Fall & Winter

Last year, I participated in a Pay It Forward wildfire on Facebook where I'm one of five people my friend Jane will Pay it Forward to with a homemade goody, and then I, in turn, will continue to Pay it Forward to five people. And the paying and forwarding and smiling and loving continues on and on forever. And ever. Amen. 

Just in time for Thanksgiving, my homemade goody arrived in a big box from Jane. I was overwhelmed by her generosity. She made me a whole lap quilt! Out of sumptuous fall-colored batiks. My favorite of all the batiks. It's warm and welcoming and just plain gorgeous. I washed it, keeping my fingers and toes crossed for any bleeding batiks, and now it's all crinkly from the dryer. I love it! It is a perfect addition to my fall decor, folded up on the loveseat. That's my re-purposed/up-cycled (those two words are so prevalent these days. Everywhere.) garage sale chair that I painted black. It's not as dinged up as it looks in the picture. It has bits of ice and frozen leaves on it. I suppose I should bring that in so they can thaw out and the chair can go away until some other holiday where I feel like sitting something on an old black chair on my front porch. That pumpkin, which is also frozen to the chair, says BOO on the other side in haunting script letters. I kept waiting for a nice day to go take a picture of it on my front porch amidst all the bright yellow fall leaves, but it was always so gray and gloomy. And then it snowed. And then it wasn't Halloween anymore and I turned it around to hide the BOO. But before the whole lot goes away for Christmas, I did go out and take a picture with my new fall throw. In the snow. 

Winter has thrust herself upon us with much disdain this year. And early too! We've had more snow this November than we usually get all winter. It's absolutely thrilling. Every time it snows, I get all excited and think this will be the time, that once in a lifetime experience, when you wake up in the morning and go to the window and see a sea of white three feet deep. I have always wanted to be snowed in. To lounge around in my comfiest sweats and pink fuzzy moose socks and watch chick flicks and sew, intermittently napping, maybe making homemade chocolate chip cookies - and all guilt free! Everyone knows you can't feel guilty for luxuriously spending an entire day baking and sewing when you have no other choice but to stay nestled inside the house. 

So far, no three feet of snow except up on the Summit. Plenty of snow there. We took a drive the other night just as the sun was setting on the peaks. And by night, I mean 3:00 in the afternoon. It was gorgeous and pink and my pictures never quite show what it really looked like. For starters, I have been unable to capture the sheer vastness of the valley laying below you when you're looking out from the Summit. It has amazed me, and eluded me, for years. 

My friend and I (ad)ventured North on a day trip to Whitehorse last week. I was in need of cat food, and my friend was up for an adventure, so we took off for the 110 mile drive into the Yukon. We saw a moose, which is always exciting, and enjoyed some fabulous Mexican food for lunch. We shopped and marked everything off our lists and stopped to buy a dozen donuts to bring home on our way out of town. Donuts are quite a commodity here in Skagway. And there, in line, while we were perusing the donut case, staking out our twelve favorites, we heard the bad news. The highway had been closed. We had just become honorary Canadians for the evening. With nothing to do. After all, everything on the list was checked. And here it was, 3:30 in the afternoon and we were stuck. In a foreign country. And it was -22 outside and blowing hard crusty snow in an angry blizzard. What to do?

We hit up the quilt shop. Hah!

Whitehorse has a fantastic quilt shop called Bear's Paw Quilts. Stuffed to the gills with bright batiks, and fuzzy flannels (flannels are a big deal up here), and an absolutely mesmerizing array of quilt models lining the walls. The gals who work there are friendly, and a fun time is had by all. We stocked up on ideas and fabric and enjoyed the company. Then we lingered through pasta for as long as two people can possibly stretch out one single meal in an effort to kill time, bought pajamas and toothbrushes at Walmart, and settled in for the evening at our hotel with a pile of quilt magazines. The only downside of being snowbound in Whitehorse was that neither of their movie theaters was showing Footloose. And I am chomping at the bit to see the new Footloose. It remains at the top of my list for when I go down South. That and the Fiesta Ware display at Dillards.

And as I type, it has just now started snowing. Again! Maybe tomorrow will be the lucky day...

 

 

Comments

[Lisa D.]

If you got stranded, at least there was an awesome quilt shop to visit. I love the batik quilt - lucky you!

[Holly]

Wow, that batik quilt is gorgeous!
Being stranded in Whitehorse sounds pretty fun, actually. I am continually amazed by how everyday life can be an adventure in Alaska. The sun sets at three, you get stuck in a foreign country while buying catfood, pumpkins freeze to your outdoor chairs, etc. Most stereotypes about various states are 80% baloney, but the stereotype about Alaska being a wild frontier seems to hold largely true. A wild frontier with quilt shops and movie theaters. Sigh - I'm jealous. Someday, by golly, I'm going to visit Alaska.

[Donna]

Great that you were able to turn your trip into a great and fun adventure.

[Erin (your Skagway friend)]

Stop moving Allyson, I can see your light show! HAH! That day turned out to be so much fun, and that shop was amazing!

[Mary Flynn]

Gorgeous quilt! Brrrrr......I suppose I would have to invest in some very toasty clothing to be out in that kind of weather. How fun you were with a friend and it ended up being a good adventure.

[Jane]

So nice to know that you love the quilt! And thanks for posting the picture. Love and hugs from Sitka...jane

[Brenda]

I think your photo turned out great with the chair, pumpkin and quilt! LOVE the quilt - lucky you! Just love the photos of your snowy landscape, beautiful! I miss snow. I hope you get snowbound soon! :)