Stuck in Irmo!

We were going to go up to Winston Salem to check out the area and go house hunting but we decided that the holiday weekend was no time to do that.

Dave starts his job there mid-December, so time is getting closer. We'll go in the next week or two.

Left-over pie is the best part of the holidays! I didn't have much on thanksgiving , too full...but a nice big piece of pumpkin last night while watching DVDs and cutting up plaid shirts was great therapy. I'm kind of glad we didn't go anywhere this weekend.

It is my tradition NOT to venture out on Black Friday at all! And we did quite well...only had to go pick up some prescriptions and did that at 6pm when most of the shopping crowd had petered out and departed home to eat their leftover dinners.

I've taken the dogs to the forest the past two days for a good 5 mile hike. They love it, and I love it this time of the year when the leaves are all covering the paths and the smell of the pines is so fragrant! My thighs and buns can sure feel it! Heaven knows, I need to take some time out each day to get THEM (the dogs...not my thighs and buns!!Okay..those do need it too!!)some exercise as well as myself. So I'm going to try to do this at least 3 times a week. I sometimes feel guilty because it cuts into quilting time, but at the same time...I NEED IT.

I'm down to the wire on the last few customer quilts I have for the year. Massage slows down this time of year when people get too busy (and strapped financially?) to think about getting a massage. It works out. When massage is slow, quilting is high...it just works. I'm not sure what I'll do with the massage therapy when I get to Winston-Salem. The thought of starting a new practice all over again is daunting, and I don't want to work for anyone else when they charge 50% to 60% commission. Where I am now I rent my own space, and have built up enough clientele that it is so much more worth it than working on commission. So.....we will see when I get there what happens. I'll keep my license current.....and give it time.



Here's some of the blocks I've been working on! It's helped me to use up some of the plaids as well as getting them cut down into strips for various other projects. While cutting the pieces for each block out of one light and one dark shirt, I set aside the shirt back as if it were a FQ, just in case I need bigger pieces down the road, and cut up the fronts and sleeves and yokes into 2", 2.5" and 3.5" strips. Any small pieces left over are getting cut into squares of the same sizes. After cutting two shirts, I allow myself the pleasure of piecing a block, how kind of me to myself, huh?? *LOL* The drawers are filling with strips, the piles of shirts are going down, and I'm getting a quilt top in the process!

You can see in the trashcan how it is filled with the front buttonhole bands (can't get anything out of that!) and seams, and pieces that had really thick fusible interfacing on them for body. Everything else is useable! I've got a big zipper bag that a comforter came in that holds all the small weird stuff for string/crumb piecing. I can grab it and just start sewing!

Life is Good!

CRAZY!!!

I'm going to make myself late for work, but I couldn't leave until I got this dang block RIGHT...just to prove to myself that I am not a complete idiot..*LOL*

I feel MUCH better now, and I'm off to take care of massage clients. I should call this block "mind bender" instead of Milky way!

Don't Sew Late At Night!!

And here I was so proud of my productivity! I've been taking shirts apart,and as I cut them into strips I thought it would be good motivation to cut block parts for a quilt I want to do as I go....so I have "INCENTIVE" right?..uhhhhhuhhh.......we all know the path to "WHERE" is paved with good intentions?

Obviously,the path to either ripping out, or setting aside if you were sewing like I was last night!

First off, I love OLD quilts. I love old "farm style" quilts, not fussy ones, but the utility ones that were made from the scraps of every day fabrics. Lots of stripes and plaids, pieced frugally and quilted simply to keep families warm.

I fell in LOVE with this antique quilt! I love anything that has a strong "positive/negative" feel to it, and I'd never seen the "Milky Way" pattern done as blocks this way and put on point. Fun, huh?

So okay...Bonnie gets big ideas and begins sewing thinking how hard can this be? It's 4 patches and 1/2 square triangles, right?!?!?!


It took me until this morning when I took pics of my 4 blocks to see that half of my 4 patches are marching in the WRONG DIRECTION!! It must be the optical illusion of this kind of block...but BLLLAHH! I don't want to pick them out! I'd rather just start over! I guess they can go on the BACK of something? I can't believe I got FOUR BLOCKS wrong, all just as wrong as the other!

Good thing there are lots more shirts where these came from!

Oh..one thing I learned. It sometimes isn't worth it to buy women's shirts. Darts and tucks and extra seams to make the shirt "fitted" plus sometimes pieces cut on the bias make using them really difficult. I'll still buy them if I REALLY REALLY think I have to have the fabric in that shirt, but I think I'll stick to mens 3X extra tall! :cD

IT'S HERE!!!!

My copies of Quiltmaker just arrived!! I am so thrilled!

It is very fun to open up a magazine and see your quilt inside. They did such a terrific job with the photography and the writing. How fun it was to work with them on this project! I really hope I can do more with them in the future, this venture was pure pleasure and well worth waiting for!


They have included directions for my Blue Ridge Beauty quilt as well as a little article on "leaders/enders". I hope that scrap quilters everywhere will look at their stashes a bit differently and find a way to be more productive at the same time!

What a great thing to come the week of Thanksgiving. I know I have so much to be thankful for. I'm really overwhelmed when I look at how things have happened in the past year. Next year this time...as I look back...I wonder what I'll see!

We are thinking of heading up to the Winston-Salem area on Friday and spending the long weekend up there getting a feel for the area. I don't know if it will be a good time to try to connect with realtors, but we have printed out some properties we'd like to see and can use the tom-tom to do a few drive-by sightings to see if it is something worth checking back later on or not. I think it will be a good weekend to "get out of dodge" even with all the holiday travelers. I just need to get a feel for where I'll be, you know?

I've spotted a listing for a 1900's farm house on 6 acres, with barn and shed. The house has 2545 sq ft....Might not have a basement for a quilting studio, but with 6 acres I'm sure I could build the studio I want :c)Wouldn't that be something? I can't wait to see inside of it!

It says it is restored, 3 bedroom and 2 bath and has heated tile and many extras.....hmmmmmmm!

A "Crumby" Upload!

I finally got on the stick and pulled all my crumb quilts/projects/blocks into a tutorial page on my website.

I've been intending to do it ALL YEAR since Tonya and I had our crumby week over last New Years..but you know how life goes!

You can check it out here: Crumbs, Crumbs, Crumbs!!

My idea is to have a place where all kinds of crumb projects can be shown, along with how different quilters make use of their crumbs, so if you have any techniques, projects to show...let me know! I'm happy to post them!

In addition to my crumb quilts, I posted some charity crumb quilts that I did...and the book covers projects.

Send me ideas and pics if you have them and want them included!

Might not look like much......

But this is all I've accomplished in the last couple days!

Isn't this tan floral great?! It looks SO vintage. And the tag on the inside said "old navy" I wish there was an old navy shirt factory near me, I'd love to just have their bin of cuttings, wouldn't you? But I think everything is made over seas now anyway, and like I really need another fabric source?! :c|

I decided that I needed to force myself....to stay away from GOODWILL! *L* And take the time that I spend buying up all the shirts and turn it into time I spend cutting up the shirts!

And a wonderful thing happened. I began to relax! I found sitting there removing seams and separating pieces to be a way to unwind and let go. To enjoy a TV program instead of worrying how I was going to get everything else done before a move, to worry about Thanksgiving, to worry about the holidays.

This small pile of disassembled shirts might not look like much, but oh the possibilities!

I've been cutting up shirts in between clients at my massage-work because I don't have any hand work that I care to concentrate on right now. Scissors can be very therapeutic! You know how stressful moving and buying a house can be on a marriage? I know what I want. I know what is important to me. Quilting space and a great kitchen.

What's important to Dave? Maybe some acreage, and a 3 car garage! So I get this email with a forwarded house from him.....it is the most BUTT UGLY house you have ever seen...BUT..it had a 3 car garage and 2 acres...(*&@#$(*&@#*($& AUUUGHHH! See me sitting there stewing and taking out my frustrations on shirts with scissors..SNIP SNIP SNIP! Tear tear tear (I tear the hems off and several of the seams open)

Please don't mis-understand. I don't want to leave the impression that I am the house-hunting version of "bridezilla" (House-zilla?!) I have simple tastes. I have a modest home, but it is newish. Some 1950's ranch with small rooms and no master bath just isn't what calls to me, and neither is some 1970's brady bunch contemporary thing with only 1.5 baths and no kitchen cupboard space.

I just keep praying "full basement full basement" so maybe no matter how ugly the rest of the house is, I'll have a place to hide and quilt quilt quilt, and scissor up some more shirts!

I spent some time last night emailing back and forth with Pepper Cory and it is fun to know that she is a North Carolinian too! She writes:

In January I'm opening The Quilt Studio, an intimate (translation: small) learning environment for seriously-addicted quilters. Want a schedule when they're ready?

ABSOLUTELY!! Heaven knows I am a seriously addicted quilter and always in need of some...ummm...quilt therapy? :cD So there is another North Carolina thing I am looking forward to discovering for myself!

When looking on the map for communities that we could settle in, I am immediately drawn to Pfafftown, NC. How cool is that? A town named after a sewing machine! I'd need to be in Berninaville, but Pfafftown would work for me too! However, I think it is a bit far on the other side of town from where the new plant is.

One other place I refuse to have as my address...*cough* Horneytown? Yes,there really is a Horneytown nc! Of course my adolescent and young adult sons find this extremely funny. But then I remind them that we are moving from Irmo, home of the "okra strut". I guess every place has it's own giggles!

Here is a pic of a guy in a Horneytown volunteer fire dept shirt:


Is there a funny-named place near where you live?

I'm Included!

Holly at Hollyblogs has written an article for McCalls Quilting Magazine about her favorite blogs! Lucy and I are both included in her list, and wow,there are lots of impressive blogs listed!

I am really honored and thrilled to be included (see me here doing my own impression of Sally Field's award nomination where she was so shocked she babbled "you like me! You really like me!!"

It is wonderful, and so much fun. Thank you Holly!

The magazine is the February issue, but should be out shortly.

I also got an email from Brenda Groelz, the editor of Quiltmaker Magazine. My quilt has been shipped back to me and she writes:

Wanted to let you know that I just got my preview copy of the JanFeb 08 issue of Quiltmaker with your Blue Ridge Beauty quilt in it and it looks wonderful! I think you’re going to like how your leaders and enders articles looks too. Our art director did a wonderful illustration.

I can't wait to see how it looks in the magazine! Exciting times in Quiltville, and yes....all this while the holidays loom over us and so does a MOVE!! Insane, I tell you! Insane!

Pretty Pretty Pretty!

I absolutely loved quilting this quilt for Sherry! Her applique is SO gorgeous and everything....everything...laid flat and square and perfect! I loved looking at the blocks while I was quilting it, I had a hard time picking my favorite one, but when I got down towards the end of the quilt,and came across the block with the big golden dog on it, I knew that was the one I loved best! He reminds me of my golden retriever, Buddy..even the fabric she chose for him says PET ME!! (in a very 100% cotton way :c) If you click the pic of the full quilt, you can see the dog in the bottom right corner!

This quilt is winging it's way back to Vermont where it will call HOME at last! I've had this quilt for far too long...and I'm happy it is going back home to it's mama!

It's another beautiful sunny fall morning here in SC. It was WARM yesterday..warm enough that I slept with a window open and oh how I love that! We don't get enough of that in the south with the heat and humidity. Sometimes it is so nice to be able to sleep without the a/c running!

I'm making studio plans in my head for what I hope to find when we go house hunting. I want a FULL basement. Is that too selfish? Can't I just wish on that for a while? I envision my set up pretty much as I have it here, but I want one corner where I can put the "den" stuff, so I have a TV corner set up with my two comfy chairs, a little NOOK for hand work.....And you know, there is a small dorm style fridge in the garage, I think that needs to come to my studio too :c)

It might be a dream, but thinking of it in positive ways makes me look forward to the house hunting...

Maverick Stringy-Sampler!

I don't have much of my own to report today! I've spent the day getting estimates on having some things repaired on the house before we get the appraisal. Things like Dings in the wall where the doorknob hit too hard, a place in the stairwell where Jeff got mad and punched it :c(

The place in the ceiling that had to be cut out to fix a leaky sink pipe and had never been fixed...auuughh...

You know how it is to sell a house, everything you ever wanted to do for yourself, gets done so someone ELSE can enjoy the benefits!

I'm quilting away on customer quilts....yesterday was pretty much a wash out as I spent 3 1/2 hours in the dentist chair for more implant work. I now have a real temporary where the permanent implant crown is going to go, and I was numb and sore most of the day yesterday. Just can't run the quilting machine when you feel that way!

So...since I don't have anything of my OWN to report, I thought I would whet your appetite with this fun stringy sampler! I love it! It is SO maverick. I would have loved to dig into this lady's scrap bag and see what she was working with to come up with her unique blocks!




My latest "in between massage clients" project is cutting up thrift store shirts! It seems to be a good thing to do when there is a bit of time in between clients and my mind is too frazzled to really settle on anything intricate. The shirts have got to be cut into use able pieces at some point, and this is as good as any!

Yesterday in between clients I was able to cut up these four articles of clothing...a lovely golden cheddar, two shades of blue, and a red/tan! Oh the possibilities! :cD I have a bin that the pockets, plackets, pockets, collars and cuffs are going into for string piecing, but the big pieces...I've tried to decide if I want to strip them all down into various sizes or what?

I think I'll compromise. I'll strip the sleeves and the fronts...but leave the shirt backs whole so I have a big piece if I need to cut alternate block pieces or anything. Sound like a good idea?

Birthday Dinner-----Japanese Style!

We had a delightful time with Jason, his girlfriend Kim, and her parents last night!

We went out for Jason's 24th birthday dinner, and he chose Yamato Japanese Steak House. It is one of our favorites, hands down!

While we were waiting for Kim's parents to arrive, I took a few pictures of them where we sat in the waiting area. Goofy kids! They are so cute together. Kim is a nursing student, and wants to continue on to become a nurse anesthetist. I hope she continues with this goal!

The dinner was yummy, the company was great! Our chef was so funny......part of why I love going there,the entertainment!

I hope everyone is having a restful wonderful Sunday afternoon/evening. I've got a client's applique quilt on the machine and I'm working away at it as much as I am able. Yesterday went by the wayside as I didn't recover as quickly as I thought I would from having my pupils dilated at the eye docs! Sorry, can't quilt with dark shades on! :c( But today things are back to normal vision wise...I'm grateful to be able to see the stitches!

Happy Birthday, Jason!

My Oldest Baby is 24 today! He was born November 10th 1983 in Nyssa, Oregon on a beautiful autumn day just like today!

He has grown into such a wonderful loving young man. I am so proud of him for the leaps and bounds he has made in his young life.

It's going to be hard to leave him behind as we relocate to Winston-Salem!

He moved back home here just a year ago. That was an adjustment after being out on his own for 4 years! For the past few months he has been back out on his own again living with friends and well into his own life here in SC. It's been great to see him carve out a place and a life for himself here!

And now we are leaving HIM behind!! I know, it's only 3 hours up the road, but still. I'm his mom, you know?

We are taking him and his girlfriend out to dinner tonight to celebrate. I'm looking forward to it.

On the other hand, I also have something difficult today. This week a member of my quilter's guild passed away. The funeral is today. So I'll be experiencing both ends of the life spectrum today. It leaves lots of room for contemplation. For all of us, life is a journey. Does it pass us by as we are so busy that we are oblivious to it's wonder? Or do things happen in our lives that make us stop and take notice once in a while as has happened to me the past week or so.



I had a WONDERFUL time with the Cobblestone Quilter's Guild of Charleston, SC on thursday night! I was met at my hotel with a van full of ladies who caravaned me over to Jason's Deli right near the church where the meeting was to be held. I had the most delicious Ruben sandwhich ever....stacked so high with meat I couldn't finish the whole thing! If you have a Jason's Deli near you, you must go. A couple of the other ladies had this gigantic stuffed baked potatoes that looked fabulous. They had yummy soups on the menu, and a great salad bar. Anyone know if there is one of these in the Winston-Salem area?! They are on my new favorite list!

The meeting went great. I had plenty of holders and folders to hold up quilts while I talked about scrap organization and how I squeeze as much as possible out of every scrap I've got, cutting them into useable sizes ahead of time and as I go so that I can just pull a bin or two and sit and sew without having to spend a whole lot of time cutting/pressing before I even get to sew a stitch.

The guild members were so welcoming, especially since I felt a bit intimidated....I was asked to fill in for Pepper Cory who was unable to make it. That was big shoes to fill for me! But it was fun, and I bet lots of ladies are now looking at their scrap piles a bit differently!

The funky quilt top on the curtain is one I have just finished piecing (AND FUSING!!! OH MY!!) for taking to do lectures. It has different sizes of strip widths, bricks and squares, and some of the blocks that I've made using them up....it's called "THE FABRIC FOOD CHAIN!" I've got to get it quilted, but so far there hasn't been time to do so. The borders were just put on thursday (before and after Jeff's car wreck!) out of orphans....fun, huh?

Jeff and the Totalled Toyota....

I just got a call from Jeff about an hour ago...

"mama???"

You know when an almost 18 yr old calls you mama in a terrified little boy voice that something is wrong.

I was informed that he wrecked his car.....he HIT a HUMMER!!!

Nothing like doing it big time!

Luckily the Hummer is fine..it's high enough up off the ground that he just blew the rear tire on it and perhaps dinked the rim. But Jeff's Toyota is folded, crumpled, crunched, warped, and ruined! Whhhaaaaaa!

He is okay. Seatbelt was on, airbags went off. Evidently he was following too closely, she went to make a right turn just as he was picking something up off the floor..a CD? His Phone? He said he just glanced away for a second and before he knew anything he was under her bumper. :c(

Of course his insuance will pay for her damage, but his own car is totalled. He only has collision on his, so we won't get anything out of it other than what we are able to salvage through a wrecker. We will save that and wait til we get up to NC to buy him another. In the mean time he can work and save his money towards it. No sense in buying another car here, paying the state taxes on it, moving to NC and paying taxes on it there again within 2 months. No way.

Someone told me once that many lessons can be taught,but some things just have to be learned. I think this is one of those for Jeff. Don't take your eyes off the road, even for a second! You never know when the person in front of you is going to put on their brakes and make a turn right in front of you, and you can't anticipate that they are going to keep going on down the road the direction you are going. They just might have reached their destination and need to pull off.

My heart rate is slowing down. I'm going to pack the car and get ready to head out to Charleston in a few hours. I left Jeff at the scene when his dad arrived to take over. I figured I didn't need to be there too. Let it be a father & son thing!

Goin' to Charleston!

I'm headed to Charleston this afternoon to do a lecture/trunk show for the Cobblestone Quilter's Guild!

I'm planning on a fun evening. When I was at the state guild retreat (doing massage and working on my own projects) I got to know some of the ladies in their guild, and we had such a good time! I look forward to seeing them again tonight!

I'm meeting up with them at Jason's Deli for dinner before heading over to the meeting place. I'm being pampered! They have booked me a room at the Holiday Inn at Patriot's Point so I don't have to drive all the way home tonight. It's a good thing...after a long day and packing up the car again, driving over a hundred miles at that hour of night is just too much to handle. So I'll stay the night, and head straight to my office for massage clients in the morning. :c) Wish there was time to stay and play, but there just isn't! It will be a quick trip.



I just finished quilting the most lovely blue basket quilt for Julie W! The colors are so soothing, blue against white/cream. I haven't worked on anything of my own this week, so I thought I would share her quilt with you for some eye candy.....who doesn't love baskets?

Winston-Salem, NC Bound!

Well,it's official. DH accepted the offer presented to him. I feel like I'm living in a daze right now. So much to do. And I don't know how fast it will happen. I guess all I can do is take it one day at a time!

Dang, I'm really going to miss the Goodwill Clearance center and the $1.00 a pound cotton shirts! *LOL* I guess I'll have to stock up before the moving van arrives?

I appreciate those in the Winston-Salem vicinity contacting me with info about the area! I'm looking forward to my first house hunting trip up there.

I'm going to tell work that I will continue as a massage therapist until Jan 1st. Maybe a bit longer depending on how soon we can close on a house, etc. It's going to be difficult to bid my clients fare well!

There are so many mixed emotions going through my heart and my head right now. Yep..one day at a time. I'm going to take it one day at a time!

Mmmmmmmm! Granola!

When my friend Randy was here in October to go with me to Quilt Camp at Camp Gravatt, and then on to Charleston for our fun girls weekend, she brought along this yummy home made granola that I fell in love with!

I have since made it twice...and even my son Jeff (who prefers sugary and artificially colored cereals!) loves it!

It's perfect with yogurt, or with milk, sprinkled on top of ice cream or just as a munchie handful! Here's the recipe:

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees f.

Combine in large bowl:
5 cups old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup sunflower seed kernels
1/2 cup toasted almonds (I bought the slivers) or other nuts (walnuts, cashews or pecans are great!)
1/2 cup coconut
3 teaspoons cinnamon
I also add raisins and or craisins or any other dried berries to the mix!

In microwavable container mix:
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup maple syrup

Combine oil, honey, brown sugar, vanilla and maple syrup, heating in microwave to mix. (1 to 2 mins is enough)

Pour warm ingredients over dry and mix to combine.
Spread on large cookie sheet and bake for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Watch for browning.

Allow to cool completely (granola should be dry to the touch and not sticky at this point) and store in air tight container!

Enjoy!

Annual South East Dear Jane (and friends) Retreat, 2007

Now that the whirlwind of finding out who the winner if Cathedral Stars is past...I can finally unpack my car and find my camera and upload the pics from retreat!

Let me tell you that Mansfield Georgia is BEAUTIFUL in November! The drive there from here was lovely. It took me about 3 hours from my house, and the trees are just about in full color. I was in awe at the gorgeous golds, oranges, reds, yellows and various shades of green against a blue blue autumn sky!

The retreat was held at Charlie Elliott Conference center. There was a huge huge room we set up our machines in. The lighting was perfect. The windows overlooked the woods, and on down to a lake below! There are banks of hotel type buildings where we roomed. It couldn't have been better.

Not everyone was working on Dear Jane. Over the years that has kind of evolved into projects of all kinds as others have finished their DJ quilts, but still want to attend and it is more of a "bring your own thing" now! There was one energetic gal, Mary, who was making designer handbags out of the most beautiful upholstery fabrics with wild trims. So fun to watch her work!

I arrived, and upon entering the building for the first time, I was greeted by this welcome mat! Oooohhh! You know it is going to be a good weekend when even the door mats are quilty looking!


Not very many people were there yet, so I had pick of the corner I wanted to sew in. One wonderful thing..the walls were CARPETED so you could just PIN to them for a design wall!! I am so enthused about this idea, I might carpet the walls of my next studio.. :c) I hung my "Nearly Insane" there, hoping that seeing it would motivate me to finishing it sometime in the future too....but it didn't get worked on. Still, I guess it got to breathe outside of the box it's been kept in!



I have been dragging this pink/brown DJ thing to retreats for over 4 years now. Don't you think it's time I got it FINISHED?! Or at least pieced into a completed top? Every time I pull it out and work on it, I love it. But it is so tedious that I just keep pushing it aside for other things at home. I am happy to say that I finished piecing the last two rows of the center while at retreat!

Yes, you got it right. I pieced 17 blocks, and all the sashings and cornerstones that went with them during the retreat...and gave seven massages in between! How's that for productive?! *LOL*



The weekend was filled with the hum of machines, the ring of laughter, all the wonderful things that happen when quilters gather together. I really love the one on one time I get with quilters during the massage sessions. You really get to take time out and get to know someone so much better. These ladies are awesome and inspirational!



Now that I am home....I still have to attach those last two rows to the "Mother Ship" but it may be a while before I pull it out again. We have received the job offer from Corning in Winston-Salem and it is too good to pass up! They will buy our house here, so we are free to buy something else there. They want us moved quickly. We will have to start house hunting right away. My head is in a spin, I can tell you. The benefits so far are better than anything DH has had here....it is like a complete gift horse??

We are still waiting for a reply from the one job that would allow us to stay put. But at this point, staying put doesn't even seem like the best thing to do? Yes, I'll be walking away from my massage practice...and starting over....but compared to the benefits of the job for DH,that is small potatoes. Who knows...maybe I'll have more time on my hands to...QUILT?? :c)

If we don't hear back from Georgia Pacific about the job here by Wednesday, we will accept the Winston-Salem job and move full steam ahead. I would love to hear from anyone in the Winston-Salem area! I know NO ONE there...

AND THE WINNER IS........

Melanie Grimm of Frankfurt, Germany!!

I have emailed Melanie and let her know she is the donation quilt winner! Here are a couple pictures of Dean Linder drawing the winning ticket. I sure wish I could have been there, but at the same time I was glad to be at the DJ retreat...(next post will be about that! I had a GREAT time!)