Plane Noise or Plain Noise

An early morning flight to Denver, Colorado got me thinking of "plane sleeping". That plain plane noise is the best "white noise" to fall into a decent slumber despite sitting up and feeling crunched. Even better, read for a spell and the wave of sleepiness comes crashing down fairly hard to a tune of head bobbing and, I must admit, a little drooling. Who cares though?  That "plane" rest makes it just good enough to pursue "an adventure around every corner" in the mile high city!

BSoleille!

Terri

Photos with Mark and Linda Misencik from Pablo's coffee in downtown Denver to beer in Golden (Coors) Colorado. 

Take Some, Leave Some

In a blink of an eye, five years went by like that (click your fingers once)! Meaning  "The Best Daughter" moved back home today with everything she owns and closed out a house where four roommates once lived for the past two years. Lots of packing, cleaning and moving furniture, and a new adjustment or adventure will start tomorrow. I am thankful to have rented a big honkin' pick up truck (Chevy Silverado) to haul most of her things back home. Funny thing though, I have the mentality of driving small cars, and was surprised how "king of the road-like" driving a Big A$$ Truck felt, even for one day!

BSoleille! The bright side of safe travels of all day hauling. Oh, and notice in the big trash bin the "shot skis" sticking out!

Terri

Photos Galore

I am so thankful that I am trying to organize and consolidate all my photos because, not only am I taking a trip down memory lane, I am finding photos I forgot that I had. The two photos for today are in celebration of summer (little boys with a garden hose and "sharing a tricycle") taken of my husband and his twin in 1960! 

BSoleille! The bright side of going through every envelope and box. 

Terri

"Om Driving"

Why is everyone in a hurry when they drive somewhere?  It surely seems like it when so many cars zoom by so fast racing down to the light, which inevitably turns red. So, driving under the influence of yoga, ommmm, is really a good thing. Our yoga instructor highly recommends it for all her students. It certainly keeps the blood pressure in check and there is little to be flustered about. I am thankful for a "name" to go with this easy driving "style" since my husband adopted it over 25 years ago as his style.  (He has actually had passengers get angry with him for letting people in...!)

BSoleille!  The bright side of "om driving" or driving under the influence of yoga! We can all do this!

Terri

Organizing and Purging

There is a reason military personnel have to move every three years or so. It is so they do not accumulate too much stuff!  For those who do not move like the military, we can get complacent about our stuff (I am guilty of this), and getting rid of, and organizing anything albeit small, is a daunting task. My photo today is a desk full of photos. Every new year I think I am going to organize this mess and get a handle on what exactly I/we need to keep for posterity. Ha! Today I am thankful to be moving closer to digging in to that fray with the high hopes of at least organizing it all by years. 

BSoleille!

Terri

Adventure for All

My hope is that everyone is having a good summer thus far. Warm days, maybe warm nights too, but plenty of sunshine to get out and do something each day. Even going out for ice cream can be an adventure (like selecting a new flavor you have never tried before). I am trying to keep the thought of an endless summer!

BSoleille!

Terri

Doggie Depression

It is 11 weeks to the day we lost our little poodle mix, Lucky. I mention the time frame because my family and I are convinced that Big Lucy has been suffering from doggie depression this entire time. She has been quite somber, very clingy and does not want to go and stay outside for even one minute (except to do her business). This girl would spend hours sitting and sleeping in the sun, but not since before Lucky died. However, today she finally wanted to go outside and, thankfully, sat in the sun for a good long while. I guess it is a step in the right direction for healing a broken heart, canine style. It truly seems that domesticated animals have feelings and we were able to see this first hand over the last two months. Crazy? Nah!

BSoleille!

Terri

A Quilter's Time Frame

Actually it is more like a "quilter's time warp" with how we go about finishing some projects. My 10 year Anniversary Quilt from my "old bee, the Piecemakers", was started in 2010 with the swapping of flowered pinwheels. I just "sat" on the project for a few years before putting the blocks and quilt together at a quilt retreat. I was then undecided on how I wanted to do the borders, so that was another year in the making and thinking about moving forward with an idea.  I then needed to quilt it and, yikes, made a big mistake that took another six months of deliberating how to fix that (I did and wondered why I waited so long).  Whew, I finally worked it all out and finished the entire quilt this afternoon, 5 1/2 years after we swapped the blocks. It seemed like yesterday. That's quilters time for you!

BSoleille! The bright side of quilters patience in completing projects. 

Terri

Cam Diamond Swim Meet

The 6th Annual Cam Diamond Novice meet was held at Crofton Swim and Tennis for four local pools. Lots of money was raised to help support the Cam Diamond Play Room at Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital in Baltimore, and it was great event for lots of local swimmers and their families. Son, Ryan, has volunteered every year and it is a highlight of the summer swim season. Kudos to a job well done!

BSoleille!

Terri

We Love Futbol!

Bookend soccer games was the order of the day this past Saturday. I was an Assistant Referee for a U12 Girls SuperY game in the morning, and then headed up to Baltimore for the U.S. Men's National Team game against Cuba in he Concacaf Cup quarter finals. The 6-0 win was great along with a hat trick by Clint Dempsey, one of my favorite players in the beautiful game. 

BSoleille!  The bright side of great soccer in one day!

Terri 

"Good Morning!" Three Year Old Style

That high pitched exclamation was cheerfully said to me in passing this morning by an approximately three year old girl sitting in a double jogging stroller (two year old brother on her left) while running on the Crofton Parkway. Her Dad, who was pushing the stroller, and me, the recipient of such a gleeful shout out, broke into a quick laugh and smile since neither of us expected her exuberant sentiment so early in the morning. I knew the instant she said it that this was a grateful moment and my blogpost for the day. It certainly was the cutest thing shared between the four of us in one brief moment, during what was up until that point, a silent morning run!

BSoleille!

Terri

Photo from Africa

Sad Times

I have been reluctant to harp on any bad news this world has been suffering from lately, but really, when is it going to stop? The extensive violence world wide saddens me and millions of others. Lots of senseless shootings that leave us all dumbfounded and at a loss of words. And sometimes it feels like we are becoming desentizied to these gruesome acts that I wish was "only in the movies", but I am afraid not nowadays. Here is hoping for a better tomorrow and bright safe futures for young people throughout the world. 

BSoleille! "When you know better, you do better"! Maya Angelou

Terri

Photo of Marines today

How Do You Swim a Mile?

Of course, one stroke at a time. However, up until today, I have had a mental block of not stroking through 64 lengths of the pool but busted through and finished all laps. I am thankful to have planned and swam with my friend, Shelley Jackson, where we cheered each other on through the 49 minute session it took to accomplish. I liked it so much despite no scenery change and foggy goggles that I would like to do it again very soon. 

BSoleille! The bright side of not even stopping!

Terri

Airport Ride

One would think a 12.4 mile loop around an international airport would be busy and noisy. So I tested it out this week and it was neither busy (early morning ride), and really not that noisy even with planes landing and taking off every few minutes.  The most "annoying" thing was the wait at some lights when the path crossed various roads in the area/loop. Next ride we will take the B&A Trail to Annapolis (out and back ride). 

BSoleille! The bright side of an early morning ride. 

Terri

Fun Flower Photo

While at the Eastern Market yesterday, the very large hibiscus type flowers were the star of the morning with several passers-by taking photos of these magnificent blooms. So before we left, I had to take a few photos myself. Crowd mentality!?

BSoleille!

Terri 

The Sunday Paper

A great Sunday to cap off a nice summer weekend. Today started with a bike ride through DC, breakfast at the Eastern Market in Capitol Hill, back home for some pool time, and grilling surf and turf. I even threw in some much needed weeding of the flower beds. But I must admit, one thing I really enjoyed, was going old school with reading the Sunday edition of the Washington Post, cover to cover this evening. This is after the hubby went to buy me a copy along with some ice cream!  And yes, it took almost three hours to get through all the sections, but I have not read a Sunday newspaper in over five years. I was due!  I can say I am pretty caught up with current events (and the paper is much thinner than I can recall)!

BSoleille! The bright side of getting through a genuine newspaper and its smell of newsprint ink. 

Terri

W. O. P

Wine on Porch Party in the neighborhood that really works and was quite fun. Today's party was in the cul de sac of our very long street where several of us gathered and trekked down to check out the happening (especially this evening which was so nice and pleasant temperature wise). We have a mixed neighborhood of young and "old" families and it was nice to catch up with so many familiar faces that we usually just wave to as we are driving by and into our driveways. I think we will host one later this summer!

BSoleille! The bright side of an endless summer!

Terri

Top Golf to IBEW Local 26

A great start to the day by heading early to Alexandria, Va, to check out and play Top Golf with son, Ryan. He planned all week for us to spend the day together and this was "top" on his list! I have not swung a golf club in over 23 years, so that was fun in and of itself. 

http://topgolf.com/us/

Of course, I had to take the kid for lunch, and we ended the day by going to a check presentation at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 26 where they raised $24,000 and donated the money to Special Love for children with cancer!  I am thankful for that!!!

BSoleille!

Terri

Kitchen Office

It is tough living with a quilter. We have a lot of fabric, machines, and like to spread out on any surface all over the house (at least in my world). So the "patient" husband was relagated to using the kitchen table for his "office". Well, that really cannot fly long term and it has been long enough not eating on it. So I have been on a problem solving mission of getting my table back and setting up something my husband would like and be functional. The solution is the desk I found on Craigslist and my good friend, Wendy, that really knows her way around power tools!  We got that desk installed and I am so thankful for her help!!!

BSoleille!  The bright side of getting an eat in kitchen table back to the family!

From This to That

Another summer 2Bee with my friend Trish yielded a productive day with the completion of three decent size baby quilts tops. Little mini Schnauzer, Kala, thought she was a "big help" with putting together one of two puppy quilts (using a panel), and Trish was a real big help with donating some of her dog fabric to see the projects finished. And I am thankful for that!

BSoleille! The bright side of using "stash", no matter whose it is!

Terri

Lap Swimming

One refreshing thing to do in summer weather is lap swimming in a pool. I try to go a couple times a week and the water never disappoints, especially on a hot and humid day. Just floating around is a close second of course!

BSoleille! The bright side of a refreshing swim. Slow and steady...

Terri 

Announce Yourself

This day started out humble enough as we met Angie and John Kozlowski in Bethesda, MD, to ride the Capital Cresent Bike Trail through Maryland, DC, and Virginia. Over 20 miles total on a glorious morning. However, many people had the very same idea so the trail was crowded. But that did not deter our ride as we simply announced ourselves in passing others. Angie was a great announcer on the ride even when encountering a couple sourpusses along the trail. 

And the final "announce yourself" was the USA Women's National Team who simply showed up and announced to the world in 15 short minutes, especially Japan, who was the best team in World Cup Play 2015!  Fantastic!!! Carli Lloyd MVP!!! All kudos to the winning team...selfless. I am thankful in seeing hard work pay off for those 23 young women. Cheers!

BSoleille! The bright side of bringing the 

Women's World Cup back to the 

USA!🇺🇸

Terri

http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2015/jul/05/womens-world-cup-2015-final-usa-v-japan-live

Happy 4th 2015

The 4th went to the dogs...at least this morning when I took Lucy-Loo to our local dog park to meet up with friends (furry and human). The Lucy Girl has been sort of down since her buddy Lucky passed away over a month ago, so I thought hanging out with some nice dogs may boost her spirits. That mood booster lasted exactly 27 minutes and she needed to get out of dodge. The puppies were just too much for her, and she got real tired of everyone sniffing her private parts. 

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend thanking our service men and women for letting our freedom ring from shore to shore. 

BSoleille!

Terri 

Creating

A grey and cooler summer day gave way for fun sewing machine activities. It was definitely exciting to create a couple of "bug bags" for gifts needed this summer, and a new zippered bag I have never made before until today (striped one). This new bag is 12"x12", a good size to carry an iPad, book or magazine and a few small things. I love bags in all shapes, sizes and fabrics. What's one more bag??

BSoleille! 

Terri

Spreader Outer

Man, big Lucy is a "spreader outer" on our queen size bed. Lately she has been super quiet and I never know where she is hiding in the house. So today after my shower and getting ready for the day, I walked out of the bathroom to her taking up a big part of the bed. Her black coat looks good on this bold color block quilt 

BSoleille!

Terri