Hi, honey, I'm home!

The first Grand Canyon Girls Club festival has concluded. Successfully, I might add. -- I mean we did make it to the end of the adventure without having to find a body bag or a handy hiding place for any of our members.

Michele, Chris, Karen, Sharon (who will have a blog against her will soon), and I met up in Phoenix and giggled, stitched, shopped, ate, travelled, and didn't sleep much. I believe a great time was had by all. It was certainly had by me!

In no apparent order....

We visited The Attic needlework shop

Michele, Karen, and Sharon contemplate something cool


Chris and Sharon


The GCGC share the sacred sign for "I'm on VACATION!": Sharon, me, Chris, Karen, and Michele.

I can sum up The Attic by saying it was a blissful way to spend a couple hours, and it caused much oooing and ahhing. I didn't need anything really, but for convience sake I was willing to look for a tote bag since some moron (that'd be me) had brought all her stitching in ziplocks and was tired of trying to balance them all without dropping them as we shuffled between hotel rooms. anyway, so I was willing to buy a tote if they had a reasonably priced one. I did that, but somehow other things fell in my bag. Sigh. You'll get pictures later since they are still trapped in my camera. I do have some shots of pieces they had on their walls which they'll probably end up ordering for me:




We even stitched--
Here's proof that Sharon stitches. She swears she doesn't, but now we can prove otherwise--


Chris made us all these darling little pieces for our floss tag training class--

I have a suggestion for you, don't have creamsicle alcohol, single malt, a shot of Godiva liquer, and a taste of Smirnoff Raspberry Twist if you intend to whizz through the making of your first floss tag. Then again, maybe it's just me that shouldn't do that. (see below)

Sharon got a tatoo of her son's baby footprints

while the rest of us sat on the leather sofas, listening to blaring heavy metal, and stitched. Honest. I'm sure we were their first stitchers.

Karen brought us goodies which included this lovely notebook. I can't help loving Michele's face with this book (you can't quite tell, but the front cover of the book enjoins you to "Laugh")---


We went up to a grand cabin arranged for us by Karen (bless you, gf!) and relaxed our little brains out:

Micele made us a lovely fire --

Here's our aforementioned alcohol collection--

And the GCGC posing with their prizes (I'm in there in spirit hee hee -- I'm being represented by the scotch)


Here's us posing with the yard bears at the cabin:

Lest you should think we lacked for actual wildlife-- here's the print of the bear who visited our first night:

and another little friend of his:


From the cabin we hauled ourselves for the day to our namesake, the Grand Canyon. The drive there and back gave me (since I was the not so cold one with the longest camera strap) plenty of photo opps.
We saw cool plants like this ocotillo:

many cacti and lots of rocks:




Lake Mary:

where I got out to take the pics for the chillier people in the car

who then, as every cliche of this situation demands, drove off without me.

When we finally made it to the Grand Canyon I think we all were simply awed. I certainly know why Thomas Moran did so many of his paintings now. If you hven't gone, you should. If you have, go back. I'm wanting a full week to just sit and stare. The pictures may be nice, but they are a pale shadow of the reality.

My very first view of the Canyon:






Neither Sharon or I like heights:

The Club would like you to know it was kinda (ie. downright) cold--




You all should know by now that plants talk to me --
local lichen:

cacti at altitude are kinda whimpy looking:

trees, however are really cool:




While at the cabin we breakfasted in "town" (town being defined as a cafe, gas station, and post office):


whenever we were at the cafe there was always a truck with dogs in it in the parking lot-- apparently it's a cafe rule...

Oh and when breakfasting at the cafe, I can recommend the biscuts and gravy, but if you order the pancakes, just get one, it's the size of a platter! Honest!!!!
Here's our crew at the cafe --

Michele (her shirt reads "I'm living in my own little world, but it's ok, they know me there" -- the cook came out to read it because the waitress had told him about it. And now she owes him a shirt since he tracked us down in the parking lot as we left to tell us we'd better not come back without a shirt for him), Sharon, Karen, Chris, Karen's sister, and Karen's aunt
and little ole me:


A little warning: When on a road trip with your dear stitching friends, do not leave your camera unattended in the car with your buddies while you go to the restroom. If you do this you get pictures like this which you just know you didn't take:




It was a really lovely long weekend. If you get a chance to escape with friendly stitchers, jump at it!

I can't really share everything from the Inaugural Grand Canyon Girls Club festival since there's just one rule to the GCGC. It was written over the door of the cabin: