Humans or Varmints

I went to Minnesota just last weekend. It’s true.

I went to the annual Pine Needles Eagle Bluff Quilting Retreat. I had to miss last year because I moved and all, but this year was the best yet.

Here’s a picture of Hawaiian airlines taunting me.

I got to Minneapolis and rented this giant vehicle. I believe it’s what they call a crossover. What ever that means. It was a Ford Edge. And was it ever.

 

Yep-it was crazy and it did things like bring the seat back when you stop the car-then push it back up when you start the car. It also had quite the touch screen and played my iPod.

 

It dimmed the dash lights so my eyes would be comfortable.

 

And it got pretty danged crappy mileage. But who cares when you are riding high in luxury on the empty Minnesota roads.

I had dinner with Laura and Nancy P. And guess what? No pictures. I am with my blog muse and I again get no pictures. I should be banned from the blogosphere.

Although, Laura did send me some pics of her new friends-

I know-right? Laura is living on Farm 3 with-gasp-some cows AND-

 

Yeah-chickens too-although these look to be roosters….

And this one I hear is kinda mean and a little bit chasey. Like chasing Laura around the farm yard. I wonder if she realizes that she’s only getting one or so egg a day because she has all roosters?

Plus she doesn’t feed them or have a house for them.

But enough about that because I can just feel the seismic eye roll from here.

I spent the night with Cathy, who I also didn’t get a picture with.

I missed my Angie and didn’t hook up with Mary K either. Oh well. I’ve decided my next trip out is going to be very relaxing AND will be at least 4 days meeting up with the old gang.

But-after busily not seeing or photographing my friends, I wound my way out of town in my giant car and went out to Eagle Bluff, where we were having the 8th Annual Eagle Bluff Retreat. I must say, the best retreat on the planet.

This year Sheryl flew in from Florida, and I flew in from Seattle, so we won the prize for travelling the longest distance (although I beat her by 300 miles-just saying).

I attempted several pictures-

But Marsha got the best one of us.  

That’s Sheryl’s “mini facelift” look.

Here’s another Cheryl-

 

and Suzie-who had to put up with the rest of us at the table-

But not one picture of Marcia. The hell? What was that about?

Again-I need remedial blog school. Jeesh.

Sheryl and I were up the earliest both days-and of course made coffee-

Our set up-look at all those Bernina’s. Reminds me of home….

Sunrise…..

It was beautiful and I have to admit I haven’t laughed that hard in at least a year. I mean the kind of laughing so hard you are crying and you can’t breathe and you are doubled over and can’t stand up. That kind of thing. I think Suzie made some sort of reference to us being like a bunch of girls-like elementary school girls. And I’m not sure it was a compliment…….

It’s hard to perfect obnoxious, but I think we were spot on.

During the time I was there, which was only Friday-Sunday I managed to get away and see Blane’s best friend, Jeremy Beck, get married. (He’s so cute-like one of my own)

Blane was in the wedding too.

Walking the mothers in-

Jeremy waiting to get married-

Jeremy and Jade-

The surroundings were beautiful in Alma WI

 

Blane’s posse was there too!

Gosh, the boys.

On the way back to Eagle Bluff, I saw some fabulous sky-

People do beautiful work at a quilt retreat-

Except for me. I was doing a paper pieced quilt kit that I have had for about 8 years now and decided it was high time to get it done. I have no pictures. Someone call the blog police.

However, said paper piecing was a huge topic of conversation around our table. Well, mostly me complaining about it and mostly others telling me to stop talking (Marcia).

And before I knew it, I was back at the airport waiting to come back to Washington and real life. Sigh.

But I did learn something while I was gone.

I told Laura that it took an hour to get to the airport from my house on Thursday, even though we were in the HOV lane. Which started a spirited discussion on what an HOV lane is and culminated in a wicked Google search-on my phone (I did not speak it into my phone, just saying. I have more pride than that). The real meaning is High Occupancy Vehicle. But there have been other suggestions.

The bottom line is that Laura and I have a little drinking game that goes like this-every time you see, use, or quote an acronym you have to take a shot. (It was the only thing that got us through our acronym filled days) See where this is going? How can we be driving and at the same time drinking the shots we will be forced to drink going past all the HOV lane signs? It’s a DUI waiting to happen. And we’d get pulled over for DUI and have to have another shot because it’s a DUI.

Really Washington? We are just an accident waiting to happen.