This was our view on Sunday morning, the last day of the Valley of the Mist first annual quilt retreat. We stayed at Vina de Lestonnac http://www.vinalestonnac.com/ in Temecula's wine country. So peaceful and beautiful. The balloons are an every-weekend thing in the area, but this was the first time I'd seen them. Pretty spectacular.

The weekend was a lot of fun, with lots of food, prizes, laughter, and of course, sewing. Every finished top was greeted with oohs and ahs and cheers. We are such an enabling group! Of course, every single one of us was inspired by the others' workmanship, choice of colors and design. Check out the pictures in my Flickr badge, on the left.

Beginning Saturday morning with a nice massage was a real treat. Thank you, Linda! You can borrow my car any old time. I finally settled on a project, after rejecting three others. It took a long time to get a block made, after sewing lots of strips together and cutting them into smaller units, over and over and over again. Then, things began to come together, not just for me, but for everyone, it seemed.

The convent food was just OK. Maybe not even that, but there was plenty of it, and the atmosphere throughout the retreat center was a welcoming one. Our Friday afternoon tea, on the other hand, was a big hit, with lots of savory and sweet treats, along with a very nice assortment of teas. My scones were a hit, and I am now the official scone baker for future retreats. Works for me -- I'm happy to have an excuse to make them.

Only one more day before we officially begin retreating -- can't wait! Tomorrow we'll head up to Crystal Lake to a great OLD quilt shop, the kind with wooden floors & 15 foot ceilings. We'll meet up with our friend Lynn for lunch, then wander the little shops in town for a bit before heading back here to the grocery for supplies for the week's lunches & breakfasts. I'll cook some spicy sesame noodles for Patty's & my dinner (her DH will be playing softball) & then I can get some more cutting done on my balloon quilt. Tuesday morning, Verna arrives! Woo hoo!!! Terry will join us, depending on her MIL's situation, & we'll be off & running. Dinner will be at Cheesecake Factory, then we'll head to guild (our local, Sarah's Grove Quilters Circle) for a program on maintaing our sewing machines. With Verna & me in attendance, the total of people there will jump to about 25!
Wednesday we'll be making a last pilgrimmage to our old favorite, Calico in Racine, WI. It'll be the last time we'll get to wander through that darling old house, visit with Kathy, Jane & Linda, & get some great deals as they close down their store. sigh. We'll stop at the Jelly Belly factory store on the way home. Goodie! We will have started our crockpot salsa chicken before we left home, so it will be waiting for us on our return. Thursday, it will be all sewing, all the time. Ditto for Friday, I'm thinking. Thursday night we'll head over to Lou Malnati's for some of their individual deep dish pizzas & some fabulous Lou's salad with gorgonzola dressing. Friday's dinner will be carried in by Patty's DH from Portillo's -- I'll be having their wonderful fruit & chicken salad with poppyseed dressing. SO yummy! Saturday morning, Verna will head back to IN. That night, my DH & I will join Patty & hers in meeting our couples gourmet group for dinner at the Ram. I expect lots of hugs & laughter all week. Are you jealous yet? Well, why not?!?!? I look forward to this week all year long & we do have a great time. It's exhausting, & sometimes I don't even get much done, but the "fellowship" as my friend, Mary, says, is soul-satisfying & feeds me for the next 12 months.
I promise, I'll start posting pictures on Tuesday. I did quite a bit of sewing today & got the top of my 13 Colonies put together. I'll be looking for a border & back for it tomorrow. Happy, happy, joy, joy!