Dancin' in the Streets!

Off to the Villages after my scarf class to visit the Quilting and Fiber Arts Marketplace Event  today....a "One Stop Shop Hop"...I saw that on a flyer I picked up at a local knitting store, and I knew I had to go...and Eldy said...."Uh-oh!" But he never said another word...I expected him to say, "Is it about more yarn?"   "Are you going to be needing any more cabinets? Because, honey, we ain't got no stinkin' cabinets left!" I was HOPING he'd say, "Do you need any money?" Ha, ha...not really....we keep our hobbies monetarily separate. Which is a good thing or we'd both be broke! (Me? Hobby? What hobby? You've got all the hobbies for you, me, and twenty other people! E. laughs.) He's still laughing, that's good. He knows if I'm crafting, I'm a happy camper, unless I don't have something I need to make a project so we gotta make a Michael's run....(Or a Joann Fabrics run, or a Hobby Lobby run..SIGH!) He just cheerfully drives me and plays on his iphone while I'm in the store, and he EVEN says, "Take your time, don't rush, no hurry...I'll be fine!" Wow, what a guy! He'll even turn around if we miss a craft store while driving, if I need him to. That's one of the many reasons why I love him so much!

Grannie Suzannie Designs, Palm Coast, FL

The fiber arts show was very cool. Most of it was all about fabric and quilting....Fortunately, AT THIS TIME, I am not into fabric...(Which is good, because she has a storage shed full of tubs of heavy fabric yardage back in Indiana!) But I did see lots of cool stuff that really interested me...sewing, felting, knitting, weaving, spinning, needlework, embellishment supplies, and there were demos on a lot of different stuff. (Yeah, STUFF! I'll never understand why she needs all that STUFF! says E.) This particular shop, above, was kind enough to let me take their photo after hearing all about our RVing story...

When I came out of the quilt show, a record 45 minutes later--a record for in and out of a fabric place, I saw all these ladies in red shirts with the words "Cheerleader" on the back. I asked them to pose for a picture after learning that they support lots of charities, that they are the "boosters" and pom-pom ladies and have dance routines they do at lots of events all over town. I wanted to take a photo of all of them turned around with their backsides facing so you could see the cheerleader name across their backs, but for some reason, they resisted that idea!

Town Square at Lake Sumter Landing at the Villages

The quilt show was at the Savannah Entertainment Center in the Villages. The Villages are a senior community made up of several sub communities that are fascinating and interesting and cool places to visit. We are really enjoying exploring the Villages that is a rapidly growing community fast becoming a city with a population of 80,000 thereabouts. This is a place where you could conceivably live full time, and never have to leave the community to shop anywhere else. Every possible store you could wish for is in the Villages--top name brand shops, sporting goods stores, groceries, clothing, etc. You can attend classes, take lessons of a bazillion different subject matters, bike everywhere or ride a golf cart everywhere you need to go. Medical facilities are available for every age related ailment you could think of.  The recreation facilities and activities beat any big college campus any day. There's even polo at the Villages! Golf courses abound everywhere, tons of them! You almost see more golf carts riding around town than you do cars!

(Hey, Sparky, what about dancin' in the streets?) Oh, sorry, I forgot....I just get really excited looking and talking about the cool stuff at the Villages...the town squares (there's two at the moment) have outdoor entertainment 365 days a year! So we stopped off at the Lake Sumter Town Square and heard a GREAT duo playing and singing. And they really got everybody moving and dancing. The dance area is HUGE around the gazebo where they play. These little girls were adorable! One of the sisters must have had dance lessons...she had LOTS of ballerina moves with lots of expressive hand movements....

The exuberance of youngsters is always a delight to see....What we like about the Villages is it is not exclusively all seniors...There are lots of visitors who can come into the Villages and shop and eat and enjoy the entertainment. All that is completely accessible to visitors. The residences are for seniors and that part is gated. We really like that there is very much a family atmosphere in the Villages with visitors and family alike....Here's a grandpa with his granddaughter really enjoying himself, and she is, too!

Finally, Sparky couldn't resist the great line dancing music and the singers belting out some rockin' tunes, so she got up to dance...(Eldo doesn't do line dancing)  Heh, heh, for now, anyway....

Wonderful weather, wonderful day in  The Villages, down here in sunny, warm Florida......