If Thelma and Louise Were Quilters . . . .

When I arrived at Bearpaws and Hollyhocks for Jo's Club Wednesday night, I ran into Gran, who was just leaving the shop. "Would you like to have lunch on Thursday?," she asked. "I'll email you," I replied. Yes, I know my response didn't seem overly enthusiastic, but you see, one of my major goals while I was on vacation this week was to get our home office all set up, and a HUGE part of that was cleaning out a closet and various drawers and finding places for some of the things that needed to be moved, reorganizing things that would be allowed to remain, and bringing in things from other parts of the house that belonged in the office. And, as of Wednesday night, I had dilly-dallied and procrastinated to the point where I had to sit myself down and say, "Kim, on Thursday you're going to spend the day working on the office!" So my hesitation at accepting Gran's invitation wasn't because I didn't WANT to have lunch with her but rather because Jimminy Cricket was sitting on my shoulder, telling me I really needed to do some WORK.

After a little thought, though, I decided it WAS my vacation after all, and I really OUGHT to do something fun, and besides, I could work on the office for an hour or two before I met Gran for lunch, and then I'd have the rest of the afternoon to work on the office some more. HA! As it turned out, Gran had other ideas. Yep, she had a little adventure in mind! And you know what? I'm pretty good at justifying to myself exactly why I should do what I want to do, so off we went!

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you probably know that every good adventure begins at Starbucks, and this was no exception!

So after a java stop, I arrived at Gran's house and we hit the road. Something you should know about Gran: She doesn't get out much. Seriously, I don't think I could live anywhere and not have been in every quilt shop in a 100-mile radius within the first few months, but not Gran. As I learned, there were actually quilt shops in the area she'd never visited, and two of them were in Cameron Park, so that's where we headed--up into the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas.

Our first stop was High Sierra Quilters which is located in a shopping center right off Highway 50. I'd been in this store a few times in the past, and sometimes I've found things I really needed and sometimes I haven't. Since I'd last visited, they'd moved the shop across to the other side of the shopping center and downsized a bit. And this was one of the times I found things I really needed to bring home.

Since I'm now taking an embroidery class (taught by Gran!), I was on the hunt for suitable background fabrics and I found several. I won't show you my purchases tonight, but I have a few photos of the shop I'll share.

Isn't it funny how quilters always run into other quilters we know? At High Sierra we ran into Mary, one of quilters in my Hey Ghoul Friend class, and her friend. (And I think they must have been listening in to our conversations or stalking us or something, because sure enough, they were at our NEXT quilt shop stop when we arrived!)

Since the whole premise and initial motivation behind Gran and I getting together today was LUNCH, and since we'd worked up quite an appetite fabric shopping, we asked at the shop for a restaurant recommendation and were promptly sent across the way to Taqueria Tepa. Seriously delicious stuff! Gran had a ginormous burrito and I had a carnitas super taco. Sitting here writing this and reminiscing about the day, I'm wishing I had another one NOW! Maybe I'll go back tomorrow. Maybe I'll work on the office. Decisions, decisions!

Before leaving the restaurant, we struck up a conversation with two older women who were both in motorized wheelchairs--sweet little ladies who were out on their own adventure! Both had house plants hanging from the backs of their wheelchairs and shopping bags containing knick knack treasures to decorate their apartments in a nearby senior community. One of the ladies, Holly, told us she has cancer, but her attitude is extraordinarily upbeat. As she explained, her doctor told her the cancer was terminal, but then isn't everyone terminal? We just don't know when our time will come. She told us her sister, who also has cancer, has been "terminal" for 11 years now, and Holly doesn't intend to dwell on it as long as she feels well enough to get around and enjoy herself. And she and her friend were doing just that!

Back at Gran's car, we loaded up and headed down the road to the next quilt shop, Shared Stitches. Shared Stitches is a fairly new shop and this was the first time I'd visited--but it certainly WON'T be the last! Everyone in the shop was extremely friendly and helpful and the shop was wonderful! I also have a few photos of this shop to share--the first two photos will probably give you a general idea of what the shop is like, although they show just a small part--the shop was surprisingly large.

Cute idea for pattern display, don't you think? We learned the owner had found it on eBay--a gal after my own heart! I can't imagine what shipping cost though!

I love these hangers--they had different ones all over the shop displaying aprons and other items.

While we were there, a man came in looking for quilting pins--his wife had sent him. Shouldn't every quilter have a spouse like him? He said he's good at running and getting things and paying for them too! Thelma and Louise may have found Brad Pitt on their travels, but I'm thinking I'd rather have this guy! (Okay, maybe not--there ARE a few other considerations, after all! Still this man had some VERY admirable qualities!)

The shopping day ended much as it began: While Gran was checking out, I walked a few doors down to a coffee shop for an iced mocha with whipped cream to go--a real treat as well as a late afternoon pick-me-up!

I'm so glad Gran invited me on this adventure! What could be better than a day spent with a friend, having fun, petting fabric, and running into interesting people? We already have some tentative ideas about our next adventure--but first I have things to do. Like getting the home office whipped into shape. And--are you wondering which name I've picked for the new quilt pattern? Well, so am I! You've given me so many great choices, I haven't been able to settle on just one. So tomorrow, while I'm cleaning and organizing, I'll and also ponder the names you've given me, and hopefully I'll be able to make up my mind. Or it might just explode from thinking too hard. Stop back by tomorrow to find out, okay?!