My Excellent Quilting Adventure

Today I drove to Tacoma, Washington, and the University of Puget Sound for the 2014 Association of Pacific West Quilters Symposium. My trip up was uneventful...even the traffic was mostly cooperative. I've been listening to The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, and that kept me company on the three-hour drive. (Good book, by the way.) On the way, I visited a quilt shop in Vancouver, Washington, but I'll tell you about that in a separate post. For now, I want to tell you about my digs here at the university.

It was a little confusing when I checked in, but we got 'er done eventually. And may I just say I'm feeling very official with not one, but two, lanyards.

It was a bit of a hike to Commencement Hall, where my dorm room is. The building is brand new. I'm not sure my room has ever been used by a student.

It's hot as can be, and of course, I was dragging all my crap. Sewing machines are stored elsewhere with tags, and those will be made available in the classrooms on the proper days. As it turns out, I won't need mine until Sunday. Pfelicity and I hugged and said good-bye. We only shed a few tears upon parting. (I hope that wasn't a mistake, but the registration ladies seemed intent on separating us. I had enough crap to drag along, and so I only threw a partial tantrum. And, yes, I'm making it sound worse than it is.)

Anyway, I was sweating like a pig by the time I got everything to my room. Fortunately, I brought several bottles of water (since I'm very picky about the water I drink), and there was a bottle in my room, along with a small box of chocolates. The chocolates make up for the heat...although they are noticeably softened by it.

When you open the door to my room, this is what you see (although it is decidedly messier now that I've been living here for all of ten minutes):

And when you stand next to the window and look back the other way, this is what you see:

This is what you see when you look out my window.

I'm on the fourth floor, and that's my window...it's the one thrown open wide to let in some freaking air. No, there is no air-conditioning.

I should say right here that the whole dorm experience is a total gas for me. (Yes, I'm easily amused.) Even though I went to college for approximately 967 years and attended college on no less than three campuses, I never actually lived on campus. I've always felt as if I missed out on something. I'll get a little taste of it on this trip. And may I just say that meals are included...bad ones. Dinner was utterly unappealing. Even the desserts couldn't tempt me, and that's saying something. I guess the chocolates will have to do the heavy lifting on this trip. I did steal back to my room with a banana in case I get hungry. It's pretty hard for even a bad cook to mess up a banana.

Once I was settled into my room, I dug into the goodie bag I was given when I arrived. Cool stuff! I like all the freebies I've been given so far, meals aside.

This is where we are eating our meals. It's a short trek from the dorm.

Did I already say that the University of Puget Sound is a beautiful campus? The first thing I noticed was the trees. Take a look at this fantastic sequoia:

There are lots of tall evergreens everywhere you look.

After my (ahem) delicious dinner, I walked around a bit taking pictures.

This building below is the library.

So that's about all I have to tell you for today. I just got back from a "Meet the Instructors" gathering. After listening to all of them, I decided I wanted to take ALL the classes. Nevertheless, I'm happy with the ones I've signed up for, and it's what I most need to learn...all about art and design...a subject about which I have almost no knowledge at all.

Classes start tomorrow, and I'll have lots more to tell you then. Also, at some point, I'll tell you about the quilt shop I visited. For now, I think I'll give my neck a rest and try to stay cool. Heck, I might even go out for a walk.