One year later

So I've been thinking about blogging again. I do this annually it seems. My last post was regarding cutting fabric for a quilt I have envisioned and have still done nothing other than cut the fabric. However, since then I have actually constructed and finished an entire quilt - a baby quilt with large panels that were printed images so really I just constructed the edging of the whole thing. It turned out well. It was a baby quilt with a dragon theme for a new little one named Elliot.

Now we have moved to the suburbs of Chicago and I think documenting my impressions of Illinois as a recent transplant from Texas will be fun to write. So here is a short synopsis from the last week.

Illinois is wonderful! but difficult to spell. I seem to get it wrong every time. It sounds a little weird too. Like Ill-Annoy which is sticky with negative connotation. The parks here are gorgeous! I can't believe how many gorgeous parks there are all over the place! There are also numerous lovely lakes that I'm looking forward to picnicking beside. The roads are well maintained and the signage is very clear. I love Hoffman Estates! I have no idea where it's boundaries are but that's okay because I also love Barrington and Schaumburg and Palatine. This whole area is so green. We have Christmas trees everywhere! People have Christmas trees sprouting up in their front yards and they line the freeways. I am looking forward to seeing how they will look covered in snow.

It rarely snows in Texas. Not in the Gulf Coast near Houston where I've lived my entire life. We have snow flurries on occasional winters but they are freak accidents during which the roads are closed and the television alarmists warn everyone to stay inside and hunker down. We Texans can't drive in the stuff or lead normal lives with it coming down. It's a treat and an occasion to mark on calendars and close school and stay home from work to experience this wondrous natural phenomenon and celebrate with hot chocolate. Break out the iPhone cameras and take a thousand photos of everything as it's coming down. It never sticks to the ground or stays for more than a few hours.

Driving around looking at the commercial property near us to see our options on shopping and dining out, we saw an Avenue shop going out of business and went inside. Very interesting to me was that everything in the store was sweaters, jeans, and coats. They had a smattering of other things - a suit, a few pairs of shoes, but the bulk of everything was sweaters. Everything was up to 90% off so coats regularly $159 were purchased for $15.90 each - two each for me and my daughter. I also got four sweaters which more than triples my sweater collection! We only ever have two winter days in Houston, Texas so there was never really a need for sweaters. They say you are meant to layer and I looked for layering materials in the store but there were no long sleeve cotton shirts - just sweaters. So I feel prepared on some level.

That's a good start for now.
LOVE