Beginner Bag Class

My friend Trudi and I decided to take a bag class 

at

Cindy-rellas Quilt Store

this week!

It was a beginner bag so it was not supposed to have the cork

but

I WANTED cork and handles on mine!

So I winged it and finished it at home!

This was a free pattern on Emmaline Bags online.

She is a fabulous Canadian company that sells bag hardware and bling! 

Like this...

This bag uses the wire inserts to get a wide opening on this purse!

Thanks for the fun, Trudi, Cindy and the girls from Hungary.

They were stellar beginners, that's for sure!

Christa

End of Days in Florida

We still had 3 days left of vacation in Florida!

Universal Studios, anyone??

Arnold's sister, Anita and husband Bill were staying in Florida for the month

So we fought the crowds and had some good rides!!

I also wanted to check our a new store

 I follow on Instagram called Oceans of Thread.

It just opened in January in Deland, Florida.

Anita, Arnold and I went on a road trip.

To my disappointment and Arnold's elation...

it was closed.

We came, we saw and looked in the window,

 then...

  went for lunch.

We found an amazing family restaurant

 called 

Cook's Buffet

This is a family who started it way back in 1959.

Worth a try if you are ever in the area!

The day was not a total write off ...

We stopped by Blue Spring Park to see the manatee.

There was a count of 375 that day!

The water was so clear you could see every fish and mantatee.

That was a wrap!

Back home to get ready for calving!

Thanks to Justin for holding down the fort

and

looking after all the critters!

Let the games begin...

(aka calving)

Christa

Last Days of Sailing the Open Seas

I knew our vacation days were numbered

when

this little snowman was on our bed one morning.

Really??

 You needed to remind me what I am going home to??

With two sea days left before debarkation,

Arnold and I decided to enter a slot tournament.

Well...

Winner, winner, Chicken Dinner

We both qualified for the final. 

Arnold ended up with second and I got 5th.

We received two seats to the 100K tournament on a ship in June, 2020.

The seats are worth 500$ each but I can't see us getting away for that!

Cheap seats....just have to pay for another cruise!

They should reverse that....I 'll pay for the seats... the cruise is free!!

They had a midnight buffet on one of these days.

We were still stuffed from supper but went to check out all the chefs carvings.

Everything was made out of food

Those are some amazing knife skills

The ice carvings were impressive as well

Two weeks on the ship flew by

I thought it would be an mammoth amount of time 

but before you know it....

It was time to hop off the ship!

I will miss the midnight flatbread pizza, 

Movies on the deck...day or night!!

Our afternoon naps...

Our shared suppers with Cecil and Pat from Kentucky

It was a fabulous adventure. 

Till we cruise again...

next year.

Christa 

Tortolla

Tortolla was our final stop before two sea days.

I wanted to go Virgin Gorda to see the Baths

But I had procrastinated too long and we didn't have the time to book.

Instead, we took a cab around the island. 

The waters and the views were spectacular.

Look how little our ship looks.

I also wish I had wore my bathing suit as we went to a beautiful warm beach. 

This sign was at the beach.

All the important places listed like Manchester, Istanbul, and the Tola Brewery!

Even Winnipeg!!

Only 4511 km to Winnipeg!

What a small world!

Christa 

St Martens

We were really looking forward to our excursion on this island!

It was a ski lift and culinary tour!

This ski lift is new to the island

This was the first time it was offered as an excursion. 

The views were amazing.

We picked up one of the workers and Penne Pendleton from Texas.

Penne's husband went on a Harley tour instead.

You could see islands we had been to recently. 

It put a new perspective on this airport!

Better hit the pavement or it will be water!!

You could take the zip line down for a 2 minute trip...

or 

a inner tube on green carpet 

We chose to take the quiet half hour trip back down on the chair lift.

Lunch started as soon as we got to the bottom.

There were only 11 of us who took this excursion.

The food experience began at Emilio's

It was a shared table in the bottom of a winery.

It was rich with historic artifacts found on the estate.

This was our excited Chef.

His first Chef's table!

We started with shrimp

followed by Octopus salad

A palette cleanser of limoncello sorbet

Filet Mignon, pureed potato and roasted veggies

And a delightful mousse with edible pansy!

This was the proud owner who was also happy to see us come experience his new venture!

These were past owners of the estate

It was a really nice day to spend chatting with strangers. 

Three of the men were retired Navy.

They didn't know each other

but

 they started sharing stories of their experiences.

I tell you.

We are raising woosies these days.

As they reminised about their boot camp days,

I could not help but think about grateful I am for the freedoms we have. 

One man talked about how he was only a couple of months from being released,

 when the Vietman War broke out. 

They told him he would have to just finish his months there 

but 

instead...tacked on another 5 years to his duty.

Another told of how their platoon was told if they graduated with honors,

they would get to go the movies.

They graduated with honors, 

were taken down to the movies, 

all excited to see the show!!

When they got to the theater,

 they were told nothing was ever said about actually seeing movie.

They never got to see the movie.

They all agreed it was a different and very tough time in their lives.

I can only imagine.

Thank you to all vetrans for your dedication for our freedom.

Much appreciated!

Christa