Trip to the South and Work on Another Project

I am so excited.  My DH and I have now both retired (technically that is) and have decided to take a long driving trip down south.  We will start by heading east to Washington DC and West Virginia and perhaps Virginia Beach depending on the weather.  Of course if the weather is bad heading east we will skip step one and go directly south.  But the plan for now is to first head east.  We will then drive to the Myrtle Beach area, then over to Ashville, NC to visit the Biltmore and some friends in Jasper.  Next on our agenda is the Savannah area, including dinner with some relatives.  Then on to Orlando's Disney World to join up with our daughter and her family who will be vacationing there for the week.  We will spend a couple of days there before heading north an hour or so and spend some time with a favorite cousin.  If we still have energy left we will go to New Orleans to visit a niece and her family, then on to San Antonio to do some sightseeing and visit with a dear lady I used to work with.  My husband went to college at Emporia, KS and thought it would be fun do drive through there on the way home.  Hope we can hold up!  

What is really eerie, as we were researching San Antonio we saw an image of a famous landmark and I instantly recognized it...from one of my dreams.  I can't remember just what the dream was but knew I had been in that very spot.  Strangely I have never been to Texas or really researched the area.  Has that ever happened to you?  Isn't it a strange feeling!

As you probably know, I love to visit great shops so if you know of any really fabulous places to tour, visit or browse, I would love to hear your suggestions. 

I have done some more work on my mini crazy quilt but have also been 'playing' with ideas on another project when I need a break from stitching.  

I hand painted some roses on the tops of these jars and have played around with different labels and/or ribbons, lace etc.  I am also thinking I might like some tapered corks in a natural color instead of these lids.

The lids themselves could work as pegs on a board since they have a shape conducive to that.  The jars and lids were in rough shape when I got them.  There was a sealer that had decayed and stuck to the glass rim, in the glass and on the stoppers.  The lids and shelf were stained and scuffed up quite a bit also as you can see in the two photos that follow.

It all looks much nicer painted up but needs a little more I think.  These stoppers don't fit snug at all since the sealer had melted into a yucky mess.  

I have some fun ideas for how to use the jars once they are done and can't wait to share those ideas.  It likely won't be until the end of December or first of 2014 though.  I need to try to locate some corks in the meantime.