It has been a busy time since I last checked in here. We had a quick trip to the CA bay area to spend time with family and to attend Paige’s second birthday party. She was basically ambivalent about her quilt, but Mom and Dad liked it! She is two, after all. We enjoyed the drive in our very efficient Prius. We would fill it up with 12 gallons of gas and then be able to drive for over 500 miles. We enjoyed the satellite radio in the areas of Oregon and California where the reception is not very good. The voice activated navigation is having a hard time understanding us. Have to work on that.

We came back yesterday because we have so much to do to get ready for our move. I did the random number generator for my art giveaway.

#26 – Fitzy gets first choice of the 3 pieces. Let me know soon and send me your snail mail address.

#34 – Diane English gets second choice. I will let you know which two are available as soon as Fitzy makes a selection.

#21 – Jen Page, my niece gets the third piece. I will send you whatever is left!!

The night before we left on our trip, Mr C and I had dinner with two of the Twelves. Deborah Boschart and her family spent spring break here in the northwest and Terry and her husband joined all of us for a fun night.

Here are some photos from our trip.

A pile of Lisa’s latest book, Whatever You are, Be a Good One, a compilation of hand lettered and illustrated quotes. I got to bring one home with me.

Here is Paige with her handsome Daddy.

A daredevil on the swings!

Lighting the candles on the cake. She had a joint party with her buddy, Clark, who lives on their street.

On the drive home, we saw a rainbow, but didn’t find the pot of gold.

I did manage to get a photo of the crayon trucks on i-5 in Northern California. I usually see them too late and am not ready with the camera, but this time, I did it.

We are not able to put in hardwood floors in the condo because of noise issues. So, today, we ventured out to look at carpet options. We found a new type, SmartStrand, which is made from corn and is very durable and soft and cleans up with plain water. It has no off-gassing and is great for people with allergies. We decided to go with this and are now trying to decide on what color.

I really can’t think too much about all that has to be done. I am just taking one day at a time.

We found our new home. Life has been very crazy around here since I last posted. I had a great time at the SAQA Oregon conference and got some nice feedback on my talk. On Friday, the condo we have been waiting for popped up on our RLMS feed. We got an appointment to see it on Saturday and made our offer which was presented to the seller on Tuesday along with two other offers. We were very aggressive in our offer because this was the one we had been waiting for.  See the arrow up there? Our new home is on the fourth floor, not the top. There is a nice sized deck on the back which overlooks the hillside. We have a view from the dining room area bay windows down to the Willamette river which is east of us.

Those draperies and the chandelier have gone with the seller, thank goodness! The place is decorated in a much more formal manner than we  like. We will be ripping out the carpet and putting in hardwoods for the sake of my allergies. The kitchen appears to be recently redone. It is very stylish and modern.

The seller was moving out yesterday and today so it will be a fast turnover. We get to go in for the inspection tomorrow and will do some measuring and have a chance to see it without all the furniture. It has two bedrooms and two baths, a laundry/utility room with a sink and great room adjacent to the kitchen plus a separate storage area. It has a walking score of 94 which was one thing we were looking for. The condo has a gym, meeting/party room which you can reserve free of charge and a library/reading room. We also have two primo parking spots.

Needless to say, we are very happy! So, I have an additional reason to celebrate.

Leave me a comment and have a chance to win a piece of Gericon art. I will select 3 names. First name gets first choice, etc. Here is the art.

Aspens.

Northwest Winter

X Marks the Spot.

I will randomly select names after we get back from our trip to California for Paige’s 2nd birthday. I am finishing her quilt today – stitching the binding. This afternoon, we are going back to see Dan at Toyota for some instruction on all the extras on our Prius. Tomorrow, I have guild meeting in the morning and the home inspection in the afternoon and then dinner with Deborah Boschert, one of the Twelves, who is visiting Portland with her family. On Thursday, we are off to California.

Busy, busy!