Where to start?

Long time since I published anything on my blog! I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning!  February was rolling along, busy with quilt run preparation at the quilt shop, working on new quilt designs, and just generally living life.  I was in the midst of designing a new quilt-along and planning some things for the rest of the year when life got just a little crazy! 

The first incident was the decision to close the quilt shop at the end of March.  Sharan has owned the shop for 30 years, and I've worked there for 21!  She wasn't really ready to close the shop, but it was time, so we all started working on figuring out the process of selling everything and cleaning out the shop.  Shortly after that my youngest daughter, Shannon announced that she and her fiancé were moving up their wedding as he was going to enlist in the Army!  So that was the end of my Quilt-along planning for the time being - I didn't even have the heart to announce that here - but I just had way too much on my plate to go any further with it right then.  I promise I am still planning on it, but maybe more toward fall?  We'll see!

Since they decided to get married in Las Vegas we chose to drive instead of fly (DH hates flying, and we both enjoy road trips). We left home on March 5, had the wedding on the 7th.  It was very sweet and we enjoyed spending the afternoon exploring and sight seeing!  Las Vegas is a bit crazy and so many people and sounds and things to see!  

It was a busy and fun weekend we will always remember!  We had a great time celebrating them and were ready to head home on Monday.  Unfortunately, on the way home the check engine light came on, and we found ourselves stuck in Reno for three days.  We took the truck in for diagnostics, but as the estimate kept rising higher and higher, yet they still couldn't tell us what was wrong, we decided the best course of action was just to get us and the truck home so we could figure out what to do.  

We rented a car and made arrangements for the truck to be hauled back home that weekend.  In the end we left a nice sum of money in Reno for diagnostics on our truck and two extra days waiting, plus the rental car and transport for the truck. We had to laugh a bit - after all we thought it would be cheaper to drive than to fly!  I guess not! But we made it home, and we did enjoy the time spent in Reno - even learned to use Uber and DoorDash.  But we were definitely happy to get home in the end and try to get back to "normal".

The day after arriving home, it was back to the shop for the start of the going out of business sale.  That was a busy time, but we did really well at getting the inventory all sold out and getting rid of the fixtures.  It wasn't easy for Sharan, but it was fun to see so many of our faithful customers!  We made a lot of people happy with the sales prices, too!  I was good and didn't bring home too much myself, but I did have a big pile of shop samples to take home.  I've spent the last couple of weeks getting those listed in my Etsy shop, and they are now all available and are on sale, too! 

It was really sad to see the shop getting emptied out!  Everyone kept asking me what I would do when the shop closed, and I really didn't have an answer.  The fact that our truck needed a new engine was really weighing on me - it kind of made it a bad time to not be working anymore and I was really struggling with making a decision on whether to find another job or not.  Well, I came upon an ad for a course on sewing machine servicing and realized that taking that would probably be a great way to make some extra income and still be able to work from home! 

Now I have started on that journey and am loving it!  I am going through my own machines, then will start working on my portfolio to become certified.  This is really up my alley and I am excited about a new "career".  I have to say, that it's really true that when one door closes another one opens.  God is good! I am enjoying going through the lessons, sewing machines are really interesting in how they work!

Here are Sharan and I on my last day.  Bittersweet, but that's life sometimes.  Sharan and I still get together for lunch once a week, and she is doing well with retirement.  I've been busy this month with a pile of alterations, and have plenty of sewing to keep me busy!  It seems like when it rains, it pours!

DH had some issues with his leg when we got home and had to be checked for a blood clot, but it looks like it was just a sprain and he is doing just fine.  We got the engine replaced in the truck and had it back for two weeks, but it's back in the shop again with another issue.  We are glad we got the warranty and are just waiting to see what's going on now.  This whole thing has turned into an ordeal, but we'll get through it!  

And I finally did get to work on some quilt blocks!  Also trying to clear out my sewing room a bit.  Same old, same old, right?  DH and I are getting back to our walking and exercise which we are both in need of, so that feels good too.  Then, there is the yard and garden to take care of.  We want to paint the front of our house this summer, so that will be a good chore - with five windows, the door and the porch there is lots of trim to scrape and paint, but it will look so good when we get it finished.  The results make the work well worth it.

So, that's my life the last couple of months!  I hoping to get back into some good routines in May, including working on that Quilt-along.  I really love my idea and want it to be just right before I start, so I will keep you updated on plans for that as it gets closer.  I'll be blogging more regularly from here on it, and have a super fun something coming up right before Memorial Day, so am looking forward to sharing that! Think Red, White and Blue!  More later on that...have a great week!