I have been traveling like crazy since January and I finally landed back home about 10 days ago with a sigh of great relief. When I look back at my travels from January to mid-March, I feel grateful that I have been healthy so far. From crowded London tube stations to noisy close-talking pubs, to world-wide tourist attractions, to an international trade show, to an overnight trip on a train sleeping car, and a strawberry festival in Plant, Florida, I’ve been in contact with a lot of people. I have been very lucky.

But the pandemic has certainly left me pensive and jumpy and unable to focus on much except the 24/7 news cycle. Here is a post I started about 3 weeks ago, but never finished:

It’s Sandy here, checking in from Texas. A long-planned trip to Austin for fun has turned into a lonely sojourn under the specter of a pandemic. I’ve been going for long walks and turning to *gasp* house cleaning in order to pass the time.

I’ll spare you the house cleaning pics, since my time in nature resulted in some awesome and, dare I say, more appealing photos. Here’s my favorite.

I miss my sewing machine desperately. I did not even bring along any hand sewing as I planned to be very busy, so I am really and truly stuck.

On Saturday (March 14) I cautiously left the house for a few hours to drive around the back roads of Texas. I wanted to see bluebonnets. I wanted to touch some fabric. I wanted to eat BBQ. I found a quilt shop in Lockhart that is going out of business. I snagged this little panel for some future project.

(Present day voice).

Yesterday I was able to walk around the farm for a while in an attempt to recharge my spirit. The land does that to me — it heals my soul like nothing else I can name. If you are feeling as I do, I hope that this picture can give you some rest.

Although the picture might seem dreary and foreboding, the air held a promise of spring and the birds were busy and happy getting ready for the next season of life. It was amazing to be a part of it.

After I got home, the storm broke quickly and then sunshine poured down with the rain. A reminder that the storm will always pass.

When I can, I try to sew on my postage stamp quilt. I’m making amazing progress, but I think I’m stuck again for want of more stamps. My planned foraging trip to Austin was cut short by circumstances, so I’m in dire need of some new fabric to finish the job. I’ve been working and working on the math and I think I only have about 100 more blocks to make, with many of them partially assembled. There are so many darned little postage stamps!!!

Please stay well and safe my quilting friends.