Guess Who Came To Dinner?

Well, more than dinner, of course, because she came all the way from New York State.  None other than our own e-i-e-i-omg gal blogger, Susan!  And ya know what?  What you read on her blog is what you get!

Our time together was short and crammed full.  Lots of talking (can you imagine that?), seeing our area, eating, spending time in my quilt room (so much fun!), getting to know each other (this included Chicken Mama, of course) and just generally hanging out.

Of course, Susan being Susan eagerly jumped in with both feet and helped with a couple/few chores around the homestead.

She and I got big and brave enough to go into the jungle that is our raspberry patch.  The canes grew about 3 feet above their normal height this summer, somehow made an escape from their baling twine trellises and flopped down close to the ground.  What a mess!  I knew many of them would be broken off by snowfall this winter if I didn't temporarily tie them back up before spring pruning time.  Susan and I risked life and limb (okay, maybe a few scratches) and got them wrestled into place without too much trouble.  Unfortunately, there was no one down in the brambles with us to document the occasion.

Here she's being the (wo)man on the ground handing lumber up to Papa Pea which was a much appreciated help to him.

Susan had mentioned she'd thought about learning to quilt some day so one afternoon I asked her if she'd like to have a quilting lesson, and I was pleased as punch she was eager to do so.

We picked out fabric (she has a very good eye), had a short lesson on using the rotary cutter without producing blood and/or a trip to the emergency room, got comfy at the sewing machine and she was off.  Here she's putting the binding on her first quilted piece, a table mat.

I can honestly say that of all the beginning quilters I've taught, Susan caught on the fastest plus her work was near perfect.  Yes, I'm serious; she is that good.

Chicken Mama joined us that same afternoon to catch up on some of her own craft work.  She was constructing colorful handmade boxes for a friend of hers who fills them with homemade soaps for sale.  Guess who learned how to make boxes with no trouble at all?  Yep, our very own Susan mastered that with hardly the blink of an eye. No doubt about it, she is one very talented, crafty lady.

We had Family Reading Night on Saturday.  (No pictures.  What was I thinking?  Too much wino?)  We had so much fun with Susan's presence in joining in the reading that Chicken Mama commented it felt like a holiday.

My daughter stole Susan away for several hours on Sunday when they went for an extended tour of the still colorful countryside, with Chicken Mama being tour guide and stopping at or driving by points of interest.  I have a feeling there was a lot of good girl talk going on also.  (And I wasn't invited!  Waaah.)  Just kidding.  (I think.)

 Me, Chicken Mama and Susan

 The time flew by so quickly.  It was a wonderful opportunity to actually meet, face-to-face, someone we all know through the blog world.  Her writing has such a whacky sense of humor and seems so full of life, energy, kindness and sensitivity.  No doubt about it, that's exactly who came to visit.