In the middle of the planning for The Winter Blues I switched blog hosts. I’m not sure all the other bloggers got the updated list. My post can be found at https://beckysquiltsandadventures.blogspot.com/
Cruising into the New Year
The summer after we were married we took our first cruise for our full honeymoon. The travel agency recommended Royal Caribbean and we were so impressed that we’ve stuck with them for all of our cruising since then. Ever since that first cruise we’ve wanted to do another cruise on Rhapsody of the Seas, but it has been doing the Mediterranean most summers so we’ve not been able to find another cruise that fit our needs. When I realized that this year would line up for our really long Christmas vacation I started to look for a cruise that would line up and Rhapsody was available. I was so excited that I didn’t even notice that there was a cruise from Baltimore on Grandeur that would also have fit in our schedule and significantly reduced our drive time. It worked out though because Rhapsody was going to 3 ports we hadn’t visited before while Grandeur would have been all repeat destinations. This trip we visited Cozumel and Costa Maya in Mexico, Belize City in Belize and Roatan in Honduras.
The drive to Tampa took a little longer than we anticipated because we decided to go through Orlando and visit Bob Ross’ grave. If we hadn’t taken that side trip traffic wouldn’t have been bad at all. Once we were in Florida I decided I really wanted to see an Orange Grove operation, but it started to rain while we were driving there and traffic delayed us that we arrived a few minutes after they would have stopped tours even if there were no rain. We did get to see the sorting process and the grove of trees. I was amazed at the simplicity of the sorting. There were also samples of the various fruits they grow and some really tasty ice cream. We got a locally made coconut spread and a jam to bring home. In the 1980s both of us had watched some wrestling and were Hulk Hogan fans so we visited his surf shop once we got to Tampa then we tried to go to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, however the wait time was far higher than we were interested in after two long days of driving so we got the glass and found dinner elsewhere.
Rhapsody has undergone a revitalization project since our Alaska cruise so it was nice to see all of the changes. There were some things we liked a lot about the changes and others that we thought we liked more before, but overall we were quite happy to be back on our honeymoon ship. One night Shawn looked up our room number on an old picture and we walked around our floor to see what looked familiar-the artwork on the wall is the same as it was in 2011, but I wouldn’t have thought about that if we hadn’t taken that little walk.
We had previously cruised over Thanksgiving twice so I was really looking forward to the Christmas decorations. This was the first time we’ve been onboard when the gingerbread village was on display, although Shawn tells me a lot of the ships do this and our previous holiday cruises were just too early for it. For New Year’s Eve they decorated the tables in the main dining room and offered special tables around the centrum for the big balloon drop and party.
Many of the cruise activities are geared towards a different audience than us, however, as always we enjoyed the live music and I even participated in an East Coast Swing class in spite of some rougher waters. Several mornings they also offered a morning stretch class, which I really enjoyed. It was refreshing to spend some time relaxing on the promenade deck and swimming as well. We both got more exercise while traveling, so hopefully we can continue the trend at home!
On New Year’s Eve we had our Crown and Anchor event immediately following dinner and then they had live music from the Orchestra for an hour before the ball drop in one of the smaller lounges. I’ve always heard that whatever you are doing on the first day of the new year you should expect to do all year-I guess that means we will be seeing a lot of new destinations this year and I can’t wait!
While cruising we always look forward to the towel animals the state room attendant makes. I forgot to make a note of the attendant’s name this time but he was so creative in using my sunglasses each day as a prop. When we came back to the room each night we couldn’t wait to see what he’d come up with!
Sadly all good things must come to in and and on the 4th we arrived back to Florida and headed for home. Through the next couple days I’ll write about our ports.
Do you want to build a snowman?
Fat Cat Patterns makes some of my favorite applique patterns. I have been working on two of her block of the month projects and made several other projects that she designed. With all the projects I had/have underway I really didn’t need another project when Sindy announced that she was doing a free block of the week of Frosty Friends II of course I added to my project list. I had taken my machine in for service and was anxious to do some sewing so I decided I could hand applique this since I didn’t really have a timeline. Once I got started on this project I fell in love and had to finish it! I had a pastel tree fabric I thought would work for the backing and a purple for the backgrounds. I thought I had an ornament fabric for the borders but it didn’t match because the backing was white and the ornaments were off white, so I didn’t put borders on.
A lot of my stitching happened at the local quilt shop’s sit and stitch and everyone was asking who it was for. I decided to give this to my Aunt who has asked for a purple quilt for several years. She also loves snowmen, so I asked her for a quote for the label. I didn’t end up using it because it was specific to snow men and all of mine are ladies. My condition for giving it was that I have to be able to keep it in PA until after our fairs and my group’s quilt tour. As much as I love how the pastels worked I think I want to make another one in more traditional colors for my own wall.
This time for the label I put “Snowflakes are one of God’s most fragile creations, but look what happens when they stick together!” I do think I’ll use my aunt’s quote “the perfect man; he’s cool, well rounded and handy with a broom” for my blue background version.
Forget me Not
My grandfather passed away last year just 5 days shy of his 90th birthday. I wanted to honor his memory by making a quilt for each of his children out of his clothing, so I gathered his shirts-for a frugal man he had a lot of clothing! I decided to make the quilts in birth order, partially because I needed to buy a pattern for my mom but I picked a free pattern for the oldest. When I was looking for neutral fabrics to supplement the shirts I found a fabric I really liked, then when they were cutting it I saw it was called Forget me Not. When I deconstructed the shirts I didn’t want the buttons to go to waste, so I used them when I tied the quilt. I nearly cried in the middle of the quilt shop! This past week my uncle had a birthday so I gave him his quilt. Unfortunately I had procrastinated and put the binding and label on at the last minute so I wasn’t able to take as many pictures as I wanted. For the label I quoted Proverbs 20:7, which says “Children are fortunate if they have a father who is honest and does what is right.” Faith was a central part of my Pop’s life so his children (and grandchildren) were blessed to have his example. I used the same verse but a different translation for my Aunt’s quilt.
Buzzing down the road!
Our church has always done baby showers for the first baby born in a family, but a year or two ago we decided to start giving a basket of gifts to all new babies. We’ve had a huge growth in the congregation so we were having more new babies but it was becoming more difficult to plan a shower. I haven’t been able to finish a quilt for each basket but I’ve tried to give as many as I can. I thought we were going to have less babies born this year, the Silly Cars pattern from Fat Cat Patterns has been on my quilting radar for a little while, so I decided to make it for one of the new babies when they announced that it was a boy.
The older sister had already gotten her quilt and I knew that it was well loved. She insisted that the baby was going to be Buzz Lightyear and until he was born no one (including his family) knew what his first name would be so Buzz stuck. I thought cars go buzzing down the road so it was a good fit. Then I realized that it was even more appropriate because the step Grandpa had just recently retired from PennDot.
The week before we were going to visit baby Cole I remembered that there was a neat road sign sculpture garden in my friend’s town so I took the car quilt top for pictures with the sculptures.
This time for the label I wrote a reminder that no matter where the road of life may take little Buzz he’s never too far from the love of God.
Colonial Williamsburg
When we got married during the school year we wanted to take a short trip to celebrate without using all of my personal time and then take a longer trip the following summer. When we picked Colonial Williamsburg, we never expected it to become a place we visited repeatedly, but from that very first visit we have found Williamsburg to be a relaxing and enjoyable destination. This year there were several reasons we weren’t able to get away closer to our anniversary so we decided to use Thanksgiving vacation for a trip to Williamsburg.
Initially we had planned to leave after Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, camp and return home on Sunday and had made a reservation at Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center because we know the campsites are nice and it’s never crowded. Mother nature had other plans though so at the last minute we cancelled our campsite and booked a pet friendly hotel. This was the first time we’ve taken Sirius with us to a hotel and I wasn’t sure how nice the rooms would be. Fortunately the Red Roof Inn was nicer for the pet friendly rooms than I expected, although I do think if we need a pet friendly hotel again a king size bed will be considered a necessity. Traveling with Sirius in cooler weather also made us search more for places to eat, but we found a cute hot dog shop and brewery that allowed him to come inside with us. We also tried the Mellow Mushroom just behind the main area of merchant square because the patio was pet friendly and heated. I’d seen this one multiple times, but I thought it was a vegetarian restaurant rather than pizza. All three got two thumbs up and tail wags!
This was the third time we’ve visited during the holidays so we knew the decorations would be starting to be placed on buildings and we’d enjoy seeing the various wreaths. On previous visits we had never made time to visit the art museum and I’d read about several exhibits that I thought would be of interest so we made that a priority this time. While we enjoy touring the various buildings, with Sirius along we knew most tours would not be options this time, so we bought a museum only ticket for me and Shawn and Sirius waited in the car for me. Sirius isn’t used to all the activity we do while traveling, so he took advantage of naptime.
I was glad to see that the Christmas tree was already on display in the art museum. I think I could have spent an hour or more just looking at the various folk art ornaments they used for decorations. There was a book of projects inspired by the ornaments that looked interesting but when I looked through the one on display most of them were not projects I thought I was likely to complete.
It took me some time to figure out the map of the museum and find the exhibits I was most interested in and I’m sure I missed a lot. One of the things that impressed me most was that they had an area where you could watch the conservation work being done on a vintage chandelier. Having taken some classes in museum studies in my grad schoolwork, I know that a lot of work is done behind the scenes to keep displays looking nice but I didn’t expect there to be an area to watch the work happening. One of the conservationists took time out of her work to come explain the steps that had been undertaken to make the chandelier as authentic as possible. I also enjoyed the Navajo weaving and rug hooking exhibits. There are several hands on activities happening during the month of December that I’d love to take advantage of, but the only events during our visit were guided tours.
Experiences are the best gifts
Last Christmas my friend Jena and I decided that her kids really didn’t need any more toys so we took them to the Crayola factory. Almost all of my trips growing up were educational, so I’ve always appreciated trips that are both educational and fun They were so excited with all the activities and bragged about it at church for weeks afterwards. This year they asked to return to Crayola but I had taken our niece to Turkey Hill Experience and knew they would enjoy it as well. Our school district is very rural so we have days off for deer hunting, which allowed us to plan our trip for a Monday and avoid a lot of crowds.
We left early so we could stop for breakfast and found a nice little family restaurant with an ice cream fountain just down the street from the tour. Both kids got chocolate chip pancakes and then we got samples in the museum before making our own ice cream flavors; it was definitely not a healthy eating day!
Within the museum there are various interactive exhibits explaining the science behind tea and ice cream as well as the history of the company. So much of it is hands on so the kids don’t realize they are learning while they play.
Welcome Baby Cole
I think that one of my best decisions in life was my choice of college; not because of the education, although that was great, but because I made some of my very best friends in college. There were three of us who worked in residence life together and would often play Trivial Pursuit when one of us was on duty. We still play together every chance we get. It was one of these friends, Darcie, who first taught me to quilt. I was blessed to give her a quilt when she got married in 2015. This past weekend we visited to deliver her first son’s quilt. Besides playing Trivial Pursuit, the three of us are also avid readers and coffee drinkers, so I knew had been planning a book quilt for a couple years while we waited for baby Cole to make his appearance. Each book has a title and author and many were meaningful to Darcie, her husband, or me. It was extremely hard for me not to share pictures with Darcie ahead of time, especially when I earned a red ribbon at my hometown county fair.
On the quilt label I quoted Mary Pope Osborne: “Reading is a passport to countless adventures.” My hope is that you have countless adventures both on the page and in real life. Love, Auntie Becky
Darcie opening the quilt. 
I waited so long for this moment! 
Introduction
I have toyed with the idea of creating a blog about my two favorite hobbies (quilting and travel) for a long time and decided to take the plunge, so to speak. I’m a history teacher in Pennsylvania and have been quilting for almost 20 years. I also have a severe case of wanderlust; if I don’t get to leave the state for too long it drives me crazy. Fortunately my husband also loves to travel, so we spend much of the summer camping or cruising. When we are home, I try to work on some stage of my quilting every day as my stress relief. It sounds corny, but if I don’t take that time for myself, I go a little crazy!
Becky's Adventures in Quilting and Travel 