Quick Florida Trip . . .

Last Friday, I left Atlanta to do a couple of things - return my mom, niece and nephew to Lake County; take Giselle and Willie to Pet Luv Spay/Neuter Clinic in Brooksville (FL) for the obvious, and to attend the Holiday Open House at Rainbow's End Quilt Shoppe in Dunedin, FL. We travelled down I-75 - one senior, one middle-aged, two teenagers, two adolescent cats, and a litter of five bottle baby kittens, only three weeks old - the trip had its challenges - keeping cool during pit stops was my biggest concern - it's hot in Florida in August, you know. Anyway, we all arrived safe and sound, and managed to keep our sense of humor, too.

Because these little bottle babies needed to "stay with their mommy" - that would be me - I took them everywhere with me, which necessitated finding parking structures where they could stay in the cool car while I went about my business - doing a little shopping at International Plaza, lunch and a movie in Ybor City. But by the end of the day on Saturday, these five kittens had decided they no longer wanted to be bottle fed - they wanted "real food". So, Mommy Wendy bought dry kitten food, which they didn't appreciate. So, back into Walgreen's - canned kitten food, jug of water, small pail - they ate their dinner, then I gave them a bath in the parking lot 'cause they were just so stinky from walking in their dinner, they simply couldn't ride in the car with me and smell like that!

We overnighted at my friend, Irene's home (thank goodness for Irene), and I left them in her bathroom on Sunday while I attended the Holiday Open House at Rainbow's End. Michelle truly outdid herself this year, too. She moved all of the Christmas fabrics, etc., to the larger back room, and a steady flow of quilter traffic came through the store from 10am-3pm. I think I bought my weight in Christmas and Halloween fabrics - okay, maybe not my weight, but close! If you've never been to Rainbow's End (Florida largest, best-stocked fabric store) in Dunedin, FL, it's worth a road trip. The photo above is a quilt sample that I made for them about a year ago.

On Monday morning, we (the five kittens, and two adolescent cats, recovering from their surgeries at Pet Luv) headed back to Atlanta, and the trip was quiet and serene. The kittens were exhausted, and Willie and Giselle were content to sleep the whole way. Mission Accomplished!