Back to the Grind and Giveaway Winner

A selection of beautiful blooms I photographed on the South Island

Greetings friends - happy Monday! I am back from my trip to New Zealand - what an incredible blessing it was to be able to travel with my mom and second dad AND have the bonus of breathtaking scenery. New Zealand definitely has my heart. As usual, I took a gazillion photos and have some interesting/amazing things to share...but in typical Belinda fashion, during my extensive travels home, I managed to get a terrible case of the flu and have completely lost my voice...and I am also in the stressful process of setting up a new computer (replacing my desktop computer, which inconveniently died right before my trip)...so bear with me while I try to nurse the flu and get caught up on all things Blue Ribbon Designs.

I will start today by announcing my Planes, Trains and Automobiles Giveaway winner. Thank you to everyone who played along - I had quite a few guesses, here on my blog and throughout my social media channels (I even got a guess via e-mail), but no one guessed correctly. After talking with my husband and parents, I decided it was best to give the prize to the person who guessed the closest without going over. I actually used 20 methods of transportation in my travels...and I will go into detail below. Just to get to New Zealand, I was in a car, on an Amtrak train, in a passenger van, in a coach bus, and on three airplanes! Valerie H. (valtatting on Instagram) had the highest guess (without going over) with 15, so she has been declared the winner! She was one of two people who guessed over 13...and the other person guessed an extreme 47. I have contacted Valerie on Instagram to claim her "prize." There should have been at least one more method, as I was scheduled to go horseback riding at Walter Peak Farms in Te Anau, but it was cancelled at the last minute due to staffing issues....I think 20 is a pretty high number (but a horse would have been the perfect addition to my photo collage). Let's break it down...

1. My feet - this was a hiking/walking tour of the South Island, so my feet got plenty of miles.
2. Car
3. Amtrak Train
4. Passenger Van
5. Coach Bus (8)
6. Airplane (6)
7. Taxi
8. Sprinter Van (this was our daily transportation during the hiking tour)
9. Choo Choo Train
10. Kayak
11. Golf Cart 
12. Bicycle
13. Tour Boat
14. Gondola
15. Steamboat
16. Helicopter (3)
17. Jet Boat (2)
18. Ferry Boat (3)
19. Custom MAC Boat (Glacier Glider)
20. Hägglunds (International Antarctic Centre)

As you can see, we made good use of our time in New Zealand! I will be making several posts, breaking down our weeks of travel, so I can share the beauty I captured on each day. So look for those in the coming week...going through photos and blogging is on my long list.

For now, I am back to the grind (while heavily medicated). Fingers crossed that I will be finishing up the set-up of my new computer today (luckily, I backed up all my pertinent files and documents). I still have a bit of correspondence to tackle. My Etsy Shop is fully open...and all orders have shipped. I have some needlework finishing to do for new cross stitch designs and pattern layouts to do this week...and my 2022 Christmas ornament design is coming soon (I stitched it during my travels). Once I get my head healthy and screwed back on, I will be working on client orders. Thank you all for your patience! I should be back to share more of my travels with you real soon...

Better with a View

Greetings friends! I am back in my office today and trying to get a handle on all the work that needs to be done after taking a vacation - the list is long...but I wanted to quickly stop in and share a few photos from our yearly Jeep trip to Colorado and Utah. We met up with good friends in Denver...then made our way to Ouray, CO via Pearl Pass where we spent a couple days enjoying the trails in the Durango, Ouray, Silverton, Telluride area. This is always my favorite part of the trip - I love being high in the mountains, even though the boys raced through all the trails. We stayed in a remote cabin in the quiet wilderness and I welcomed this change of pace. After a quick couple days in Colorado, we made our way to the rock formations of Moab, UT where we spent a week conquering all the advanced trails (we have a heavily modified Jeep, made to handle these obstacles) - including Pritchett Canyon, Behind the Rocks, Kane Creek, Steel Bender and the Trifecta (Poison Spider, Golden Spike and Gold Bar Rim). While this was far from my favorite Jeep trip, I did thoroughly enjoy the outdoors and some time away. Here is a sampling of my favorite photos...

I received a lot of questions about this photo - this is the hydroelectric power plant at Bridal Veil Falls (the tallest free-falling falls in Colorado) just outside of Telluride, CO - I took the photo coming down Black Bear Pass. You can read more about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smuggler-Union_Hydroelectric_Power_Plant

Top of Black Bear Pass - Elevation 12,840

View of Telluride, CO from Black Bear Pass.

Jeep hair, don't care. 😀

Another photo with questions - this is our Jeep at full flex over the Golden Crack on the Golden Spike Trail in Moab, UT - our Jeep is not "broken" - this is a sought after photo (a money shot) for Jeeps.

This is the "High Dive" obstacle on the Behind the Rocks Trail in Moab Utah - considered by many to be the most dangerous obstacle in Moab.

I hoped you enjoyed these photos...just a quick glimpse into our yearly Jeep trip. As always, the outdoor beauty has me refreshed and inspired...and ready to get back to work...

As some of you may know, I will be traveling to New Zealand at the end of October for a few weeks and I have a zillion things to accomplish beforehand, so it may be more quiet here than usual. I will do my best to stop in and visit with you a couple times before heading down under...

Today, I will be tackling a few project bags and the next needlework finishing order - I will also do my best to respond to all the correspondence I received while I was gone - all orders are ready to ship and my shop is back in business. I also have some cross stitch and quilting models I will be finishing up over the next week or so - new patterns will be coming soon...

Enjoy your week!

Better Late Than Never

Greetings friends! I apologize for the break in my posts...it's been a little hectic here. After our vacation in September, my husband had a major back surgery...needless to say, my schedule has been a bit tight. He is healing quite well and things are starting to get back to normal around the household...now I get to start playing catch-up with work. I had a big deadline moved up a month, so that has been my focus for the last week. It has been tough to find balance the last few weeks and I have been struggling with small increments of work time - which, for me, is super stressful this time of year! I have piles of holiday finishing calling my name, so that will be my focus as I try to "dig out of the hole." 

I have quite a bit of creative goodness to share with you, but today I thought I would catch-up with some photos from our vacation (or what I call a "trip" - in my opinion, driving all day - every day - and cooking your own meals, is not a vacation...although I do love the outdoor aspect and the mountains). We headed out to Colorado and Utah in September to meet up with friends and get the Jeeps (and one Toyota) out on the trails. We got to spend time in the snowy mountains of Colorado and the hot red rocks of Utah. Fresh mountain air was just what I needed to help with stay-at-home-itis. We spent a few days in Colorado (Ouray and Telluride) and then headed to Moab, UT for a week. We were able to drive a handful of new trails this year, along with a plethora of favorites...and we added a new couple to the group this year, as well. We stayed in two lovely homes - both booked on VRBO - with plenty of space for our group and room for the guys to work on their vehicles each night. A highlight of the trip was watching the couple we Jeep with each year get engaged on "Top of the World" (a moderate Jeep trail just outside of Moab, UT with a spectacular overlook of Fisher Valley, Onion Creek, and the La Sal Mountains). Another favorite moment was in Colorado (Animas Forks) watching herds of sheep (hundreds and hundreds of them) moving down the mountain (video below or on my YouTube channel)....it was an incredible sight - sheep as far as the eye could see on both sides of the trail! It was a great trip and the time outdoors did me well...

Our Jeep on "Top of the World"...

She said YES!

I hope you enjoyed these snapshots and video from our trip. I'll be back in the near future with photos of my latest needlework finishing and custom sewing projects...plus photos of my latest quilting designs and another fabulous piece I just finished for the Poppie Cotton Blog Tour featuring the Woodland Songbirds collection (my post will be on October 28th!). Wishing you a wonderful week...

Lake Geneva Shore Path

This past weekend, I was blessed to walk the Shore Path around Lake Geneva with my mom and Dan and extended family. It was a super special occasion, as it was Dan's 50th (yes, I said 50th!) time to complete the yearly hike - an incredible accomplishment. Dan's son Shawn (who was walking for a notable 34th time), along with his wife Erin and their four daughters were also present...plus Erin's mother and a member of the local hiking club. All in all, seven of us made the entire 22-mile hike around the lake, with the others taking turns running the support car. It was a gorgeous autumn day and while many of the boats and docks were removed for winter storage and some of the houses were closed up and winterized, there was still an abundance of beauty...and the trail was still crowded in spots with everyone trying to take in the last sunny days of the season.

The Shore Path around Geneva Lake features many historic estates with well kept lawns and gardens...and the lake itself is crystal clear. According to the website, the shore line of Geneva Lake is about 20+ miles, but the path reaches up to almost 26 miles with it weaving in and out of the woods along the shoreline. At the end of our full day, my Apple watch read 27.21 miles (nearly 60,000 steps). One of the things I found most interesting - home owners are responsible to maintain their own section of the path throughout their property, which makes the trail extremely unique. Each property owner puts their own spin on their segment of the shore path - we came across paths made from stone, brick, wood, clay, metal, grass, cement, rock, sand, gravel...you name it...and some have placed benches to rest, artwork and statues - some even have bridges over streams and creeks...and the gardening found along the path was spectacular. This remarkable trail gives the walker an up-close view of many of the mansions and homes and visitors are asked to stay on the path. Dogs are welcome on the trail (and we saw quite a few), but bicycles, scooters and strollers are not - the path is specifically for walkers and hikers. The footpath is divided into sections with only several public access points - we were lucky to have a support car, so no need to carry gear. We stopped for lunch at Popeye's on Lake Geneva (not the fast food chain) after completing the first 11 miles - then finished the walk at dusk. It was a wonderful day and a big accomplishment (especially for Maya, Dan's 6-year-old granddaughter who finished the entire hike! - she's standing in front of me in the family photo below - in fact, three of the four girls made it all the way around...and one had a leg injury but still managed 12 miles!). Here are some of my favorite sights, shown in the order taken...click on photos to enlarge...

It was an incredible journey with loved ones and I was so blessed to be a part of this special day and tradition. I truly hope I have the chance to visit Lake Geneva again in the future, because I know there is so much more to see!

For now, I am back in the studio - energized and full of inspiration...up to my eyeballs in sewing and needlework finishing - the holiday rush is here! I am steadily working through the stacks of client orders and enjoying the time in my happy place...

Take a little time to enjoy the beauty that surrounds you!