Arizon Week #4 Highlights: March 14 – 20

Arizona Week #4 Highlights: March 14 – 20

Ray and I both tried something new this week (I’ll try to get photos later): 

• I gave Line Dancing the good old college try. It was definitely a lot of fun. I called my Zumba classes back home in Normal, Grandma’s dance class. Well, this is just a continuation of dance class with quicker step changes. As in Zumba, we line up and follow the teacher. In both, the music is very important. The difference comes in how the steps are performed. Zumba works a full range of motion and steps or moves usually are repeated in sets of 8. In Line Dancing, the feet do all the work and balance is stressed with hands and posture adding style. Definitely a fun activity with fun participants. And of course, it requires practicing at the Music on the Patio Monday and Friday and the dance Thursday night (“Come Back Buddy”). 
• Ray’s experience with shuffleboard was better than expected. Since he can’t see the end of the lanes, we were dubious at best at how this would work out. However, his years of bowling paid off. Since much of the objective is similar in that you have to get the ball/puck (or whatever you call it) down a lane and to land it strategically. Although not an instant success, he was pleased and went back for more during the ‘Pot Luck’ times (not tournament times).

Three trips this week rounded out our activities: 

• Organ Stop Pizza – Pizza is good, but the show stopper is the Wurlitzer theater pipe organ. The organ and player slowly rise up out of the stage, slowly swiveling around so the whole audience gets a good view. The pipes take up an entire wall (about 100 feet). In addition there are a number of percussion and wind instruments that are played/directed by the player using designated keys on the organ. A relic of the silent film industry and not to be missed!
• White Sox spring training at Camelback Ranch in Glendale. We bought tickets for a White Sox/Cubs game intending to go with our friends from Illinois but since they had to leave early this was another solo trip for us (amazingly Ticketmaster refunded two of the tickets on request). The ballpark was beautiful, the sun hot, the view good, parking easy. Unfortunately, my husband forgot that he is legally blind and couldn’t see most of the game. Plus he forgot his radio so he couldn’t check to see if there was any coverage. Then when leaving, there was a traffic snafu, so we detoured which took longer and ran into rush hour which took even longer. Lessons learned: find out if there’s radio coverage and take it with you; go out to eat after the game to avoid the traffic. Both of these lessons we already knew, but you’d think we’d remember as well…..
• “AQG Quilt Show 2011, Along the Desert Highway”: Ray and I both had fun going through this event. We got there early on Saturday so as not to miss the speakers. We attended two lectures:
• Darlene Reid, “Crazy Quilts are the Gypsies of the Quilt World”. Crazy quilts are like a collage of fabric and momentos. Scotty dogs were popular in 30’s prints because President Roosevelt had a Scotty. Pins that have photos of long gone relatives on them (like campaign buttons today) make great embellishments. These were given out by funeral homes as mementos.
• Carrie Nelson, Miss Rosie’s Quilt Co, “Tips Tricks, and Tools for Better Piecing”. Use the same ruler for measuring and cutting throughout the whole quilt, Niagra non-aerosol spray starch is available at Target and good to stabilize fabrics. It’s OK to press to the light side (rather than dark which has been the rule) especially if this helps keep the seams flat. May need to trim the seam allowance of the darker fabric if it shows through.

On the quieter side, I started machine quilting a wall hanging hoping to get it finished for the Quilt Show next week. This required spending most of Sunday down at the Craft Room where I managed to get the center part done. Unfortunately, while I was busy quilting away, Ray was checking out the trailers that are for sale. Hmmmm…