Inspiration Alley

This just in ...

You know the Hilltop Memories Crop I will be attending in January. (OK ... I might not have mentioned it on the blog before, but definately on Facebook).

It's my first weekend crop I have scheduled in 2012.  

The one in my most favorite hotel, the Kenilworth Lodge.

The one with Sue Neal coming to teach not 1, not 2, but 4 classes.

Well ... it just got even better !!

Linda has advised that since the Monday is a federal holiday (Martin Luther King Day), that the crop will run an extra day.  We can spend the night Sunday and go home on Monday.

Looking at my calendar, Sunday is the night of one of my plays "Jersey Boys", so now I must change my tickets to another day.  I really hope I can make it work.  Shouldn't be a problem and an extra day cropping would be so cool.

Sebring Fried Green Tomato Crop

I think this pretty much says it all

Although I enjoy going to the various crops, I have to say that I love Sebring the most.  It's unbelievable to think back to how many years we've been coming with one group or another.  First with the FLScrappers, then for some events hosted by the local store, and for the last several years the Fried Green Tomato Crop put on by Linda of Hilltop Memories.

First there is the front porch with all the rocking chairs.

This is were all the stories are told, and important "stuff" happens.  If these chairs could talk, some of us would be in a lot of trouble - LOL.

Then there's the homemade Fried Green Tomatoes - need I say more.

And finally, the friends old and new. 

This weekend, I haven't accomplished much in the way of scrapping, but we did have a great time (mostly in the rocking chairs on the front porch), reminiscing about when and how we all met, funny things that have happened at the crops, peoples personalities,and favorite and not so favorite events.  From the girl who spent the whole weekend hammering eyelets, to the girl who left the crop in the middle of the night, to dressing up in costume for themed crops, to our antics at CKU (think stalkerazzi) and CE (climbing the "rock/mountain"), to the cruises (particularly Mexico) -- it was all rehashed until we couldn't laugh anymore. 

I don't think I could ask for a better weekend.

 

On the Road

This weekend I'm at a Hilltop Memories Crop called Winter Retreat.  It's held over in Sarasota at a RV camp.  We rent Mobile Homes and crop at the Pavillion.

For me it's about a 3.5 hour drive and I go straight across "Alligator Alley", which in the old days used to be two lane, but now it's a divided highway and pretty safe to drive.  I was heading across the alley during the time that the sun was going down and the view was so beautiful that I just had to take a picture.  Some came out and some didn't because I just set the camera in my hands resting on the steering wheel while I was still driving. 

Admittedly, with my history, probably not the best idea, but in my defense there was very little traffic.

It's been a great crop.  I was able to catch up on all the comings and goings of my Hilltop friends, got to see all the ATCs (my first batch was lost in the mail), saw one of my Soul Restoration sisters, and Sara even had time to drop by.  We reminisced about the Utah trip, thought about this years trip, plus I actually got some projects completed.

I'll post pics of the make-n-takes, and the ATCs over the next couple of days, because right about now, I need to be heading to bed so that I can make the drive home tomorrow (or rather later today).

 

Utah - We Did It !

All of the ladies who attended the trip are thanking me for helping to coordinate it, and I appreciate that, but this was not a one person endevour.  You know the saying ... it takes a village. 

I could not have done it without each and everyone of you - you all played your part, from providing ideas for what to do, where to go, how to get there (thanks for that wonderful invention - the GPS), who to contact to get us "in" somewhere, the classes you wanted, the classes you taught and the games you brought.  I had my doubts that 18 women would be able to be up, showered and dressed and ready to go with only 4 bathrooms in the house - but we did it and did it well.  I had my doubts that we could get into a store, shop and be checked out within a specific timeframe - but we did it (except for the slooooooowwww checkout person at the one stop).  You adapted to changes in schedule,  the cancellation by Quickutz of the tour (boo-hiss), bus breakdowns, and the additional stops we needed to make to stock up on supplies.  It was quite the team effort.

In a Nutshell here's what we accomplished.

Scrap/Craft Events: (16 in all) - Jewelry Making Class w/Amber DeBirk, BoBunny tour, SEI tour/shopping, Carolee's Creations tour/shopping, Cosmo Cricket tour/shopping, Sue Neal Envelopements Class, Rusty Pickle warehouse sale, WeRMemory Keepers shopping, PebblesInMyPocket shopping, Heartland Paper Fairy class/shopping, Paper Creations shopping, Margie Romney-Aslett garland class, Archivers shopping, Roberts Crafts shopping, Heartfelt Creations shopping, Rusty Pickle Lance Anderson Panama Jack class

Sightseeing/Other stops: (15 and then some) - Temple Square (and all of it's various sites), Organ Recital, Capitol Building, Olympic Cauldron, Hoberman Arch, Snow Flurries, Solitude and Brighton Ski Resorts, Heber Valley RR Train Ride, Bridal Falls, Farmers Market at Pioneer Park, Antelope Island, Park City, Park Silly Farmers market, Historic Park City Trolley, Sundance, Several WalMarts, and don't forget the Walgreen's parking lot.

Food Places: (15 in all) - Hagelmanns, Porcupine Pub, Burger Bar, Red Iguana, Nauvoo, Pat's BBQ, Blue Plate Diner, Lone Star Taqueria, (McDonalds), Lambs Grill, Bruges Waffles, (A&W), Moochies Meatballs, The Pie, Ruths Diner, Sundance-The Owl Bar.

One week. Five Classes. 45 plus stops on the itinerary.

I am not one to go soft and get mushy, but you've thanked me every day of the trip just by the fact that you were there.  We were there together and we shared in this awesome experience.  My old friends and my new friends living the dream right by my side.  WE Did It !  The one person I would like to give a shout out to is Linda of HilltopMemories, for without her, there would have been no trip to plan.  She is the glue that has bound so many of us together. 

So thank YOU my friends, and I am looking forward to next years adventure.
 

Utah - Day 9

This morning we had two departures.  Mary and Ann had to be up and ready for the car at like 6:45 AM, and we would be doing the same thing just 24 hours after that.

Todays events started at our final Diners Drive-Ins and Dives location which was Ruth's Diner - which was a diner,
but hardly a dive.  Ruth apparantly was some kind of character - if you get a chance you might want to look her up -
I'd say she was my kind of woman.  At first I thought there would be a problem because there wasn't seating ready for us but it only took them about 30 minutes to seat us.  We had to be split up into small groups but we were all on the patio and it worked.  This was amazing considering it was a Sunday and not just any Sunday, but Father's Day.  First they have
mile high biscuits - and you don't have to order them special they just come with every meal.  We probably could have stopped there (after a slathering of butter), but we also ordered breakfast which was quite delicious.  From breakfast, we were heading down to Park City which is a quaint little resort town.  They have a farmers market called
Park Silly.  The idea here is it is very "green".  They say that they only had one bag of garbage after the event they had last year -- there was recycle bins for paper, plastic, glass, and even some (believe it or not) for diapers and dog poop - I know, I should have taken a picture, but I had my sights set on getting a massage and nothing was stopping me.  I made it to the front and had 10 minutes of bliss (5 minutes were free).  After the massage, and I was feeling fine, some of us caught the
trolley to tour the town a bit.  Now with the trolley two things happened, first by the end of our trolley ride, we had met up with everyone in our group except one, and I'm pretty sure we scared everyone else off the trolley because we were the only ones on board.  And second, the ceiling light fixture just fell from the sky and scared the crap out of us (not to mention almost hit Linda).  It landed upright and didn't even break - that would have been a mess.

From Park Silly, we headed back to the Beartrap because not everyone wanted to spend a full day out and about - some people wanted to relax a bit before a full day traveling.  Well, on the way back, all of a sudden we saw smoke coming from the engine - so over to the side we pulled.  It turned out that it was leaking oil (quite a bit), so our driver added in some oil, and continued up the canyon.  Now were were OK with this since, we wouldn't be sitting on the side of the road.  They then decided to drive those of us going to Sundance back down the Canyon and swap out the vehicles (we could use a minibus since only 8 of us were going) which also seemed OK until the brakes started to alarm.  Ugggh.  Not a happy time.  To make a long story short, we made it down the hill safely, swapped the vehicles, and were on our way to Sundance.

At Sundance, we went on the
ski lift and man, you could see for miles.  The views were just
stunning.  Linda and Kelly
were in the seats in front of us, Gerri Anne and Sonia were in front of them, and Kip and Jayne were in front of that.  After our little ride to nowhere (they don't even let you off at the top unless you have a bike), we went over to the shops and restaurants.  Of course, when visiting Robert Redford's place, we had to taste his food, so we tried for reservations but they were booked until 8PM.  The Owl Bar
however, served the same food and you didn't need reservations.  We ordered food and it was delicious.  I had a burger, and substituted Asparagus for the fries.  The Asparagus was perfectly cooked, and Linda thought I was weird because I put them on my burger - I'm known for making sandwiches out of anything.  Sonia just got a side of
sweet potato fries - we all were surprised to find out that they charged $6.00 for them.  A bit pricey, but hey ... we were at Sundance dontcha know.  The trip back to the lodge was uneventful.  We spent the evening packing up our suitcases (and weighing them), and cleaning out the fridge.  Some played Canasta, and some (me) fell asleep on the couch (again).

Utah - Day 8

Today we started the day by going to the Farmers Market at Pioneer Park which had fruits, vegetables, plants, cheeses, breads and pastries, crafts, musicians, as well as great people watching and dogs.  We had heard about a fantastic (not to miss) waffle house that served Belgium waffles, so besides checking out the farmers market we kept an eye out for the waffle house -
and found it.  You could have a waffle with fruit, or creme fresh (which looked so thick and creamy), or something called the chocolate tornado which was a belgium chocolate infused waffle ... can you guess which one I chose ?  In my defense, I did share it with Mary and it was oh so delicious.  Pierre told us that they dip the waffles in imported belgium sugar so that when they cook the sugar melts and carmelizes - not that's just the waffle, not to mention the chocolate inside.  I'm very happy that I live a safe distance away because it was the absolute best.  After our waffles, we waited for the group to catch up

and for our travel bus to swing around and pick us up.  Barb and Kip sat in the grass enjoying the beautiful day.  From the Farmers Market, we decided that we needed to make a pit stop at the Walgreens in order to purchases some extra memory cards and let me tell you it was a good thing that we made that little detour.  The reason it was a "good thing" is because that is where the bus decided to break down
.  The break was stuck so he couldn't move the bus forward.  Had we not stopped we would have been stranded out at Antelope Island which was our next destination but instead we were right by the A&W, so we decided to make the best of it and have rootbeer floats.  Here we are sitting on the wall
with our thumbs out like we're hitchhiking.  Some took pictures of the bus guy under the bus, and some took picures of us taking pictures of the bus guy working on the bus.  Even under these adverse conditions we still found stuff to laugh about.  From here, we ended up being split up into two vans to finish our travels which wasn't quite as much fun, but at least got us on our way.  Our next destination was Antelope Island.
We saw some beautiful scenery with the mountains
in the background, and the water and salt flats.  Besides the scenery, we stopped at the visitor center and some bought souveniers and some bought Antelope Island scrapbook paper.  From here, we were primarily on a buffalo hunt.  We knew they were on the island and we didn't want to leave without seeing them.  After all we had traveled all that way.  One van took a left out, and the other van took a right, so unfortunately only have the group got to see the
buffalo.  We saw 3 in the grass, and then a little further up saw this guy.  In the forground of the picture is the side view mirror of the van, so you can tell just how close he was.  It was amazing.  Kip was hanging out the window trying to get a good shot of him and all I could think (especially when he started to rub his foot on the ground) was that he was going to charge us.  He didn't and Kip got her picture, and  Jayne got a picture of Kip hanging out the window getting her picture.  About now, those waffles from breakfast had worn off so it was off to another Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives location.  This time it was Moochies Meatballs
in downtown SLC.  Even thought it's called Moochies Meatballs, they are also known for their authentic Philly sandwiches which is what most of us had.  I also had the potato salad which had some kind of seasoning in it which was delicious.  It was all good.  Now, because of the breakdown, we were behind in time, so sent as many as possible back to the lodge in one van, while the remainder went to pick up pizza for after our class.  We went to "The Pie" pizza place (although not the underground location) and got one of the biggest pies ever.  It was a full 24 inches in diameter.  WOW.  I know ... we had just had philly cheesesteaks, and no one could really think about food at that moment - but when you are 12 miles up the canyon and don't have any wheels once the bus driver leaves, you've gotta make plans for a snack later in the evening.  After getting home we had a class to do which was Rusty Pickle's Lance Anderson teaching the Panama Jack
class which was such a cute album.  It has a little pop-up shack on the front.  He had taught this same class at Donna Downey's Inspired, and we were all very excited to get to take it while in Utah.  Not only did he teach the class, but he spent time going over some of the other kits we purchased from him, so that we would know how to put them together.  There was one with a woven edge and he made sure we all knew just how to put it together when we started working on it at home.  It was a fantastic class and we learned quite a bit - just little tips and tricks he's learned and passed on.  Plus we got to see his black handled CropADile which he told us WeRMemory made just for him.  After Lance left us, we just hung out, played Canasta and LCR (OK - not me, I was flaked out on the Sofa), and had some of the pizza.

With the exception of the breakdowns, it was another good day.

 
 

Utah - Day 6

Yesterday was a shorter day on the road because we have a class back at the lodge. 

We got up early this morning and found the remnants of our "snow"
.  There were flakes below the roof edge on the porch and our picnic tables were covered in ice
.  Did anyone tell them here that it's the middle of June ? From here, we started the day going out to breakfast at

The Blue Plate Diner.  This is a diner profiled on Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, and they had old fashioned fountain drinks plus
huge portions.  From breakfast we headed to the local scrapbook store called
Heartland Paper.  At Heartland Paper we were taking a course called Fairy Couture.  The class was taught by Pat
and although it was not scrapbooking in a traditional sense, it was a fabulous class.  Several had to step out of their comfort zone, but in the end we all loved the

class.  The store was fantastic and had just about every brand/product.  They gave is a 10% discount on our purchases, and even sent us home with a goodie bag for prizes when we were back at the lodge.

After Heartland paper, we decided to make a stop at another Scrapbook Store - this one we were told about by some ladies at breakfast - this store was called
Paper Creations.  The store was a little on the pricey side, but they also had a great clearance section, and some items we hadn't come across as yet so I'm pretty sure we all walked out with a bag.  After shopping it was time for lunch so we departed for the
Lone Star Taqueria.  Lone Star is a
Diners Drive-Ins and Dives location, and although small, they pumped out the food fast, and it was delicious.  I tried
steak and chicken tacos and a handmade pork tamale - no complaints here.  From lunch we were headed back to the Beartrap Lodge but first we took a little detour and went past the lodge to the ski resorts.  We drove through Solitude and Brighton.  In Brighton, there was still some snow on the ground, so some went off to find it.  I didn't go, but I hear snowballs were made, and a miniature snowman (about 4 inches) was formed.

We headed back to the lodge to get set up for our next class which was a Top 5 Garland
taught by Margie Romney Aslett of the Girls' Paperie.   Margie came with her daughters
who helped her with the class.  Many of us completed the pages
but a few were just too tired.  Margie had offered to teach a second class, but I know we wouldn't have been able to stay alert.  After Margies class, we just relaxed a bit and some of us fell asleep. Penny and Jackie had designed a beaded keychain with a Utah plastic tag attached, so in little groups we worked on and completed the project.  It was very cute.

Yes ... I was one of those who fell asleep in a chair, and I'm sure someone has pictures.  Many stayed up and played some games, we had LCR (Left-Center-Right), Canasta, Bunco, and Pokeno around.  It was a good break we're about half way through the trip and a resting up a bit was what we needed.

Today we have a train ride and a visit to the Provo/Orem area.

Utah - Day 5

Another wonderfully full day.

We started our morning with a class by Sue Neal - we completed 2 cards and 1 mini album, with a bonus project for us to do later. 
The cool part about the class is that all of the projects were made with envelopes. Here's a group shot
of us with Sue.  After Sue's class we went to do some sightseeing at Temple Square.  We first saw the

Organ Recital, which was unbelievable, and then visited various parts of the Temple Square area - there was even a wedding taking place.  After walking around a bit, we had lunch at Nauvoo, and then it was looking like it might rain, so we got on our way to our next site.

From Temple Square we went to Rusty Pickle
for a warehouse sale.  Lance will be teaching us a class later in the week, but we went to the warehouse to help them clear out some product.  We did a great job, and they had flat rate USPS boxes
there so that we could ship.

From Rusty Pickle, we went to WeRMemory Keepers,
and did some shopping there.  They have a retail store right in the front of their headquarters.  We did not get a tour, but we did get to shop.  I bought some of the new product lines.

From there we dropped by a local scrap store Pebbles In My Pocket,
they had some Utah and Temple Square paper and stickers, so that will help us with our albums when we get home.

Then we had to eat so it was a stop at another Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives location - this time Pat's BBQ

.  It was touch and go for a minute because our driver said he didn't think it was all that, but in the end it was most delicious, and just about everyone loved it.  Several of us got the combo platter which had ribs, brisket, and pulled pork, and you could get jumbalaya as a side, which isn't strictly BBQ, but was excellent.

Afters Pats, we took in a few more sites of downtown SLC.  The capitol

building, and the olympic caldron.

When we arrived home, we thought we were done for the night but mother nature added one more event to our day.  While some of us were on the deck, it stated to snow (just snow flurries), and we all ran outside in our PJs and took pictures of the falling snow.  It's pitch black outside
our cabin, but you can see the white specs falling from the sky.

All in all, a great day.

Today we have a class at the local scrap store, another Triple D restaurant and then a class at the lodge.

Utah - Day 3

Today is the day the rest of the crew arrives.

Linda's flight was on time -- can you believe it ?  She took the shuttle over to the hotel to meet us because she had a couple of hours to kill until everyone else arrives.  The first stop we made on the way to the airport was a cupcake shop called Mini's.  We had to get some gourmet cupcakes which were inspired by the Sex and the City movies.
Then onward to the airport where Canyon transportation met us.  They actually were able to fit ALL our luggage which was quite the trick considering we had clothes and scrap supplies.  Here we are all in our places with bright shining faces.
Our first stop of the day was a fused glass jewelry making class at the studios of artist Amber DeBirk. 
Amber met us when we arrived and gave us a little history of the area that her studio was in.  She taught us about fused glass and we went to work creating jewelry pieces.  Here are the ones that I created. 
The class included a pair of earrings and a pendant, and I added a barrette as well. From this state, the piece need to be fired and then Amber will deliver them to us over the weekend.  After the jewelry class we made a brief stop at the liquor store (yes, I allocated time for this), and then a stop at the grocery store for the things we thought we couldn't live without.  We have plenty of snack food around the lodge.  After our stocking up we made one more stop which was at the Porcupine Pub for dinner. 
The porcupine pub is at the base of Big Cottonwood Canyon which leads up to our lodge.  First, they had a tasting option for some of the local beers, so Mary, Sara, and I tried a few.

We tried Polygamy Porter, Captain Bastards Oatmeal Stout, Hefeweizen, Chocolate Stout, and Raspberry Wheat.  We preferred the lighter beers so passed the dark beers down the table for others to try.  For dinner I had the
pizza which was fantastic.  From the Porcupine we headed up the canyon to our lodge, unloaded all our luggage, and settled in for the week.  Many people brought little gifts for everyone and I'll have to take pictures and post on another day.  So many pictures so little time.  In addition to the presents, the whole group put together a little present for me for planning the trip and logistics out.  

They made a Thank you card, all signed it, and included a Visa Gift card and some cash to use while on my trip.  Totally unnecessary, but it was quite the surprise (I'll have to get on Linda for not warning me) and I really appreciate it.  I am truly blessed to have such good friends.  Then Gerri-Anne presented Linda 

with a messenger bag.  This was for the next time she ends up roaming airports due to mechanical delays.  I have one parting shot to post.  This is the view from our back porch.
The moon and the stars off our back porch.  There is really nothing more beautiful.

I have so many more pictures but it really bogs down how fast the blog loads.  So far, the rest have been unable to get on the wi-fi service, so I'm about the only one with a connection through my aircard.

I'll post updates daily for as long as I can.

Utah - Day 2

Log-Haven was the absolute best - but let's start at the beginning.

We got a late start today getting out of the hotel and on the road.  Jackie stayed behind and rested her knee while working on a project.  The rest of us went back to visit the WalMart.  We did need to get some essentials, and I managed to find a few things I absolutely needed.  Here's a picture of the cart mover -
actually, more us taking pictures of the cart mover.
You might note how close to the top Barb is.  She was so intent on getting the picture that she almost forgot to turn around and step off the escalator.

From WalMart, we took a trip around town.  We went looking for a Roberts Arts and Crafts but the GPS wanted to send us 90 miles away, so there was an app on Gerri-Anne's phone which showed things close by and we were actually only a couple of miles away ... we got on the right path and found that the Roberts at that location had closed down.  We were going to head to Michaels but found a Joanns right around the corner.  From there we headed to Staples so Penny could pick up a new camera, then returned to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

Now the important stuff.  Log Haven. 
Everyone, even those not so keen on going thought it was THE best.  It was up in the mountains and the views were incredible, but the food more so.  Here's a group shot of us
First ... they actually gave us an Amuse Bouche - now I know what this is because I am a Top Chef fan, but I have never had one, so I was excited.  For the uninitiated, and Amuse Bouche is a single bite sized hor d'oeuvre, not ordered from a menu, it's a chef's selection served as an excitement of the taste buds.  So the Amuse Bouche was watermelon, with fresh goat cheese, with a pear balsamic reduction and arugala.
Of course there were drinks too.  Jane ordered a beer called the Devistator
Penny had a Margarita
Then we progressed onto the appetizer selections - I think we tried most of them.  I started with Gingered Carrot Soup we also tried the Fried
Halibut Cheeks,
the Juniper Smoked Bison Carpaccio, and the Green Beans and Chilled beets.

From the appetizers, we then proceded to the entrees.  Some tried the Grilled Bison Bavette Steak, so the Grilled Rocky Mountain Elk Tenderloin, some the Cider Brined Smoked Pork Loin.  I opted for the "early bird special" which was a caesar salad with lobster and steak.  The kicker was that the surf and turf with the salad was only $25.00. Then it was on to desert.  I opted for the sorbet, but there were so many options. the chocolate truffle hazelnut tart, the Frozen Coconut Souffle, the vanilla bean creme brulee , the honey almond panna cotta or the warm chocolate lava cake .  And that wasn't even all of the options available.  Here's us making the desert decisions and the aftermath . 

Monday, we're waiting for everyone else to arrive, and then we have a jewelry class, some grocery shopping to stock up the lodge and dinner at the Porcupine pub.  Should be a fabulous day.