Escondido, California

Good morning, my friends! We're back in civilization...as long as you're talking about the internet. I can't speak for the rest of the world, but I'm taking notes, and I'll report back on my findings in a day or two. For now, I can upload pictures reliably again, so I'm a happy camper AND a happy blogger. 

We had only about 40 miles to drive yesterday, and so we stayed at Lake Skinner until around noon. We couldn't check into this new park until 1:00 p.m., and our timing was pretty much perfect. Before leaving, I had some extra time to work on my slow stitching, and I filled in my hoop.

Now I've moved my hoop. I'm about halfway through this one. I like this design.

Also, it seems a good time to say that the 2022 "stitched inchies" project is posted on the Crabapple Hill Studios website now. You can find the pdf pattern, supply list, and instructions right here. This is one of my favorite stitch-alongs, and I'm so happy she's doing it again. She's calling this year's project "The Neighborhood," and it's all made up of bird houses. And you know I love bird houses.

I brought supplies from home to get me started. I might decide to pick up a different fabric. A friend is printing the pattern for me, and now I'm excited to get started in February. Here are the quilts I've made from this stitch-along in previous years.

The first two years, I stayed pretty close to her design.

Last year's project was done a little differently, but I winged it and made another small quilt.

If you check in on the pattern for this year, you'll see she did it like last year. I already have an idea for how to do mine, using up all those felt squares I purchased earlier this year. We'll see how it goes. For now, I'm just excited for February 1st to arrive so we can get started. Oh yes, and don't forget, it'll be the day I can reveal my quilt for The Endeavourers challenge. It seems like February 1st is going to be a red letter day.

Okay, but let's get back to our drive from yesterday, shall we? Leaving Temecula, we passed by orange groves...

and grape vines. Temecula is Southern California's wine country, and they have capitalized on the marketing opportunities that presents.

We got a chuckle out of what you see below. We've been saying all along that driving laws in California are mere suggestions. (And I'm sorry for picking on you, California, but honestly...you guys drive crazy down here.) Anyway...apparently you are given the option of violating the red light if you're willing to pay the $357 fine. No whining. Just letting you know the consequences of the choices you make. Also...wear a mask.

I wish I could have gotten a better picture of this building. I'm thinking this tile roof was designed by a quilter.

Okay, so we headed south on Interstate 15 to our final destination. Pretty smooth sailing, and nice weather...warm and dry. I wore short sleeves for the first time yesterday.

I wanted to tell you something about this rugged southern California landscape. For this, I'll turn the blog over to someone I met while consulting The Google. This gentleman, Bill Walker, tells me he's been "studying the earth sciences my entire life." And according to Mr. Walker,  "You’re seeing exposed granitic rock that’s undergone arid-climate weathering. 

"The granite is there because 100–120 million years ago, a tectonic plate under the Pacific Ocean was being forced (subducted) under the North American continent. As the ocean floor was forced down to depths of hundreds of miles, it melted. This molten rock rose upwards towards the surface through layers of rock. Some of it may have erupted through volcanoes, but most of it slowly cooled miles underground in huge masses called plutons, gradually turning into granitic rocks.

"Tens of millions of years later the region was uplifted many thousands of feet. This allowed erosion to gradually remove the miles of rock overhead, eventually leaving the granitic rock exposed to the elements. The various types of granitic rock, such as granite, granodiorite, etc. tend to be massive in structure. That means that cracks (“joints”) are far apart and the rock tends to split into boulders rather than small fragments. Arid-climate weathering then tends to make the boulders rounded.

"That’s how we got today’s landscape in this corner of California." Thank you, Mr. Walker.

Where Mike grew up, there were rocks like this all around his parents' property. He liked one particular rock that had a large flat top, and he liked to lie there sunning himself like a lizard. I can remember going to his house once, and his Mom told me where he was: "He's out sunning himself like a lizard on a flat rock," and I knew right where to look.

Also, here's the object of our desire in southern California...delicious avocados. Below, you can see a grove growing on one of the hillsides. We picked up a whole bag of delicious, ripe, buttery avocados for about $5 last time we were down. We know a place, and that will be at the top of our list over the next few days.

Okay, and so we're checked into the RV park. It's a pretty nice one. We're withholding judgment, but it holds promise as our new "The Place," in southern California. We're close to Interstate 15, but far enough away that the noise is barely audible. And yesterday, I tried an Amazon locker for the first time. I ordered an electric juicer online and had it delivered to an Amazon locker near the RV park. It's close enough that I can walk if I want to. It was slick. They sent me an email with a bar code. I simply scanned the bar code on the "locker" device, and a door popped open, revealing my juicer. Cool! This is the one I got.

I have a juicer at home that I like, and I considered bringing it along, and then didn't. Mike drank up all the lemonade I brought from home, and so we decided to add one to the RV as a permanent resident. This isn't the same one I have at home, but I like it just as much. And, of course, we needed lemons if we're going to make lemonade, right? And it just so happened there was a grocery store right across the street.

In about five minutes, I'd juiced all the juice I needed for lemonade. We didn't have anything to put it in, and so we emptied out a nearly-empty jug of orange juice and used that. Oh yes, and pay no attention to the "no added sugar" label. What's true for orange juice, is not true for lemonade.

And then we had our fave Kentucky Lemonade, which consists of a shot of bourbon and then filling the glass with lemonade. I had already consumed about half of mine when I took this picture. I'm not a fan of bourbon, but I do like it in this drink.

And that was a tasty way to end the day.

Today we're having lunch with the same bunch we've been camping with. It'll be the first chance we've had to see Tom and Deb, whose RV broke down on the way to our camping trip. Bummer. Deb is printing the Crabapple Hill pattern (mentioned above) for me, and that will short circuit my prep time considerably. To print, we have to take things to Staples. It should be easy, but it never is, and so I'm imposing on my friends. I have a quilt for her too...it seems a fair exchange. 

Tomorrow I'll be visiting some quilt shops with my other Debi friend who is part owner in one of the Escondido shops. And so you can see our social calendar is already filling up. I'm afraid Thursday will need to be a grocery shopping day, but I'm clearing some time for a sewing day too. I've missed my sewing machine, and I'm hoping to get back to it in the next couple of days. I need to get going on my January OMG, which is to make the ten French Roses blocks I brought along.

Okay...so I think I've blathered on long enough. Until tomorrow...stay safe and stay healthy.