7:30am
It's the last day of Festival. I moan as I drag my poor body out of bed. After being on my feet for so long last night, I feel like my entire body has been beaten from head to toe with blunt instruments. A hot shower helps...a little, that is. I'm pleasantly looking forward to a real breakfast this morning. I'm meeting Chanin and her sister-in-law in the lobby at 8:15, and we're going to drive over to IHOP (International House Of Pancakes). Yeah! Real breakfast food, and I didn't even have to cook it! We just barely beat the Sunday morning rush, so we get seated and get our food pretty quickly. Mmm....strawberry syrup on french toast, sausages on the side, and coffee with caffeine.

After saying good-bye to Chanin, I went back to my room to finish my packing. I checked out, paid my bill, and had the hotel folks lock up my suitcase until I come back later to catch the shuttle to the airport.

9:45am
Even after my busy morning, I still manage to get to the Convention center BEFORE the doors open to the exhibit hall. I find myself standing in front of the doors with a huge crowd of ladies. Despite the fact that the doors are wide open (to admit all the VIP muckety-mucks) not a single quilter has made a break for it. It's as if some invisible Force is keeping the way closed. Many of us are chuckling about it.

10:00am
The doors finally open, and I'm off in search of that Alexander Henry fabric. I still have some money burning a hole in my pocket, so I have to find a remedy for it. I only have about 3 hours to shop, since I have to make sure that I allow time to take the shuttle back to the hotel in time to catch the shuttle to the airport for my return flight.

I stopped and chatted with Deborah Filmer and her husband at their stall (Pieces of the Past). They're from Birmingham, AL. They sell three of the best quilting products around: a lap hoop (I wouldn't quilt without one), sticky backed quilting stencils (kind of like post-it notes you can move and quilt around - just great!), and a special hoop for quilting borders (I would love to get one). I bought some Christmas-themed Peel and Stick stencils (trees and holly leaves/berries). (You can check out Deborah's cool stuff on her website at PiecesOfThePast.com.)

I think I've found the fabric I am looking for until I see it up close. It has a navy background instead of the black background. It's the same fabric otherwise, but it just doesn't look nearly as good, in my humble opinion. I pass on buying it.

By the time my shopping is finished I have purchased: some deep purple hand quilting thread and a half yard of cartoonish panda fabric (my daughter LOVES purple and pandas), a Noah's Christmas pattern book by Debbie Mumm, The Quilter's Ark book by Margaret Rolfe, a pattern for a medieval maiden's dress and costume (Weird, yes, I know, but where are you ever going to come across a pattern like that anytime soon? Did I mention that I wanted to major in Medieval European History at one time?), a pattern for the "Dream of the Thistle Down Fairies" quilt that they have shown in the Keepsake Quilting Catalog (The author even signed it for me!), a cute little monkey stuffed animal for my almost 2 year old, and a book on applique projects of a family history nature, like family crests and family trees. The one item I couldn't afford, but really wanted was the wood framed, glass keepsake chests. You could fold your quilts and stack them, so that you could display them without fear of dust, etc. Just lovely.

2:00pm-ish
After saying good-bye to all the lovely quilts in the exhibit and to the Festival itself, I hop the shuttle back to the hotel. After grabbing a sandwich and my bags, I find myself sitting in the lobby with a few others waiting for their own shuttles. Jean Snyder is down here, too, and we chat about everything under the sun, including ladies sitting nearby in our discussions. One lady from Florida just can't understand that if you're from the Pacific Northwest, as Jean and I are, you tend to think of beaches in terms of grey sand, overcast skies, sweaters, and bonfires, instead of white, sugar sand, blue skies, and high humidity and temperatures.

Later That Evening
Bad weather is rolling into Houston. Our flight is delayed a bit to see if we'll be able to get out at all. Across the way from my terminal, several people from a cancelled flight to Dallas are having to be crammed into a different plane. It's barely organized chaos.

I finally make my flight and make it back to Birmingham. My dear husband is waiting for me....across the way in the lounging area, drinking a cup of coffee, that is. It takes him a few minutes to realize that I was off the plane and for me to realize that he was actually there. It doesn't matter, though. It's good to be home.