The Best of Times

These are the last hours of my summer vacation {sigh}. I wish I could stretch time, or at least slow it down a little, just so I could continue to savor it a little while longer. Since no one has invented a way to do that (yet), I'm doing it my way by refusing to shower (keeping that beach funk alive and well), wearing my flip flops and vacation T-shirt until the last possible minute and drinking one more (OK, maybe 2 more) beers before I have to put it all to bed and wake up Ms. Professional tomorrow morning. This is when I wish, like most everyone else, that I didn't have to work for a living and could spend all of my days like this...

hanging around with friends catching up on the news in a quaint little cottage;
lounging around in our PJ's all morning and making jewelry at the picnic table;
modeling said jewelry in our PJ's and peeps:
going to the local quilt shops;
and enjoying a glass of wine at the end of the day.
I spent most of my vacation in Cape Cod near Craigville Beach with my friends above (right to left): Annie, Dee and Renee. As you may recall, Renee is the Southern Belle who told us all about the "semen" in toothpaste and the "grace" that caused my tummy ache at the quilting Getaway. Renee was scheduled to leave on Thursday afternoon to pick up her friend Katherine at Logan Airport (flying in from Dallas) and return to Maine, but Katherine was adventurous enough to join us instead. We picked her up at the bus station in Hyannis - which is not pronounced "Hi-anus".
After a whirlwind shopping trip at Christmas Tree Shop, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Trader Joe's and the local package store for some beer (Cape Cod Brewing Company's IPA is to die for), she was still up for a little crafting the next morning. Now that's our kind of gal!
Here's our parade of paper purses, sitting on the white picket fence.
Afterwards, we spent some time collecting shells and sand for "Seaside Memory" candles to enjoy later,
before heading to Chatham for a little more shopping and sightseeing.
Does it get any better than this?

Thanks Annie, for another great year, and to Renee, Dee and Katherine for a great time!!!!! I feel truly blessed to have spent my days in your company.

In between all of this lounging about, I have been knitting - Fifi is almost done, so naturally I cast on for a new sweater that I'll post about later, along with photos of my finished Cobblestone Quilt and other projects. In the midst of all this vacationing, I neglected my own Blogaversary - 1 year ago, on August 13th, I started this blog. Contrary to my recent habits, I have not forgotten it. Let's just say that it's been on the back burner this summer. In the meantime, thanks for coming back and reading even though things have been a bit spotty around here. Most recently, I was asked a few questions:

Lisa, I'm knitting Fifi with Rowan Calmer, the yarn called for in the pattern. The color is called Lucky and is number 484.

Amy: Eat, Pray, Love was one of the best books I've read in a long time. I wanted to savor every word because her writing is so accessible and her way of describing her experiences and thoughts was so authentic and real. Since reading it, I have recommended it to several people and am longing to go to Italy just to eat! Regarding the quilting, I machine piece everything. I did end up changing the colors of that quilt all around, and am very pleased with the result. One of these days I'll post a photo! And yes, I am a very very lucky girl to have such great friends.

One more hour before bed...time to knit.

Until next time, I leave you with this image:
Yes, that is a real lobster claw shell, and no, we didn't eat the lobster.