Well that went fast! I spent the month of May in a depressed funk over how the semester ended, which didn’t help. Next year I will know better, I tell myself, and won’t take things personally. Right. And I will get started on summer work early! Now that is more doable. I think I finally pulled out of my funk when Jeanette came to visit in late June. Amazing what time with a friend can do for your attitude.

We stayed at Rockaway beach two nights and explored the coast during the day – visited quilt shops in McMinnville and Tillamook, cheese factory, Cannon Beach, Astoria, Lewis & Clark. It was a packed week end, and so uplifting! I was able to send two quilts back with her – the Butterfly and the Fig Tree Block of the Month. She is going to custom quilt both of them. So excited to see what she creates.
The next week Donna and Kim came to visit. So much miscommunication between all of us, but it worked out in the end. Again, I was in such a funk the previous month, I didn’t do well at making plans myself.
Kim was last here just a couple of years ago, but it has been 20+ years for Donna, so we did a few traditional touristy things and a few new things. The first day was a quick drive to the coast, stopping at quilt stores as well. My company signed a new account in Salem, and since Donna also works for the company, we joined the opening crew for dinner. The next day we went to Multnomah Falls. What an adventure that turned out to be! I had one bar on my gas gauge left, planning to get gas at the Costco on that side of town. No big deal. I took the old, scenic route to the falls, but somehow missed a turn and started heading up Larch (?) Mountain, behind the falls. Ended up on a very steep, one lane dirt road. And my gas gauge beeps at me. Donna had reminded me of needing gas, but she handled the stress very well. She was more concerned with my stress as she said my knuckles were pretty white gripping the steering wheel! We made it to the closest gas station, came back for Ice Cream Cake for Donna’s birthday and drove down to Medford for the night. The next day we went to the place that has been on my bucket list for decades!


There was a forest fire in the county so a lot of morning haze – you could smell the smoke in the air!

We stopped off at a scenic look out before reaching Crater Lake. Beautiful area! Then we continued on to the North entrance of the National Park.
We hiked back to a brook. It was super hot and over a mile. Not sure I would do it again on such a hot day. Partly though, because some other tourists camped out at the top of the area so it was difficult to get a picture with out them in it.
We continued on to the AirBNB that my sister-in-law had secured the previous year in Tumalo. The next day we visited the quilt stores in Sisters and Bend. My favorite store is Sew Many Quilts in Bend. I spent much more than I intended to spend, and my credit cards reflect it. And I now have three more projects all ready for me to begin. The projects just keep stacking up on me! Saturday we went to the Sister’s Outdoor Quilt Show! Fewer quilts this year, and I think fewer people as well. But just as hot! We got there early to avoid the heat of the day, but by noon we had to buy some hats to help with all that sunshine.

Such beautiful quilts we saw! I took a lot of pictures since my SIL Donna could not attend, but I will only show a few here.
I think this spinning stars one was my favorite. Adorable, unpretentious, and something I would be able to make myself. The most amazing one to me was part of the Tula Pink challenge from a quilter in Pella, Iowa.
That top picture is the center of the bottom picture! Such excellent detail and using such tiny pieces! Just amazing. I was so impressed. There were so many beautiful quilts. And representative of many different styles and skill levels. Maybe next year I will have a quilt ready to be shown. I should make that a goal!
Outside the Stitchin Post, host of the Quilt Show, they hang quilts made by store employees, I believe. Several Log Cabin quilts. Another favorite block as there are so many ways to set the blocks!
I finished the Tree of Life quilt top and made a Christmas quilt for my SIL.


We start feeding athletes on July 29th! I am so anxious, but mainly because of things outside my control. My main food distributer is having labor issues. The Federal Unemployment bonus checks don’t end until September, employees have to pass a drug test and Portland is in a state that has legalized drugs, and the supply chain is facing similar issues. They hope to have it resolved by September when hopefully people are willing to come back to work. My salesperson asked me to reduce my order to 30 cases and only a once weekly delivery. I eliminated all the produce items, and agreed to go to Will Call to pick up some dry items. I got there at 8:11, checked in my order a little before 9:00 and was told it would be 2 hours. It actually turned out to be 4 hours later and I was finally on my way. When we start serving meals, I will not be able to drive south of my house, hang out for 5 hours just to go back to work with it all. I believe the competitor will be getting much bigger orders this year.
So in my 3 months of summer time (with reduced work hours). I completed 4 quilt tops. I am happy with that. Unfortunately, I also bought more fabric so have many more quilts to make! I will not have to go to a quilt store for a year I do believe.