Road Trip, Finally

Sunrise over Bell Mountain, Huntsville, AL (from my back yard)

It took until just about the last week of summer vacation to do it, but I am finally taking the kids and dog and hitting the road.  The plan is to go to Atlanta for a day and then head to my dad's in Florida.  He doesn't know it yet :0) Surprise visit! Since I don't have a key to his house I will definitely call on the way. My 9-y.o. has been packed since early yesterday, he is pumped.  Of course he is the one who dresses at 9 a.m. for a 5 pm baseball game.  I wonder why he can't get up and ready for school or church?

How to keep them me sane for 11 hours Sunday in the car?  I would like to stop at quilt shops along the way.  Don't think the boys or dog would appreciate that much.  I should take a road trip alone and do my own shop hop some time.  H-man, the oldest who has had his driver's license for a month would like to drive.  I am so not ready for that boy to drive 70 mph.  Like I tell him, it's not that I don't trust him (that's only part of it) but I don't trust the other crazy people out there.

 I don't have a lap top, so will be trying to post from my i-phone/i-pad along the way.  Can't wait to hit the BEACH!

My first Post to this Blog

Has anyone started a blog and not begun with some sort of statement about being a newby to the blog world?  I am not sure what to expect from this or even what "theme" it will have.  I expect these things take on a mind of their own once they get going.  My traditional thinking is that blogs are self serving and I suppose I am still of that mind set.  But recently I have been following a couple of blogs that have made me feel like I made a new friend, even though I don't comment much on the posts.  So I guess that is what I hope, to reach someone who is lonely and maybe make a "cyber-friend" along the way.

The first thing I am wanting to share is the quilt block I finished today.  This one is for a quilt block of the month (qbom) at a local shop.  I have chosen to piece these by hand.  Why would someone do that when she owns a perfectly good sewing machine, you ask?  I am a relatively new quilter and am just trying a different technique.  So far I have 11 of these blocks done.  I am not crazy about the actual finished quilt with a large applique in the middle, so will do something different with these.  I am telling myself that they will not become orphans and not make it into a quilt.