Di's Arrival

Friday evening at the Orlando airport, at about 8:30 pm, I was thrilled to once again see my friend Di (DarlingDi on Instagram) of SnippetsnScraps. (Her latest blog post was written while she was high over the Pacific Ocean, on a Quantas flight to the US!)

Yes, Di is a taller than me, by three inches.

The last time I saw Di in person was when I was in Sydney in April 2010. Happily, we haven't forgotten one another and have Skyped and FaceTimed a number of times since then. We've often talked about Di coming to visit me, whether in Iowa or Florida.

Now that "the day" has finally arrived, we're making the most of her month-long visit, with an extensive itinerary of activities. Due to the fact that this is her first visit to America, every store, restaurant, facility, event, and activity is fair game for memory-making. Suffice it to say that we've already been on the go!

Amazingly, Di seems to have rebounded to the time change due to an herbal tablet called No-Jet-Lag which she took periodically - per instructions - throughout her 30-plus hour trip. She slept soundly Friday night, and was up and ready to go - all day - Saturday! We went to the Farmer's Market by golf cart, bought a coffee, produce, looked around the lovely sales office and then going up close to see the bronze statues of cattle, a cowboy on his horse, and dog at the entrance to Brownwood.

Later we stopped in to say hello to seven Central Florida MQG members at the Saturday Sew-In, and moved on to JoAnn Fabrics; Bed, Bath and Beyond; and dinner at the local Oakwood BBQ. Perhaps not exciting things in themselves, but seen from a foreigner's point of view, very fun and interesting. No surprise that Di has commented several times on the size of the stores.

We have so many things on this coming week's agenda, that I will have lots of photos to share. How I'm enjoying all this, seeing it through her eyes!

I can now share what gifts I made to welcome Di here. Using my all-time favorite wristlet pattern - The Essential Wristlet by DogUnderMyDesk - I made a pink wristlet (her favorite color). She's already been using it, so I think that means she likes it! I followed the Fobio pattern by Lazy Girl to make a matching key fob.

We're heading to a square tonight for some live music, and maybe dancing. Linda