Road Tripping

Oct 3, 2018 by tlmiller

Who doesn’t love a good road trip? 

I know there are some of you out there that shudder at the thought, but I’m not one of them, so when I had the opportunity to visit my sister for a few days with the single goal of painting her living room, I packed a bag and hopped into my car.

With a long drive ahead of me, the first stop on any road trip for me is McDonald’s for a breakfast sandwich and a large Coke.  Or, sometimes, just a large Coke.  What can I say.  It’s a thing.

Heading east, into the sun at 6:00 a.m., is always challenging.  For some reason those visors are never where I need them to be.  I spent quite a lot of time flipping visors back and forth with limited success.  

To keep myself entertained across the vastness of eastern Colorodo and Kansas, I listened to an audio recording of The Magnolia Story, by Chip and Joanna Gaines that I picked up from my library.  Not my favorite book, but interesting enough to hear about how they got their start and their lives together.  Motivating as well.  If you like Fixer Upper and Chip and Joanna, then definitely worth a listen (or a read).

The drive to my sister’s is about 9 hours with stops for gas, but I like to take the longer route, and by that I mean hitting all the quilt shops on the way…and Kansas has a lot of quilt shops.  My two favorites are Quilt Cabin, in Colby, KS and Quilt Cottage, in Hays, Kansas.  (Don’t believe the reviews on line – they’ve gotten much friendlier these days.)  Such wonderful fabric it’s hard not to buy a yard of everything, you know, just because it’s fabric and fabric is my addiction…Hays is also the home of Be Made a unique gift store that’s a must stop for me.  Their delightful store is in downtown Hays…so much to look at and the people are so stinkin’ nice.

Sis and I spent quite a bit of time watching paint dry (literally) on her living room and dining room walls.  Too gray?  Not enough taupe?  Too dark?  Too light?  Paint selection is surprisingly hard work, so we took a break to head up north to Liberty, Missouri.

I’ve recently started watching The Midnight Quilt Show on YouTube with Angela Walters and had no idea that every time I visited my Sis that Angela’s quilt shop, Quilting is My Therapy, is just a tad bit north of my sister’s home.   Okay, more than a tad, but my Sis indulges me quite a bit.  She’s been known to drive me to Hamilton, Missouri.  Such an enabler…

Normally I’m not a big meet a person I admire in person fan, but I cannot even believe the excitement I felt at just getting to see her shop.  She comes across on her quilting show like someone you’d love to have as a friend and that added to the excitement – watch the videos, you’ll see what I mean.

I have no idea what I would’ve done if she’d been there is person.  Stare maybe?  Flee in a panic?  I like to think I would’ve kept it all casual and just said “hi” like I’m a normal person, but fortunately I wasn’t put to the test.

I will tell you that the day was cloudy and overcast, but my heart was full of sunshine.  Isn’t it amazing what a fabric store can do for a person who loves fabric.

After I got my fabric fix out of the way, and drooled a bit in the process, we headed back home to see how the paint drying had fared without us.  Turns out paint can dry all on its own without anyone watching.  Who knew?

A color was chosen and the painting the dining room began.  I did end up staying an extra day to finish the dining room – it’s so satisfying to finish a project.

I’d love to show you all the fabric I purchased on this trip, but I didn’t buy any!  I know, right?  What’s up with that?

I ended up painting a dining room with my Sis instead of a living room and lots of fun was had.  And, while I was a little bit stiff and sore on my drive back from all that painting, any time spent with my Sis is always worth the trip.

Make it a clear day!

Tami