Zip It Up!!!

There's a big storm coming straight for us!!  I cringed when my phone went off yesterday, but it's not a tornado ... just a big wind storm!  There was lots of it whipping around my rig last night, along with that wet stuff.  Winds are 20-30 mph with gusts 40-50 here in Tillamook.  That's doesn't bode well for the Farmers Market this morning.  I think I'll zip it up and wait it out, maybe take a nap since I didn't sleep last night!

There are many interesting places to visit in Tillamook.  One of those is the Latimer Quilt and Textile Center.  If you find this picture painted on a garage, you've found the old schoolhouse now used by the center as a museum/teaching facility.  It being a museum, there is a small fee to enter.

This beautiful masterpiece was hanging on the wall waiting for a winner.  I'm pretty sure it's going to be mine since I bought quite a few raffle tickets.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

Everything you see here is for sale.  Not only do they have classes, but anything you make can be sold here, not to mention all the free ideas you can get for new projects.

This one is for Patty Chance.  We are always looking for ways to showcase our beach finds.

The two bottom skeins came from the center, having been spun by a local gal.  They have lessons here for spinning, weaving and all kinds of textile projects like felted wool and rug hooking.  Not only can you watch, you can ask all the questions you want.  

Too bad for me, the weaving instructor wasn't exactly the sweetest cube in the sugar box, but I picked up a couple of tips in spite of the air of superiority in the room.  Apparently you should take a class if you want to learn something!!

These amazing felted wool acorns will be a great addition to a sisal handmade basket I have.

There's lots of stuff for every age, from these cute little doggie stuffed toys made from leftover sweaters .....

to the kitties made from old original Pendleton wood blankets.  There's handmade dolls and crazy critters as well as old books not found anywhere else.

Sometimes on these adventures you just have to step outside the box ... outside your comfort zone ... and take a chance.  That's just what I did at the end of yesterday, and I was pleasantly surprised!!

On the way home, I stopped in at La Tea Da, a little store on the South end of town.  Tea ... especially High Tea ... or even a store that sells just tea ... is not my thing.  I've always felt like you had to keep your little finger in the air, and that's something that this cowgirl isn't good at!!   At the recommendation of Betty Graffis however, I went in just to see ... and WOWEE!!  I'm glad I did.

I know nothing about tea except you can buy it at Starbucks already made.  Here, they have many varieties of loose tea and will make up any mixture you want.  Still, I had no intention of trying anything.  I was much more interested in the jewelry and chatchkies!!  

The wonderful owner had other ideas however, and fixed me a cup of some mixture with coconut.  Now I'm not a fan of coconut either, but this was amazing!!  To make it even more fantastic, she gave me two ... count them TWO ... of the most mouth-watering scones I've ever had in my life.  I know, there's only one here ... that's because I ate the other one faster than you can blink an eye!!   

It just goes to show that sometimes you should step out of that box and try something different.  This was so wonderful, I'm going back to get some loose tea and two dozen scones!!

Besides that, now I'm on the hunt for a good scone recipe.  Most I have tried are too hard and dry ... these were soft, moist and delicious!!!  If you don't like tea, they have strawberry lemonade that is over the moon.  Definitely put La Tea Da on your afternoon snack schedule in spite of your misgivings.  You can get it to go like I did, not requiring an uplifted pinky!!

The wind gusts are getting pretty wild ... I think I better go zip it up a little tighter!!