Rough but good

What a weekend! First, sewing. I got the fifth quilt top sewn together from the leftover bits from the 16 patch quilt.

and I got the quilt pin basted together that will be headed to my SIL for a friend of hers. It was hard to get anything done Saturday and Sunday because I was so tired.

Friday morning I made oatmeal raisin cookies and got ready to head to my brother's house for the big road trip with the band to the Pittsburgh suburb of South Park. It took three hours to get there as we ended up driving thru Pittsburgh just before the worst of rush hour hit. The load in was very easy as we got to pull up right next to the stage. I wasn't feeling very good most of the day. I think it was an accumulation of being in the heat all week. It was so hot at the venue and they made us set up the merch tent on the asphalt that had been baking in the heat. The venue was very nice. A big grassy area for the crowd and an air conditioned trailer with a restroom for the band and crew.

The venue furnished pizza, wings, a huge soft pretzel, and water for us. This was unexpected as many places we travel to do not do this - not even water. We usually come prepared with something to eat just in case. The pizza was so good! Not greasy at all which was good since it was so hot.

Later on the food trucks arrived and I got a handmade small batch popsicle made with real fruit. It tasted so good. It was orange mango.

I had brought a tiny fan, but it wasn't doing much good and I was still feeling pretty bad. There was an extra fan in the trailer so my brother ran an extension cord and plugged it in for me. That helped a lot. There was a great crowd and the kids put on a heck of a show. They got a standing ovation and the staff at the venue wants the band to come back next year. We had left my brother's at 12:30 p.m. and I got to bed at 3:15 a.m. I still feel lousy today so I will pace myself the next couple of days drinking lots of water, getting plenty of rest, and try to stay out of the heat as much as possible.

I did get myself a new toy. I was out trimming the grass a couple weeks ago with my electric weed eater when my neighbor saw me struggling with it. The weed eater is too long for my height and there is no way to make it any shorter. I have to hold my right upper arm parallel to my shoulder in order to use it. To say the least my arm gets tired. My neighbor handed me his battery powered trimmer that you hold in front of your body to try out. Wow what a difference! I could whip around the yard with it! No dealing with extension cords and I could hold the trimmer comfortably. I took back some grout and tile adhesive I am not going to use and it was very close to being an even exchange for my new trimmer. My old trimmer is going to the Goodwill! The new trimmer will easily cut my trimming time in half.