October 18 2023
Dear Friends,
There is a game you can put on Android phones called “Parking Jam.” Donna plays it a lot as a way to depressurize in her scant moments of down time. In the game, you get an animated 3-D aerial view of a parking lot with cars interlocked and blocking each other. When cars have a exit path, you move them out of the lot. That unblocks a few other cars, and then they can go. The object is to empty the parking lot within a certain time period. Hindering this action, little old ladies appear and dash across in front of the cars, and you must be careful not to run over them. If you do run over one, it destroys your car and the lady scoots away.
It was Tuesday, we had a real live version of this situation in our parking lot at Fox Country Quilts. Our gravel lot looks quite big enough until you start packing more than about nine cars in it. I didn’t count, but yesterday we had something like 15 cars here.
It was a busy day! Jo Ella was here teaching a bag class, and had four students. Two ladies from somewhere south of us stayed two nights with us, each with her own car. In addition, we were quite busy with other customers. The shop was like a bee hive, and our parking lot was packed!
When classes are going on, we provide lunch for the class students and instructor. Our intent yesterday was to put out sandwich makings. We already had everything for it except no bread. So your’s truly had to make a quick run to the store for bread. Went out to the car and I couldn’t back out. Two cars were blocking me in. They were parked in reasonable places, so I couldn’t fault them, but I still couldn’t get out. Don’t know the story behind it, but one of the cars had someone already in the driver’s seat. Probably a husband, and he was kind enough to pull forward a couple feet and into the grass. Then I had to go back inside and to locate the owner of the other car, and ask her to move it. She did, but there was no legitimate place for her. So she went and parked in the grass beyond the far side of the lot.
There were no little old ladies scooting across the lot, so we were in good shape there. Didn’t take long to go fetch the bread, and when I got back, the lot had thinned out slightly, and I could get parked back in my spot. Don’t think I ever did get a sandwich out of that venture.
Good chance if you come take a class with us . . . . we always have them available, just check our on-line calendar . . . . you’ll be treated to a fine (but limited) presentation of sandwich makings so you can make one however you would like.
Chip
