Friday, October 28, 2022

Gratitude #68

Good morning. Yes, I did not write this up ahead of time because I wanted to write it from where I am: the incredibly beautiful Catskills of New York. This was the view out our bedroom window this morning.
That is through the window (as you can tell) with my iPhone, no filter. Clearly, it down't do it justice, and clearly, that view takes your breath away. Mountains are on the other side of the cute little cottage we are staying in. We have mainly come to visit our dear friend John, who has appeared from time to time on the blog with his beloved dog, Brandy, now over the rainbow bridge. I am excited to explore, and watch for more photos here and on Instagram. Can you imagine how pretty it is in spring with those apple trees in bloom? We are staying in Janette and Eddie's (friends of John's and now of ours) cottage on their beautiful property.

So, my first point of gratitude is for being able to drive in one day, a long one, from our home in Kingsville to our friends' homes here not too far from Kingston! That's Kingston, NY. For good roads, for beautiful views along the way, for a good vehicle, and for a husband who is a good driver. This is the first long trip, with our electric car. It's nine hours' driving time, but nearly three more than that because of stopping for meals, bathroom breaks, stretching of human and dog legs, and charging. We were able to charge the car while we did all of the above, with rarely much of a wait, maybe five more minutes, to top it up to 100% again. 

We drive a Hyundai Ioniq 5, which is fully electric. Normally our charging is all done at home, in the garage, where MacGyver has 220 volt. We only need to charge it once a week, and we usually just go to 80%, as is recommended, because it helps to prolong your battery life. At this point, thanks to some longtime Tesla owners' documentation, replacing a battery doesn't happen until 7-800 000 MILES. So back to our trip. Our range is around 500 km, so four and a bit hours at highway speeds. Of course, like gas, wind and hills will affect the performance. We charged three times for a total of $72. We did a rough calculation of the gas that would have cost for the exact same trip (this is one way only) $180. We used our previous Hyundai Santa Fe gas SUV as a comparable vehicle. Pretty cool.

Ashokan Reservoir

So yes, I am grateful for a chance to get away again; thanks to Covid we haven't done any travelling except out to Alberta to see Brianne and Brady. I am grateful to science brainiacs who dedicate their lives to finding cures for all kinds of things, and for finding vaccines, and still learning and documenting everything about Covid.

I got an email (look closely at the graphic!) from Benartex Designer Fabrics, a call for people on their email list, on Instagram, probably FaceBook too, to apply to be ambassadors. I did apply, though I am already on their designers' list for hops and showcasing new lines. I have a reinvented block coming up in Fat Quarterly, but I digress. This was the ad:

Do you spy what I spy?! Bottom left... my interlocking plus blocks tote bag! That's the beautiful new line of Eleanor Burns', Judy's Blooms, which is available now everywhere. What a thrill to have my bag used as one of the 'tiles' in their ad! Yes there is a pattern, 'Positive Flow' that actually has two quilt sizes in it as well.

I love Fall colours, and they are spectacular around my home. However. Seeing them on mountains--! Janette said it's like the mountains are covered in carpets and it's is such an apt description. We did a nice long walk on the rail trail (I like how many communities reclaim old railway lines with a multi-use walk - there's a like within a like for you!).
Sena and Rufus loved it. There's John in the background. 😊

Here's the view from the top of the dam of the Ashokan Reservoir. This is the water supply for New York City. Five villages were displaced (aka destroyed, people forced to relocate) to flood this area.

I absolutely love seeing other people's version of my patterns. Here are two from October of Pop Star, another pattern in my shop:
Made by Gramma JudyB


Made by loplopworkshop - She made FOUR different ones!

I've read five books so far for October, Not sure I'll make 50 for the year, but it'll be close. All were good, but special mention to Louise Penny's The Madness of Crowds (I saved it for close to the newest one's release), Mary Lawson's  A Town Called Solace (this was the book club read for this month, excellent).

Fall flowers are lovely - I've got a chrysanthemum blooming just beautifully for the third year in a row now. These gerbera daisies in pots on our deck are still blooming, so I made a bouquet last week. I'll leave you with them as we are off to Mohonk Mountain House today. I am beyond thrilled to be going here, a place where, many years ago, John was one of the chefs! He's pulled a few strings to get us a lunch reservation.

For more gratitude posts, be sure to visit LeeAnna's blog, Not Afraid of Color. The prompt for today was about costumes. I've never really been into dressing up for Halloween, but I loved sewing for my daughters, and have fond memories of Snow White and Sleepy one year, Strawberry Shortcake another, and Tinkerbell yet another.

19 comments:

  1. Sounds like a wonderful trip! Glad you are enjoying your new ride and that your husband likes to drive. Mine does too, but someday he will stop, he is 77 - 12 years older than me. Love seeing the 4 leggeds out and enjoying life.

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  2. What a beautiful view!!! I love fall - and Love all the colors that you have shown us!!!

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  3. Enjoy the scenery and the company of good friends. I'll cross my fingers that you get selected as an ambassador. Good luck!

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  4. The fall color looks beautiful. I hope you are taking it all in for those of us in areas without that kind of fall foliage!

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  5. What a wonderful time away by the sound of it. Love your autumnal photos & walking rail trails is one of our favouorite things to do when we get the chance. Still raining here so not much happening on the getting outdoors stuff. Congrats on being asked by Benartex to be an ambassador. Enjoy the rest of your holiday, take care & hugs.

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  6. That is so beautiful! I enjoyed hearing about your trip and experience with your car. My son just ordered an electric car so it was very interesting to me.

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  7. It sounds like you are really enjoying yourselves. I love the autumn colours....we just don't get anything like that here. Awesome about being invited to re-join the Bernatex team!

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  8. Gorgeous pictures, especially the one from the top of the dam of the Ashokan Reservoir! Congrats on becoming a Benartex ambassador. Enjoy your trip!

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  9. The pictures of the Catskills are beautiful, would love to visit! Congratulations on the ambassador call, you would be great 👍.

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  10. Looks like a lovely getaway, with beautiful color! Look at the beautiful coats on those pups! They are clearly happy and healthy. Cool details on your car travel, too!

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  11. Oh, and congrats on the ambassador call, too. I'm not surprised!

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  12. I am so happy everything fell into place for your trip to NY. The mountains in fall are truly spectacular and it sounds like your charging stops worked out well for you and your traveling companions!

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  13. That is awesome news about your latest Ambassadorship, Sandra. It is very well deserved and they are lucky to have you with your talents. And how great to be on a little trip too. I read out your electric car specs to Tony. Interesting!

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  14. Sounds like you are enjoying your visit to NYS and, of course, it's also nice to be able to visit with friends. The colors are wonderful this year. I drove to Canton, OH last weekend and enjoyed the landscape very much (or at least as much as I could while keeping my eyes on the road). I hope your return trip goes smoothly. Weather looks decent for the next week or so.
    Pat

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  15. Great photos of the foliage, the quilts, the bouquet. Did you get chosen to be a Benartex Ambassador. If so, they will be getting a good deal. I saw that Louise Penny has a new book out and of course will want to read it. Will probably wait for a little so I can complete some projects. Hope you are enjoying your vacation.

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  16. What a beautiful get-away area! Love seeing the autumn colors on mountains, and it looks like you are thoroughly enjoying them. And you're lunching at Mohonk? That's a place hubs and I have always wanted to visit... well, it would be nice to visit upstate NY in any case. I hope you're chosen as a Benartex Ambassador. I know how disappointing it is to be turned down for something like this, as I've tried a couple times to be an Aurifil Ambassador, and a Bernina Ambassador. I tell myself I wasn't accepted because I don't have a big enough following, but I really don't know for sure why. Wishing you the best of luck!

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  17. What a beautiful trip! And so cool that Benartex used your bag in their ad!

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  18. good costumes, and becha they were made to last. Love Sena's gaze and that part of NY is beautiful. Interesting to read about the car and expenses. We think about it but aren't going places now... still...

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