Schultz Park Covered by Flood Waters

Schultz park is the small city park along the Ohio River in Paducah. Today it is covered with flood waters. See the park benches surrounded by the water?

We often drive down along the river at this park. Officials have asked the barge companies to reduce the number of barges they are carrying to give them better control in the high water. This one was pushing 15 barges loaded with coal.

Ohio River Crests today

Here is how high the water is now. Flood stage is 39 feet. Today the water was at 45.6 ft.
If you have ever been on the Paducah riverfront, you know that the concrete things you see along the water's edge are really planters and that 3/4 of the riverfront is underwater. Fortunately is doesn't seem to be getting so high that the flood gates need to be installed. More rain is predicted for the weekend.

On April 26, we will be having a Christian Musical Concert as the final event for our AQS Quilt Show, presented by 200 members of the Crossroads Christian Church, Newburgh, Indiana, and the Nazarene Missionary Baptist Church, Evansville, Indiana, on the Wilson Stage on the riverfront -- it is totally under water now. This is part of the annual music ministry program of these two churches. Bring your lawn chair. Admission is free.

High Water in Paducah - March 21, 2008

I shot this photo yesterday evening on the Paducah riverfront. The band stage is completely covered except for the tops of the posts of the railing around it. Both roads and the boat ramp area on the riverfront are under water. The Ohio River is expected to crest on Tuesday or Wednesday of this next week. City officials are watching it closely, but right now they don't think they will need to install the flood gates.

Dazed Chickadee

This little bird flew into our sliding glass door and knocked himself out. To protect it from our cats, Wayne picked it up and held it until the cobwebs were gone. Then Wayne placed him on the railing on the porch and he flew away. Sorry Tuffy, he's not your toy this time.

National Quilting Day -- March 15

How did this day of quilting come about? In the early 90's, the National Qulting Association sought to have Congress designate one day as a day to celebrate quiltmaking. Congress never did pass that legislation so NQA designated the 3rd Saturday of March each year as National Quilting Day. I was serving on the NQA board at that time and the day was patterned after Kentucky's Quilter's Day Out that has been held for many years. Now quilters all across the globe celebrate National Quilting Day with a variety of quilting events, from small gatherings of quilters, to shows and classes.

I attended the Quilter's Day Out event held at the Museum of the American Quilter's Society... and of course, I also stopped by some of our local quilt shops to see what's new and make some purchases of quilting supplies. It was after all a day about the art of quiltmaking.

On Friday, our office received this beautiful bouquet of flowers from the Knoxville Convention Center to celebrate National Quilting Day. AQS will be holding our summer shows in Knoxville, starting in 2009. The Convention Center already knows all about quilting from the large guilds in that area. Many of the members of their guilds are national prizewinning quilters. I just had to share this beautiful bouquet with you. It has a variety of purple flowers, red roses, and pussy willows - a sure sign that spring is here.

One thing about the weather here in Paducah...if you don't like it, just wait a day and you'll get something different. Today it was 70 degrees and the birds are starting to come back. A pair of Eastern Bluebirds came looking for a nest today. Look at this beauty. His breast was so bright in the late afternoon sun.

Snow Girl

Four inches of snow on Friday here in Paducah gave us enough snow to make a snowman....or should I say snowgirl at this home on Jefferson Street. I guess they were thinking of warmer weather when they dressed her in the hula skirt, lei, and hat. Wayne and I were driving across town on Saturday afternoon and spotted several snowmen. We thought this one was especially well put together. With temps in the 40's, you can see that most of the snow had already melted.

Happy Monday...this is what the weather is doing here tonight. I shot this photo in our backyard just as the sun was starting to set. A little snow i s okay - it is supposed to get into 40's again tomorrow so it won't last long. Won't even need to lift a shovel. Yesterday we had over 3.3 inches of rain. sure glad that wasn't snow.

Knoxville, TN is site chosen for 2009 AQS Quilt Expo

Here I am in Knoxville, Tennessee, signing the contract for AQS to hold its summer show in Knoxville, starting in July 2009. To spread out our shows, we needed to move the summer show that we've been holding in Nashville in August to a July date. Gaylord Opryland did not have July dates for us in either 2009 or 2010. We found a great facility in Knoxville. The convention center is really beautiful - it has excellent exhibit hall space, and wait until you see the classrooms! The lobby areas are full of artwork of all kinds - sculptures, mosaics that cover an entire wall, paintings and wallhangings of all kinds, including a few quilts. Artwork was included in their budget for building the convention center, and it certainly makes this facility unique and shows their appreciation for the arts. Now I know you are all excited and want more information, but we are really just in the planning stages for this show. The registration materials will be ready in January 2009. Hotels will not take reservations until July 2008. This is a great spot for you to plan a family holiday in July - the Smoky Mountains are very close - I'll have to figure out how many minutes away they are.