YpsiLiz 

We had a bright, sunny, 80-degree day; so, of course my walking buddy and I walked inside - nah! We went to the Arb to see if the peonies were blooming yet. just a few were, but the rhododendrons, including some wonderfully perfumed orange and yellow ones, were in full bloom and well worth the walk.

We had a good, hard walk at lunch time, and then before my 7p meeting, I went out tromping around the downtown area to and from a yummy dinner.

I spent the afternoon quilting the 12 sections of the quilt. After dinner, I strolled around the neighborhood.

I finished the data entry, took a bike ride to the co-op, then got home and finished the piecing for the background of the graduation quilt. Meanwhile, Hubby was dealing with a computer server crisis at work and hopping over to the church to help with First Communion.

As volunteer coordinator for the quilt guild and our next meeting coming on the 19th, I needed to get my volunteer list into an Excel file. When I got home from work, I did laundry and data entry.

Suddenly, I am feeling so much better. This is good because I have a lot of work to do this weekend.

I am finally feeling better, despite the prolonged coughing fit that drove me out of a staff meeting for several minutes.

The cold is hanging on, but the cough has resolved.

The cold has moved into my chest. Breathing is hard. Spring colds are the worst.

I took a quick jaunt around the neighborhood, but otherwise worked hard in the nephew's quilt.

The cousins gathered again, this time for a bridal shower for a bride-to-be in the next generation. I also picked up Hubby from the airport, so our family is back together.

I came back from Paducah with a small head cold, that has now become all-consuming. I also returned with a desire to learn more about Alben Barkley, who went from young Paducah lawyer to majority leader of the Senate and Harry Truman's vice president. Fortunately, the University's library has his 1954 autobiography; even better, the writing style is genial and conversational. I think I'm in love.

Well, I put the Thursday steps on Friday, so, here are the Friday steps on Thursday.

We had a staff meeting, followed by a walk around the school, introducing our work group to various folks, matching faces to e-mail addresses and names. It was helpful.

Lots of errands during the day, catching up with my walking buddy, and grocery shopping after work

Re-entry day - lots of deskwork

Here's a handy tip: if you are heading east through Kentucky on your way home to Michigan and see a sign saying, "welcome to Tennessee", you've probably missed an exit somewhere....

On Saturday, I got back to the National Quilt Museum and then went to the local history museum where I geeked out on the displays dedicated to Alben Barkley, who was from the area. I've long been intrigued by the man, and now I know a whole lot more. I looked at the local history murals painted on the flood wall and then made a last pass through the show before finding a quiet spot to read before heading to Mass. It was a good day.

Okay. Here are the classes I took this week. On Tuesday, I went to a session where several teachers showed different techniques in ten-minute segments. On Wednesday, I took a paper piecing class where I learned some new tricks. On Thursday, I took a foundation piecing class where I learned a completely new approach that is so fast and so straightforward that I actually got a LOT of the project done in class. Thursday evening, I took a self portrait class and got most of my face done. Now I have to think about the rest of the picture - AFTER I get my nephew's HS grad quilt done.

On Friday, I went to a lecture about quilts and cottons during and after the Civil War. Then, I volunteered for 2.5 hours, walking the same long aisle, chatting with folks, giving directions, telling people to put their water bottles away, etc. From there, I went to a locally sponsored show across town, taking a shuttle bus. The wait for the return bus was dragging out when a lady in a minivan pulled up and offered rides to five people. She's a retired school teacher who calls herself the "Quilter Picker Upper." She dropped me at a yarn store. From there, I worked myself back to downtown via a "treasure map" designed to get us quilters patronizing the local businesses. Sixteen businesses participated; one walked into the business and asked for a sticker and a free block pattern. If you got ten stickers, you could submit your map for drawing for a nice gift basket. Along the way, I had the best cup of coffee ever, found a cute barbecue supplies shop, where I got some locally made sauce for the hubby, and I got some handmade greeting cards, purchased from the artist's husband.

When I retuned to the convention center, I helped the silent auction folks with their final packing and then I finished reading the novel I had started reading Tuesday evening, Maeve Binchy's "Minding Frankie."

I had an all-day class, followed by an evening class - the one hubby suggested I take. He was right. It was fun.