Life in the Mountains

 Hello Everyone,

It's been a long time between posts, so I'll get you caught up on life in the mountains.  First of all, Mr. Joe and I have been going to a lot of musical events over the past two weeks.

The Bear Valley Music Festival was cancelled last year due to Covid.  This year we made up for lost time and attended two events.

We packed up a picnic dinner and ate under the pine trees prior to the Caravanserai show, a Santana tribute band.  My or my where they loud!  Good, but LOUD, and I'm shouting here. Mr. Joe had selective hearing before the show......now his hearing in non-existent.  My elderly neighbor asked me to dance during the longest song in world history.  Between the high elevation, (7,000 ft) and all of the twists, turns, and swirls, I thought I was going to pass out.  During our dance, my neighbor suggested with all of the bald heads in the audience, there should be an ambulance on standby.  I must admit I had to agree with him and his bald head.

We also attended an afternoon show featuring Crawdad Republic.  Another great group which was a combination of Bluegrass and whatever.  Very entertaining.

The mountains are ringing with music throughout the week, and we regularly attend outdoor events.  There are many small venues throughout our area, and most of them are free.  

Here's a list of some of the names of the entertainment:

Burn Permit (This is in poor taste if you ask me during fire season)

Rattle Can (Too close to a rattlesnake if you ask me)

Jank Tones (Questionable name, janky mean questionable tone)

Skull Country (This is Calaveras County which means skull)

Frozen Radicals (It does get cold here in the winter)

Rusty Rockers (A lot of the band members have had many trips around the sun)

Snarky Cats (I guess they are referring to the mountain lions roaming around the mountain)

Dead Winter Carpenter (Well, this one has me stumped)

When we aren't attending a musical event, we are stacking two cords of almond wood.  The wood was delivered at the top of the hill, and we have to bring every single piece down the hill.

What a chore.  But we know we will enjoy a cozy fire during the long winter months.

In between all of this, I've been working with a technical writer on A Ribbon Runs Through It pattern.  Her suggestions are making the pattern so much better.  I really appreciate her suggestions and input.

My sister and two friends also helped me with the pattern by making some of the blocks and offered their suggestions which I incorporated into the pattern

I've also been doing some marathon kit making in preparation for my first retreat at the end of the month.  There has been so much to do.  Mr. Joe and I have been printing and stuffing patterns for hours to build up an inventory before the retreats and the Independence Hall quilt show in October.  There's never a dull moment around the cabin.  Just when I think I'm getting ahead, a big pattern order will come in and we start all over again.  This is a good problem to have!

Soon,

Lynn