WHEELS again, at last!!! And Back to Quilting, too!

After two weeks without a car, I finally have the freedom to travel once again. Not that I was stuck at home all that time - the time was filled with the Vermont contingency on two separate occasions, physical therapy (still - next week is my last week!), and the necessary evils of car shopping... Car shopping is bad enough when one knows ahead of time that a new car is needed - then one is thinking about potentialities, at least. A surprise car hunting expedition has much less forethought, or so it seems to me.

I knew I wanted a car that would be relatively kind to the environment and very kind to my body - thus said car needed to provide very good lumbar support, to be well designed for someone of short proportions (not reaching the pedals or having the steering wheel in my chest or lap is NOT allowed), a good audio system (!!!), great handling on the road, and decent or above gas mileage.

We eventually found the 'perfect for me' car - after 5 grueling days of driving the Route 9 corridor in central NJ - through constructions zones - on too many test drives to recall. We chose one vehicle pretty much by default - when we felt totally overwhelmed by the daunting task and overly pressured by a salesman! That car was returned the next day... just driving it home made me realize I couldn't begin to contemplate 10 years with said car. It was a nice car, very popular model, super comfy - but did NOT fit my body.

We settled on a 2005 VW Jetta - which fills all my requirements plus has so many bells and whistles that I'll be trying to figure them out for the next month or two! I've had it not quite two full days now, and I LOVE it! After my Sable - which suited me perfectly - I didn't know if I could find another perfect fit. But I did.

So now I'm back to a somewhat 'normal' life - the laundry is swishing along upstairs and my studio is finally clean enough to work in, my jpegs are sent to the Incredible Spirit quilt competition & the actual quilts should arrive in CA today. I've caught up on some of the grocery shopping, the house - well, let's just say housework is lowest on the totem pole of my list of "things to do."

The Houston Quilt Festival is fast approaching and I haven't yet begun my cancer fund-raiser postcards... I have been honored by Virginia Spiegel in being asked to contribute one 'special' 4 x 6" fiber art card for the special Silent Auction to be held during Quilt Market (a trade show prior to the quilt fest). See the following website for more info:

http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/NewFiles/ACSMarketInvitational.html

Aside from the postcard-making fun ahead, there are 3 art/quilt competition deadlines for me this month, followed by several more in October... I have my one large quilt (see "Flames" below - July 29th entry) nearing completion, plus a plethora of ideas in my mind for upcoming pieces. All I need is TIME... plus persistence, dedication, focus, etc.