Well, DH has had to rush down south (approx. 5 hr drive) as FIL is in hospital with breathing problems complicated by a cold of some sort.
Since he has gone, I have degreased the top of the cooker big time, got Izzy to help wash the car - hey, I only thought about doing it last summer Stopped to have some chatter,(after chasing Izzy about homework ) and there is nothing new to chat about Guess I will have to go & do some sewing instead, and, if you are lucky, I will remember to take photos of the teacups & saucers I am making.

Congratulations, Lorna!! Enjoy your time!!

Lorna, thank you for your service. My son is in the Air Force. He graduated from high school last year and entered boot camp in July (in San Antonio, Texas... ugh, like a sauna). Now he is at the Defense Language Institute studying to be a linguist. I think he'll have a good career, lots of great training. So happy for him.

Kathy

Thanks, Lois. I am retiring! I have a total of 25+ years active duty. Most of that was in the air force but some was from my army time from way back when.

Nancy, congrats on the new job.
And to warm thing up around here, this is our back garden as of 15 minutes ago

Lorna, Are you retiring or are you just moving on? We will miss our APO connection. Thanks for all you've done for us in that capacity. The original CW challenge would have been much harder without your help.

Nancy, your snowy picture is beautiful. I've not lived where that much snow happens. I have lived where get a little bit that doesn't last or we travel somewhere to visit and play in the snow.

Congrats on the next job! I can't believe I only have a little over 3 months in my job

Thank you, everyone, for your kind words and good wishes! I will, of course, take you along on my journey. I'm sure it will be a good one.

It's going to be an interesting change. There will definitely be the stresses, hard deadlines and middle of the night calls of a commercial firm. But it's also a completely relaxed atmosphere where your time is completely flexible. So vacation actually isn't a problem, but we have to get it okayed ahead of time and might need to check in and take care of problems around vacation activities. Very cool environment, but it will require a lot of self-motiviation to succeed. Luckily, that type of environment works well for me.

Thank you Lois! You are so kind. We actually will be in South Jersey, so hopefully everything will be fine.

I'm so looking forward to seeing all 4 of my kids and their spouses as well as my 3 grandchildren! I will be in heaven!!

Geneva

Geneva, No problem. Snow will be gone (mostly). Checked out the long range forecast for you. I live 150 mi NW of Philly. Don't know how much snow they got this last round, but any snow is going to have a tough time lasting through the mid-40F temps predicted for all next week. It's cold here now 20F but the temps start rising tomorrow. What a relief!

Nancy, Change is hard, even good change. I'm happy for you and your new adventure! Keep us posted.

It's lovely here in Eastern WA. Lots of sunshine, cool 40's. Rattlesnake mountain is so pretty right outside my sewing room window. Went wine tasting yesterday afternoon with my sweetie, after I sewed the binding on the commission quilt! Woo Hoo!! Now I will spend a couple hours watching the Waltons hand sewing the binding down. I really like that part of quilting. It's like my last close up time with a quilt.

Uh, could all of you on the easy coast please get rid of the snow?! We're flying into Philly next Thursday and I don't want to bring boots!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Geneva

Nancy, congratulations on your new job--sometimes quality of life/work beats more money; knowing the people you're going to be working with and the type of work being not dissimilar from what you already do will go far to lessen the stress of transition. Having made the decision to transition has to already be a weight off your shoulders! Best wishes to you!!!

Nancy, It looks like all your TQS friends are going along right with you to that new job. Keep us posted as you discover new things about the transition.

Nancy, good luck on your new job. I guess you won't be having any vacations for awhile. Of course you live in a vacation area so maybe it is like always being on vacation. (With daily trips to see your friends!) Just be happy and keep quilting. Wish you could go to MQS. I think Cedar Rapids is quite a bit farther then Wichita for you. We (my DD and I) are making plans to go. She has had a busy year and needs a break.