Goodbyes

The time has come for me to say goodbye to Humboldt County. I came here as a new, young bride from Southern CA, eyes full of stars, fully embracing my new home and life as a brand new bride.  The beauty of this area overwhelmed me.  Tall, TALL, very TALL redwood trees, rhododendrons and azaleas, ferns, the rugged coastline and wonderful beaches.  It took me awhile to figure out that you don't SWIM in these oceans, but you do spend lots of time at the beach and mostly with jeans and a sweatshirt on.  Humboldt County has it all: the ocean, the flat farmlands, rivers (some wild, some not, but all so very beautiful), hills and mountains.  It never gets hot and it never gets cold...but just go inland about 30 minutes and you can bake in the heat at the river or cut down a Christmas tree in the snow.

The children came quickly (I'll never live down getting preggers on my wedding night!). It was our privilege to raise our girls here.  For the first 11 years we lived on 1 1/2 acres right in town and the girls thought we lived in the country.  We raised chickens, geese, pigs, goats and a bunch of cats.  We had big gardens and a lovely greenhouse.  Then we moved out to Cutten to our own redwood forest.

Our church family nurtured us; the girls thrived at Arcata Christian School with teachers and staff who loved them like their own. Mr. Wunner and Mrs. Taylor are part of our family!

Scott Technical Services served us well as Bill's electrical contracting company and there are so many, many buildings that he had a hand in...Humboldt State University, Mad River Hospital, General Hospital, The Carson Block Building, Traveler's Inn, Carter Hotel and so very many more. Humboldt County is an awesome place and Bill never once had to advertise; his reputation spoke loudly.

For many years we were involved in Camp Fire.  The girls all belonged, I led clubs and Bill was on the board of directors.  Many family memories are tied up in our Camp Fire family. Summer camps, painting faces, selling hot dogs at county-wide events to fund fabulous trips to Los Angeles, Salem, OR and even a 12 day trip to Washington, DC.

I was privileged to turn my passion/hobby into a wonderful business and we are all proud of Scottie Dog Quilts/Redwood Sewing Center that became our family business.  So many hundreds of lovely people began as our customers and became our friends and a second family. I retired last Summer and we closed the store but daughter Liz now runs an online store with that name and we continue to hold our fun and fabulous Quilting retreats and Quilting Cruises.

Our girls grew up and all of a sudden it is now 43 years and 6 grandchildren later.  It's time to go to Minnesota and follow the girls and and their families. We have come to love Minnesota and it truly feels like home now.

All my bags are packed and I'm ready to go.....

I don't think I can say another Goodbye.  My heart hurts too much. I've always found them difficult.  Maybe the Hawaiians have it right. "Aloha."  Hello and Goodbye.   But, as you know...

I'll be back at least twice a year for  our Scottie Dog Quilting Retreats so I hope to see my friends with some degree of regularity but most of all, I hope to see friends and family coming to the Midwest to visit.  We'll always have a bed ready and show some Minnesota Nice hospitality.

Just follow the signs and you'll find us. 

One last thought:

May God richly bless you all. May He hold you in the palm of His hand.  May He cause our paths to cross again. I love you all, I really do!

Another Successful Quilting Retreat!

 This past weekend Liz and Sydney were in town.  Heaven to see them!  The reason they flew in from Minnesota is that we hosted another fabulous Scottie Dog Mystery  Quilting Retreat in Eureka.  For the most part the weather was fabulous.  There were a couple of hours of rain, but mostly the skies were blue, the views from our windows were breathtaking. We could eat out on the decks if we wished.

Here's a view of the Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center taken from the Marina.  The large windows on the left 2nd story are part of our sewing space with two more large windows around the corner facing east.  Lovely views, light and airy rooms.

Here's Rene with one of her blocks.  Look how well her colors go together!

Bev was the first one finished.  Her quilt was fun and cheery. The quilt for this retreat was designed by Liz and called "Swirly Girly."  We have a special ruler for it (makes it REALLY easy).  I'm sure both will be on the Scottie Dog Quilts website soon.

The food was great, the company divine!  Our caterers outdid themselves....I am partial to the Banana Hut Hawaiian Barbecue! I heard many positive comments about our brownie sundae bar on Saturday night.  Lots of great show and tell, laughter and fun.  It's always great to see our friends at retreat.  Alas, Liz and Sydney have flown back to MN and Mr. Scottie Dog and I will be making the drive to Minnesota again next week.  I'll be staying in MN while he comes back to CA to finish up the house remodel and get it on the market.

Next Scottie Dog Quilts Mystery Quilting Retreat will be  August 7-9 held again at the beautiful Aquatic Center on Humboldt Bay in Eureka, CA.  Details here: CLICK Please note that we do need your deposit as soon as possible. You may do it securely right on line at the above link.  Space is limited.  I'll be living in MN by August and Liz and I will be flying out to be with all of you.  Please think about joining us.