Oceanside Pier

The day started out quietly enough. We had a lunch date set with our friends Deb and Tom, but there was some time to sew in the morning. My first task was to fix these new N95 masks we purchased. And let me just say I'm glad I haven't put any more effort into making cloth masks. Now we're into these seriously ugly masks...NIOSH approved for extra, extra, extra germ resistance. And that's all fine and dandy, but apparently, the really badass masks all have the elastic that goes around the head. And, I don't know about you, but I hate that. I want the around-the-ear elastic on mine. 

So I studied them briefly and figured out that I could simply pull the two lengths of elastic together, sew them back and forth a few times, and then cut off the excess in the middle.

If you want to do this, I'm going to suggest you make the stitches at a spot a little larger than you think you need. It's easier to make them shorter than it is to make them longer. I just put a pin to hold the two together and then stitched back and forth and back and forth and back again. And that oughta hold it.

And now I'm a happy masker...well, "happy" might be an overstatement, but at least I'm not complaining about that elastic around my head.

After that, I got busy sewing together the Grandma's Thimbles quilt top. I had the top row of thimbles sewn together from the day before.

All the sashings and cornerstones were added to the individual blocks, and so it was pretty quick to sew on the second row...

and then the bottom row.

Now, it just needs two borders, and I'll have a finished quilt top. There should be plenty of time to finish that off today. And I don't know about you, but I like to keep my kitties close while I'm sewing.

From there, we headed out to lunch with our friends. The food was delicious, as always, and we drank a few mai tais while we were there. Then, we headed over to the Oceanside Pier. 

And since I know what a rowdy bunch you are (especially after you've had a couple of mai tais), I figure I should take a minute to point out the rules.

Just to be clear, the police are already here, so mind your manners.

The pigeons greeted us in such numbers, we worried we'd wandered onto the set of a horror flick for a minute.

When they saw us, they called in reinforcements.

They were pretty tame too. Looking for handouts, no doubt.

Somebody was celebrating somewhere.

I can never visit the Oceanside Pier without taking a picture of these cottages. It's my favorite view from the pier. Someday I *swear* I'm going to quilt them.

When we were here last year, we got up a little closer to them so I could take more pictures with more quilting potential. If you're interested, you can see them here. They have the cutest "gingerbread house" roofs. 

And what a treat to see this pelican standing on the pier. He was attracting quite a crowd, and he was none too happy about it.

The paparazzi was following him everywhere. He thought if he walked over here, he might escape the crowd.

But no...they followed him there too.

Finally, he'd had just about enough of our sh*t.

You really shouldn't bother the pelicans. They are mean. We seagulls do like having our pictures taken though.

Hey...all you seagulls! Time for a group shot!

That's Merlin...please excuse him...he thinks he's the boss of us, and he's constantly yelling.

Do you think he wants us in the photo too?

We're told this is the "Top Gun House." You know...from the movie...which I've never seen, so I'm taking the word of my friends for it.

They look trustworthy, don't they?

The tide was out enough I could get under the pier for its Stonehenge shot.

The gulls were still trying to get organized for their group shot. They're an unruly bunch.

From the pier, Tom wanted some of this delicious ice cream. I regret my image of the flavor board didn't turn out, so I can't tell you all the flavors. Trust me, though, there was something for everyone here. I had some sort of salted caramel truffle or something. Mike had coffee chocolate chip. Deb and Tom shared a four-scoop sampler. I forget what all was in it, but there was a yummy banana cream pie flavor that was very much banana-y.

Walking to the ice cream shop, we passed by this pretty hibiscus.

And that was our day. We had a blast. Mike and I took naps when we got back to the RV at 5:00...those mai tais, you know. Deb admitted to me this morning that she'd fallen asleep in her chair at home. Isn't it the best kind of day when you can go from laughing to napping?

Okay, so we're here in Escondido for today and tomorrow, and then we'll be moving along. I'm going to do some more sewing today. I want to finish the Grandma's Thimbles quilt top, and then I believe I'll start sewing together the City Bank blocks. 

I've figured out I don't have to put my sewing machine away every day. There's space near my dining chair for it to sit out when we're parked somewhere. It makes sewing so much easier when I don't have to get everything out and put everything away each day. Also, the cutting I did at home has made quick work of these projects. We'll see how far I get today.