Telcea, Romania

Well, no more sewing until I get home in May. The transformer that I use to convert my USA powered sewing machine to Romanian power fell and broke. This means my Double Delight quilt is at a stand still. I have already ordered one to be delivered home so when I come back in June I will be set again.

We spent last weekend in Telcea which is on the Danube Delta. We had such a good time and got some very good pictures. The only problem with a photo from a good trip is that it never really captures the feeling of wonder as seeing first hand does. We took a cruise on the Danube and were the only two people on the boat as it is off-season for them. This part of the delta is protected and there were so many birds that the noise they made was incredible. Some of them took off from the water and looked like they were running across the river. They made little wakes behind them until their legs cleared the water.

We went to the Museum of Natural History and were very impressed. They have an aquarium on the lower level which was really nice. The posters that told about the different exhibits were is 3 languages, one of which was English. Ass together, it was a delightful weekend.

This and That

These are my Valentine flowers from my best friend; my husband. They were bundled like a sweet nose gay. The housekeepers here at the flat in Romania tell me that they are the traditional flower that is given on Valentine's Day. I am blessed to be married to my best friend.

We did some sightseeing this past weekend. We went down to the railroad station and were lucky enough to see a train pull in. Wow, you have to be fast to get on or off as the train only stays in the station for a minute or two. There is a platform but you have to cross some of the tracks to get to it. This is me outside of the train station. Cernavoda is the town we are staying in while we are in Romania. It is about a two hour drive from Bucharest and thirty minutes from the Black Sea . It was very cold but we still had fun poking around town. The town has a bunch of stores, but no department stores or mega markets as we know them in the States. The stores are small but carry everything you need. I found a lovely store that sells fabric (a necessity for me as a quilter), thread, yarn and laces. I had to buy a few meters so I can make a quilt with Romanian fabric. The fabric is a very nice weight cotton. It is fun to poke around in each store to see what they have.

February already

Here we are again in Romania. It felt a bit like coming home as we drove from the airport to our flat. We will be here for 90 days this time.

I brought the small sewing machine that Bruce gave me for Christmas so I plan on finishing several projects that I brought with me. This little machine (Janome Sew Mini) has straight and zigzag stitches and weighs less that 5 lbs. I also brought my little 10.5 inch lap top which is great for traveling. I took a picture of my lap top and sewing machine with Bruce's red 15 inch lap top to show you how small the machine is. Don't be fooled by the size as it sews like a dream. I know it won't quilt through many layers, but for piecing it truely is great. I had no difficulty getting it through airport security at home or in Europe. I had to take the lap top out of the case, but not the sewing machine. I just love technology, don't you?

Going back to Romania

I'm so excited that we are going back to Romania for the month of November. We booked our airline seats. Last night we had a co-worker of my husband's for dinner. He will be going to Romania also, but had never been there before. My husband showed him our pictures and now he is excited to go. I am working on a cross stitch wall hanging for my husband that I will take with me. I won't have house work to do so I hope to finish it and have it framed when we get back home.

Tomorrow we leave Ohio for home. It has been a good trip. I have more information about my Dad's family now but I know there is lots more to learn. I do wish I had been able to meet a relative or two, but I did not know how to go about finding anyone. I will continue to seek and I hope to find someone soon. Maybe our next trip to Ohio will be the time we meet some relatives.

On Monday I fly out to California to meet with my daughters for a week of play (Disney Land, Universal Studios, Medieval Times) so that should be fun. I will be home of a week before leaving for Romania.

Ohio is beautiful, but I miss my sewing machine!

I'm in Ohio for 2 weeks and my sewing machine is home in Wisconsin. I have been working on some angel blocks for an internet swap and have to hand stitch them. I will post pictures as soon as I have finished the blocks.

Below are some really neat internet sites that I like to use. Sindy is the lady that is hosting the angel swap.

If you like to applique you should check out http://www.fatcatpatterns.com/ (one of my favorite sites.) Sindy has some wonderful designs and is very gracious in giving them away!

I have a very large stash on fabric as many others do also. I belong to Stash Busters (a yahoo group) that also hosts a web site (http://www.stashbuster.com/). Come along and have some fun while shopping you stash before visiting your local quilt shop.

If you are like me and have a rather large collection of scraps please check out Bonnie's site at http://quiltville.com/index.html. Bonnie has some great ideas on stash busting and usinge all of the bits and pieces left over from quilt making. She has a great 'scrap using' storage system and many quilt patterns that she gives away.

Back from Romania

Romania is a lovely country. The people welcome you with open arms. I came to love the country and people after living there for 3 months. My husband's company sent him in January and I joined him in May.

We were able to see many Roman ruins and historical sites. I think the highlight of our stay was standing in the middle of Saint Andrew’s Cave. This is where Saint Andrew was reported to live while he was teaching in the area. I also found out that the Black Sea is not black, but a beautiful blue.