A busy week

I've been quilting here and there on the Green Beans and Sweet Tea quilt and also hand sewing the binding down on the Exploding Heart.  Nothing got finished, which is OK, really.  We had a very nice week, and today we're meeting for a taco bar lunch/meeting at the library with the Democrats.  I also hope to shop for some chocolate Easter bunnies for next Sunday and maybe do a little reading on the new Jennifer Chiaverini book.

Thursday, we went down to White River Junction to see the musical Waitress at Northern Stage. It was fantastic!  We had never been to this theater and were pleasantly surprised by how nice it is.  The town, has been working hard to upgrade itself, and there are some very nice little shops and restaurants within walking distance.  Even the bus station is much improved and squeaky clean.  We had lunch at home before driving down, but when we go again, we will be sure to try one of the eateries.  I was pleased to run into an old friend and her husband at the show.  We became friends in library school and then worked together for over 30 years.  We've lost touch in retirement, so it is nice to reconnect.

Yesterday we went to Montpelier to pick up a banjo Paul was trying to sell at an instrument exchange.  That chore done, we visited an art gallery/antique shop to see a friend's recent show.  Cara is a professor in the architecture program at a local university and also paints.  

These paintings were inspired by the quilts of Gee's Bend, and I loved the muted colors she used.  It was a little gloomy inside, but the colors are fairly true in the photo.  I liked all of the paintings, though the architectural detail in this one caught my eye.  There was another painting with the dome of our State House prominent.

Then in the afternoon, I called my cousin Jeanne and then my mom, which took up the rest of the day!  Both are great talkers, but I love them.  Good thing I had a leftover casserole to pull out of the refrigerator.

We found spring...

 ...but it won't appear in Vermont for some time.   We drove down Interstate 89 from Wilkes-Barre, PA, where we usually overnight when we head south.  We drove through Maryland in the blink of an eye, over the Potomac River, and into West Virginia.  Almost immediately, we had a change in climate with redbud trees (or were they plums?), daffodils, and forsythia blooming everywhere.  The sun was shining and we took off our winter coats in favor of lighter fleece.

We spent a night in Harrisonburg and visited the Green Valley Book Fair (a warehouse full of books!) and the Virginia Quilt Museum in its new quarters.   The renovated mill was a nice backdrop to display antique log cabin quilts, "micro" pieced quilts (smaller than mini!), and modern quilts by Kevin Womack.  I'll try to post photos of a few of the quilts tomorrow if I get a chance.

From there, we headed just 25 minutes south to Staunton and the American Shakespeare Center where we had tickets to two plays, The Comedy of Errors, and Little Women.  Both were excellent!  We love that theater, and the actors are amazing, playing multiple roles throughout the season's three plays.  We ate well, too, and enjoyed our stay at historic Hotel 24.  

My favorite part of the trip was the backstage tour of Blackfriar's Theater, a recreation of one of Shakespeare's two London theaters (the other was the Globe).  Here we are on stage during the tour.  We went upstairs to see the balcony and downstairs to tour the rehearsal and costume areas.  Our guide had a few activities for us to try as well.

The ride home was somewhat nerve-wracking as there was a great deal of noise emanating from under the car.  Could our suspension be failing?  I'll find that out when I take it to the garage on Thursday morning.  

In addition, it started to snow when we arrived in the Adirondack region, and it continued almost the rest of the way home.  Driving over Mendon Mt. was tricky, but we made it.  We were home by noon yesterday, and I even got a load of laundry done before dinner.

Today we are back to our old routine, more or less.  It's great to get home even though we had fun on the road and during our brief time in Virginia.  It was nice to get a taste of spring, too, although our yard seems to be a gathering place for robins today.  They are everywhere, so I hope they are a true sign that spring will come here soon. 

A little getaway

A number of years ago, Paul and I took a trip to Michigan to visit his sister and her husband who had been dealing with serious health issues.  We had a nice visit with them and were glad we went because just a few years later each of them passed away.  On the way home from that first trip, we stopped at Niagara-on-the-Lake (NOTL), Ontario, as our quickest route takes us across New York State, through Ontario, and into Michigan.  We had walked around NOTL and found it charming, a place to return to.

This summer we resolved to return, and Paul hopped online to buy tickets to plays at the Shaw Festival Theatre as soon as they were available.  To my delight, my favorite musical, My Fair Lady, is the headline play this year!  We headed over on Thursday before Labor Day (the Canadians also celebrate Labour Day), stopping at Batavia, NY, for the night, and arriving in NOTL at lunchtime Friday. 

I love all the flowers along the streets which were quite busy in the middle of the day with tourists from all over the world.  The town used to draw most of its visitors from theater goers, but now it seems the area's wineries are the main attraction.  We didn't visit any, but several wineries had retail shops downtown and some restaurants had beer and wine tastings.

We had lunch on the patio of our lodgings for the weekend, the historic Olde Angel Inn, centrally located just off the main street.  Being the oldest inn in Ontario has its good and bad points.  The innkeeper, Diana, was very friendly and helpful, telling us about free places to park, good breakfast places, and the bands they have every Friday and Saturday night in the pub, right below our historic room above the pub's door (see above).  We did manage to get a little sleep in spite of the noise.  And we loved being able to walk everywhere.   There were delicious restaurants, both theaters, and cute shops just steps away.

My Fair Lady was absolutely amazing, and everything we'd hoped for.  Our seats, in the first row, couldn't have been better.  We could look into the orchestra pit and hear all of the actors on stage well.  I loved the costumes, especially the dresses at the races at Ascot and the ball gowns.  The actors who played Henry Higgins and Alfred Doolittle were super, "Eliza Doolittle" was a great singer.   The sets moved almost effortlessly.

The following night, we saw Agatha Christie's Witness for the Prosecution in a different, smaller theater, and it was just as good.  Again, the costuming and set design were wonderful.  I had come down with a cold, though, and sat masked with cough drops at the ready.  

On Monday morning, we packed up early to avoid long lines at US Customs, and our wait was only about 30 minutes.  We stopped in Malta, NY, for the night before arriving home Tuesday at lunchtime.  The memories of charming NOTL will linger on for quite a while.

A productive day

I had no reason to leave the house yesterday, so I stayed home and got a lot done.   A quilt got bound and 8 placemats got quilted.  First I had to create some "Frankenbatting" for the placemats.  My bin of scraps was overflowing, but now it isn't, and I still have a couple of queen-sized batts in plastic bags waiting to be used.  I wish I could buy batting by the roll, but I just don't have space to store one. 

Quilting the placemats was fairly quick because I used a very simple 2.5" grid on each one.  I only had to mark two with washout ink; the rest I merely cross-hatched through squares by eye.  I can't really machine quilt in a straight line, but it isn't all that noticeable.  The stiff backing, a Waverly upholstery print, made it very easy.

I have some binding cut out for four of the placemats and ordered some more for the others.  While I was in a binding mood, I got out one of the quilts Marie quilted for me and got that ready.  Not having anything else that needed to be done, I started binding and finished after lunch.  The quilt is Rows Parade, a row of the month quilt I worked on in 2023.   

How good it feels to finish!  I have no idea what I'll do with this quilt, but I'll take it to guild for show and tell and maybe list it on etsy eventually.  I have another, smaller quilt waiting to be bound.  Getting it ready will be today's project, but I'm not sure how far I'll get.

This morning we're heading to yoga and, after a quick nap, we'll go to Burlington to have dinner with Pauline and see Come From Away at the Flynn Theater.  Hoping the weather improves so the drive over is OK and that tomorrow morning's return home is without snow, ice, what-have-you.