Escapade 58!

 We attended our first Escapee's RV club Escapade Rally in Sedalia, Missouri.  There were so many RV'ers there.  Great speakers and friendly folks.   It was very informative and expensive!!  While there we found our dream home and traded off our 2005 Monaco Dynasty for a 2008 Monaco Signature 45 Commodore IV.   We are calling it the Great White Buffalo!  You'll understand when you see the photo below.   We also found great places to eat in town.  Also, a great micro-brewery!  We love a good brew!!

 The Great White Buffalo, our wandering home!

Brrr! Its cold outside!

Its January and cold in Oklahoma!   7 degrees last Tuesday, but today the high will be 54!

Needed a little time off to reflect on the future. We love to go out to this spot on Lake Gibson. 

Lastest trip out to the Seminole campground at Sequoyah State Park in Wagoner, Oklahoma.  

Our new (old) future home! 2005 Monaco Dynasty

On our return trip from Santa Fe, NM last fall, we stopped in Oklahoma City to check out a motor home that we had seen advertised that had peaked our interest after spending two long weeks feeling cramped up in our Jayco.  Well, the motor home of interest turned out to be a real dud, but the salesman redirected our attention to a 2005 Monaco Dynasty that had come in on consignment. The moment I stepped into it I felt like I was home!  It was spacious, clean and new looking.  If there was a scratch on it, we didn't find it.  We had to really ponder this one but decided, if we wanted to have more space when we went on the road this would take care of that need!

Our first trip in it was to Sequoyah State Park near Wagoner, Oklahoma at the Seminole camp ground.

It rained on us for the first couple of days but we thoroughly enjoyed the entire week.  At night we were surrounded by deer who walked thru the campground feeding.  This park is quiet, clean and the campsites are great!  A great place to visit if you are in the area.
Leon was in his happy place!!

 

The 2015 Jayco Precept

In May of 2015 we bought a brand new 2015 Jayco Precept.  At first it was the motorhome of our dreams!  We were going to travel the US in it and live our dream "Full-time" life in it!   The more we camped, however, the smaller it became to us.  We pulled out the sofa to make room for 2 recliners that we thought would make a difference.

Our Westies, Charlie and Sam, loved the new recliners!  But still didn't feel like a home we could live comfortably in for a year or more on the road.  We thought about taking out the booth style dining table and seats and adding an electric fireplace but still weren't convinced we would feel at home.  I know now that owning a motorhome, travel trailer, etc. and making into your home on wheels, is something that you have to make your own or you are not going to feel comfortable in and that takes away the enjoyment in the journey.

We took the Jayco on a trip up to Kansas to Lake Wilson last year while visiting grandkids.  The lake is beautiful.  It is located in the center of Kansas.  Two of our son's live near by and came out with the family's for fishing and fun.  Unfortunately everyone caught a stomach flu.  We did have a few days of fishing and fun!

Our first trip out in the Jayco was very nice, although the temp was in the 100's.  We camped at a lovely park in Oklahoma called Cedar Oaks.

Oregon or Bust??? Maybe not...:(

Might not make it all the way to Oregon and northern California.  More fires have broken out.  Stay tuned to where we will end up!  Only 5 more days!!!!

The Oregon Trail ........ Leon and Patt's Most Excellent Adventure!!

Coming soon!  Our trip to Astoria, Oregon and beyond!  We are finally going to take our trip to the west coast, hopefully before it drops into the ocean.  I must confess, I'm a little leery after all the talk lately by scientist that the "big" one is coming on the western seaboard.  I have always wanted to see Astoria, Oregon every since I saw the "Goonies" years ago.  I fell in love with that town!  I'll be posting photos and experiences along our journey. 

We leave September 19th!!!! 

Finally finished the two quilts for my dear friends in Omaha!  Only took me 3 years to get done with them.  Ha!  Probably a good thing since my quilting has improved so much in the last year, the quilts turned out great.   Here is the Miss Rosie pattern "40T".  It was a fun quilt to make and the longarm stitching turned out great. Not that I'm bragging, but I was very impressed with myself after doing this one!

Then there was this one! Oh my!  This was the hardest quilt I have ever done.  It is a Texas Lone Star.  It was like piecing a puzzle.  But after it was all put together I was very proud of the results. It really turned out beautiful!  The quilting was a challenge for me but I did it!

Avon Walk for Breast Cancer Quilt Raffle

My sister, Kaye and I have decided to sign up for the April 20-21st Houston Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in honor of our sister Beth.  Beth was diagnosed with a small tumor in her left breast this past May 2012.  She has since under gone two lumpectomy's and will be finishing up 5 weeks of radiation this Wednesday.  In order to raise money for the event I have donated a quilt that I did last year as a block of the month class I taught in my quilt guild a couple of years ago.  I have raised $1,806.50 so far in donations.  I finished the quilting on it last night.  I still have the binding to do but should have it done this week.  I can't wait to find out who will win this quilt!  It is one of my favorites!

This is the top of the quilt.  It is laying on top of my husbands pool table with all the lights off and only the afternoon light coming in from the side windows.  This lighting captures the shadows the quilting makes.
Here is the back.   It's my favorite!

and one of the blocks,

This was actually my first attempt to do massive feathers in a quilt.  I have always been afraid to do them but they aren't really as scary as they seem.   Once you do the first one the rest get easier and easier. 

May 21st - Boy's Baby Quilt

Just got this one off the frame.  I like the quilting on it. I thought I'd do these all over cresent curves on this quilt because there are no real blocks in it.  I almost cut the pictures apart and framed around them but decided at the last minute not to.  I like it the way it is.  I hope the little boy I made for will too.

This is the back.

Side

A cowboy!