Posted 2:38 PM by Rob Holland
Paducah

We are at the end of the second day of our annual Paducah pilgrimage. The show was much better this year, mainly because they have built an enormous new Expo exhibiion center adjacent to the city's convention center and the Executive Inn hotel. Since we drove up this year instead of doing the bus tour, we have had more freedom than usual to putter around town as well. There are certainly quilts everywhere. The only two establishments we have entered in the last couple of days who didn't have quilts on display were the Kroger and a local liquor store. And what's the matter with them, you might ask!! If you were ever going to gag on quilts, it would be in this city this week. It does get a bit cloying, and
overwhelming, but we don't seem to be able to get enough.

Sarah's grandmother has kindly permitted us to stay in her house here while she is away in Florida, and so we are able to watch the local Comcast broadcast of The Quilt Channel, which only broadcasts here in Paducah, and only during the show each year. That of course in addition to the other wonderful amenities and conveniences of staying in a home instead of a hotel. Sarah's folks and her grandmother have been extremely kind and thoughtful and we will be going out to dinner with them this evening.

We'll be driving home tomorrow, with all our luggage in the back seat, as the trunk is full of a sewing cabinet we found at a local antique store. It is identical to the one Grandmother North owned, and which is now in the possession of Aunt Pam. Your mother has been looking for one ever since, and finally found one. We always seem to find something for the house when we're in Paducah. The weather here has been wet and cool the last few days, but we're heading south tomorrow!

Pamela, make sure those catboxes are clean!

Posted 7:10 AM by Rob Holland
The weekend and the week upcoming

We got a lot done this weekend because we aren't going to be home next weekend. We'll be in Paducah at the quilt festival there. Geoffrey and Jennifer came over and with Pamela stripped the wallpaper off the upstairs bathroom. It gives it a distinctly shabby chic look:

We had already refinished the vanity under the sink, so I went out and bought a new sink and faucet at Home Depot and installed it yesterday morning. Then I went out and bought too many bedding plants to be reasonably planted in one day and planted them in the afternoon. Mainly because I didn't want them to sit around for the next two weeks in six-packs, dying from lack of water. So the front gardens are now planted with coleus, vinca, and begonia. I also dug up some hosta starts for a friend of Mommy's who recently acquired a house with a shady lot.

We went over to Jennifer and Geoffrey's for dinner Saturday night and saw their apartment with its new paint job, their new headboard, and other design elements:



I'm leaving late this afternoon on a business trip to Ft. Lauderdale. I'll be staying at the Sheraton by the airport. Looks like a tough gig:



When I get home on Thursday, we're leaving for Paducah almost immediately. Sarah's Mom, Lisa, has kindly offered us the use of her mother's home for the weekend, since she'll be in Florida. We'll be reachable as always on our cell phones. Geoffrey will process orders.