Concentrated Chaos

Our three dogs keep an eye on 'Dad' as he works in the back yard.

The last ten days have been chaotic. Here is the biggest reason why:

My daughter got married! 

I know that doesn't sound all that complicated but it was. We were planning on going in our RV, taking off the week before, for a vacation as we traveled north for her wedding day. Then the gas prices skyrocketed! It would have cost us over a grand, just in gas. We couldn't quite handle that. So we cancelled those plans.

Then we thought perhaps we could have our youngest son watch the dogs and we could drive the car up (about a ten hour drive) and attend the wedding. But then that son got a job offer and all of a sudden he was going to need help in moving (a bit over an hour away) into his first apartment. This meant furniture and kitchen stuff and money. To top it all off, the soonest he could move in was the same weekend the wedding was.

Time passes as this bunny naps just outside my studio window.

I finished a quilt top:

This was made from orphan blocks and fabrics gotten from the freebie table at guild and a little of my own personal stash. I think it turned out pretty decent. It will go to our community service group to be quilted for someone in need.

I've started this mosaic crochet project:

I hope to have it done for a Christmas gift for my daughter and her husband.

Time grew closer to the wedding day and we considered loading the three dogs into the car and driving up for the wedding anyway. It was going to be held outdoors, so the dogs would be able to attend too! At the same time, one of my other sons had some time he had to use up as he was switching jobs. He had a week off with nothing to do. He volunteered to come babysit the dogs and to be available for his younger brother's move, in case of emergency. The trip was back on!!! We didn't tell my daughter though. We wanted to surprise her.

The morning before her wedding we headed out for the long drive. She thought we were helping her little brother with the move to the apartment. I sent her this photo of my husband's car, all packed up for the move:

We had her totally fooled. hahaha

This bridge was the most interesting thing we saw during the ten hour trip:

 

We made it into town and checked in to our hotel. This was the "wonderful" view outside our window:

 

Those windows are all part of the same hotel. We had just as good a view of others as they had of us. All this and the dead bird for close to $200 a night! The beds were very comfortable though, and the AC worked. That was good because our area is in a major heat dome bubble thing and it was in the hundreds outside. 

A good thing that happened was that we didn't have to pay for the room! My oldest, who stayed at the same hotel, had thousands of points to burn and he covered our room expense!

 My oldest son was able to travel from California to be at his sister's wedding too! He was supposed to originally be a surprise but when we had to cancel, we told my daughter he was coming, in order to lessen the disappointment of our not being able to.

He is sure a handsome young man, but who is that old lady next to him? hahaha

He had made plans to have supper with his sister that night. He greeted her and her fiancé at the door of the restaurant and brought them back to the table where my husband and I waited for her. She came around the corner and saw us. To say she was totally surprised is an understatement! I am SO glad we went. 

We had 'family' time over dinner and talked about silly things that my son and daughter did when younger. My daughter's fiancé got a glimpse into what he was in for, by joining our family! And he still showed up for the wedding anyway!!! hahaha

This is a clip from a movie they kidded each other about. It's called "High Spirits" and had these creepy nuns in a few scenes. I watched it when I got home so I could be in on their jokes. 

The wedding was the next morning and the weather was warm but tolerable. We had to leave shortly after to be home Saturday night as the dog sitting son had to leave Sunday morning to be back for work on Monday. 

Yes, we drove almost ten hours up on Friday and ten hours back on Saturday. 

I was glad to see this sign, Saturday evening:

Our needy dogs were thrilled to have us back home. We were able to visit more with the son who was dog sitting. He left on Sunday for his seven hour drive home. The son that was moving out had a trailer come for his furniture that we had donated to the cause or had purchased at bargain prices over the previous weeks. Then he was gone.

My oldest had stayed back in the city where my daughter was and spent more time with them on Saturday. He then drove to our town on Sunday. We were able to visit him Monday and Tuesday. He's currently driving about six hours to where his flight leaves tomorrow morning, for California.

One of the biggest things about this time of chaos is that I was validated in the fact that my four kids are the most awesome people I could have ever hoped to have a part in making. They all stepped up to make things happen. I am very humbled and heart warmed at the same time.

The house is so quiet and empty now!

 Dexter is doing his best to distract me by bringing me toys to toss:

Now it's time to get back to all my crafty projects. The temperatures are insane and I do not want to go outside any more often than absolutely necessary. I hope you all are doing well and keeping cool too! Till next time, happy crafting, happy life, y'all!