I Have an Excuse, Really!

I haven't been doing any quilting in the last week.  I spent four days at a conference in Lake Louise, which is in Banff National Park.

It is just a beautiful spot.  The weather wasn't great - it was pretty chilly and snowed quite a lot one day.  But who can complain about these views?  We ate our meals in a room with floor to ceiling windows, all looking at this:

There is a lake in front of this mountain.  Lake Louise, as a matter of fact.  When it isn't frozen, it is the most gorgeous blue you can imagine.

However, I wasn't there just to look around.  We had full days of lectures, and I learned a LOT.  And, of course, these conferences give you an opportunity to network with with others in the same business, and catch up with old friends.

When I was away, we received word that some of the government workers, including the courthouse security staff had gone on a wildcat strike.  Some of the court staff walked as well.  But, I was reassured to find out that none of my staff did.  They are so wonderful.  One of my staff said "How could we walk out?  There was a lineup of people who needed help?"

Today, though, we HAD to walk out - someone tried to bring a suspicious package into the building.  Luckily, it was caught at the entrance, going through the security scanners.  We were all evacuated, and spent the rest of the day waiting to hear what was going on.  Thank heavens for Twitter - it was our source of news as the day dragged on.  They brought in the bomb robot and removed the package.  We haven't heard yet if it was a bomb or something innocuous.  I'm just glad that everyone is OK, and that the security staff were back at work!

Hopefully, things have settled down for awhile now, and I can get back to the peace and quiet of my sewing room!

I'm Back!

Mr CQT and I took a week's vacation in Phoenix and soaked in the heat - which was good, as we really haven't had any heat yet this year in Calgary.

We also drove up through beautiful Sedona to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.  It was the first time I had ever been there.  It is awe inspiring!

This photo doesn't even begin to do it justice.  After walking around, we headed into the gift shop to look for a fridge magnet (we collect fridge magnets wherever we go!), and what did I see, hidden in a little corner?

Imagine that!  A Grande Canyon quilt!

We also managed to visit almost every quilt store in Phoenix / Sedona / Flagstaff, and I did a little shopping. You can't just go into these stores and not buy anything, right?  And there were Memorial Day sales going on in some of them, so I got some really good deals!

Here's my loot.  I have no idea what I will do with these bright fat quarters, but they were so pretty, I couldn't resist

 Same with these solids and the pastel coloured ones below - although I'm sure a baby quilt will be needed at some point or another, and I'll be ready with these fabrics!

Part of the reason for our trip to Flagstaff was so that Mr. CGT could experience Route 66.  He has always dreamed of driving on that route, so the bit that we were able to experience in Flagstaff was fun!  And, in one of the stores, I found some Route 66 fabric.

I'm going to make Mr. CGT a pillow out of this.

More fabric, a ruler and a book:

I've got an idea for a Mariner's Compass quilt that I would love to make to hang at work.  We work with people going through separation and other family disputes, and a big focus of the work is mediation.  The Mariner's Compass would be an ideal symbol of the mediators goal - to guide people to a better way of resolving their disputes.  This is a "someday project", for sure, but getting the instructions is a first step.



I also bought myself a hat.  Usually I look absolutely ridiculous in hats.  But I found this Anne of Green Gables style hat in Arizona, and I don't think it's that bad!  Now I've got something to wear when I'm gardening.  Have to maintain the pasty white Canadian complexion, eh?

T.G.I.F.

Working in the family law biz is especially stressful before Christmas.  People have lots of urgent concerns - things that they either never thought of before or that they thought their ex would agree to.  Turns out they can't agree who will have Junior this Christmas.  Or, they need to get a passport to travel, and can't find their ex to sign.  Or, they want to increase their child support and have extra money to pay the Christmas bills.  And, everyone is more emotional this time of year.  Including us - those that are supposed to be calm and professional as we help.

This is how our office front counter area felt all week.  Minus the cross.  I had strong language and tears - from the clients and from the staff.  This should be the worst of it, though.   By next week, it is getting too late to make court applications if they have to serve the other party.  So, we can coast through to Christmas - then be ready for the first workday after Christmas, when we get the inevitable post Christmas rush.

Happy Birthday to Me

I've been sitting on this empty blog for a few days - I guess this is as good a day as any to start.

I'm Colleen.  I'm 54 (today), married, with two adult children.  My daughter is 24 and teaching in northern Saskatchewan.  My son is 19 and working at a car dealership while he decides what  he wants to do.  He lives at home.  We have an elderly dog, who isn't as entertaining as he used to be.

By day, I'm a Manager of a government department that helps people without lawyers navigate the court system.  Most of the people have family law issues - divorce, custody, child support, protection orders.  It's a high stress, high emotion type of job - but very rewarding too.

Quilting is the way I de-stress.  Not just the actual process of quilting, but also reading quilting blogs and listening to quilting podcasts.  So, this blog will mostly be about my quilting journey.  I also love to cook, so I'll probably post recipes now and then.