2021 Tuesday To-Do #37: Back From West Point, Crossing the Finish and Screeching to a Halt

Time to link up to Texas Quilt Gal's Tuesday To-Do!

We're back (again!) and this time, we crossed the finish line.

The 2-month wild ride of travel and events is over

and it's time to settle in and stop missing these

Tuesday To-Do posts.

It has been two years since we last visited West Point

so I'm going to share some pics, especially for any

new followers out there.

I hate to write the too-often-used phrase but I just canNOT

say enough about the US Military Academy.  

If you are ever in the area, get a pass and tour the post!

(These are your tax dollars at work you know!)

With over 200 years of history, incredible--and

intimidating!--stone buildings and gorgeous scenery,

after now five visits, I still view it with awe.

Due to covid, we were not granted access past the 

above point.  (Access inside the buildings is rarely

given even in normal circumstances.)

(More pics here and here.)

Someday, I want to schedule into a visit a whole

afternoon just to sit and take it all in. 

(Vacations are always too rushed, right?)

Ranked as one of the best game-day experiences,

taking in a football game is a must--along with timing

the visit in the fall when for some gorgeous leaf views.

We were just a bit early but by the time we left, they

were just starting to peak so we got a taste of it.

The jumps team always puts on a nice show before the game.

If you follow me on IG, you got to see them practicing the day

before out in the center of campus in front of the main hall.

Note no civilians are allowed on that field.  Cadets only!

My father-in-law had so much fun seeing MANY jumps,

all followed by the helicopter picking them back up...

and off they'd go again.  And again and again...

SO that when game time comes, they can hit their mark.

RIGHT in the center of the field.

Oh I do love game day!

One of my favorite moments is just before kick-off

of the game, when the cadets all go through their

pregame hype--it certainly ranks #1 on my

game-day experiences!

We wanted to share this experience with my husband's

parents so this time we gifted them the visit.  How fun

it was to see them gaping out the windows as we

drove through for their first views.  For the record,

I still do this myself--can't get enough of it.

Neither of my in-laws has gotten a chance to visit the

Statue of Liberty so we were happy to help them get

that crossed off the bucket list.

Now, after all of that travelling, did I get anything done?
I had to skip a week posting for sure!  As for my to-do's, 

those, like our return flights (ahem), are not without

a major glitch.  Here we go:

*Finish "Gwynnie's Goldenrod" top--Done

When we got back, I had just 4 days to finish this in order

to gift it to my granddaughter at her birthday party.   My

longarm was tuned and ready for me when we got back

(along with my car and its new windshield--yay!)

so this was doable. 

 I settled in and did some major marathon sewing

(see my Instagram) and had that top completed, 

backing pieced and everything loaded by Friday!

Saturday's quilting session was going well right up

until my machine locked up and I went into panic mode.

With my back, lifting the long arm is not a good idea

but hubs was not home.  To make it more difficult, I had

to keep my quilt loaded but if there is one thing I am,

it is extremely determined (stubborn?) and with a lot

of work, I got that puppy off and back into the shop

where he did his best to get me up and running.

The short story is:  I got it back home, made a row

or two, endured a couple thread-breaks, some

blood-curdling screeching and...yep,

it locked up again.

I waved the white flag, went shopping for other things

for my granddaughter.  (See how close I got?).

I'm off to go pick up my long arm AGAIN here in a bit, THIS

time with the issue fixed.  I hope.  Frankly, I had taken on

too much trying to get both quilts done for birthdays so,

while I'm very disappointed, I am also kind of relieved.

I knew something had to give; I'm so behind on so much!

The last couple months have really started catching

up to me.  I have been joking that I'm likely the only

person who's looking forward to the holidays

because things will actually slow down for me!

As for my other to-do:

*Choose Jonah's pattern and fabrics--partly

I have a pattern in mind.  Still need to choose fabrics.

I also got one quilt officially listed; the other is just

waiting on a good preview before I pull the trigger.

Next week's to-do's:

Finish G's quilt

Choose J's fabrics

Finish "Set Aside" top

In other parts of my world, I've given the chicken coop its

semi-annual thorough cleaning and they're ready for winter.

I've planted garlic and picked a billion peppers that now

need attention.  I have herbs to bring in to enjoy over the

cold months, winter garden prep to complete and holiday

planning & cleaning to get started on not to mention the

window cleaning that needs to happen, etc. etc. 

Deep breath.  It'll all get done--eventually.

And with that rushed post, I'm off to pick up my longarm.

Happy quilting!