Back on the Dirt Road

Someone please tell me how to keep these days and weeks and months from zipping along so quickly! I thought all of this technology was supposed to SAVE us time. Not happening around here. :)

Last Monday I drove to Texas to spend some time with my Mom and I drove back on Friday. It's always hard to leave my dirt road, but on Monday morning it was wet and drizzly, and that made it extra hard to leave.

Sure did miss that old dirt road when I got to the city:

Traffic is not fun! It rained from one end of the trip all the way to the other.

It's a good 9 hour drive if you don't stop, but I'm a stopper, and the little town of Fredricksburg is worth a stop. This time I went in search of peaches. On Monday, I picked some up to take to my Mom and friends and neighbors and they were SO good. Fredricksburg is known for their peaches, so I figured I would really load up on my way back through and take some to my SIL, who lives in a town I pass through, and my MIL who lives a few hours from us. Well heck, there wasn't a peach to be found. Come to find out they had  had a late freeze and there weren't any Fredricksburg peaches although they thought they would have some in August. Apparently the peaches I picked up on Monday were from a little town just down the road a piece. Then my SIL's husband told me that they grow peaches in Llano, but they had been invaded by grasshoppers, and the grasshoppers have eaten all the peaches, stripped the trees bare, and have left the seeds hanging on the leafless trees. I'm fairly certain that would make me cry.

So I drowned my sorrows in a bit of fabric therapy. :) My Mom has a friend that quilts and she told me about the quilt shop, One Quilt Place (formerly Pocket Full of Posies), in Fredricksburg. How did I not know about this? I drive through here all the time. When I walked in, one of the ladies asked me if I was from NM. Ummm...yes, ma'am. I was kind of curious as to how she knew that, but she laughed and said, "Yes, June called this morning and said you would be stopping in". LOL. What a fun, friendly shop. No pictures because they are actually moving on Friday to a new location and things were in a tizzy, but I did find a few pieces that just needed to come home with me. They had a great selection of reproduction prints and that's exactly what I've been hunting:

I also found this fun western print and I bought 6 yards for a backing:

Love the little coffee grinder, and iron, and wash tub, and water pump, and... oh, heck...I just loved all of it!

I kept thinking of my sweet friend, Donniene, who lived just up the road a piece so I picked up a little extra of the reproduction prints to share. I called her and told her to throw her rotary cutter and mat in the truck and we met up at another little shop that has a nice selection of quilting fabric at incredible prices. Debra carries some new fabric, but most of her inventory are older lines and her prices are hard to beat so 15  - 1/2 yard cuts came home with me, and yes, I have a plan:

                             

I love meeting up with Donniene when I make this trip and the sweet girl even planned a trip to town. She likes to go to town about as much as I do. I look a little road weary, but here we are:

And look what this dear girl brought for me:

Isn't that just the loveliest piece? I was so touched and set it on my dashboard for the rest of the trip. Thank you sweet friend - I will treasure it and think of you when I look at it.

I also think I ought to get some credit for driving over 500 miles with 2 dozen of these and actually making it back without taking even one bite:

I brought a dozen back for the family at our North Camp and a dozen for DH.

So this dirt road girl was EXTREMELY glad to be back home. When I hit the ranch, I rolled down all the winds and my heart was happy. DH is so sweet. He says he does not do well when I am away and by the 3rd day, he begins to sounds  little sad. It's kind of nice to know I am missed. Surely he wasn't just waiting for the donuts! :)