Ooooooh, Baby!

Busy, busy, busy! Al and I went to Belize the second week of January to celebrate Regina's 60th birthday. Forty of Regina's friends and family all congregated in Belize! We were there for a week, and it was a great way to start off the year. We discovered Belize in 2003 when six of us celebrated Harriet's 50th birthday there. We rented a house in Placencia for a week. Regina fell in love with Belize, went back, found property in Hopkins, built a home, and here we were, five years later! This photo is us arriving in Belize - you take a puddle jumper from Belize City, or you can drive for three hours from Belize City to your destination, over unpaved, bumpy, pot-holed roads. Al said, "take the puddle jumper." Believe it or not, I don't like flying, but I really don't like flying in teeny, tiny little airplanes. Anyway, on arrival, Al asked the pilot if he could sit in the front seat, and off we went for the 20 minute flight to Hopkins. I know this was the highlight of the trip for Al. Actually, I was OK with the puddle jumper when Al got in the front seat, next to the 24 year-old pilot. Since he flew C-5's when he was in the Air Force, he should be able to handle a little puddle jumper, right?

Regina, Me, Harriet at the party


One day we took the Hokey Pokey from Independence to Placencia and walked around. We walked from downtown to the house we rented previously. It was a good stroll down memory lane.

Regina is Oprah's # 1 fan, so the highlight of her birthday party is when her daughter, Lency, and BFF Pat, dressed as Oprah and Gail, and we all roasted Regina. It was a beautiful full moon night, and we danced the night away to music from the 60's to today. The next day Regina had us all over to her house for a house warming party.

The next week I went to California to get training on my new Bernina! I bought the machine from Sew Images, the Bernina dealership in Oakland, from Cecilia Franklin. The Bernina dealership here in Atlanta is huge, but the people there are not always as warm and friendly as I would like. I know they won't miss my little money, but it will make a difference for Cecilia.

My new machine...Ooooooh, Baby! Three words for this machine: A-MA-ZING! It will take me a long time to discover all the features, and they are plentiful! So far, my favorite features are the way the pressure foot hovers over the fabric so that you can position the fabric to sew, that you don't need a foot pedal to sew, and the bobbin that holds a huge amount of thread. I forget how much, but it's a lot. Oh, and the arm! Look at all that room, compared to the 200/730 model. The photo on the bottom is Cecilia Franklin, Owner, Sew Images. Cecilia knows more about sewing machines than anyone in the world!