Coastal Cranberry
Do you have someone in your life who is just incredibly full of life, absolutely hilarious and just a privilege to know just because you know that just having them in the world makes it *that* much better? Last Wednesday I said goodbye to my friend Judy and I sort of feel like the world is a little dimmer without her in it. My friend Brenda Lou blogged about her and it sums her up perfectly, the pictures she posted are so amazingly Judy. She also spoke at her service and I'm so glad she did. <3<3<3<3
Chop & I don't visit Eureka very often, it's a really emotional place for me. It's where I learned how to quilt and met amazing friends. It's where Chop & I decided to get married. It's where I went to college and then dropped out. It's where I learned I need the sunshine more than I ever realized. It's where I learned that there are some things I just can't see on a daily basis. Going there always sort of stirs up all these emotions in me.
Seeing my friends was absolutely fantastic, Judy *loved* tea parties so after her service the quilting ladies threw a tea party in her honor. They all wore pearls, long gloves, fancy dresses and prepared little sandwiches, it was incredible. I wore a cat dress. And a sweater. Because I forgot how dang cold it is on the coast!
After the tea party we walked around Old Town, my friend Katie suggested two shops: Yarn & North Coast Knittery. If there was ever a time for retail therapy, this was it. I got a skein of Madelinetosh Sock in Black Velvet and a skein of Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere in Cranberry Ice. As I was looking at them I realized I must have had cranberry sauce on the brain because both skeins are different, yet the same! Isn't it funny how our minds gravitate towards a color but in different variations?!
We had a great dinner out with my friends Liz & Larissa, followed by ice cream in Arcata. This trip was so much food! SO MUCH! But one place, omg. Larissa mentioned a new ice cream shop in Eureka called Living the Dream and holy smokes! The flavors! THE FLAVORS!!!!! Avocado gelato! Siracha! Miso!Tomato Basil Sorbet (I had this one! amazing!) Humboldt Smokehouse Bacon (Chop had that one!).
It was so, so, so nice to see my friends, I can't say that enough. Even though I "see" them daily on facebook, it's so different than when I'd sew with them twice a week. I miss having that sense of belonging for sure. They welcomed me into their group, taught me literally EVERYTHING about quilting, encouraged me and just are great people.
On our way home we took something Chop & I refer to as "the owl drive". Ironically here in Gridley we also have an "owl drive", the one here we see barn owls & great horned owls. The coastal version we'd see short eared owls. We used to drive out there and sit up high on this cliff over looking the ocean and just talk. I'd mostly cry (it was truly a rough time in my life) and he'd hold onto me. I tend to do my best thinking in the car, surrounded by nature. I think it makes me feel small and helps put things into perspective, does that make sense? This time the drive was quiet, I thought about how drastically my life had changed in four years, about my friend Judy, about my husband. It was a good drive. We went down on the beach and walked in the sand.
I worked a little bit on my Cameo, it's the perfect car knitting, very relaxing. I haven't worked on it since then because we are gearing up to launch our two new clubs: The 12 Days of Christmas & Christmas on Gingerbread Lane! It feels so good to just sit on the couch and stitch away. Also! New albums came out on Tuesday that I've been looking forward too! I can't stop listening to The Magpie and the Dandelion and Let's Be Still, I think I love Let's Be Still more right now but that could change. Also, last winter one of my friends burned me a mixed cd and it had a few Bon Iver songs on it, so I also got For Emma, Forever Ago. I think of the bunch, that's the best for cross stitching too. But it's been out for a million years ago clearly, I'm the last to know. ;) (also, these are amazon affiliate links! But remember, I only link to things I actually buy and like.)
I'm going to go back to stitching now, I'm in the process of finishing this project by Friday. I haven't decided what I'll do with it yet, I thought about having it framed but people in our Stitch-a-Long Group have been posting the cutest wall hangings and pillows from their projects so I might do that. :)