My own bed looked mighty good when I got home from Houston at 10 p.m. Tuesday night. My cats, Ally and Earl, let me know how neglectful of their needs I had been by winding themselves around my ankles. Some people consider that a tripping hazard (I’m one of those people), but the cats seem to think it’s their job to put me on notice that they are a tad miffed about me being gone for a week.

Even though I drove through rain the biggest part of the trip, I had the most fun ever on the way home. I caravanned with Barb Adams and Alma Allen of Blackbird Designs. When I left Houston, I had to stop and gas up the car so I was about 30 – 45 minutes behind them.

We stopped for the night just south of Dallas in Ennis, Texas, and stayed at the same hotel. We met for breakfast and made some plans for the day.

Barb and Alma had plans to stop at the Moda warehouse and asked if I would like to go. They were planning on doing some shopping and they thought maybe I would be able to find a few things as well.

Think of it! Shopping at Moda! Fess up, I know you’re jealous!

Moda’s warehouse is overwhelming. Check out the video! Aisle after aisle of steel racks of shelving hold the most glorious array of fabrics. The fabric was arranged by designer lines. Blackbird had quite a lot of space dedicated to their lines as did Brannock and Patek, Sandy Gervais, Minnick and Simpson and Three Sisters to name a few.

I was curious to see where the pre-cut fabric was and asked a Moda employee where I might find them. “Oh, that’s in warehouse 3.” Warehouse 3? How many warehouses were there anyway?

Warehouse 3 is the area that has pre-cuts, books, and notions. Barb took me to the shelves that held books and showed me the area designated for the Kansas City Star books. It was pretty exciting to see how much space we are allotted.

I stuck a package of French General Honey Buns and Charm Packs in my cart. They looked very enticing along with the three bolts of fabric that were already riding along. Each bolt in the cart had a green sticker on the end, which meant that it was discounted beyond the wholesale price. What a deal!

I could have spent a week in that place and probably never have seen the same things twice. It was close to noon when we left Moda and lunchtime. We went to a little restaurant that served Mexican food. It must be a favorite haunt of the people who work at Moda. We ran into some of the people who had been working in the Moda booth at Market and chatted with them for a bit.

Antiquing is a favorite pastime of Barb and Alma’s as well as mine. After leaving the restaurant, we dodged raindrops and walked over to an antique mall that was across the parking lot. It was another place that went on and on. Barb and I happened on a booth where everything was marked 80 percent off. I found a quilt block of a Scotty dog that had been made using a Kansas City Star pattern. I snatched it up and paid $1.93 for the little beauty.

After going through the antique mall, we decided it really was time to be on our way home. Barb had to go to work the next day and it was getting late. Once we really got underway, we were intent on getting back to Kansas City. No more stopping unless it was absolutely necessary.

It’s a very long drive from Houston to Kansas City, especially when much of the time is spent driving in pouring rain. Barb and Alma made my drive so much easier by including me in their plans. Every so often they would call and check up on me making sure I was still alert enough to drive. It really is good to have caring friends!