2/11/18

Finishes All Around

We've had a lengthy discussion spanning the past week about the future of our trip. Now that we're on the western side of Texas, we're moving into territory we've seen many times. Of course, there is still much we haven't seen, and much we want to see. Nevertheless, the weather kind of helped us make our decision. Here is the forecast in Lubbock for today.


Now, we understand that it is winter all over the Northern Hemisphere. But wouldn't you think we could get through Texas and Florida without needing to wear our winter woollies? So, to describe days of planning in a few words, we're heading to the Pacific Coast after visiting a couple of spots in the Texas panhandle, and bagging the rest of the west in favor of the warm weather we know we'll find in Hemet, California.

You know we came to Lubbock for the sole purpose of fixing our front landing gear. Mike thought it would be a two-day job but, like a champion, he finished it in three hours yesterday! Yahoo!

Also, he fixed our coffee maker, which took a dive off the counter top when we forgot to bungee it down a few weeks ago. It's one of those expensive espresso machines, and we love it. When I opened the door to the RV after a particularly bumpy ride one day, I noticed dark spots all over the floor. What the....? Then I realized they were coffee beans and I knew instantly what had happened. Of course, I did the sensible thing and shut the door immediately. If I can't see it, it didn't happen, right? Then I did the next most sensible thing I could think of...I went around to where Mike was standing and said, "It's a tragedy. It's bad."

"What?!?" He asked, looking alarmed.

"The coffee machine...we forgot to bungee it down." He looked as stricken as I felt. We're serious about our coffee.


We've had our machine for about 15 years, and so it isn't quite as flashy as the one in the image above. I'm picturing it here so you can understand the repair. As it turns out, the machine is particularly well made...which explains why it was so danged expensive. Parts of it snap on and snap off, and those parts had become separated from the main part of the machine. We were able to simply snap those back into place. Then we tried to make a cup of coffee with it. Everything seemed in working order, except that the coffee dribbled out in all directions instead of following the flow of gravity straight into the cup. We both made sad faces.

In the meantime, we've been making coffee with a conventional machine, but we've missed the convenience of our espresso machine that makes coffee one cup at a time, grinding the beans, dispensing a cup of coffee, and then dumping the grinds into its own hopper, readying itself for the next cup. Mike thought he could repair the espresso machine, but he needed a special tool that allowed him to open it up. We had that delivered here to the park in Lubbock. When he opened the machine yesterday, it seemed as if everything was working properly, but he noticed that there were grounds all over the inside of the machine...obviously collected from many years of use. With that in mind, he ran pipe cleaners through its plumbing and voila! It started making coffee again.


So, yes. I happen to be drinking a cup as I write this post...and I'm a happy woman....and my eyes are wide open. Mike is my hero.

Okay, so what about the finishes, you ask. As if that weren't enough. While he was out fixing the landing gear, I was inside finishing the Meowvelous Mini quilt. It was about 2/3 quilted, and I finished that off. While we were in Austin, I visited a Jo-Ann store to get some batting. I'd brought scraps along, but when I pieced them together, it wasn't large enough, and so I needed more. While I was there, I picked up a spool of green thread, thinking I'd use green thread to hand stitch the green binding. Only...I wasn't thinking, and I got one of those little 110 meter spools, then realized I barely had enough for quilting it. With that in mind, I used the green thread on the quilt top:


And white in my bobbin. It turned out to be a good choice.


It took me about half an hour to finish the quilting, and then I sewed together the binding strips and stitched them to the quilt.


From there, just the hand-stitching was left, and my little quilt was finished.


Here's how it looks from the back.


The kitties were, of course, jumping with enthusiasm at the prospect of another quilt just for them.



Now it's washed and lying next to our bedroom window. Both kitties have walked on it, but so far, nobody has napped there. I'm thinking that will probably happen today. It's a sunny spot in the morning. Finishing just the quilt top was my February goal for:


Now it's a finished quilt. I'll link up when the time comes.

As for the remainder of our stay here in Lubbock, my friend Caro suggested there was a brand new quilt museum in Lubbock. I've Googled that, and didn't find a "quilt museum." However, I did find a quilt exhibit at the Museum of Texas Tech University entitled, Today's Quilts: Art in Stitches. The museum is closed on Mondays, and so we'll pay them a visit today to see the quilts. Also, we're going to visit the National Ranching Heritage Center. I mentioned it in yesterday's post, and I've done some reading about it since then. It sounds very interesting. Not sure if we'll get there today or tomorrow, but it's on our radar screen.

20 comments:

Tilly said...

Love your quilt,the kitties will be very happy.
Greetings Tilly

The Cozy Quilter said...

Nice finish! The quilt exhibit sounds interesting. Have fun!

gpc said...

Good grief, it is warmer here in mid-Michigan today! True, we have 6 inches of snow, but it's a balmy 20 degrees. Winter: you can run, but you can't hide.

Vroomans' Quilts said...

HA - You can run but can't hide! So true with this winter for so many. We had 16 inches of snow with that cold weather - today will be in the 40's - heat wave and windows will be cracked for a while. A finish while on the road is super! Enjoy what ever travels you chose.

Vicki said...

Yikes! Quite a suspenseful tale of your coffee emergency. Glad you have a resident engineer on board and two helpful kitties.

Dorothy said...

What a keeper Mike is !!!! Kitty quilt is very cute

quiltzyx said...

Hurrah for Mike for the espresso machine fix! Funny how I never think of PIPE CLEANERS for actually cleaning PIPES- only for crafting! Hah!!

Great finish on the mini block quilt. My machine hasn't been let out of the travel cart since I took a FMQ guild workshop in...November? Oy.

Smitty & Sadie are so beautiful in their nap poses. Give 'em extra skritches from me. Maybe I can work something out to make it to Hemet while you're there & meet all y'all in person.

Quilting Babcia said...

So good that your espresso machine is functional again. My Krups didn't survive DH's last attempt at a repair but then it lasted almost 10 years and I only paid $12 for it. I'd love to find another just like it. Great little finish, maybe it needs to be broken in on the catio so it takes on an air of familiarity before moving to the bedroom area.

Lynette said...

You make me laugh so much with your kitty humor. :) I bet you're loving the flexibility of RV travel and being able to skip over to California! It's cold like that here, too, right now.

CathieJ said...

What a pretty quilt. So glad that Mike is so handy at fixing things. My husband has recently become Mr Fix-it around here since he found that he can find a You-tube video for most repairs.

QuiltShopGal said...

Sorry you guys are experiencing cold weather in Texas. I'll confess I'm in Arizona and thoroughly enjoying their "perfect" weather (not too warm, not too cold, comfortable to be outside late at night). So, I hope as you head west and pass thru Arizona you guys get time to slow down, enjoy the area and great weather. Of course, I'm also happy that you are heading towards California. Good job to Handyman Mike for fixing the pro-coffee machine (I think I need to buy such for my DH). We did have a similar experience where a non-alcoholic bottle of rose hip juice I bought in BC exploded in our galley and it was difficult for me to explain to my DH. Made a mess and stained the teak. Repair work is still not completed. Congratulations to you for another finish. Great job too!

Brown Family said...

I am glad the repairs did not take too long. It is always good to repair a favorite appliance rather then having to buy a new one.

The kitty quilt came out well! I can see the kitties are very excited!

You know tomorrow may be back in the 50's and 70's the day after. I hope you have good weather for the Cap Rock State Park.

Sandra W said...

Your quilt is lovely. I don't know how you managed all that quilting in 1 and 1/2 hours! You are very fast and it looks like a job well done.
You mentioned modifying your trip plans. I know you're doing something different (and warmer) but can't remember the original plan.
Wind turbines!!! Don't get me started on them. Good in theory until they get erected near farms and towns.
The ones in Ontario produce electricity at a cost of about 14 cents a kilowatt hr. This gives us a surplus which we sell to the U.S. for about 4 cents a kilowatt hr. Meanwhile, in Ontario we pay the highest electrical rates in Canada.
Farmers complain that the sonic sound makes them sick, vibrates their houses, affects the ground water, and on and on. If you live near a turbine (ie within 1 k. (5/8 of a mile) your taxes get reduced, reflecting a loss in value. Some of the turbines have caught on fire. Others have folded over. Ontario mandated the erection of turbines without provincial/community input. Like I said--don't get me going on turbines. Most people are very uninformed about them. They are probably fine in Tx--out in the middle of nowhere--where they belong.

Sandra W said...

BTW--pipe cleaners are great for cleaning sewing machines.

piecefulwendy said...

Yay for Mike, the man of the day, for fixing the espresso machine! I think I want one of those. One needs their coffee, and it must be good coffee. Thank you. :-) The little mini quilt turned out lovely, especially with that yummy polka dot backing! I'm sure the kitties will find it a very comfy quilt to nap on in the sun. I don't blame you for heading to warmer climes. Safe travels!

Quilter Kathy said...

Send Mike over... I have a list! A very long list! LOL
I have those little blocks waiting to become something.
Great finish!

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

My sister in law called today. She says it's been warm and no rain in Albuquerque all winter.

Frédérique - Quilting Patchwork Appliqué said...

That's a beautiful quilt for your furry little friends! Very beautiful cats by the way

Patty said...

Your quilt came out beautiful. Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and congrats on your finish.

SJSM said...

Coffee! Must start the day with coffee! A few years ago we bought a Jura with some whistles and bells. We don’t often make milk drinks but when we do, aaaahhhh! What a treat. In think ing of getting a trailer we both stated a mini version similar to the one pictured was a necessity. It sure spoils you and makes you a coffee snob. When we travel we now bring home beans as a souvenir. Our friends bring home beans for us, too. It is always appreciated and used. You may be almost home now. If so, the rains have finally come to Northern California. I hope you are able to stay dry and snug in you set up. It may cause you to high tail it home or move to a dryer place. Enjoy wherever you are. Can’t wait to hear of the kitties realization of finding HOME at the end of the trail.