Moose Jaw Minute #53: Quilts, Christmas, and a Week Ago...

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I desperately need to do some catching up!  The weather in Moose Jaw has been absolutely fantastic this summer and we have taken full advantage of it by staying busy:  going for walks in the evening, afternoon running (equals my lunch break), and hanging out with good friends.  We've also been traveling a lot with trips to Canmore, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Chicago all under our belts.

Moose Jaw offers a good deal in the summer and between here and the Queen City of Regina, it seems as though every weekend is packed out with an expo, a festival, or concert.  A couple of weekends ago, I attended the Moose Jaw Quilt Show in Crescent Park with a couple of friends.  The quilts were created by local men and women and were strung between trees.  Their colours and designs flapped gently in the wind under an amazing blue sky.  Now, I'm no quilter and I don't believe I ever will be, but the craftsmanship and the talent needed to create these amazing works of art is astounding.  Check out some of this artistic inspiration:

Note...there are two quilting shops in Moose Jaw alone and, from what I can gather, it is quite the competition between the two.  Loyalists to one shop may not get on so well with loyalists to the other.  It's a good old fashioned quilt feud!  It may give new meaning to the phrase "stitch and..."  Well, you know.

That same weekend, Dave and I arranged for a little Christmas in July to get everyone in a jolly mood.  Hey, as of right now there are only 141 shopping days left until the big day!  We created a vegan version of Nigella's Chocolate Fruitcake and roasted up some root vegetables.  Friends brought over a cheesy potato casserole, an artichoke dip, and a yummy melty chocolate truffle to dip fruit in.  Dean Martin was crooning away, the lights were twinkling, and all of us filled up on on the goodies.

A week ago, we spent an absolutely lovely weekend in Regina.  We had a yummy breakfast at one of our favourite spots, 13th Avenue Coffeehouse where we sampled their new breakfast bowls made with quinoa, nuts, and fresh fruit.  We walked all the way around Wascana Lake and then drove a little ways north to relax at Regina Beach in Lumsden.  The weather was warm and the whole day was so relaxing.  To top everything off, we took some leftover roasted veg and stuffed it into some tomatoes to bake up for dinner...delish!

And, to close you out...visit this for pure awesome.

These sunsets are amazing...