A Rolling Stone

2:30 AM Tuesday morning. My wife turns on the light, enters the bathroom, and proceeds to tell me her side hurts. Within 10 minutes she is buckled over, nearing tears, breathing heavy and nausea taking hold. 5 minutes later it is clear she needs some medical attention. We call my sis-in-law and ask if she can come over to stay with the kids for a few hours while we rush to the hospital. I start thinking about appendicitis, food poisoning, plagues, etc. and what the heck is causing my dear wife so much agony. Hop in the car and drive.

The emergency room was fairly vacant, with the exception of an overly odoriferous fella who was cross-eyed and loopy. Steered clear of said dude. Got her into a waiting room, where she paced for a half hour, sort of crying, but not quite, and obviously in a lot of discomfort. Eventually, after a CT scan, some pain meds, and some other thing I won't mention here, she relaxed a little bit, but not totally. Numerous texts were shuttling between sis-in-law and I about kid duty, etc. I jettisoned home once a room was assigned and got the kids off to school. Not sure what we would do without sis. I take back anything negative I have ever said. For now. ;)

My poor wife. For the next 12 hours all she did was barf and wretch in pain. She is a trooper, and took on that kidney stone for some time till it rolled into a better position, we think. Time will tell.

Quilt Market

Bluefig was on the road this last weekend in Salt Lake City. Over 3 days we met lots of new dealers and made some new friends, while getting to know some of our long-time dealers even better! We offered a sneak preview of our new 4-wheeled traveler case, set to be shipping in the fall.

Was a pleasure to have dinner at Cafe Molisse with Tom and Tammy Rice of Textile Endeavors. They cover the Midwest states for us and are doing a wonderful job. I was happy to see them and finally meet Tammy face-to-face. If you are fortunate enough to know them, then you know what I am talking about!

Saw some very interesting new product at the show - seems like this next year is going to be a good one in the home arts...

Visited Park City Olympic Park - VERY cool. Did you know you can ride in a bobsleigh there? Seriously! Although the attendant warned me it was not for the faint of heart. Unfortunately, it was closed until after Memorial weekend, so I did not get to test my skills in the sleigh... Soon they will be practicing the aerial jumps into the pool as well, and the ski jump will be rockin' too! www.olyparks.com

Congrats to Pat!

Our good friend Pat Thompson has moved on to pursue a great opportunity, one that will surely challenge and utilize his unique and broad skill set. We wish Pat the best and know he will make his new home better for being there. He is a good man... Good luck navigating California!

Bummer News...

We tried long and hard to make the Camas PO our new home, but in the end, it was just short of a workable solution for LUSB. I was bummed to have to pass on this opportunity and looked forward to working with the City of Camas, the local merchants, and the surrounding community on establishing our new base of operations. Alas, it was not meant to be. We will continue the search soon...

Happy Mom's Day!

All our best to the Moms out there that help create and shape our lives. We love you!

This Week at LUSB

What a week! LUSB finished a LEAN training series that is certainly going to increase our efficiencies. We wish to thank Mark McGrath, our LEAN Champ, for his hard work and efforts in getting through this initial phase of 'Get The Waste Out 2011.'

I am still in awe of all of the natural disasters occurring. The people along the Mississippi River, the ravaged Japanese, the southern tornado victims, etc. I wish all that are affected some peace during these terrible times. All the more reason for each and every one of us to be prepared when nature strikes...

Our screen printing operation is up and running. This has been an initiative of mine for over 2 years - good to see it moving forward. Now, who needs t-shirts?!!!!

I was told yesterday that Timberline might stay open until August this year as the snow pack is enormous! Skiing on July 4th? Now that's cause to celebrate!

Congrats to Brandon Gallawa, my cousin-in-law, for guessing the correct answer. Now I need to send he and his lovely wife and daughters a gift!

Salt Lake City next week for International Quilt Market. Can't wait to check out this city I have never been to!