Through Tennessee to Kentucky!

There are some travel days where you can stop and go as you please.

And then there are some where you don’t!

My travel day to Kentucky yesterday was uneventful – and the only times my schedule allowed me to stop were for rest areas or to refuel the van.  No antique malls, no historic areas or museums or beautiful courthouse buildings -

I DROVE like a  mother trucker – Just get me to Louisville with enough time to check in to my hotel, get dinner, set up for my lecture and get it done.

Now, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy the drive.  I LOVE to drive.  And I had all of this gorgeous scenery around me to keep my eyes dazzled.  I had an audio book with an interesting plot line (Broken Harbor by Tana French!) to keep my mind trying to figure out “Who Done It?!”

No airports.  No “Must arrive 1 1/2 hours before departure.  Must fly to Atlanta and deal with a layover.  Then fly into Louisville requiring people to pick me and all of my luggage up.”  Not to mention – I would have had to ship all of these books and other class supplies ahead.

It is a 6 1/2 hour drive from the cabin in Virginia.  It would have taken me longer than that if I had flown from Greensboro.  So driving trip it is!

From Virginia into Tennessee!

And all the while THIS is playing through my head:

Wish that I was on ol' Rocky Top
Down in the Tennessee hills
Ain't no smoggy smoke on Rocky Top
Ain't no telephone bills
Once I had a girl on Rocky Top
Half bear, other half cat
Wild as a mink, but sweet as soda pop
I still dream about that

Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me
Good ol' Rocky Top
Rocky Top, Tennessee
Rocky Top, Tennessee

Once two strangers climbed ol' Rocky Top
Lookin' for a moonshine still
Strangers ain't come down from Rocky Top
Reckon they never will
Corn won't grow at all on Rocky Top
Dirt's too rocky by far
That's why all the folks on Rocky Top
Get their corn from a jar

Rocky Top, you'll always be
Home sweet home to me

Sing it, Dolly!

I made good time crossing the Tennessee line into Kentucky, and got to our event location - the Drury Inn in Louisville with a bit of time to spare.  So happy to see everyone arriving at the check in counter!

Filling in for last night’s event!

It  was a fun crowd – and we are ready for our 3 day event ahead!

Irene and Barb – Owners of The Cozy Quilter!

They have put so much work into this event – and we’ve got 50 quilters for each of our 3 workshops at the Drury Inn in Louisville.  Our workshop space in the conference rooms is fabulous, and the quilters are already downstairs eating breakfast and getting antsy about setting up. I grabbed my breakfast “to go” and came back up here to get this out and get myself ready.

I’m also looking forward to some evening sewing time while I am here – machine at the ready!  And the conference room is open until midnight so the quilters can sew their brains out before bedtime.

And yes, I have some block sets for our new Leader & Ender Challenge, Shoo Fly Shoo with me!  Have you started yet?

This by text from my brother-in-law Kelly!

Quilt where you are! I awoke to find this message from my brother-in-law Kelly in Utah! He didn't tell me this quilters name, but it's nice to know that there are quilters out there saving lives and quilting during the in between times! Way to rock on those bonus triangles!

And as Kelly is a paramedic on life flight helicopters, Midnight Flight is so perfect! #quilterssavelives #thankyou

Quiltville Quote of the Day-

Vintage Ocean Waves quilt found in North Carolina.

This is your journey! What will you do today that your future self would be proud of?

It’s also July 11th, or as we grew up calling it Slurpee Day!

7-Eleven is giving away free Slurpees on July 11. The tradition has been around for well over a decade, with the first 7-Eleven Day taking place back in 2002 as a way to celebrate the convenience store's 75th birthday. Come 2019, the store is the ripe old age of 92 and you can once again get a free cold drink in honor of the occasion.

So as to rein in the chaos, there are a few rules you should be aware of, starting with the time limits. It's easy enough to remember: Free Slurpees are available while supplies last between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.TODAY. Sensing a theme here? 

There's a limit of one Slurpee per customer, per location...so if you feel like driving over to the next 7-Eleven for another 12-ounce cherry/Coke/blueberry lemonade drink, no one will stop you...however, you may want to stick to one.

Have a wonderful Slurpee Day, everyone!