I'm Home! (Catching up)

Since my last blog post I've been on 2 more trips.  The first trip was a vacation with extended family in Cloudcroft, New Mexico. We flew into Albuquerque and went up Sandia Peak.  I hadn't been up Sandia Peak since I was a senior in high school.

the sky at sunset

Albuquerque from the top of Sandia Peak

We drove with hubby's brother and sister-in-law to Cloudcroft (where we met up with hubby's parents).  While driving to Cloudcroft, we kept passing this overloaded van.

overloaded van

From the front (sorry, I couldn't get a photo), we could see at least 3 6 foot tables along with other stuff, strapped to the roof.  Since they turned when we got to Alamogordo, we figured that it was a military family moving to the Air Force base there.

In Cloudcroft, we stayed at a cabin called Elk Hollow.  Great cabin (my father-in-law found it on VRBO).  We saw 20-60 elk every morning and late afternoon going up or down the mountain by our cabin.  We'd just walk out onto the balcony, and they were just feet away.  There were at least 5 different bull elk, with the largest having 13 points.

overflow parking at the cabin

from the balcony

in front of the cabin

On Friday night, we attend 'Blazing Guns at Roaring Gulch' A Cloudcroft Light Opera Company production.  

What a hoot!  We cheered the good guys, Boo'd the bad guys and threw popcorn.  What a fun evening!  The Cloudcroft Light Opera raised at least $500 for a scholarship for a local student.  They try to raise fund for at least 5-10 $500 scholarships each year.

When I got home, I found this.

see the battery acid coming out?

My car battery was dead (it was 5 years old).  Hubby & son were off all day playing disc golf, so a nice neighbor helped me get the old battery out and the new battery installed.  Thank goodness NAPA Auto Parts was open on Labor Day. 

I was only home for one week before I headed back out, this time to Texas for my mother-in-laws knee replacement surgery.  We didn't get home till Oct 1st.  From Father's Day (June 19th) thru Oct 1st, I've only been home a total of 32 days.

I did get some stitching done since my last blog post.  I quilted, bound and gifted a baby quilt.

I also finished 3 more blocks for the Angels Among Us calendar quilt..

February

March

April

Over the summer we found out that our 4th grandchild will arrive around my birthday (first week of February).  It will be a girl.  Now to figure out some quilts for the new grandbaby.  I'm trying to decide if I will paper piece a quilt for the new grandbaby, like I've done for the other 3 grandkids.  We've done Peter Pan, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit and Harry Potter.  What theme would this one be?  I need some ideas.