Home Again!

It's good to be home. Tom had radar work to do in Dallas, Oregon, and I got to go along, one of the advantages of having an empty nest. With my wee Janome (sewing machine) and several projects to work on, I managed to stay busy. Dallas is a small town near Salem. The hotel we stayed at was the Best Western (very nice, btw) and is located a mere 9/10ths of a mile from the local quilt shop! Here is Grandma's Attic and Sewing Emporium, which I visited at least four times in the 17 days we were in town. It's a very nice quilt shop and I was glad to have someplace to visit when I got hotel-fever (similar to cabin-fever, of course!) My days were spent sewing in my room...walking around town...and going over to Safeway for our dinner salads. There was a Goodwill right across the street, by the Safeway, so when I ran out of paperback books to read, AHA! I had a source.

The park was inhabited by large squirrels, some the size of a small cat.


Here are more scenes of Dallas, City Hall and the Japanese garden at the park:


Poor Tom worked long hours but did manage to have ONE Saturday off. We drove to the beach and walked along the shore for a bit at Lincoln City. The most interesting thing there were the pelicans, swooping over the waves.


Tom had Sundays off, so of course we went to church--but in Corvallis, where we lived 26 years ago. Here is a photo of the duplex we lived in, at Adair Village, when Jeff was born.

The highlight of the trip, however, was visiting with old friends from our Corvallis days. Dick and Carol, wonderful people and our #1 favorites during the time we lived there, invited us to dinner at their home. Good food, good friends, what more could one ask? Well, maybe WHERE have the last 26 years gone and how come they whizzed by so fast? It was a good thing I happened to hear the Grandfather's clock striking the hour, or we probably would still be there, talking!


Projects I worked on during the trip were a Tennessee Waltz quilt top (still needs borders), a signature block quilt with blocks from internet friends (also needing borders), a Christmas quilt, and a baby quilt. I also finished up three blocks for my quilt guild's block of the month, and a stack of maple leaf blocks. I think I have 48 now, must be time to make them into a quilt too!

I do get a lot done, quilting-wise, when I go on a trip with Tom but I think about one week is all I can stand, and then I get b-o-r-e-d! Especially since he wasn't around much, having to leave early in the morning and getting back late at night most days. I could have stayed home, sewed...and had the cat to talk to!

One unusual thing that happened while we were in Dallas. I got mail at the hotel! I was in an Autumn swap with some quilting buddies and Hannah, who had my name, decided instead of sending my swap goodies to my house--she would surprise me by sending them to the hotel! She certainly did that, all right. I think my favorite item is the "Magnificent Grandma" mug.

Speaking of grandmas...we passed a town named Aurora on the way to Dallas! Granddaughter Aurora is due to make her debut into the world SOON!