Sunday and Monday.... where did the time go???

After resting for a couple of days, Brian and I hit the road again for some more fabric shopping and a bit of grocery shopping.  He cooked a delightful breakfast for us and then we headed for Burnsville, MN.

S.R. Harris Fabrics was a place I had visited on each of my last two visits.  It was an amazing warehouse of fabrics and fabrics and more fabrics.  I noted on their website that they now listed two locations.  So I asked Brian if we could go to the other one, so we did.

We needed to get to a WalMart, too.  I had been using a fly fishing sling to carry around my wallet and little camera so I was not lugging the big backpack.  But he was not going to let me take it home, so I wanted a small, cheap bag that I could use for the rest of my trip.  I also needed a little extra dog food, since I was adding a few days to our journey.  Brian said we would go there first, but then we did not find the WalMart where he thought it was, so we went to the fabric place first.

The old or original store was huge, stacks and stacks of bolts and bolts of fabric.  It all laid on its sides and was hard to find specific things... check out their website by clicking in their name above to see pictures of the two stores.  Bursville is newly opened.  It is not nearly the size of the original location, but the bolts are stacked like a normal fabric/quilt shop, so it is easier to find colors and blends for a particular quilt pattern.

I was shopping for the material to make the quilt that I got the clues for on the shop hop.  We went block by block.  Brian helped search and I think it is going to be lovely.  Here are pictures of the store...

They are still relatively big and there was a large variety of fabric.  They had some beautiful blingy trim.  Marji would have spent a lot of time checking them all out!

Just a reminder, this is the quilt I am going to be  making, designed for the shop hop.'

Pretty, right??  Here are some of the colors I am going to be using in mine.

The colors above will be the pinwheels.

Log Cabin neutrals.

Log Cabin center.

The rest of the pictures did not turn out well at all, so you will have to wait until I get home to see them  Brian is curious enough that he has asked me to be sure to show him the finished product.

Then we found the WalMart he had bee trying to find... same area but on a different expressway!!!  I got everything I will need for my extended trip and Brian got stuff to make Goulash with Spaetzles for dinner.  It w Just look....

It was soooooo goooood!!!!

Monday was the last full day of my visit with Brian.  He went off to the gym as is his usual Monday, Wednesday, Friday routine.  On his way home he stopped at the new Tim Horton's coffee shop and brought home some donuts.  They were good, but nowhere near as decadent as Duck Donuts, but they do not have any of those here.... I checked!!!

I have started the packing things up process.  It is amazing to me how well I explode when I visit.  I bring things in and then I take over his house. At least this time, with the new vehicle, I did not have an abundance of stuff like I would have if I had not traded in the van.  So I have less stuff to pack back up... pluss I have been dropping off stuff all ong the way.

For those who do not know, just before I went on the OBX trip, I went car shopping.  The van was beginning to show signs of giving up the ghost and I no longer trusted taking it on prolonged journies such as this one.  I also determined, that while the Elantra that Rudy made sure I had before he died was excellent on gas, I found I did not drive it much and I really needed just one car that was capable of hauling some things.  So I had gone to Hershey Motors to look at a Kia Sorrento.  It was nice, with pretty low mileage for a used car but just seemed a little tinny to me and showed signs of wear and tear.  They also had a 2010 Cadillac SRX.  Also a crossover vehicle but loaded to the hilt.  It probably carries less that the Kia, and it had higher miles, but it was pristine.  The dollar difference between the two was $27.00, so I opted to take Cadillac quality and class and spoiled myself with a new ride.  And it has made this trip so very nice.

Here are some photos I took using my phone when I first got her....

The last thing on my list was to go to Matt's Bar to have the famous "Juicy Lucy", a double burger with cheese encased inside, cooked to perfection and served with onions (mine were sauteed) and pickles.  We had tried to have dinner there, but the line was already outside the bar.  Today we were seated at a table right away.  Served with fries and a Summit Beer, it will have to hold me until I return.

So, tomorrow I finish loading my stuff and head south on I-35.  I will be going through Iowa, so I am adding another state to my list of states visited.  I will be stopping to try to find a couple of quilt shops there to add their license plates to my collection.  Then in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio before getting home.  Afterall, I need to take breaks to walk the dogs!!!

The Wednesday.... Missouri Star Quilt Company!!!  Huge bucket list item checked off!  Stay tuned.

A quiet Friday..., a similar Saturday...

Brian started the morning working out at the gym.  Keep in mind, he gets up at 6:00 AM to do this!!!  Breakfast when he got home.  We both had no desire to go anywhere after the break neck days getting the quilting passport stamped.

So we chilled on Friday and then got motivated to head to Merlin's Rest for Brian's Friday night traditions.  He meets his friend Matt (Squid) and Janice (Lemur) for drinks and dinner and has done this for years.  Now he has added Kurt (no nickname) and his wife, Lisa, to the crew.

We got there first and corralled the corner booth.  Kurt (Brian goes fly fishing with him) and spouse arrived first.  Introductions all around.  Then Squid arrived.  Hugs and kisses  Finally Janice arrives.  No hugs, she is very tired, surprised to find me there and almost seemed peeved.  But she had a hard few weeks and was going to have to work the weekend, so I think I would be a tad surly as well.

Drinks ordered.... food ordered and chats had about their weeks.  I oidered Fish and Chips, English style with vinegar.  Brian ordered "Wee Lamb Sliders".  All of the food ordered was delicious and the night did not go very late at all.  Not as jovial as in years past, but fun, nonetheless

Saturday, it rained.

The dogs did not want to go out.  Neither did Brian and I.  I stayed in my caftan until it was time to think about dinner.

Brian suggested going to Matt's Bar for a "Juicy Lucy" which was fine with me, but the line was out the door, so we altered our course and went to Ted Cook's Nineteenth Hole BBQ.  We ordered a half a slab and a half a chicken with slaw and potato chips (actual potatoes, thinly sliced and baked.... yummy).  This was takeout, so we came home and had some of the best BBQ I have had in a long time.  Slow cooked, smoked just right and sauced perfectly.  One would have thought we were in the deep south.

Sorry, no pictures.  It was devoured before I even thought about pictures.  Watched football, hockey in the evenings and the Premiere League Soccer in the mornings.

Sunday will be a tad more active... Stay tuned.

Thursday in the Caddie....

This morning, Brian cooked breakfast, then showered (both of us showered) and dressed before we headed out for the final stop on the shop hop.  As a change and to give Brian a break, I suggested that we take the Cadillac for this longest distance to get to a shop.  And so we headed out for a delightful drive to, just over the state line in Wisconsin.

Brian navigated and we arrived at Pins and Needles Quilt Shop in St. Croix Falls, WI by mid-morning.  It was in another of those type of towns that looks like time had forgotten.  In a little store front on Washington Street which was the main road through town.  Another busy, bustling shop.with lots of chatting and laughter from the staff and clients.  I have generally found most local quilt shops are fun and friendly places.

I located the needed license plate and then a book of one-hour projects that will work really well for some Sew Much Love projects.  Up to the register and presented my passport.  She marveled that I was not finished and place it in a holder for finished passports.  I did ask her to bring it out so I could get a picture of it.

She gave me the final set of instructions for constructing the quilt that I was getting instructions for at each shop.  I was not finding the 3rd page of instructions in my collection.  She very nicely, since it was obvious I had been to all of the shops, copied the missing page for me.  (Later, I found the missing page folded round the fat eighth from the shop the day before... honestly, it looked like a label wrapped around the fabric.)  But I really like the quilt and it is moving to the top of my 'must do' list.

This is the quilt that they designed for the shop hop.  I have moved this to the top of my "must-do"list.  It is really pretty and I just have to decide on colors.  I am thinking teal, brown and blue with a cream light.

Finished paying, took a couple of inside shots and I had completed.  Now, if I will just get a phone call about the Bernina, I will be a very happy camper!

This area is one I have been through or stopped at before.  On my very first visit with Brian, the one that Marji Lantz and I did together, we had stopped on the Minnesota side of the river at a bead shop.  Marji had spent a couple of hours going through the huge number beads and things that were there.  So, of course, I had to make a stop there.

I found some items to make a unique necklace that I am bringing back to Miss Marji as well as a couple of other things. Purchases made at the Taylor Falls Bead Shop, picctures taken and we are off for some lunch.

Across the street was the Chisago House Restaurant.so we headed there.  Inside was a smaller diner type eatery with larger dining rooms off to the right.  We were well past the lunch hour rush, so we opted to eat in the diner side.  Old time booths and a lunch counter as well.  Brian had an Italian sausage sandwich.  I had a french dip and onion rings (the real kind)!  It was very good, just the right size for lunch and came quickly.  Some day we will have to cme back and see what is on their buffets.

We headed home and headed back to Merlin's Rest for dinner and to play "Quiz Night".  We got one more than half of the questions right.  I changed one of Brian's answers to mine and I was wrong.  But it was fun and we came back home and died.

ANNOUNCEMENT.... I will be extending my trip a couple of days.  I had built in some flexibility into my timeline, just in case.  I will be leaving Brian's early Tuesday and heading, not home, but to Hamilton, MO. For those of you who are not quilters, this is the home of The Missouri Star Quilt Company.  It is only 5 to 6 hours from here.  I had no idea it was that close.  So, while I am here and not knowing what will happen in the next year, I am going to mark this off of my bucket list and visit on of the places I consider a Mecca of Quilting.  I will be staying in Cameron, MO Tuesday night, visiting Hamilton off and on all day on Wednesday and then heading home (a three day journey) on Thursday.  I will be hitting home place sometime late afternoon/early evening on the 28th.

Tuesday/Wednesday... hop, hoppity... a shop hop......

It was a tad warmer today.  So far the weather here has been delightful.  Sunny and getting warmer everyday.

The boys have torn a hole in one of their beds and when we are home, they are constantly trying to pull the stuffing out.  So one of the places we are going today is to go to a pet store to look at getting a new dog bed.  We had stopped at a Tractor Supply yesterday to look but I did not like the ones I saw.

So, we looked for a quilt shop near one of the Petco shops.  It was called Glad Creations. It was in more of what looked like a residential neighborhood, so I might never have thought there was a shop there.  Inside was a lovely and cery busy quilt shop.  As we entered, we were greeted by a staff person and asked if we were shop hopping.  We said 'n' and started looking around.  There wer sounds coming from upstairs so there had to be an open sewing session or a class.  At the same time the shop was full of people.  I located the Row by Row license plate and found a mirror system for creating pattern pieces with fabric.  Hard to describe, but will be fun to play with once I get home.

When I got to the register, I asked about the shop hop.  It was the 14th annual Harvest Sampler Shop Hop and there were only 6 shops involved.  Since it was early in my visit and Brian was willing to do it with me, I decided to join in.  So I got my yellow passport, had it stamped and we were on our way.

We stopped at the Petco nearby and found a lovely, teal green memory foam bed to replace the stinky, holey, bed that lasted a good year or more with two dogs.  Brian used an Instant Pot recipe for Clam Chowder and we had soup and salad with crunchy bread for dinner.  It was wonderful.  It will be even better in a day or two.

That evening, Brian spent looking at the addresses for the shop hop.  He determined that on Wednesday we could hit four of the remaining five shops and then on Thursday, we could go to the farthest and final shop.  So the Shop Hop plane was set!  So excited!!

WEDNESDAY....

Brian got up early to go workout.  When he got back, he showered and we headed out.  First stop was The Noble Quilter.  Have my little Samsung camera with me now, so here is the shop...

Debby Patton, I thought you would like this bag!!!

 
This was also a lovely and very busy quilt shop.  Lots of older quilters and they had a computer driven quilt fram running next to the classroom.  All I got here was the Row by Row plate but not for this year.  No matter, it is a plate from Minnesota.  It is all I got at this shop.

The next shop was Four Seasons.  This shop was located in a shopping area but not a cute shop area, just a store front that looked like any other.  When we got inside, the atmosphere was totally different from the others.  Quiet, subdued with only one or two other shoppers.  No hustle, no bustle, no animated conversations about colors or patterns.  Almost flet like a fabric library.  No license plates out on the racks.  So, passport stamped, pattern and fat eighth received.  We were given a Snickers bar, which was nice.  We were ready for a boost.  Pics here...

The next shop was my all time favorite shops.  Not only was the shop fun, but the building was fun.  Eagle Creek Quilt Hop in Shakopee, MN was in a town that time forgot and was housed in an old train depot.  AWESOME!!!  Not a lot of people but the staff was busy preparing for a retreat or class.  Bright and cheery and tons of antique sewing machines scattered throughout the building.  I has to ask for a license plate and they foound one from 2016.  I bought a patter for a button boat... soon to be either an OBX project or Sew Much Love.  Enjoy the pictures.

The used this old mail slot section to store notions.  Clever, but made it hard to actually identify the item.  Not sure the marketing aspect of this one works.

Lots of quilts and bolts and colors.  Machines all over, high and low.  Wonderful shop.

This pillow caught my eye.  Did not find a pattern, but we should be able to figure it out!!!

I loved this quilt... and it is so very true!!!

Just to prove it was actually still on the tracks.  They told us the trains still rumble by all day long.

Quilters Haven was the final stop for the day. I guess was getting tired as I did not get any pictures here.  It was not anywhere near as neat as the last shop.  But I did get a license plate there and they had some fun patterns for the mesh bags that my OBX ladies like to make, so I got them, as well.

Just to help you understand the license plates, here is a picture or three of the ones I have collected to date.  They are fabric rectangles and can be used in quilts oe bags or any quilting project.

The passport is looking good, with only one stamp missing.  Tomorrow we will head there and turn it in, hoping for a prize!!  Home, tired from a lot of driving and walking.  Off to the pub for dinner and a triva quiz.  Great food, not so much on the quiz, but a fun, fun day.  Brian is a real trooper.

Monday with Brian....

Monday morning began early.  Brian has been doing gym workouts and strength training for some time now.  He is really looking quite fit and says he feels much better.  BUT he gets up at 6:00 AM to go do his workouts.  As soon as he started moving, the dogs... who slept with me in bed... not something they normally do...began to move around to see what was going on.  Then the smell of bacon, wafted up the steps which had us all hungry.  So I got the dogs downstairs, outside for a quick pee only to find Brian had quietly left the house.  So I fed the dogs and went back to bed.  Did not sleep, but watched a little TV until Brian returned.

He showered and fixed me breakfast (I love being spoiled when he cooks for me).  I dressed and we headed out for some shopping.  First was to Twin Cities Quilting Shop.  I had told Brian that I wanted to collect a few "Row by Row" License Plates to represent my travels.  We found the shop and got the fabric license plate along with a pattern.  We then headed to a delightful tea shop to get some loose teas.  I had brought Brian a Teable tea strainer/steeper that Deb Ready had shared with me at the OBX trip.  I only had some really, really old loose tea and wanted some fresh.  Then we went to a Tractor Supply store.  I needed to replace one of my dog beds I had brought with me from PA as the dogs had gnawed a couple of holes in ine and were pulling the stuffing out.  They did not have what I wanted, so we would check out pet supply stores later.  We then went to the grocery store to pick up stuff for the making of some of our meals while I am here.

We headed home, let the dogs out and Brian set about making dinner.  He grilled pork chops with cherrywood smoke, covered them in a light Blue Cheese sauce and home made stuffing.  Yummy.  He is such an excellent cook.

Then we headed out to Merlin's Rest, the local pub that Brian calls home when he wants a night out.  He is good friend with the owner and was helping him move dumpsters and used grease containers so their parking lot across the street could be paved and fixed up.  He usually plays darts with the owner on Monday evenings, but Lee had made other plans, knowing I would be here.

When we walked into the place, there was a news crew there, and they were filming three folks who were showing them how a Blind Dart League played darts on the occasional night at Merlin's Rest.  The news crew seemed to think it was a novel, new idea.  Lee said the league of blind dart throwers had been meeting at the pub for over 8 years.  They meet every Thursday night.

Some of the folks Brian knows were at the pub and I entertained them by taking pictures of them with my phone and then printing them out with my HP Sprocket. (Thanks Marji for sharing this techie fun toy with me.)  Here are a couple of them.

This, of course, is Brian.  Isn't he a handsome young man?

This is Pat.  He walks to the pub from time to time.  He was always in a state of leaving to go home, but was there for several hours.

This is Ally.  One of the bar tenders.  She is delightful and made sure we were well taken care of throughout the evening.

This is Jim, another bartender.  He came in just before the rush and helped Ally out.  She then assumed other duties when the rush died down.

I also took some pictures with my good camera.  They are here:

These are all random shots of the news crew preparing different shots.  In this picture, the man on blue is one of the organizers of the Blind Dart League, the more heavyset man in the gray is one of the blind players and the kid fooling with the camera is part of the crew.

The lady in the hoodie is also one of the organizers and the younger lady in the light blue is either the reporter of the cameraman's assistant. The rest of the pictures are various shots as they progressed.

The dart board is electronic.  It registers hits and tells the thrower where and the position using the positioning of hands on the clock.  It will tell them their score at the end and then announce the score for the next player, asking them to step up.  On the floor is taped PVC pipes that are the correct distance to the board and the best width for their feet from the back corner. The shooter starts out by standing, facing away from the board and positioning their feet.  Then they turn around, plant their feet at the back corners of the frame, and then, using whatever technique works for them, throws three darts at the board.  The two organizers used blindfolds to throw.  And, believe it or not, there were some nice scores and even a bullseye or three during the time they played.  At the end, the news crew attempted to throw three darts.  They discovered it was harder than these folks made it look.

The only bad thing about this entire thing is that the pictures above were from my new Sony camera that I purchased with birthday money this summer.  I had downloaded pictures directly from the SD card while at Linda's by taking the card out and into a card reader since I had no internet.  I had put a new card in the camera and all was well.  But I wanted to put the old card back in as it had much more storage available to use.  But the card would not go into the slot.  I tried and tried and finally got it in, but the camera could not read the card.  So it will be heading back to the shop I got it from for assistance in resolving this issue.  So I will be using my little point and shoot Samsung the rest of the trip or my phone.

Back to Merlin's Rest....

This pub is owned by a delightful couple. Lee is from England has a delightful accent and his wife, Tracey also has a slight accent even though she is from California.  They are very nice people and seem to have taken Brian under their wing.  Lee has implemented at Scotch Tasting program and on the 4th Thursday every month, you can sign up, pay your fee and come in to taste several varieties of Single Malt Scotches.  He prides himself in his knowledge of this liquor and works hard to find different ones with different flavors and notes.  At this time, his collection of different Single Malt Scotches is close to 330.  This is what that looks like in the pub.

And this is not all of them.  They live under the cabinets as well.  But it does make for an impressive bar scene.  In these bottles are ONLY Single Malt Scotch or Irish Whiskey!!!

I am sure this will be a scene that I will be visiting at least once more while I am here.  It is really a very nice place to come spend a few hours.  Great people and even greater food!!  I will post more later.