Houston, Here I Come!

Usually I don't broadcast my intent to leave town, but everyone else will be here, so all is well.  I haven't packed, but I have my tickets and my hotel room, so I'm ready, Freddy.  Let's go!

Why am I treating myself to Houston this year?  Well, that quilt that I made back in May, at Empty Spools, with Susan Brubaker Knapp, well, it was accepted into the show.  It did not win, but it was accepted, and for me, that is a big deal.  A very big deal.  So, of course I need to go see it hang, in person.  Can't wait!

And then there are the people.  I expect to see quilting friends from across the country, all gathered in one place.  I do hope that Hurricane/Tropical Storm Patricia does not mess with us.  I'm not excited about flying into or out of weather.  We'll just play it by ear.

In the meantime, I've made two quilted cards, and not much else.  Life is busy, and not leaving a lot of time with the sewing machine.  This first was for our pastor, for Pastor Appreciation Sunday.

 The next was for a dear friend, for her birthday.  It was made from leftovers/trims from a couple of favorite projects.

And really, that's about it.  I've been out at the walnuts, shooing away nut thieves - yes, truly I have - and running the dogs.  In fact, I sent the dogs after this fellow, as he told me, "It's fine!  No problem!" when I asked him to leave.  See him, there?  Under the tree?  He was still taking nuts, as I walked back to the house.

 When I got there, his van was STILL parked in our orchard.

 So I let the dogs out.  He left in a hurry.

And just in case you think I'm not very nice, well, the thieves are quite brazen this year.  Walnut theft is so common, the Tulare County Sheriff's Dept has a special unit which patrols the county.  On Tuesday - or was it Wednesday? - we had a group of Mien people gleaning.  We'd given them permission, in the form of a registered receipt with our contact information, etc.  A Sheriff's Deputy had stopped to see if they had the proper paperwork to glean our nuts.  While he was talking to them, two Mexicans drove up, parked, jumped out of their car, stole two 50lb bags of nuts, and sped off.  The deputy jumped into his car, chased them down, and caught them.

To make the story even better, our son's girlfriend is also a Sheriff's Deputy, who works in Corrections.  She processed the idiots who tried to steal our nuts.

My patience is very very thin at this point.  Take one nut, without asking permission?  Sic 'em, Roscoe!!

(Not really.  If he actually caught someone, he probably wouldn't know what to do with them.  On the other hand, Sheila?  She's just waiting for someone to tell her, "Game on!")