Vacation - I'm back!

We just returned last night from a vacation in Key West.  This was my first actual vacation in Florida - I've been in Florida by merit of the fact that I've flown through and had overnight layovers (or more commonly called delays).

I'm not a real hot weather fan - I have fair skin and burn easily (can you say about 10 minutes without sunscreen and I look like a lobster?)  In my younger days I attempted to tan - the only way I'm ever going to get tan is if all my freckles connect into one.

But the hubby wanted to take a 'winter' vacation someplace warm, so that's how we ended up in Key West.  Of course, we all now know that the weather at home this week was pretty splendid (or at least we heard that). 

I'm not a huge fan of air travel - and so of course, our flight from Charlotte to Key West was delayed on the way there.  The official word is that the 'plane is broken'.  Um, ok, better get us one that isn't.  So that made our travel time from our arrival at the airport here to arrival in Key West about 12 hours.  UGH.

The highlight of our trip was our 'sunset cruise'.  Luckily, we had great weather that evening (it rained the next evening about sunset) and the 2-man crew was great, and it wasn't overly crowded - so it wasn't the party cruise - just a relaxed evening on the water.

Other things that we enjoyed was a day in the car driving up through the keys, stopping at the state parks, which are really nice, and the trolley ride was interesting.  The Hemingway house was good - although that was early in the trip, which made me miss my girls - Mimi and Layla - all the more.

But we are back home now, and soon enough I will be back to sewing - once I figure out what to work on!

Happy Sewing!

Susan

End of Vacation

The last segment of our vacation, before the drive home (I won't even go there!) was to finally visit the area where my husband went to camp growing up - the actual purpose of the trip!

We left the Portland area, and I decided it was at last time to visit a quilt shop! So looking at the route we were headed, we ended up going to the Calico Basket Quilt Shop in Windham. I found a few fabrics to purchase!

We traveled on to Weld, where we were staying at the Kawanhee Inn. We were a little early for checkin, so we drove around the area a little - Jamie trying to remember where things were. We found a little bakery to get a sandwich and pastry and headed to a picnic area and had a lovely view of Center Hill. I sat and relaxed after our lunch, while Jamie took the hike up the hill.

Below are some pictures from the inn.

We checked in, relaxed with our books down by the lake, then took a canoe trip down to the end of the lake in hopes of catching a moose - no such luck!

We had a drink on the porch watching the sunset, headed in for our dinner time, and ran into some folks that Jamie knew from his days at camp.

The next day, we headed over to the camp - they had made several changes since Jamie was there (ok, he admits it was too long). One of the items he found was this plaque with the names of all the campers who had passed the Junior Maine Guide program. Yes, his name is on there!

Our second night there, we had the 'New England Boiled Dinner' - lovingly called corned beef by the rest of us, and spent a great evening with Jamie's old friends that were also there.

The next day we started our trek home - just in time to avoid Hurricane Irene, which was headed in that direction.

I hope you enjoyed reading about our trip - now it will be back to business!

Susan

Continuing the Vacation

On the next part of our trip we headed back down Maine to Portland. Since this was our 'anniversary' trip, we splurged and stayed at the Black Point Inn in Scarborough for just one night.


Our arrival there started with some drama. We checked in, got our keys and the porter was taking our bags when they stopped us and said they'd put us in the wrong room - and updated everything and gave us new keys. So we get up to the room, open the door and start to get stuff set up, when we realize there was already someone in this room! Glad they weren't in the room at the time - it could have been very embarrassing all the way around! So the original room was the right one.

We got there just in time for cocktails by the pool - free wine (well, maybe not free exactly!) and cheese and crackers. A quick stroll down to the water, then some relaxation in the Adirondack chairs until people with wound up kids joined us.


We dressed up a little for dinner (it was included in our package also) - since we were celebrating early! Breakfast the next morning was included too, and then we headed off to check out some of Portland.

We headed to Old Port, checked out some of the shops, which were many and varied - some of your typical tourist type of shops, and then some really nice art shops.

We headed out to the Portland Head Light,then headed back to Scarborough to check in at the Higgins Beach Inn for our last night on the coast.

We headed to the beach, it was late enough in the afternoon that I wasn't too concerned about getting a sunburn, and spent a little time there relaxing, reading our books, and watching the waves.

Dinner and breakfast there are the inn were both great, too!

Stayed tuned for part 4 - this will be the best part!

Susan

Vacation Tales - Part 2

Our vacation continued from the Adirondacks to Maine via Vermont and New Hampshire. Little bit of a slow drive through the Adirondacks, especially when they close the one road for a parade.

Our next stop was in Southwest Harbor and Acadia National Park. We spent a couple of nights at the Cranberry Hill Inn, which we loved. We got there somewhat late the first night, so just went up the street to get some dinner and relax. We had planned to go whale watching the next day, but the fog didn't cooperate with us. Instead we did some shopping in Bar Harbor (yes, I did buy t-shirts for my great nieces and nephews), along with some other novelty gifts.

We decided to head back to the Loop Road in Acadia and stop at some additional places we missed the first time, and along the way, we ran across signs for an arts & crafts show, so we had to stop there! Wonderful works of art!



We headed to the lobster pound for dinner that evening, and had another relaxing night at the inn. I started reading 'The Help' - I can't even tell you the last book I read before that.

What's next? Stay tuned.

Susan

Vacation Tales - Part 1

Hello Friends! The next few posts are going to be about the vacation we just took - not too much about sewing or crafting or my regular stuff.

This September is our 10th wedding anniversary. So we thought we should go somewhere special (not that it's not special, but we normally spend our vacation with my husband's parents at their place in Northern Michigan). We had originally talked about going to Hawaii since that's where we went for our honeymoon, but I've become somewhat averse to flying. That's entirely different story

My husband spent many years of his youth at a boys summer camp in Maine. I've heard endless stories about it, and met some of the friends that he made there, and we've talked many times about going to Maine, so we decided that's what we would do for our special year.


Our trip started out with an overnight stay at a friend's cabin (she calls it a camp) in the Adirondacks. It was about half way between home and our first Maine destination, and a really lovely place. Neither of us had been to the Adirondacks before, and we enjoyed seeing the area. The ducks came by in the morning to say hello, and we headed on our way to Maine.

I will say that not a lot changes between us when we drive - when I'm the navigator, and he's driving, he doesn't listen any better than when we are at home.

Stay tuned for where we went next!
Susan

Vacation Purse

Sorry it's been so long since I've written - it was a busy summer. We just got back today from a week or so in Maine - we drove, so that's why I say 'or so'.

I thought I needed a new purse for vacation. I was still using the one I made last fall and it was too big to start with, so in my opinion, way to big for vacation.

I picked out a brown patterned print, and made a small purse with an adjustable strap, a small zippered pouch and a new wallet from the fabric.

I wanted to use the purse myself to see if it was a size/style that I would want to make and sell at shows and from my etsy shop. Overall, I liked the purse. I think the strap needs to be a little sturdier, and perhaps attach from the top rather than the sides.

I liked the wallet too - it was basic with a zipper area for change, a slot for cash, and several slots for credit cards, etc.

A few modifications and you may see these start to appear in my shop!

Until next time,

Susan

New Fabric, New Projects

Jamie and I were visiting his parents for a few days and while he and his dad were fishing, his mom and I did some shopping - which of course, involves fabric shopping for me! One of the local shops close to where they live is Renee's House of Quilting and my stop there was a bit lethal.



A couple of years ago, I had my mother-in-law pick out fabric for a purse for herself, and she decided while we were there that it was time for a new one - this one more fall/winter in colors.
Here are the fabrics she selected for the outside (the circles) and lining (gold/tan print). I'm also trying out a new product, but I'll leave that for once I have it made and have pictures of how it all turns out!



She also decided that she wanted a new wallet and this brown is what she selected for that.



I think she picked out great fabrics, and can't wait to get started on these!





Susan