Hiking with Friends!

This is a family photo heavy post!  But be sure you make it to the bottom for a Quilt-Cam announcement and a special sale going on!

The Blue Ridge Mountains are full of places to walk and hike, enjoy beautiful scenery, vast and distant vistas, plummeting waterfalls, and the amazing sounds of nature all while wrapping me in a sense of peace that I have yet to find anywhere else.

With family and friends here for the holiday weekend, we gook advantage of the unbelievably warm temps in the low 60s to load up the van with 6 grown ups and a little brown dog and head out onto the Blue Ridge Parkway for some hiking through this beautiful place, and take time out for what is likely to be the last great picnic of the year.

I am so glad we did!

Our first stop on the park way was to one of our favorite overlooks:

I love sharing this place with friends!

Not that the elevation is anything to write home about –I giggled to myself reminding myself of how it felt in Cusco, Peru at elevations close to 12,000 feet above sea level.  But we are not comparing heights here.  We are appreciating the view!

There are many things that I definitely do not like about winter.  I’m not a fan of cold.  I don’t like scraping ice off of my windshield.  I miss long hikes when the weather is fair.  But one thing I DO love about winter is all of the things that you can finally see once the leaves are down….You can see THROUGH the bare trees to see what you can’t see when everything is leafy and green.

Waterfalls are our theme this weekend!

And this guy, my eldest!

Oh how I love him!

We were lucky that Jason was able to join us on Wednesday night, driving up from Columbia, SC after his shift was over, and he stayed with us until yesterday evening.  Such a ham!  But I am so proud of him! Younger son Jeff had to leave Thanksgiving evening for his job.  And we just do what we can with what they are able to do with their lives.

And though I missed Jeff, and wished I had more time with him, my gratitude muse kicks in and reminds me of how grateful I am that they are both gainfully employed tax paying citizens!

Cascade Falls!

Father and son on the bridge.

Blue skies through bare trees.

Again, the temperature was amazing for Thanksgiving weekend!

Jason hamming it up at the top of Mt Jefferson.

Grandfather and Grandson with an amazing view below.

This one should be your header photo, son!

Thanks for coming to spend the holiday with us!

Irene and her hubby Dave!

Time spent with dad is so precious! 

I’ve loved having him here too!

And yes there has been quilting involved!

When Irene and I were planning this weekend, figuring out what meals to fix, who was doing what, etc – I told her to plan on handwork so that we could enjoy movies and relax.  We’ve been in a binding frenzy and she finished the binding on her Garden Party Quilt last night!  Isn’t it gorgeous with the cheddar chains?  Pattern from the May/June 2015 Quiltmaker Magazine, and making an appearance in my next book due out September 2016!  ((It is feeling SO much closer now that we are closer to 2016!))

25% off on all digital pattern downloads!

Nov 27th – Dec 4!

Use code: digital25 at checkout HERE.

This morning we are all going our different ways – Irene and Dave are driving back to Louisville, KY and hitting the road at the same time I am taking dad back to the airport in Greensboro to start his long journey back home to Phoenix.  I hope to be seeing him again in February and we are making plans to weave a short visit in between some traveling teaching dates.

I’ll be back home to take care of some things on the home front for a couple of days, and I’m sticking in some QUILT-CAM time tomorrow afternoon, Sunday, Nov 29th at 2pm Eastern!!

I’ll talk about our mystery for those who are having questions about clue #1.  We’ll talk about all things quilty and scrappy and life in general.

Mark your calendars and be ready to come sew with me!

I’ll catch you then!

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