CAMPING

During my last camping time, we had heat, rain, and some breeze, but you always make the best of what is given you as a farmer and that is what we did.  We enjoyed outdoors and then rested from the heat or rain inside my wonderful camper.  Daisy Mae Foxhound would watch me quilt or knit, and she most often enjoyed my tea/coffee times with some oreos, her (well, mine also) favorite break time.  

I finished my hand pieced Grandma's Flower Garden English Paper Piecing (size 1.5 inch hexagons) during this camping time.  I started it in the camper last August by cutting the squares and learning to hem them and then piece seven together to form a flower of hexagons which measured 1.5 inches each.  I used prints of the Downton Abbey fabric and background of unbleached muslin.  It is so pretty.  When I finished the last edge pieces I called my husband to tell him.  Of course, he was not as excited about it as I was.  I then had a nice glass of wine and toasted my quilt, my work accomplishment, and my Daisy Mae Foxhound.  Then I folded it up and set it aside.  I still have to put the batting in and backing all pinned together, another big step, and then hand quilt around each and every hexagon.  The final touch will be hand stitching the front and back together with a binding or just the pieces.  Lots to do yet, but the joy of quilting to me is the process.  It teaches me that all of life has process.

It has been a process for me to get to a point of retirement where I can camp, quilt more, enjoy time by myself with my Daisy Mae of course.

I also found this trip to be full of new acquaintances, women campers. I camp during the week, and there were two sites with families, two sites with fishermen, and then a site with a woman and her ten year old son, and another woman and her dear dog, Merlin.  I enjoyed getting to know Clarie and Merlin.  She was camping all the states west of the Mississippi, coming from Texas, after she retired.  We will keep in touch and maybe plan a camping meet for next year.  The newest set of gatekeepers are a couple who also love to camp,  Julie and Dianna, who recently retired.  They have camped lots and thought this a nice way to spend part of their camping days, volunteering as gatekeepers three days per week, but then being able to camp at the same site the other days through the season.  I enjoyed getting to know them and will see them through the season as I go camping in this park about twice a month.  They also have a wonderful dog named Ace....so my Daisy Dog made new friends also.

Daisy Mae Foxhound after an afternoon nap.  She needs to be under the covers even in the summer, but I do have air conditioning in my camper, so the breeze was blowing on her.....excuses for my child.

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