This is my motto nowadays. Life is too short to play it 100% safe all the time. Do what you can to prepare for what might happen and go about your business. If not, you’ll miss out on some of the fantastic opportunities that exist in this crazy world of ours.

I still don’t trust my SUV 100%, so I invested in a portable battery self-jumping system and upgraded my AAA membership to include 100 miles of towing. The money I spent provides peace of mind. I now go about my daily business and will just deal with whatever may happen. So far, my SUV has been operating normally, Hopefully, it continues.

If I’d played it 100% safe, I would have missed a wonderful visit opportunity with Sadie today. It was so great to reconnect with some of my former coworkers. Big Girl made many kids and adults smile during our visit. We all need a little Sadie sunshine in our lives.

Next week, I’ll be helping the quilt museum provide a 1/2 day of professional development for Carrollton City and Carrollton County art teachers. Not exactly sure what this is going to look like, but I’ll write up my best cross-curricular ideas for integration with math, literacy and science, don my tie-dye SQTM t-shirt and show up on Friday morning

This afternoon, I’ll teach my final drawstring bag sewing lesson and then start tackling the to be quilted pile. Quilt design choices are (1) some variation of a loopy meander or (2) straight or wavy line quilting. I’ve been stuck for far too long agonizing over quilting designs. These are every day projects – not show or heirloom quilts. Time to get them finished!

Do you have a system for sorting and organizing your quilting stuff? If so, do you set aside time for ongoing maintenance? I have a system that serves me well as long as I periodically cull, sort and reorganize things. It’s the record keeping and inventory side of my system that always seems to get put on the back burner. Improving my stash management system is one of my major quilty goals in 2024. I even purchased a Quilting Life Planner and Workbook from Sherri McConnell to help refine my processes.

Over the past week, I’ve been going through my stash for items to donate to the Southeastern Quilt & Textile Museum’s semi-annual yard sale on 10/28. I did a big purge over the summer, so I wasn’t sure how much more I’d find. How about one bag for the trash bin and 3 bags of fabric and notions for the SQTM? I thought I’d also be taking a big roll of batting to donate, but after seeing so many quilt tops in the closet, and the two bins full of yardage for quilt backs, I think I’d best get busy finishing those quilts. Same goes for unfinished UFOs sitting in stacked up ArtBin satchels. This will definitely free up space in my studio.

While I have sold off a small portion of my unneeded stash, the majority is donated or given away. I share generously with my sewing kiddos. If I can help out a sewing friend with a specific need, I do that, too! I put stuff on the free table at quilt guild meetings. I’ve used my stash to make many quilt tops to donate to charity. Books are donated to Better World Books, which supports my therapy dog organization. The few magazines that I do have are shared with friends or passed along to teacher friends for classroom activities. In case you’re wondering, the stuff that no one wants or can’t be donated is thrown away.

I actually do have a vision of my personal “optimal” stash level and it’s not an entire house full of fabric! We’ll see how close I am once the current tops are quilted and the WIPs are out of the ArtBin containers.

The search has officially begun for where we’d like to eventually retire. Living close in to the city for the past ten years has certainly been fun, but we’re both ready for something less congested and crowded. Friends of ours who used to live in ATL proper have settled into communities all over north Georgia and Tennessee. Reynolds Plantation/Lake Oconee, about 75 miles east of Atlanta, is another popular choice. Still others have moved to Savannah or over towards Charleston and Myrtle Beach. So many choices.

Ideally, we’d live near the water again in an area with a population of no more than 350,000 and a regional vibe like Boise, Idaho. Areas so far I’ve liked are Pensacola, SE Georgia from Savannah to St. Mary’s, Charleston, Virginia Beach and Knoxville. A little closer to where we currently live: Canton, Ellijay, Waleska, Greensboro, & Eatonton. One neighbor has already built their retirement home in Beaufort, SC (45 minutes NE of Hilton Head) and another will be doing so soon. I’m thinking road trip to check out the area since I’ve never been there.

What do these locations have in common? Each is near a lake, large river or ocean. The boxes of regional airport nearby and access to quality medical care are also checked. Typical places we like to shop and dine are nearby. Activities we like to engage in are available – dog parks, walking trails, library, quilting, volunteering, antiquing, festivals, theatre. Other than Virginia Beach, they’re all within a half day’s drive of our families.

Any other criteria you have for selecting a potential retirement spot that I’ve overlooked or an area to recommend we check out? Not looking to move right away, but we’d like to settle on the area within the next 12-18 months.