand Knitting scarves for gifts,

like the one pictured on the top!

3 Basting and quilting Gigi's Hawaiian Quilt for the toddler bed at our house.

4 & 5 Two pillowcases out of this Bamboo, eco-friendly fabric!!

It will be great if I can complete these projects.
On the horizon I do have plans
to finish the Fire Patches Quilt for my husband
(started a few years back).............Not only do I need to baste and machine quilt this quilt,
but I also need to sew on
all the patches (maybe more than 50)
my husband has collected over the
years from other fire departments
he's visited or ones
that have been sent to him.
This quilt has been a labor of love,
and it is time to finish it!!
But, it may have to wait till next month!

"OPAM Challenge" Finished Projects 2009 Recap

When I joined the OPAM challenge in January of 2009 I never imagined I would finish so many projects, many of which were gifts. The group was made up of many (279) quilters from around the world. By the end of 2009, I completed 75 projects (and many other random blocks and a few quilt tops); but the amazing thing about this was that there were a total of 5,694 finishes for the entire group! WOW!! Now that is a whole lot of sewing and quilting!! It was fun to be a part of this group and keeping track of my finishes. I plan to join it for 2010!! FOr the 2010 OPAM, Kris over at Tag Along Teddies is the co-host with Peg at Happy in Quilting.

I made a lot of Pieced Future Firefighter blankets for the many new babies of my husband's fire dept, like this one:
Here's a recap of what I completed:

• JANUARY
• (1) Nine Patch Baby Quilt for Baby Liam with Zoo Animals for Backing
• (3) Future Firefighter Pieced Nine Patch Top and Flannel Backed Baby Blankets
• FEBRUARY
• 1 (dozen) Rolled Hem Receiving Blankets for Mountain Baby Blankets Project
• (1) "Hugs & Kisses" Pieced top and Flannel Back Baby Boy Blanket
• (1) "Flyboy" Lap Quilt for a great friend
• MARCH
• (1) Baby Girl Pieced Nine Patch and Flannel Back Baby Blanket
• (1) Quick Trip with Kitties Lap/Crib Quilt for the Mountain Baby Blankets Project
• (1) "My Quick Trip to the Flower Gardens" Quilt Oversized Lap (64 1/2" X 84 1/2") for a Girl Scout Auction
• (1)Tossed Nine Patch Baby Quilt for my nephew's first born
• APRIL
• (1) Set of 4 "Lover's Knot" Placemats (Pieced and Quilted)for my son and daughter-in-law!
• (1) Fabric-Reusable Shopping Tote Bag for my sister!
• (1) Queen Size "Orion's Star" Quilt (Eleanor Burns newest book!) A close-up of the block:
  

• MAY
• (1) "How Charming" Queen Size Quilt for my nephew's wedding this month! (started & completed in May 2009 )
• JUNE
• (1) "Funky Flowers" Wallhanging (my Original Pattern) for "Spring Blooms Mini Quilt Swap"
• (1) "Our Quick Trip to Novato" Lap Quilt (thank you gift for good friends)
• JULY
• (1) "4 Squares and Animals" Baby Boy Quilt for a good friend (my original design!)
• (1) Baby Boy Pieced Nine Patch and Flannel Back Baby Blanket
• AUGUST
• (1) Fabric-Reusable Shopping Tote Bag for "Favorite Things" Online Swap
• (1) Set of New Valances for my newly painted master bath!
• (1) Toddler Sundress for my granddaughter, Gigi-she is always on the move and it's hard to get a picture of her still....
  

• (1) "A Day at the Beach" Wallhanging (my Original Pattern) for the Good Ole' Summertime Mini Quilt Swap
• (1) Christmas "Nine Patch Party" Lap Quilt (from Eleanor Burns' book Still Stripping) A close up of the quilt and border:
  

• (2) 9 Patch Pieced Baby Size Quilt/blankets
• SEPTEMBER
• (1) "Future Firefighter" Pieced Baby Blanket
• (1) Matching Big Brother Firefighter Pillow Case
• (1) Nightie top for my granddaughter, Gigi
• (1) Big Sister Pillow Case
• (1) Banquet Length TableCloth for my Table
• OCTOBER
• (1) PJ Bottoms to match Gigi's Nightie top
• (1) Hawaiian Dress for my Granddaughter. Gigi
• (4) Baby Burp Cloths (aka "ni-nites" for my granddaughter!)
• (1) Baby Girl Quilt (4 Patch and Squares with Panel back)
• NOVEMBER
• (1) Christmas Table Runner (Surprise Gift for SSCS)
• DECEMBER
• (1) Adorable Taffeta Christmas Dress for my granddaughter, Gigi
• (6) Fabric-Reusable Shopping Tote Bags-Christmas Gifts for friends
• (2) Sets of 8 Reversible Half-Circle Christmas Napkins-fold into Christmas Trees
• (2) Christmas Fabric Banquet Length Tablecloths
• 1 (dozen) Hand Knit Kitchen Cloths
• (2) Hand Knit Beanies for my granddaughter
• (1) Hand Knit Scarf for Gigi

In addition to the projects I finished, I also made several blocks (for group quilts) and other quilt tops (that need to be quilted), some of which are pictured at the end of my finished projects also on my flickr page.

Here's the link to my flickr page with more pictures of most of my completed projects (somehow I didn't get pictures of all the projects!)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157623137715652/

Christmastime with the Pavones

Nick and I had so much fun when we took Gigi to the Kids' Christmas Party at the RSF fire dept earlier this month, put on by the firefighters. There were so many little ones running around just being kids and having loads of fun. We enjoyed pizza and cookies. Santa arrived and appeared out of the make shift fireplace, after sliding down the fire pole! Watching the amazement on those little faces was such a joy!

Last Sunday we spent the afternoon with family: we took a trip to the Ikea store in San Diego, and then we headed to San Diego Harbor to enjoy the annual Boat Parade of Lights. It was a bit cold sitting on the waters edge, but we managed to bundle up in our coats and mittens!
We topped the evening off with a trip to the famous "Christmas Card Lane," in Rancho Penasquitos, San Diego and enjoyed all the lights while sipping yummy Starbucks drinks!

It looks a lot like Christmas throughout San Diego county and around our house,
inside

and out!!

We've even got cloudy skies and rain today, to add to the ambiance of the season!! Having grown up in southern California we often don't have real Christmas weather. The rain is nice, especially since it was in the mid 70's just a couple of days ago, which is NOT Christmastime weather in my opinion.With Christmas only three days away, I still have wrapping to finish, cooking and baking to do before the big day. So I better get busy.....

To enjoy more pictures see my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157622922512009/

Christmas Greetings 2009!

December is here and it’s time once again to reflect on the past year. We have much for which to be thankful......... our family, our health, our travels. Life is full.

Our family is growing.... Alex and Angelina are expecting their 1st baby in May, 2010, and we couldn't be more excited about the arrival of our 2nd grandchild...........and growing.......Nicole and David are adopting. Although we don't know when this precious one will arrive, we could (hopefully will) have a 3rd grandbaby anytime in the next year! Talk about being excited!

Our extended family has also grown as we had three nephews and one niece get married, and a grand nephew was born, giving us a chance to get together at many family gatherings.

Nick has fully recovered from his rotator cuff surgery of March. He is back to all his normal activities and played his first round of golf over the Thanksgiving holiday, pretty much pain-free!

We missed camping with our long time friends at the lake as we didn’t take our long summer vacation of camping this year. Instead, we camped with family and friends more locally and went on many long weekend RV trips, heading to: Campland on Mission Bay, San Diego; Quartzite, AZ for a big RV Show, and Yuma; Surprise and Peoria, AZ for Padres' Spring Training; Huntington State Beach, CA; KQ Ranch, Julian, CA; Flying Flags Resort, Buellton, CA, for a quilting retreat; and So. Carlsbad State Beach twice, once for the week of Thanksgiving.

We spent a fun weekend with friends in Novato, Napa & Sonoma, CA, tasting wines and sailing the San Francisco Bay. We surprised our niece at her college graduation from the Culinary Institute of America in Poughkeepsie, NY and spent a couple of days in Manhattan, New York, as well. I flew for a weekend to Pensacola, FL with my sisters-in-law and brother-in-law for one niece’s wedding! To top our travels off we took a wonderful 11 Day Southern Caribbean Cruise in the fall, with friends, old and new! We saw so many beautiful places, enjoyed the warm Caribbean waters and shared much laughter along the way!

We truly have been blessed this year. As we get ready for Christmas, and celebrate Jesus’ birth, we are also reminded how important our family and friends are.

We wish you all a very Merry Christmas filled with laughter, joy and love!

Nick and Karen

It's December Already!

Ok, I am a bit late in posting my finished projects for November. It was a "short" month for me so I didn't finish as much as I would have liked, and My one and only finish for OPAM- November was this table runner--shhhhhh...it's a surprise gift.

I did finish a couple of "blocks," though, that will count for the Charming Girls Quilt Club:
This block is for my Live Piecefully Quilting Bee online.
This block is for a Christmas "retirement" quilt for a gal at work!

Now it's December, and I only have one decoration up, my Advent calendar, made in 1979.
(We add a candy cane for each day in December leading to Christmas Day; see my daughter, Nicole's blog post about our family tradition of this Advent Calendar at gidgetgoeshome).

I am already feeling a bit of the crunch of a "short" December! Nick hasn't gotten our other decorations down from the shelf in the garage as yet, and we aren't getting our tree until this weekend (the 5th).

As for projects to do in December there are so many, and there won't be enough time. But I think I will be ambitious, so here goes:

1. Finish my "cat" placemats similar to these I made for my mom and aunt last year:
2. Several (4-5) shopping bags for Christmas gifts, similar to this one:
3. A taffeta Christmas dress for my granddaughter, Gigi


4. A table topper for Gigi's table out of these fabrics (she picked the brown birdies one!):
5. A baby quilt for my friend, Susie's new grandbaby due soon with this flannel:
I better get busy and get to my sewing!!!

Our Blessed Thanksgiving Tradition

The month of November seems to have flown by in the blink of an eye! We returned from our wonderful cruise, had two weeks of regular life and then we went camping for the entire week of Thanksgiving, Sunday to Sunday!

For the past 32 years or so we have almost always gone camping with family and friends for the Thanksgiving weekend. The few years we stayed home and had a "traditional" Thanksgiving, our kids would say, "This is boring! Let's go camping next year like we always do!" So we pack up the RV and head to the campground, this year (as in many past years) we headed to South Carlsbad State Beach.

Most years, including this one, the weather has accommodated us and we usually have a warm weather Thanksgiving. We've only been rained on a couple of times over the years. We cook a full Thanksgiving dinner while there with all the trimmings. Nick smokes our turkey in the smoker and friends deep fry their turkey. Everyone pitches in making everything that goes along with a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It's truly the best way to enjoy Thanksgiving!

Above top: Our "Stuffed Turkey" table decoration made
by mom almost 30 years ago;
just above: Nicole and Susie and Dane in line for the feast!

We have so much to be thankful for and spending time with family and friends tops the list!!
We are blessed! This year we all shared what we are thankful for and a new tradition was added to our way of celebrating this holiday!

To view more pictures go to:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157622920644710/

Our Southern Caribbean Cruise

We had such a great time on our 11 Day Southern Caribbean Cruise, October 26-November 6, 2009, aboard the Celebrity Millennium ship, with our friends, Cara and Andy Mejia, Nancee and Marc Revere, and our new friends, Donna and Rod Guilmain. It was a very memorable trip!!Friends together!

(Top l to r: Andy, Karen Nick, Cara, Marc
Bottom: Nancee, Donna and Rod)

We flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico and spent the night there boarding the ship on Monday. We set sail at 8:30 pm sailing to our first port, Fredriksted, St, Croix, US Virgin Islands (84 sq miles). From there we headed to Basseterre, St Kitts, West Indies(65 sq miles) ; then to Roseau, Dominica (298 sq miles) ; on to Castries, St Lucia(238 sq miles); Bridgetown, Barbados (166 sq miles); St Georges, Grenada (133 sq miles), Willemstad, Curacao; and our final port of Oranjestad, Aruba (75 sq miles). From Aruba, we sailed back to San Juan, PR, where we spent one more night at a fantastic resort, The Conrad Hotel.

We saw plenty of lush, green, tropical foliage, fruit trees, and tropical flowers, in and out of rain forests, and met some friendly people along the way. Most of the cruise it was hot and humid, ranging from about 87 to 89 degrees daily with about 85% humidity! It only rained on us a couple of times--but the rain didn't last long. We did a lot of sightseeing, took some taxi tours, a bit of shopping, river tubing, swimming and snorkeling in the warm Caribbean waters,
and enjoyed martinis and wine aboard ship!!

St Croix is the largest of the US Virgin Islands, 19 miles south of St Thomas. The US purchased the island from Denmark for $25 million in 1917.Taken from St Croix looking at the Caribbean

St Kitts is a lush green island and home to the "green monkeys" on St Kitts-the fur on the belly of these monkeys is actually a bluish green color. Caribelle Batiks are designed and hand made on this island. The "Green Monkeys" of St Kitts!

Dominica is home to 365 rivers, many waterfalls and the cool waters of the Emerald Pool in the rain forest, pictured below.

It rains approximately 435 inches every year on Dominica. English is the offical language and Patois, a mix of French and Creole is also spoken.

Barbados is the easternmost island of the West Indies islands. We spent Halloween day here. It rained a bit while we were in port and the rain just added to the heat and humidity! That night we "dressed up" in masks for the festivities!

Grenada is known as the spice island, since many spices are grown on this island, such as nutmeg, mace (which grows on the outside of the nutmeg), cloves and cinnamon.View of the coastline from the fort on Grenada

Curacao is a very diverse island composed of 55 nationalities and many languages are still spoken there, including Portuguese, French, English, Dutch, and the local dialect known as Papiamento (a mixture of the languages). This island is not very green, as most plants won't grow on it since the island is coral and it rains very little in Curacao. Curacao is 35 miles from the northern coast of Venezuela. We were told one can only see the coastline of Venezuela 15 days out of the year and we were there on one of those days! We visited their "Sea Aquarium" set right on the coast of Curacao--the setting of which was breathtaking!

These are pictures of the Dolphin pools and the rocks mark the separation of
the Sea Aquarium pools and the Caribbean Sea.

Aruba is 18 miles off the coast of Venezuela and is the westernmost Caribbean island. The official language of Aruba is Dutch, but almost everyone also speaks English and Spanish. Aruba has gorgeous white sand beaches with the whitest sand I have ever seen.

Our new friend Rod doesn't much like monkeys....... but we thought we'd get him one to help him get over his "fears" and the remember the trip!Rod and his green friend.

To see all our pictures and Mejias' pictures together go to my flickr page:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/72308330@N00/sets/72157622667712183/

HAPPY 31 TO US!

Today marks our anniversary---Happy 31st Anniversary to us!!