Posted on by agilejack

A Holiday Weekend of Pickleball

My long weekend started with a little pickleball on Thanksgiving morning. I only played for a little over an hour because I had to do a little cooking for my pot luck Thanksgiving with friends. My responsibility was mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and I would make the gravy once the bird was out of the oven. I made the cranberry sauce Wednesday night. I made the mashed potatoes when I got home from pickleball, put them into a warm crock pot then jumped in the shower. I headed off for my friend’s house around noon.

We had a really good dinner. My friend always does a good job with the turkey. Really juicy and flavorful. We had a table full of people but not a crazy number.

After dinner we took a walk around my friend’s 15 acre property and let the dogs run. She is a wonderful photographer and took a few photos of my boys.

They were pretty dirty and wet by this time and Bender’s mane was full of little burrs. He got a good comb out when we got home. Here’s more photos of these two knuckleheads.

I had the opportunity to play pickleball Wednesday morning at the big church and had a blast! I haven’t played there since the first part of September. I think I truly played the best I’ve ever played! it was a full two hours and I was worn out by the time we were done. I was lucky enough to play there again on Friday and it was 3.5 hours of fun! I love playing there, but I’m guessing it will be some time before I get in there again.

I woke up this morning with the plan to hit the pickleball court at 8 am and I did just that. It was a brisk 32 degrees when I got there. But in Portland, we like to play when the courts are dry! There was a lot of frost this morning but the courts were in great shape. We were all pretty bundled up and by the time I was almost done I was actually a little hot! I had a great two hours of pickleball!

I’m planning to play again tomorrow at noon. It should be warmer at that time.

I heard from someone who has purchased a few items from me in the past asking if I had any bags made from Australian Aboriginal fabrics. She wanted one to give to a friend. I showed her the Aboriginal bag panels I made a couple weeks ago and she loved them. So my goal for this weekend is to finish that bag and get it in the mail.

To that end I pulled out the quilt sandwiches I made a week or so ago and started quilting. Then I got the bag handles sewn on.

They wanted these green nylon webbing handles instead of my typical handles so they shipped the material to me to use.

I got the bag panels quilted, got the handles sewn on and got the bag outer body sewn together.

Here’s the other side of the bag.

They don’t want the zipper placket or zipper pocket on this one. Just a couple of slip pockets on the interior. So this one should go fast. I selected the lining fabric from my stash and got the lining cut out and the interfacing fused on.

It has all the colors that are in the outside of the bag. So it should work well.

I also dug into my stash and selected this orange color for the slip pockets. The same fabric in a little different color way is in the front of the bag.

I should have this done tomorrow.

Today is my birthday! It was fun to start it out with a game of pickleball. And it was such a gorgeous day here in Portland. The sun shone brightly all day and made for high spirits. I treated myself to shrimp tacos for dinner.

My friend who visits and helps me make quilts sent me a great gift that arrived a few days ago. I waited until today to open it. And look what I found inside…

It’s a huge tub of pickleballs! And she even selected the kind most people use. I just bought a huge box of these for my pickleball teacher. I will definitely get good use out of these!

I enjoyed talking to family and friends today… always the best part of having a birthday.

And as of today I will officially start counting down the months to retirement. Just 24 months to go. That’s half a pandemic! It will arrive in no time!

79 Replies to “A Holiday Weekend of Pickleball”

  1. Love the bags always are gorgeous . The pictures of the pups are darling, they are so cute. You are so energetic,you put me to shame but maybe you aren’t over 80 yet. Our Thanksgiving was just the two of us but as Murphy’s law always has to intervene, our furnace went out, of course called and they came out ,will order parts on Monday and will get them Tuesday or Wednesday. We have enough heaters to keep us warm during the day but pretty chilly in the morning-enough about our Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy your blog so much.

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  15. Happy, happy birthday. Pickle On!
    And wow! You said it, your friend is an amazing photographer. Wish she could photograph my dogs, but I am on the East coast.
    Pickle On.

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  16. Happy Belated Birthday!

    Sounds like you had a fun filled Thamksgiving weekend and a wonderful start to your birthday celebration! Looks like the boys had a great time as well. Lovely pics of them, they are so cute.

    Great B-day gift for you! Now you have even more reasons to play.

    Love the aboriginal purse! What made you deide not to put a zipper in?

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  17. I am a new, enthusiastic reader of your blog.

    I retired in 2010. In the couple of years run-up to retirement I made a countdown calendar, first crossing off months, then weeks, and finally days! You will love retirement!

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  24. Happy belated birthday! 🎂. The bag is gorgeous, it’s almost enough for me to stop sewing quilts and start on bags. I’ve never put zippers in mine but used Velcro a few times. I also used those small colored hair ties and a decorative button. Of course I have to comment about your dogs being so incredibly handsome. I have 4 girls here who right now are sleeping on or near my lap and they would be very impressed with your boys.

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  25. Happy Birthday! The two years to retirement will fly by. I was lucky enough to take an enhanced retirement at age 54 and have enjoyed it since. The Australian fabric bag is wonderful to see. Haven’t made one yet – but will after the new year. I’m in overdrive making bowl cozies and mug rugs for Christmas giving. I’ve also just completed my first lap quilt like your friend did with the Sharks Teeth edges on rectangles and have another started. What fun, and it goes real fast.

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  32. I love your bags and quilts!!! My friend who lives in Sherwood came out to see me after 21 yrs and we had a ball. I showed her your collections of goodies and she wondered where you live and if she could buy directly from you.

    Can you give me your address and phone number? She would love to meet you! I get your blog everyday and love seeing the pictures of the coast and the trees where you live. I was born in Portland 2-7-49 when they had the worst snow storm with 3′ drifts. I grew up in Cedar Mill and worked at Tektronix in Beaverton. I miss Oregon, but North Carolina is a lot like Oregon and my husband’s family lives here.

    Hope you have a wonderday.

    Diane Whitfield Chapel Hill NC

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    1. I don’t keep much in stock for sales. I’m not making nearly as many bags as I used to. I only make one every few months or so now. If your friend sees one she likes, she should reach out to see if it’s available.

      the Tektronix facility is really close to my house. Only a couple miles down the road.

      I’m hesitant to give out my personal info on my blog. I have to maintain some privacy.

      Anne

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  38. Happy belated Birthday! 🎉

    ~toni from Corvallis.

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    I really enjoy your posts. You are such an inspiration!

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  39. I love the photos of the ‘boys’ they are very photogenic …handsome ….I have tried my first tote zipper insert from your instructions…it wasn’t easy for me as I’m new to totes but by following step by step, I manage to do my first zip. Thank you.

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  41. A great day for sure. Plenty of pickleball and a lovely walk with friends. The boys photos are stunning and keepsakes for sure. I love hearing about all your activities, an inspiration for me to l keep going. All the best.

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  42. I wish you a very happy birthday & a year of creativity and productivity. Thank you for your unending generosity in sharing your many projects, especially for your bags. You are such an inspiration to me. You will LOVE retirement…that’s a promise.

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