Mondays just keep coming, don't they?

I’ve been feeling a bit blah the past few days; I don’t know if it has more to do with the change in season (with the accompanying allergies), my lack of exercise since Wednesday, or the fact that I spent entirely too much time on the computer yesterday, exploring my new Ravelry World. Probably all of the above, along with not enough fresh fruit (we missed the Farmer’s Market this weekend.) I’ve been tired, a bit headachy, & unmotivated to do any reading or sewing (on which I really need to get busy); the only saving grace is that the temperatures have slid into a more reasonable range, so I’m not sweltering as well.  This morning, I had to go back inside to put on a sweater before driving to work.

Actually, it was a nice weekend overall. We attended dance class Friday evening, checking out our new & much improved location, a traditional ballet studio with two small classroom & excellent floors, whose owners respect what we do (& vice-versa). The only thing that needs work is finding shoes that will not slide all over the place- we use silicone coating on our ghillies to grip on most surfaces, but it has the opposite effect on this floor; it was a bit like ice-skating indoors.

Saturday, Chris finally had a day off, after an eleven-day stretch, so he wanted to get out of town. Fortunately for me, he wanted to head up to the foothills & there was a quilt show that I really wanted to attend. The two of us drove up to Sonora, about an hour & a half east of home, where his Mom grew up; each of us spent time in the area as kids (though not together), both learning to ski just up the road at Dodge Ridge. The quilt show was at the fairgrounds, & while Chris enjoys the beauty of these hand arts, there just happened to be a swap meet & tool sale on the grounds the same day, so I didn’t have to stretch his patience or attention span while I wandered (& verse-visa!) I spent around two hours admiring the quilts & perusing the vendors, not spending a single dollar- though I was tempted several times :-).

It was such a pleasant day- clear skies & low 80’s- we decided to drive up north about 5 miles to Colombia State Historic Park. The old town is set up as a pedestrian-only, restored 1850’s mining town, with shops, restaurants, a blacksmith, stagecoach rides, & gold panning, as well as a few acres of rocks to climb around (a favorite activity when the kids were younger). There is also the Fallon House Theatre that puts on quality plays throughout the year; we had lunch at the Colombia House, poked around in the shops & museum, & strolled around the rock city. We even found a cute little tea shop & bakery- unfortunately, right after we had lunch. I did a little shopping; I picked up some local honey, a cute flour sack dishtowel with a recipe printed on it (sugar cookies), went to the Candle & Soap makers for some olive oil soap base & 2 bottles of essential oil (red clover tea & honey- great for soap, lotion, bath soak, or linen spray), & then to the Farmer’s Friend for some great bright green goatskin gauntlet style gardening gloves. The first thing I thought when I saw them was protecting my arms from...the rabbit :-( That silly thing has nipped me twice on the soft underside of my forearm, when I reach in to change his food bowl; he doesn’t break the skin, but it sure leaves a nasty looking bruise. We finished up the afternoon with some ice cream (strawberry cheesecake for me, mint chip for Chris) before driving back home, listening to “The Thistle & Shamrock” & “A Prairie Home Companion” on the way.

The highlight of Sunday was wrapping up the silent auction for the group of quilts & pillows our Circle completed this year. We ended up with 2 lap quilts with matching pillows, the twin-sized quilt I donated (someone else completed the binding for me- yeah!) & a set of three coordinated designer pillows one lady did with some smaller cuts of donated fabric. I haven’t heard the final total yet, but when I left at 11:30 (before the end of second service) the total bids for all items was standing at $650- more than twice the amount I was hoping to raise! We all were quite pleased; that will cover the full cost for three women to go to the Annual Retreat held in October, & we had two additional people express an interest in joining us. We’ve already made a start on next year- piecing has already started for a full-sized “Pinwheel Four-Patch” & I’m exploring the donated stash for two or four coordinates to take to a technique class next month. We’re taking a few weeks off- which is why I’ve been doing sewing on my own projects for a change- & will start up again in October, hopefully with enough people to justify meeting at the church again; meeting in homes is nice, but crowded.

Well, I’m off; Chris & I are suppose to attend the a screening of a PBS ViewFinder episode for our local station; it’s called Fighting Port: Stockton in WWII, which is just 20 miles from here. It’s being held at the Haggin Museum this evening, with hors d'oeuvres and beverages before the preview; I just hope Chris can get off work, showered, & over there in time.