Driving Trip: White Elephant

I returned from my driving trip to Oakland White Elephant Sale.  It was terrific, so nicely organized.  I recommend it to anyone in the area to attend.  They are known to quilters as place to see a variety of used sewing machines.  They are all checked over before being put out for sale.  I had thought I would get a different machine since I have had such a hard time finding a service to do annual maintenance of my machine here.  The places I have called want close to $200!  I got distracted at the White Elephant event, and didn't buy a new machine.  But I did find and get two Blue Nordic plates, and 6 luncheon sized green glass plates that will match what I already have.  I also got several quilting books - and found a copy of Liberated Quilting so C was able to have her own!

I think I left around 9am on Wednesday.

I stopped at Knott's Berry Farm for lunch, and bought some boysenberry preserves to give as gifts for people I was going to meet on the trip.

 

I drove the 101.  I witnessed and smelled smoke from the fire near Oxnard.  It was like a wall of white just appeared!  I didn't know there was a fire there, but after I first saw the smoke there was a temporary sign saying highway five because of the fire.  Things cleared up after a little bit and I continued on my way. It got dark and I stayed in Buellton. Pea Soup Anderson's was closed for renovation (convenience store lady told me), so I just had a candy bar for dinner.

The next morning I went to Solvang for a walk around and a nice breakfast of aebleskiver and Danish sausage.  I don't remember having the sausage before, but it was the star.  Came with a lovely mustard sauce - somehow made with cream, egg and honey.  I would have needed a refrigerator to buy any for home.  It was nice to walk up and down the streets.  I remembered visits with my parents and with our son.  One time my Dad and son were there and son was so excited to discover a "new" TV show.  He had trouble waiting for my Dad to come out of the shower to tell him about the show.  It was the I Love Lucy Show.  We had a good time together.  I think that was the trip where the three of us drove up to Oregon.

Anyway, this time after Solvang I pulled over the road a few times to see the ocean, and went to a winery in Palos Robles before meeting up with friends who attend high school with my son in San Jose.  They used to come over for Friendsgiving and she and I would cook together.  Lots of fun.  They are are going to have a son next week (Feb 14).  She has high blood pressure so the doctor set a day to induce labor. It was lovely to see them - such a treat to get to see her so pregnant!  They treated me to dinner at a lovely Italian Restaurant - The Eatery? it was in a huge mall.  Delicious food and so nice to chat with them.

After San Jose it was a quick trip to Berkeley.  I first went to OakTown Spices to get a few, then arrived as C's for another delicious dinner at her place.  She made beautiful vegetables, salmon, and dessert for 8 other people.  I stayed at her house then until leaving Berkeley.  I met C online - she was new chair for a quilting guild and needing people to sign up for a class - so lucky to meet her.

We went to one of her singing practices, out to dinner, to the Oakland Art Museum, and she met me at the White Elephant event in the afternoon.

I got to meet other people from the guild for breakfast and one of them went to the White Elephant too.

We also had time to be together while she was prepping for a quilting class - I pressed pieces after she put them together.

When I left there I made my way to Sacramento and took the husband of a friend who recently passed away out to lunch.  He picked In and Out Burger - always a treat.  They lived in a 50 and older community for seven years.  It was really interesting to see all the services provided.  You can have grandchildren or other younger visitors for up to two months without raising an eyebrow.  I hadn't seen either of them for almost 30-years.  So unexpected that she passed away.  When I gave him the Knott's preserves, he had such a strange look on his face.  It turned out he had proposed to her while at Knott's.  I didn't remember hearing that story, but it was so nice that he shared it with me now.  Their house is so nice. Two bedrooms, an office, three bathrooms, nice kitchen and great room.  So nice to have everything on one floor.

I drove on to Rocklin to stay with a friend from the Parent Association  We went out for really, really nice dinners.  She woke early for work so I had coffee with her, then we met for lunch or/and dinner.  

The first day while she worked I went to visit another student my son went to high school with.  Once or twice a year we have been writing to each other, it was nice to get to see them finally again!

Shirt Steak - Special of the Evening

Walnut Chocolate Pie

Chicken Jerusalem

Revolution Winery in Sacramento

Garden Center Rocklin

Garden Center Rocklin

Breakfast at Garden Center Rocklin

Trader Joe's Crossants!

Interesting Tea contraption used for loose tea.

Lemon Chicken Soup and Gyros Plate

Soup by my friend and BBQ Chicken Pizza

Nyquel added to the meal.

Halibut - Special of the Evening @ Red's Bistro

Leatherby's Rocklin

I think Washington by Rocklin

Mars in Gemini @ Dutch Flats

Morro Rock fog

Malibu

Santa Barbara

Note: The driving map changed to this after I stopped at a grocery store for a little break in Malibu. 
Before that it had me routed to Santa Monica with no mention of the fire.   
I don't know California geography very well.

Unfortunately, I then go sick with a cold - and ended up passing it on to her so she actually missed a day of work. I appreciate that she insisted I stay on until I felt better so I did.  Too bad we both weren't up to doing something on the weekend. (I had taken a Covid test and it was negative.)

The day I left it was raining and there were signs on the freeway to stay home to avoid the bad weather.  I was lucky and didn't hit too much rain. I tried to see Morro Rock, but it was foggy. Stayed I think in Santa Barbara.

In the morning I went to Carpenteria for anice breakfast - chicken and biscuits and eggs. Saw a sign for PCH and decided to go on that for long as I could.  Beautiful ocean views.  Went to Malibu and realized I was very near the fire area, so drove Malibu Canyon to the 101/5. 

Drove thru LA and could see lots of helicopters and police cars as there was a protest against ICE round ups.  It was lovely to see all the flags from the people on the overpasses.

On return I wasn't really tired, but it was nice to be relaxed and home again. Got back on Monday, the cold lengthened the trip by about five days!

The next day my face felt like I was sun burned.  Then the next day my eyes felt like I was crying, and the whites turned red. The next day even after lots of Refresh eye drops they were even more red so I called eye doctor and snagged some time with her.  She thought from what I told her I was having a reaction to all the chemicals they used to stop the fires.  So I have OTC and Rx eye drops now for ten days.

I managed to sleep one day, then did go thru two boxes. So only 400 more to do.  Ha Ha.

 

I listened to several Audible books while on my drive.  They made the time pass very quickly!

• West with Giraffes - Rudledge.  Based on a true story that ends up at the San Diego Zoo.  Amazing to listen to!
  
• The Life Impossible - Matt Haig,  The narrators voice was pretentious - I didn't enjoy listening to her at all.
  
• The Thursday Murder Club - Didn't like it that much.  Too many characters to keep track of. Trying too hard to make the old people so smart and capable.
  
• Organizing from the Inside Out  (Spoiler: The trick is to just do it)
• The Testaments - Atwood.  Very good - scary but good.
• The Housemaid - McFadden  I think this is a series.  It surprised me, but isn't my cup of tea.  Too much violence spelled out and meaness against others enjoyed.
  

The 101 is a very enjoyable drive, as much as I earlier enjoyed driving up on the 15, this is a better way to drive.

 

 

Stash (and Other) Organization and Audible

Teresa in Alabama wrote several posts about how she organizes her sewing room.


Stash (and Other) Organization

https://fabrictherapy.blogspot.com/p/stash-organization.html

She credits this book with helping her come up with a system that works for her:

"Organizing from the Inside Out by Julie Morganstern is the definitive book on the topic of getting...and staying...organized."  

She has an incredible amount and variety of fabrics! And she can find what she is looking for!

I have purchased some clear boxes from Costco and will be transferring my fabric from the bankers boxes I had been using.

And I'm going to be looking for "these drawer units" she found on sale. She shares photos of the filled unit in part 4 of her 5 part set of blog posts. I like that the system she has has the little drawer so they pull out and can be easily rearranged.

She stopped posting May 2021.  I hope she is having many quilt adventures. She certainly is organized and has enough supplies to keep her busy!

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I am going to listen to Organizing from the Inside Out while taking a driving trip later in the week.  We'll see what I gain from the book!  

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AUDIBLE

I have learned to not listen to Audible samples without my glasses on.  I'm now listening to a cowboy detective book.  Any Other Name by Craig Johnson.  I suspected I had clicked on the wrong buttons at the time, but then there was the book in my library ready to be listened too! It's pretty funny, the same kind of story one would see in a cozy mystery on Britbox, but this author is throwing in Indians, guns, drinking and buffalos!  Makes me remember when I was hired by the county office to do teacher training.  My speciality was evaluating software.  One day they needed a workshop leader for a group of Special Ed teachers.  My supervisor told me it's just the same class as what I had been doing, but be sure to mention special education during the class, and think about examples to tell them.  I had been a Chapter One Reading teacher so I suppose that was easier for me to do than it might have been for other workshop leaders.

My favorite novel on Audible so far is A Gentleman from Moscow.  A wonderful, interesting story narrated by a man with a voice that is so expressive - he adds to the story.  Lots to think about and picture in your mind.  (The TV series didn't do it justice.)

And the book I have listened to more than once is The Psychology of Money.  Such insight. 

The book I stopped listening to as I think I need to take notes, or perhaps read a paper copy is Atomic Habits.  It could be a life changer. If there were a class to take to go along with the class I think I would sign up!

Some of the other books I have listened to I think starting with:

• Drift
• Fast Food Nation - my son had read in high school so I was interested to read it myself.  I didn't realize so many of the successful entrepreneurs that created things we use all the time now knew each other.  Or that at least some of them had connections to Nazis! 
• Blowout
• The Handmaid's Tale (I read paperback too)
• White Fragility - I only liked this one as it was set in Winchester MA so I recognized some of the places she discusses. She was too distant to be believable.
• Becoming - Incredible lifes
• Interview with the Robot - Can't remember the story, but think I liked it
• War and Peace
• The Plot against America
• The Indigo Girl
• Anna Karenina
• The Queen's Gambit
• The Elm Creek Quilt Series - Such fun!  I see the Civil War and early life in California in a different way now.  And I want to go to quilt camp in Hawaii!
• King of Sting: The Story of Australian Conman Peter Foster
• The Lincoln Obsession
• The Ocean at the End of the Lane
• Klara and the Sun
• The Jane Austin Books

There are more.  Guess I didn't remember I'd listened to so many!

• Unto a Good Land and the Emigrants There is another book in the series that Audible does not carry.  I read at least one of the books when I was a student in Sweden.
• The Bee Sting - my second modern Irish novel.  Shocking sometimes, but again I recognized some of the places mentioned.  It is set up so each chapter is told by a different character and different time period. The Irish names made it more difficult for me to figure the connections.  At the conclusion the author did a masterful job of bringing the story together, and leaving me wanting more!  My first is Mouthing - I read it in paper. Same kind of shifting in time and focus, lots of new Irish phrases to look up before the story made sense to me.
• Lessons in Chemistry
• Nobody Wants Your Shi*t - funny
• An Irish Mystery Bundle (not recommended - stories were too simple)
• Breakfast in Burgundy - a really interesting story by an Irish wine critic who buys a place in France.  Renovation stories.  And I learned how there are ferries to take to Europe from Ireland.  So we took a ferry Dublin to Isle of Man and then on to Liverpool.  So much more fun than taking a plane.
• Fates and Traitors (by the author of the Elm Street Quilt series)  
• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
• Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat
• Snow Crash
• Remarkably Bright Creatures (Fun)
• The Dutch House
• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
• Beginner's Mind
• The Book of Lost Names
• Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers
• Tiny Habits
• The Good Life
• The Nordic Theory of Everything
• Remembrance of Things Past - I haven't finished this yet
• You Can't Be Serious
• Books that Matter: The Decameron
• Saturn's Monsters
• The Lincoln Highway
• Best in Snow
• Learning How to Learn
• Untouched by Human Hands
• 52 Ways to Walk
• The Idiot

I'm not typing out all my Audible list as some were just throw away stories or writing.  

I try to pick a variety of topics and authors.

Places to Go, Things to Read

I am hoping to take a driving trip from coast to coast this summer.

Did this once before in a car*. It was so much fun. On one way it was my husband and me, on the way back a friend from Sweden, Christina, flew over so we could do the drive together. (*Also did a cross country trip in a motorhome with husband, son, and cat!)

I spent a week with her in NYC years before.  She had done this before and was prepared with a list of art museums and we spent a day in most of them. I thought it would end up being repetitive, but any that did cross over added to my understanding and appreciation. We weren't tied at the hip. Generally we would set up place and time to meet for lunch and at the end. Great fun. It was wonderful.

We took the train from Boston, and made got tickets to see The Heiress? with Dan Stevens (of Downton Abbey) while on the train...  I remember after we saw the play I commented on how could he do the play and be in Downton Abbey - and she said with the timing of when the show was on TV in USA vs Sweden that I didn't know something and should just wait to find out! : )

As soon as we got to NYC we got passes for the train/bus that would last the week so we didn't have to stop to buy things every trip.  Great idea.

We stayed at the Edison Hotel - near to Times Square and lots of restaurants.  A lot of Swedish people stayed there according to my friend.  It has since been renovated and I think the prices are even higher. The room with her overlooked the Barrymore!  Later that summer, when I returned with my husband, we could see the flashing lights from Times Square reflected on the glass of the building across the way.

We started most mornings having breakfast at a place near Fox News and by St Patrick's Cathedral. Can't find it now in Yelp.  (EverGreen Cafe?) One day when we were there we could see lots of activity and concern at the side of Cathedral - turned out the Pope had announced his resignation.

Instead of taking the subway, my friend and I mainly took the bus so we got a feel for the locations of the museums and places we visited. 

Frick Collection  https://www.frick.org/

The Whitney Museum of American Art https://whitney.org/

New York Public Library  https://www.nypl.org/

The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)  https://www.moma.org/

The Brooklyn Museum  https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/

The Metropolitan Museum of Art  https://www.metmuseum.org/

We went to plays and the movies every night. Except one snowy night I took the train to visit a school friend of my son's while my friend went to see original The Book of Morman. 

We went to the High Line and the City Quilter. Walked thru Central Park and thru the NYU. Found a kitchen supply shop that was lots of fun to see, had lunch at what we thought would be a little cafe, but turned out to be a popular place.  (It may have been the Coffee Shop Bar, 29 Union Square West, NY, NY, 10003 - Yelp says it's closed now. I just found the business card!) Walked by Hotel Chelsea - my honeymoon hotel!

Somewhere I hope I can find the list of where we went on that trip!

And a list of places visited on the driving trip to and from the east coast!

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Anyway, for 2022, I asked the group attending Joe Cunningham's Friday group for suggestions on quilt or art places to stop and this is what they contributed:

• Shelburne Museum (VT)
• International Quilt Museum (Lincoln NE)
• de Young Museum (San Francisco CA)
• Joe also has quilts in Newark NJ and Michigan State University
• I asked at in a comment on FromMyCarolinaHome.com and Carole suggested Quilt Museum (Paducah, KY)
• Also remembered hearing Missouri Star Shops were fun to see too in Hamilton, Missouri.

Any other ideas are welcome!

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This trip I have Audible so thought my husband and I could listen to some books while driving...

Joe Cunningham's Friday group suggested:

Series by: Terry Pratchett, John McPhee, David Rosenfelt, Andrea Camilleri, Alan Bradley, J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter)
Books: A Gentleman in Moscow, 9th St Woman, Remembrance of Things Past

I had intended on quickly downloading books before my subscription renewed, but I misremembered how Audible worked. So for a few hours thought I had lost the ability to use the 8 credits I had remaining with my first subscription. On what I thought was the last day the subscription had flipped to 12 credits for the new year. But a simple email and phone call later I have 20 credits in my account so I did not lose any credits. What I have now will expire at the end of the subscription again (so I'm glad I had earlier changed the account from 24 to 12 books a year as I do not seem to be able to listen to more paid books than that). Thumbs up to Audible!

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My husband always brings his computer on trips and keeps a log of hotels stayed at in his calendar. He is so organized!  But I just write notes on scraps of paper and sometimes in my phone.

My quilting friend, Claire, has a notebook where she writes down the dates and names of guests and what food is served!  A terrific idea.  

During the covid shut in I started to keep a meal and food log, but when I came to the end of the notebook I lost days and haven't been consistent after the first book.  Lots of information lost.  I do have bills for food that someday I want to buy exactly the same items to see the price changes....  It is difficult to know how much detail to include, as I don't know my audience for the logs...

If I were to live my life over though, I would get a notebook to record information for trips so I could have fun remembering things and could recommend things to others...

Well, back to going thru books filled with papers that I didn't organize before now!

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Amazon Cart Updates:

2020-08-28

2022-04-10

Added 9-17-22 - Prices are creeping up!

Bought Dunkn Donuts Coffee at Costco this week.  Usually around $14 (I think), now $23!
Amazon and Costco Update Added 10-6-22 

Added 12-4-22

Added 12-15-22