So today is a wonderfully beautiful day outside - Thank You Mother Nature!! And I do plan to enjoy it later with my dog, but for now you see this huge pile of folders and miscellaneous? Well, there's more on the floor in a few boxes and some in the garage too, and it needs to be organized so I can store it for the next Quilt Show come March 2014.

My main goal here is to make sure there is a Red Folder for each committee that has their responsibilities, timeline and history of what was done before for the job, and with this year's suggestions and evaluations. I just didn't understand all the jobs when I said I would be chair and that made me uncomfortable since I couldn't answer even some basic questions. Last show's chair was amazing in her help and support, but hopefully next show's chair will have extra notes - plus the same great support! Plus I do like organizing things... maybe not just closets and household things.

I am almost packed and ready for my trip to Japan, and yes my clothes are probably getting more wrinkled than if I waited, but it makes me feel so much more comfortable to see the suitcase ready to go - almost. One suitcase that can not be too full because I do want to bring things home with me of course, and a carry-on big enough to have a few days' necessities since on the tour we will be without our main bags for a bit. Plus, more room to buy things, so definitely pack light!

I've been practicing and playing with the settings on my camera so I can take better pictures while there. Plus I watched a great video by Jane LaFazio about art journaling, which I'd love to do on the trip! She teaches many techniques for watercolor in the journal, but even though I'd love to do that, I think just drawing (or trying in my case) and writing will have to be enough.

Today brought a chance to spend time with a great bunch of women as we volunteered for the Assistance League by working in the resale shop, named 'Fantastic Finds,' sorting through donations, pricing items and arranging them so they hopefully sell quickly. All the money raised goes to serve the needs of children and adults in the St. Louis community.

So that was a well spent morning!

Then it was errands, a hair cut, and laundry - not the most glamorous day at all. But as a break I got to play outside in the beautiful weather with my dog and my neighbor's dogs that I'm caring for while she is off to Chicago to see her grand baby. Spending time with dogs outside on a nice day could work as a prescription for a well balanced self I think.

And now I want to play in the sewing room for a bit and make some small things to give as gifts on my trip to Japan. It is coming up so quickly and I have so much to do. Today was a good day!

What a fun day with great friends of more than 30 years! We got together to celebrate 2 birthdays and just spend the day. Here we are in Kimswick, MO where we had a great lunch and did some shop browsing.

After this we went home and played MahJongg (which we've been able to do for all those 30 years) before getting ready to go out to eat! What a fun day! We are aging pretty good, hey!

Retreat at Shaw Nature Reserve

Such a wonderful place off Interstate 44 near Grey Summit, MO!!

With the warm weather we have been having this Spring the trees and wildflowers were blooming and so very pretty. We went there to sew but had to take a long hike to enjoy the beauty.

Sometimes the best medicine for overload is a walk in the woods. Nature is a gift to our soul.

Here are some pictures of the Quilt Show set up and waiting for people to arrive on Saturday March 17 & Sunday March 18. The first picture is of the chairs for the demonstrations area with the Rambling Art Quilters' exhibit "The River" which will be at the Denver Show in a few weeks.

The next picture is an over view from way up in the bleachers to show how big the room is. There were over 500 quilts! And the last picture is a quilt by Ricky Tims and his father named "Dad's Lone Star."

The family is home now from their ski trip in Colorado. The weather was warm in the low 60's for them, but still fun they say. What a surprise they had coming back to record setting temperatures here - upper 80's!!! All the Spring flowers are blooming; it looks so very pretty!

The quilt show is just one day away until we set-up and this is what my car looks like full of pretend plants that will 'soften' the space - we'll use some real flowers though here and there. The rest of the car is full of baskets of things and signs. My quilts will be the last thing to put in - hope there's room!!

I thought everything was going well until 3 'YIKES!!' have happened: #1-we can't find the big "Quilt Show" sign to put by the main streets so must borrow or make one, #2-the pipe and drape company finally sent the layout and it is missing a whole row (biggest YIKE) but that's been talked out, and #3-the printer won't have all the programs done until the afternoon (hopefully, they say) before the show. She said 800 should be done tomorrow afternoon and the remaining 600 the next morning. Is that okay she asked? Of course, not much else I can say. Thank you.

It will be fine. The show will be fantastic!

I love the beginnings of Spring when the flowers start to bloom and we get to see the bits of color decorating the landscape. Today is going to be cloudy with rain, which means more beautiful flowers and color. Nice!

So today - very early - part of the family is off to try skiing at Steamboat, CO. They are worried a bit that it is too warm and that there might not be enough good snow, but we didn't know that when the reservations were made. I do like to ski, too, but I'm not as good as they are and I'm staying home to do those last minute things for the Fanfare of Quilts Quilt Show!

Plus, I did get my vacation break a few days ago when Dick (husband) and I went to Florida. Well, I had 3 days vacation and he had 1 day before going to a work conference. We did go to the beach one day and it was wonderful but chilly. Then the next days I enjoyed sitting by the pool and working on my hand applique - very relaxing!

This is a block from 'Lollipop Trees' by Kim McLean - a very happy quilt!!

Such a beautiful day today with the sunshine! Yesterday was colder and windy so I finished some signs for the upcoming Fanfare of Quilts Quilt Show. The show is in a bit over a week and going to be really great. I took the flash drive to Office Depot to get programs, Viewer's Choice ballots and Guild Challenge ballots printed since I had a 25% off coupon. Thank goodness too as it is expensive to have 1400 programs made!!

So it is still close enough to January that I can say it is the beginning of a new year. Plus it is the beginning of a new decade for me so I have decided to give blogging a try. This year is looking to be a busy one family-wise and if I stick to my plans, it should be a busy one for quilting too.