Africa

We just got back from a trip to Africa.  Oh my goodness.  It was better than I ever expected.  We stayed at three different camps in Botswana.  On our way to King's Pool, the first camp, we saw these guys.

Impala, lots of them.

This was our room.  Look at that mosquito netting.  Just like the movies.    

Here's the bathroom.  Most of the walls are just screening.  We had to lock everything in our rooms in a large wardrobe.  Sometimes the baboons break in and steal things.

And the patio looking out on the river.

And in the river 

Not the best picture ever, but those are hippos looking in at us.

Sawtooth Rail Fence

After sewing all those little triangles together, here is the next step.  

Dark strips on the dark sides of the triangle sets. And then, 

light strips on the light side.  That gives you a completed block. Next is sewing the blocks together.

A dark strip horizontal, then vertical.  

The next row starts with a dark vertical, then horizontal.  I hope that makes some sort of sense. I had to be very careful not to sew them together the wrong way.  

I'm doing six sets of 20 blocks, then I will sew the sets together. It's a little more manageable that way.

Alex Cross, Run

Alex Cross, Run by James Patterson

From the Goodreads website:

"Kill Alex Cross was "Patterson at the top of his game" (Washington Post).Alex Cross, Run is even better. DON'T LOOK, ALEX CROSS Top plastic surgeon Elijah Creem is renowned for his skills in the operating room, and for his wild, no-expense-spared "industry parties," bringing in underage exotic dancers and models for nights of drugs, champagne, and uninhibited sex. That is, until Detective Alex Cross busts one of Creem's lavish soirees and ruins his fun. Now Creem is willing to do anything to avoid going to jail. DON'T THINK, ALEX CROSS But Alex doesn't have time to dwell on that case. A beautiful woman has been found murdered in her car, a lock of her hair viciously ripped off. Then a second woman is found hanging from a sixth-floor window with a brutal scar slashed across her stomach. When a third mutilated body is discovered, rumors of three serial killers on the loose send Washington D.C. into an all-out frenzy. JUST RUN Alex is under so much pressure to solve these three grim cases that he hasn't noticed that someone else investigating him-someone so obsessed and so twisted that they'll do anything-ANYTHING- to get the vengeance they require. Alex Cross, Run is James Patterson's most unrelenting story yet-a white-hot, sensational thrill ride with the most extreme and gripping characters Patterson has ever brought to life."

If you are an Alex Cross fan, this is a great book.

Key West

This winter has been cold and snowy and we really needed some sunshine and a few days of someplace warm.  I think this fits the bill.

This is the view from our hotel room in Key West.  We spent four lovely days there.  

One of the things we did was wander through the Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.  Butterflies and tropical birds were flitting all over.

We ate fabulous food and sipped drinks on the beach.  Finally, a piece of Key Lime Pie that I actually liked.

It's impossible to be grumpy sitting in a fish chair.

I think we'll be back next winter.

Scrubbies

Our quilt guild, The Stonehouse Quilters, has a quilt show each year.  We have a boutique and I made these scrubbies.

 

You can have a little smile while you're scrubbing your pots and pans.

I just found out that they are also great for cleaning your rotary cutting mat.  Who knew?

 

The quilt show is March 29 and March 30 at the Prince William County Fairgrounds.  There should be about 200 quilts there.