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While there wasn’t a blazing sunset, there was some moments of color in the sky.   After having a good meal, we left Key West and headed back up Route One to our suite.

After taking photos at the southern-most point, we walked onto Duvall Street and headed to the Key West Butterfly Conservatory.  We had such a good time there.  We headed in, watched a quick movie, and went right into the conservatory.  They had a good variety of butterflies.  While none of the photographs are particularly good, it was fun photographing them.  We also sat and just observed them.

They had a couple butterfly chairs.  While I was sitting on one, Rich was taking some pictures.  I am absolutely amazed that he managed to get a photo of me when a butterfly landed on my right shoulder.  I could not get that type of butterfly photographed in a fully opened position.  Yet he managed to get it not only with its wings open, but sitting on my shoulder!

After we finished in the conservatory, we headed into the gift shop and gallery.  While in the gallery, we perused the walls that were covered with gorgeous collections of butterflies housed within clear acrylic boxes several inches in depth.  Each piece has butterflies individually mounted on a narrow acrylic pedestal of a particular height to form a specific design.  They were all created by Key West artist Samuel J. Trophia.   After a bit of time, we purchased a square piece holding a circular design of many butterflies.  Also, each butterfly lives out its full adult life cycle.  Thus, nothing is done

The case is air tight.  However, there is a small hole on the side of the unit designed to be uncovered if the piece is transported in an airplane.  Removing the cover would then equalize the air pressure so that the piece would not break.  After we bought it, the nib was removed for transport, and the piece was covered and taped up within layers of bubble wrap.  The piece fit in a large shopping bag.  Since each person is allowed two carry on items, and Rich only had only one, I knew I could take it on.  It was almost funny when I was pulled over by airport security.   “You cannot bring bottles of liquid of any kind. What is in that plastic?  Is it liquid?  You cannot have large containers of liquid.”  It’s not liquid.  It’s butterflies.  Butterflies?  Yes, butterflies.  And there is was: A smile from the otherwise somewhat grumpy security person.

Rich enjoying the ocean breeze!

The next morning, we hit the road with the goal of Key West.  Apparently there are some 42 bridges that connect the Keys, and we were going to drive over all of them.

Here we’re starting over the 7-mile bridge.

We took a detour to visit one of the many small beaches.  This one was at Duck Key.

We got out of the car to look around, check out the water, and admire the views.

Also on the beach was this gentleman weaving baskets with palms.  I went over and asked if I could take his picture.

I sure could!  He and I chatted for a bit.  I’m so bummed that I can’t remember his name.  He had so many great stories — everything from various hurricanes to his daughter marrying someone from Alaska.  Talk about opposing geographical locations!

I got such a kick out of him and the items he was making.  He told me they get sold at craft fairs.  I ended up buying a couple bowls and hanging birds, figuring I’d give a set of items to my mom (which I did, and which she was very happy with).  He also made me a gift — a flying duck, in honor of it being on Duck Key.

Rich and I then hit the road and continued our drive.

We kept going and going until we finally made it to Key West and to the southern-most point of the continental U.S., as marked by the buoy saying so.  The guide book says that on a clear night, you can see the lights of Havana in the horizon.  It’s such a popular photo destination that there is a line of people waiting to be photographed by it.  There seemed to be a photo etiquette going on.  A person would pass their camera to the person behind them in line.  That person would then take a picture or two, return the camera, and then pass his/her camera to the person behind them in line.  It seemed to work and keep the line moving.

Last Wednesday morning Rich and I drove to Philadelphia airport to catch a plane to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida where we would start our trip to the Florida Keys — my birthday present.  (Yes, this was a big birthday for me, and I tried to celebrate every way possible.  I must have mentioned a zillion times that I wanted a party and lots of cards.  The trip was a huge bonus!)  We generally fly out of Newark, but a lower plane fare swayed us to Philly.  Wow was there a lot of anti-Yankees banter going on!  I like the good-natured stuff, but I’m not into the serious trash talk.  Good thing I didn’t wear a Yankees or Giants shirt while in that sea of Phillies fans.  :)

Finally breaking through the clouds, the Florida coastline appeared.

We landed, grabbed our carry on luggage, and went to Hertz to pick up our red Mercury Mariner.  Our trip was straight-forward — 595 to 95 to Route One.  The traffic moved along nicely until we hit Miami, where it was a crawl.  Once out of that area, it was smooth sailing.

I see palm trees, I think vacation.

Eventually we hit the start of the Keys.

We stayed at Ocean Point Suites at Key Largo, and we didn’t arrived until after the sun had set.   The suite was lovely.  A nice size living area with TV, balcony overlooking the ocean side, kitchen, two bathrooms …

and a lovely bedroom with another TV and large rocking chair (which you can’t see in this photo).  We unpacked, settled in, and turned on that TV.  That was some stressful game, but the Yankees won it!  The only downside to being on vacation, was I wasn’t around to buy up all of the various NY papers the next day.

Made by Sue Turner from the UK

I received a few more cards in the mail.  Sherry Boram sent me a much appreciated ATC in honor of the IQA 35th year.  Sue Turner from Derby, UK sent two cards.  The first is a very cute underwater scene.  The second is the beauty shown above.  I love everything about it — the chocolate cupcake (how did she know they are a favorite?), the metallic thread used in the candle, the lace area, the small hearts sewn in to the background.  Wow!

I am so honored by all of the cards and gifts I received.  And Sue’s card, the last that I opened, is such a beautiful finale.  I am very grateful and again thank everyone!

GloDerWorks recently did a site for a company called Olinda.  And … look what I got in the mail from Olinda — a beautiful new handbag!

Ooooh .. and a hot pink lining!   A bonus:  Marie of Olinda gave me a discount code that I have permission to pass onto my friends.  With this code — FFFW09 —  you can get 20% off of any of their online merchandise.  So if you are looking for a new handbag, shoes, or belts, check out of the Olinda site!

Although it’s now after my birthday, I received more cards, a couple lovely fabric cards, and a beautiful small journal-size quilt.  Ann Louise Mullard-Pugh made the fabric card on the upper left.  It’s features some funky fibers, beads, and text messages.  Judy from Homestead, Fl sent the very pretty card on the upper right.  It includes a floral design printed on fabric and machine quilting.  Marlis Egger from Switzerland sent a hand-made card.  I’m such a huge fan of her work, too!  Another amazing surprise was the beautiful journal quilt from Amanda Sheridan from Norfolk in the UK.  The geometric design is quilted around each block of the design.  And each card has a very kind message in it.  I missed the card from Laura Cater-Woods in this photograph, but she also wrote a beautiful birthday wish.  Thank you all for making this birthday so memorable!

A week before my birthday, I announced on the Quiltart and Inkjet lists that I would be turning 50 on the 26th of October.  I noted that when I turned 40, there was no celebration because I didn’t ask for one.  This time I was making it clear:  I want to celebrate, and I invited anyone who was interested to help.  Could I get 50 cards in the mail? Not only did I hit 50, but the cards kept coming.  My plan was to save and open them on the 26th.  Monday was a very quiet evening.  In that quiet, I sat, opened, and read each card.  I cannot even begin to express how much I enjoyed it.

Many had thoughtful notes about the joys of the fifth decade of life.  Others thanked me for some help I offered in the past.  Such notes were very nice surprises.

The cards above were all created by the sender, some made of fabrics, others with photographs, one even included an ATC.

I also received gorgeous stitched fabric cards.  The top left is from Louise Schiele, the top right from Gerrie Congdon, and the lower left is from Janice Simpson.  I was wow’ed when I realized that the face of Janice’s  card included prints of me on fabric from a couple years back when I won a major award at the IQA show.  Janice’s job was taking a group of students to see the exhibits, and her pictures showed me talking to them!  The bottom right is from Helen Kusnitz.

Jenny Williams made the card on the left.  Bettyann Shaver made the card in the center.  She let me know that turning 70 is fun!  Glayds Schulz made the card on the right, also noting that she loves my book <g>.

Heather Lair from Gimli Manitoba made the card on the left.  Marie Johansen the one in the center, and Joni Barriere made the card on the right and sweetly noted she reads everything I write (who knew?) <g>.

Several of the cards had very festive, creative fronts, such as the card from Marie Johansen above.

Sylvia Weir made the card on the left, and Carol Larson the one on the right.

Beth Wheeler made a larger piece showcasing her beautiful inkjet printed digital design which was heavily machine quilted.  The other side was made with a hand-dyed fabric.

Trina Weller totally surprised me with very cool scissors.  They have a very sharp curved top which I am sure will get quite a workout (considering how much I reverse stitch). They were wrapped in a piece of fabric that she marbled.  I initially didn’t know who sent it as the card wasn’t signed nor was the envelope addressed.  At first I thought it came from friend who lives in Pennington (as my only clue was a Pennington postmark).  However, it wasn’t from her.  My next thought was Trina, as I knew she lives in Pennington.  When I wrote her, I learned it was from her!  This was totally unexpected and extremely appreciated.

Kathy Brevig sent another incredible surprise: A framed piece of her artwork from a series of thread collages she calls Tangles.  It was accompanied by a long letter that nearly bought me to tears.  The photo of the work doesn’t do the art justice.

In addition to these items, I received many ecards and emails which I also printed and  read on Monday.  While I realize that I didn’t thank everyone by name in this post, and that today I received a couple more cards that aren’t showing in the photos above, please know that I am deeply grateful to everyone who took the time to help me celebrate.  You all made my birthday extremely special!  Who knows, maybe I’ll even figure out something cool to make with them.  A journal?

I’ll close this post with the final paragraph of a poem that Sherry Boram, who is 70, wrote for me:

So please accept my hugs in a rhyme
May your birthday be a wonderful time
Enjoy the greetings that you will get
And remember, to come, the best is yet!

October 26th. My birthday!!  But it was last Saturday that I had a surprise birthday party.

Rich arranged it at Tavern on the Lake, a place we’ve gone to for years — back when it was The Great American Saloon & Eatery, then the Court Jester, then Theo’s, and now Tavern on the Lake.  It’s in downtown Hightstown.

When I went into the dining room, everyone had their menus up, which was rather strange.

As the menus came down, a “surprise” was shouted.

Notice the arms crossed in front of my body?  I’m looking at my friend Terri.  I just had dinner with her, and I was grilling her as to whether I was having a party.  “I really don’t know,” she said.  Hmmmm  But she’s the coolest friend, so I forgive her.

That’s Terri on the left, Valentina in the middle, and Carol on the right.  All are friends from The Parkinson Alliance.  Carol is the ever awe-inspiring CEO of the Alliance.

Then I realized Derry was there!  He flew all the way in from England earlier in the day for the party!  And, he had tickets to a concert and to a game at Wembley Stadium coming up, yet he still made it!!  And, yes, that is tears in his eyes.

My niece and god-daughter Mylissa and her new baby Alexis.

My nephew Steven.

Caylinn, my neice Amy’s daughter.

She is such a sweetie!

Mylissa’s husband Neil, mom, and baby Alexis.

Mom.

After everyone ate, we headed over to mom’s house to carry on with the party.  And, birthday girl – well old lady – had a lot of gifts to open!

Of course we had the Yankees/Angels game on, and that’s Mike bowing to the Yankees!

It was time to open gifts!!  Everyone being together was my gift.  Opening presents was a bonus.  Rich gave me his gift, wrapped in paper with sheep on it.  It felt like a book, and I had no idea what it was.  The Yankee bear watched over my shoulder.

A trip to the Florida Keys!  Wow!!

Time for cake!  From left to right, Bonnie, Mike, Amy, Caylinn, and Jaidon.

Yummmmy

Hmmm … somebody likes icing!

And being tickled (notice Jeter on the TV?)

Derry has been awake for at least 24 hours, and he needs to sleep rather than watching the ball game!

Jaidon and me.  Jaidon is Amy and Joe’s.

Mike, my brother, and Skylar, Jaidon’s brother.  Sky is also Amy and Joe’s.

My nephew Steven and me.

My brother-in-law Rich and my sister MaryAnn.  Mylissa, Amy, and Steven are their children.  Alexis, Sky, Jaidon, and Caylinn are their grandchildren.

Jay, Steven, Bonnie, Mike, Amy, Caylinn, Rich, me, and sitting to my right are MaryAnn, Ken (Rich’s best buddy), mom, and Derry, behind them from the left are  Joe, Mylissa, and Alexis, and standing behind them is Rich (my sister’s Rich).

Rich, a very happy me, and Derry!

Our flight was delayed by several hours.  Note to self: Always call to check if the flight is on time.  If you’re ever delayed at San Francisco airport, go to the International terminal before going through security.  There are many exhibits to see and cool shops to visit.

Eventually it was time to leave.

Up, up, and away we went.

Although I had a window seat, a good deal of the view looking east was entirely blocked by the wing.  Too bad.  The lighting was great in that direction.  I could only shoot behind me, meaning a lot of glare from the setting sun.

At times I’d get glimpses of the view looking east, and it was fantastic.

Did I mention I would have rather shot towards the east rather than behind me?  Yes, it was almost painful being so close yet so far from taking some beautiful shots.  The light was glistening off the water, and the colors were gorgeous.

From my vantage point to take photos, there was way too much glare bouncing around and creating strange, funky colors and mucky contrast.  Even so, I enjoyed seeing the Bay from above.  It was beautiful and serene.

The sun set as we few eastward and home.  It was a fantastic trip that my mom, my brother Mike, and I will always remember!

As a nice bonus, after we all were in our respective homes and settled, I had a very pretty bouquet of flowers delivered to my house.  It was from mom and Mike, thanking me for the vacation.

You’ve probably heard the saying “pay it forward” — meaning to give to someone else what has been given to you.  Every time I’ve been to England for work, my business partner has gone out of his way to take me on some kind of trip.  He has taken me to many places over the years, places that I wouldn’t have otherwise seen, and I’m always incredibly grateful.  To do this for family members was a better feeling than I could ever imagine!

When their card thanked me for the vacation, all I could do was smile with the realization that it was completely my pleasure!

After our Bay cruise and eating at Tarantino’s, an excellent seafood restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf,  we next went to the Aquarium of the Bay.

There were a lot of cool exhibits, including various jelly fish.  The lighting on the fish made it great for photographs, which are allowed (except not on the octopuses).

There is a 300 foot acrylic tunnel that holds over 700,000 gallons of filtered Bay water.  This is in addition to other exhibits.

I took several short movies of the fish and sharks swimming around.  Being that Rich has a 150 gallon tank in the basement, I knew he’d get a kick out of it, which he did.

There were some exhibits geared to kids, including big kid who Mike climbed into the bubble.   Mom and I weren’t the only ones snapping pictures as he clowned around!

Fish boy is out of the bubble and back to land!

Next we took the Boudin Museum and Bakery Tour.   During the 1906 earthquake and fire, Louise Boudin had the smarts to grab a bucket and saved the original “mother dough.”  That brilliant move saved the business that carries on today.

A tiny portion of that original “mother dough” is still in each sourdough loaf they make.  After looking at all of the bread and machinery, we settled down and shared a loaf in their cafe.  Yummy!

After strolling along the Wharf, we ended our day at the Hyde Street Pier.

The lighting was very pretty, very relaxing.

We walked along the beach a bit, then sat and watched the birds.

I saw two people holding their digital camera at arm’s length while trying to take pictures of themselves.  I went over and offered to take a photo of them.  I learned they were on their honeymoon.  Well, I couldn’t resist and ended up taking at least 20 pictures of them along the water in various poses.  They were SO happy!  I’m glad.  I should have taken one with my camera!

I like both of these pixs of Mike. I like the bird, too!

We waited on line to take a cable car up Hyde Street so that we could end our very long and fun day.

I managed to take a couple photos over the heads of others in front of me.   No matter how many times I go, I’m still a tourist!

When climbing up Hyde Street, there is one brief moment where the Golden Gate shows, then it’s gone, then for one brief moment it’s there again.  The first picture had someone’s head in it, the second a tree going through the middle, and then I got this one.  It wasn’t straight, but I was able to straighten it, crop it, and still have enough resolution to get a very decent size print.

The view form the cable car looking out over Lombard St.

Back in our suite, a view from the window using the zoom.

Another view from the window, again with the zoom.

When the sun finally set, we were too tired to go out for food.  Instead, we ordered at a nearby place and had it delivered.  We ate and went to sleep early!

Next up was a Bay cruise!

We cruised under the Golden Gate Bridge, giving some interesting perspectives.  I’ve taken the tour in the past, and I always love it.  It was the first time I didn’t need a coat!  Mike and I stood the entire time, soaking in the breezes, the up and down of the boat, and the scenery.

I liked this photo, although I got a bit better composition on my iphone, which nearly went overboard when I tried getting the photo!  Luckily, it didn’t.

In this version, I played around with it in Photoshop.  I have some ideas for this one … hmmm

A couple more views of Alcatraz Island.

Back to the Pier and another look at the Sea Lions.  Mom asked me to take pictures with her camera as the boat was a bit too rocky for her comfort.  I need to get her card as I may add a few more images to this bunch.  Then, one more group to go!