A Glimpse Into My Reveries

Ahh, wouldn't it be loverly?

2012-01-12T00:14:00.001-08:00

Is winter coming early?

2011-11-16T19:46:00.000-08:00

The weather experts are calling for 40 mph winds and snow. Even though it's raining, I still am holding out for snow!

I guess time will tell!

Autumn

2011-11-09T09:56:00.000-08:00

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

Project Elf Completed

2011-10-31T11:49:00.000-07:00

Just in the nick of time, I put the finishing touches on Aizia's elf costume so she could wear it to work today!

I had a lot of fun making the embellished felt Christmas tree appliques and hand stitching them to the felt skirt and vest I made. I also made the elf shoes to cover her athletic shoes.

Final Harvest Before the First Frost

2011-10-24T22:03:00.000-07:00

The expert weather prognosticators are calling for the first frost tonight. So I took a couple of hours this sunny afternoon to continue my garden beds clean-up and brought in the last of the produce.

I found 2 medium zuchinni, 2 oversized cucumbers, three handsful of greenbeans pods for drying (to save the seeds), 2-1/2 cups of unripen cherry tomatoes, a trayful of green roma tomatoes, a bouquet of yellow zinnias and orange ganzia flowers, and a small windowbox of fresh baby salad greens.

Hiding in the branches of the species dogwood tree in the corner of the backyard hangs a hardy non-stop begonia. Long after the lobelia and brachicomb had withered away, this plant is still going strong. I will be curious to find out if the frost finds it hanging in the tree.

Yesterday, I cut the last of the roses. Although, they are all loaded with buds, I have my doubts they will have a chance at blooming. I will savor the fragrance of these beauties sitting above my kitchen sink.

I am a railway convert!

2011-10-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

Portland Union Station tower as viewed aboard northbound train.

I have recently become a 'travel by rail' enthusist after one too many trips down the I-5 parking lot in stop-and-go, never-get-into-third-gear, four-hours-between-Mt Lake Terrace-to-Tacoma drives! And then, only to get caught in Portland traffic's headaches, too! I've also done the math, and when traveling alone, it's more economical to travel by rail.

I can catch the morning south-bound train at 8:45a and be at Portland's beautiful Union Station just as my brother-in-law is getting off of work at 3:30p! Talk about convenient timing! And even better, I was able to spend the day stitching, reading, blog surfing, and watching movies instead of having my eyes glued to the brake lights in front of me! I loved it!

Inside Union Station I found a huge, clean and comfortable place to await my train.

Beautifully shiny benches throughout.

Coffered ceilings, marble tile walls and floors.

Almost time to board!

I love the old, old luggage carts still in use today. These were in Union Station, but the Fairhaven terminal had beautiful, old carts with wooden spokes! These were an anacronism in a lobby of neon signs.

On the way home Monday morning, I snapped alot of pictures on my iPhone and jotted down a few thoughts extolling the virtues of this train trip.

Although the day started out foggy, soon the sun broke through and I enjoyed some beautiful autumn colors.

On this journey there were heavily wooded stretches alternating with beaches. The coastline had some sandy beaches but mostly it was wild and rocky.

It's a mixture of farmland vista between cityscapes,

notice the full moon in the left hand corner

waterfront homes (some magnificent, some quaint),

marinas,

waterfront parks,

ferrylandings,

and had quick glimpses of industrial parks and busy railyards.

We paralelled more than one lush green golf course,

passed along suburban areas, gaining quick glimpses into town life, people walking dogs, jogging, hanging clothes to dry on lines in backyards outlined by picket fences.

I saw Park & Ride commuter stops, urban softball complexes, a small airport, sailboats

ships and shipyards.

It was a wonderful journey of rural vistas and water views, diverse areas of city, urban and industry. But most of all, it was relaxing!

I Love You, Sis!

2011-09-27T17:55:00.000-07:00

"In thee my soul shall own combined the sister and the friend."

~Catherine Killigrew

2011-09-08T09:18:00.000-07:00

A quick peek into a my garden this morning. I tiptoed outside in my robe to capture these pictures on my phone and was surprised by the joyful sensation of cold morning dew covered grass on my bare feet that made me feel like a little girl again!

My shady corner within the spa enclosure.
The three baskets have grown together into one floral mass and the fushias continue to bloom, bloom, bloom!

I was pleased to note the smell of lots of flowers still lingers. The nights may be lengthening and getting pretty cool but it still looks like summer in the yard. I've been really good about watering and fertilizing my pots and baskets this year so they have repaid me in millions of blooms this year. The pots in front of the garage door have also grown into a solid mass of green and mixed blooms. The long boxes of African Daisies along the front walk have taken over the area under the livingroom window, and the front porch pots have never been so lush-you have to push through just to get to the door!

Green beans peeking through the lattace of the privacy screen.

With the faith of a child our toddler planted a seed.

I took a quick look around the back yard this morning as it's been several days since I've been outside to look at my gardens. I've been working in the kitchen lately, putting up the harvest. Yesterday's labor of love included 18 quarts and 9 nine pints of nectarines and they join the 10 quarts of Aizian-style Plum Sauce made the day before.

Now I'm heading back into the kitchen to process more Italian Prune Plums before heading to eastern Washington today to visit my sister in Carlton and help bring in the honey harvest. My daughters are joining us this year. It's going to be alot of fun!

Apricot Chutney

2011-08-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

My own special recipe for Apricot Chutney...yum!

Tally to date: 7 quarts & 19 pints

It's Gonna Be A Great Year For Blackberries!

2011-08-17T10:28:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening, on the walk home from dinner at Mom & Dad's we ate dessert:

These are the first of our local wild blackberries this year! Three weeks of sunshine after a mild winter and very wet spring, we are going to have a bumper crop of blackberries this year! Hope the dry weather holds!

These a few of the berries we picked last night. They are bigger than the tip of my thumb! Bigger than a quarter!

Dressed in heavy jeans, armed with my "come-hither", the pruning shears and buckets, we picked over 5 pounds in less than an hour, and that included the walking time there and back!

What's a "come-hither"?

A "come-hither" is an invaluable blackberry picking tool. Version 1.0 was a wire coat hanger from the dry cleaners that had paper dowel as the bottom rung. I removed the paper dowel, and duck taped it to the wire arms that had been folded together, so that the hook was at the top of the stick. This one was dubbed the 'spider stick' as it was used to clear the spiderwebs that blocked access to the juiciest of the berries. (Spiders are pretty smart! They know the bugs will be after the berries as soon as they ripen!)

Version 1.1 is a long wooden dowel with a large cup-hook screwed into the end of it. Much sturdier, a bit longer but still lightweight. Helps to clear spider webs, lift thorny branches and pull down those big clumps of berries that stay just out of fingertip reach!

You've heard the saying "If your knees are not green by the end of the day, you haven't spent enough time in the garden"? Well, I'm paraphrasing it to "If you don't have seeds in-between your molars, fingertips are not purpley, your hands and arms not itchy and scratched, then you haven't spent enough time in the brambles!

Ha! Tongue-in-cheek Birthday Wishes aka Pie In The Sky Dreams

2011-08-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

A photo of a recent desktop sticky note conversation:

Brent responds, "You know I can't deny you anything! Act surprized when you open it, k?"

If you can't read the link, here's another photo of where it leads:

If only it were a princess cut. *sigh* I'd have to take him up on this!

Boy, I can think of alot of other things I could do with a million dollars before I'd wear it on one finger!

Dad's Workshop

2011-08-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

Exciting news at Dad's place across the street. We are making huge steps towards Dad's new workshop.

Foundation frame set and level

Fill dirt for foundation form with enough leftover to grade surrounding soil away from building

A tidy delivery!

After shoveling and compacting the area within the frame.
We are ready for the big day!

Here it comes!

At the start of the pour...

The Dads provide supervision.

Looking pretty good!

Brent directs the flow

All hands on deck!

Almost there...

"Hmmm, we seem to be a bit short of concrete."
Driver scrapes out every last cement cover nugget.
"Who has a Plan B?"

"Hey, what if..."

Some quick thinking and "This might work"

With several concrete stepping stones buried in the center of the pour, it looks like we might have enough!

After several more passes with the skree and some smoothing around the edges, the job will be complete.
.

"Here's to a job well done!"

Morning in the Methow Valley

2011-07-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

I am visiting my auntie/sister this week and am basking in the quiet relaxation and peacefulness of their home. I awoke early today to the sound of chickens quietly clucking. Their voices are reminiscent of low volume chuckling and it's a happy way to start the day.

The sun was about to rise over the ridge and the wisps of low clouds in front of the distant vista was so pretty! Horses out in the pasture can be seen past the garden yard and the low shush-shush-shush of the sprinklers is interrupted only by the proud crowing of the rooster as he rouses his flock.

The view from the other side of the house/barn is the opposite ridge that rims this beautiful river valley they call home. Here's a photo from her kitchen window. Peeking through the forest of hollyhocks, past the beautiful clematis covered gate arbor, you can see more of these low wispy clouds.

As the sun's first rays hit the clouds, the play of light and shadow on the stark landscape of the ridge is quite lovely, but very different from the forests of my side of the Cascades and the beach side vistas of our little bay.

The sun is bright, today is going to be a warm one. Shep has closed all the windows to preserve the coolness of the night's breezes. Jannie has started her morning routine and I am eager to start the day, as I am incorporated into their Life In The Barn.

Daybreak in the Garden

2011-07-02T06:54:00.000-07:00

Couldn't sleep at all last night, perhaps it was that I am soooo excited about my sister's upcoming visit!

First hummingbird at the bedroom window feeder: 4:49am.

Outside to greet the day: 6am, after coffee and a bagel

Here's the view as I stepped off the deck this morning:

I tried to capture the wonderful quality of the light in the clear blue sky as the sun touched the white trunks of the cottonwoods behind us but the pictures were unspectacular. Too bad this isn't an HD blog, because the colors of the flowers and the variety of green is just astonding!

Well, back outside to pick my paintbrush back up and get to work! Have a great morning!

This Is My Morning. Wednesday, June 29, 2011.

2011-06-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

I slept lightly last night for some reason, sleep seemed elusive. Something woke me just before 5:30 and the thought "I don't want to wake up yet" was quickly crowded by "What was that crash?". I knew it came from behind me, I was laying with my back to the window. I mentally reviewed if there was anything on the dresser that Brindle Blue may have tipped over as she jumped into the window to watch the morning birds at the feeders. Then, deciding it was too large a crashing noise to ignore, I rose to the window blind, twisting the stick to open it, peeked into the backyard.

Finding nothing that seemed amiss I lay back down, determined to return to sleep. A few moments later, a large rustling and a flap of startled birds bid me return to the window. Upon closer inspection, I realized what had caused the crash. The gate-sized section of fencing, propped against the apple tree for staining, gave one of the neighborhood cats a perfect ladder access to the tree and, quite literally, the 'catbird seat' for the small seed feeder above the bird bath at the base of this small tree.

The horror of my own accidental assistance to this marauding feline quickly turned to amusement as I watched the cat dangle from the tree by one foreleg as it tried, unsuccessfully, to regain his prime assassin position. Taking his empty jaws and chagrined expression at being laughed aloud at as proof of his failed attempt on my beloved birds, I realise his opportunity is lost. The crash I heard earlier was the fence falling away from the tree and hitting the raised bed before resting flat on the ground.

That little problem was solved by it's fur-bearing instigator.

I knew sleep wasn't returning, so I reached for something to read. As I read, propped up in bed, I enjoyed the occasional sound and the quick glimpses of hummingbirds at the window feeder. When the sound of one little visit seemed to last quite a bit longer than previous visits, I glanced up to find the hummer peering in my window. At first I thought it must be sipping at the flowers in the window box, but he was deliberately dancing back and forth above the flowers to get my attention. When I sat up for a better view, it flew the short distance from window screen to feeder and back, twice, to alert me that the feeder was empty!

Fortunately, I had made up the sugar water the evening before, so I donned my robe against the morning drizzle and dashed outside to fill the feeder. My efforts have been rewarded with over an hour of bird watching as my jeweled visitor enjoyed his breakfast and jealously guarded it against the other hummers that frequent the garden.

Now, as I have given up on the idea of sleep and am typing on my laptop, my Brindle Blue tries to squeeze under my arm as she purrs her love and promise of devotion, if I would only rise now and serve her breakfast. Falsely accused, if only mentally, of causing my reluctant departure from sleep, she is willing to forgive and forget, if I would now. rise. and. serve. breakfast!

I hear my daughter's alarm chime from the room across the hall and I am enjoying the sound knowing that soon, I will no longer hear her morning routines. All too soon, the room now-makeshift bedroom with sewing paraphernalia shoved aside-will return to it's status of sewing room/guest bedroom as she has accepted a new Au-pair position and will be fleeing the nest.

Coffee beckons. A rainy morning. It's been a good two weeks since I've been forced indoors by rain. It'll be a good morning to devote to kitchen time. I have strawberries to slice, rhubarb to chop and chickens to ready for the freezer, vacuuming to ignore, coffee to drink and several back issues of Mary Janes Farm to devour.

This is my morning, Wednesday, June 29, 2011.

A pair of hummingbirds can be glimpsed out the bedroom window, past the clove-scented Stock blossoms in the window box. In the background can be seen one of the pair of window boxes on the shed, with my Mason Bee Houses above. Branching in from the left of the photo is the site of this morning's near-cat-astrophy.

Sage advice

2011-06-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

I am reading my way through my sister's back issues of Mary Janes Farm magazine and ran across this quote of Mark Twain:

"If it's your job to eat a frog,

it's best to do it first thing in the morning.

And if it's your job to eat two frogs,

it's best to eat the biggest one first."

I hadn't read that one before and it really made me chuckle. There are so many quotes and verses about motivating yourself to get things done but this one really has humor, in addition to truth!

That being said, it's time to get started on the day!

Hope yours is frog-free!

It's Been A Great Staycation!

2011-06-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

Brent's vacation this year was very much a working vacation. And I have the photos to prove it!

We have been working hard to get the yard in order. Building new builds, painting the privacy screens in the back yard, planting, weeding and because it's been almost two weeks without rain, lots of watering. One of the draw backs to raised beds can be how quickly they drain and dry. At least I can dictate the amount of water each planter gets, so much better than having things drown in our clay soil.

Here's some progress pictures from around the garden:

This is the new raised bed that runs along the property line on the garage side of the house. This picture is actually more than half-way through the project. The worst part of the job was removing the long overgrown bed that was there. Eighteen years ago we used cherry timbers to make raised beds, which had long since decayed. The bed was horribly overgrown with blackberries, lemon balm and oregano and several roses that had returned to their wild root-stock. The roots were so solid in that area that it was a huge effort to escavate and re-level the bed. To say nothing of hauling it all away!

Here Brent lies in exhaustion! Hahaha. The bed is straight, level and lined with a double layer of landscape cloth in hopes of delaying the re-appearance of horsetail ferns and blackberries!

Hey, men who have died of exhaustion aren't supposed to be laughing!

Here's the bed about 8pm last night, with some of the plantings completed. Here you can see the Welcome-To-My-Garden Arbor along with the Wintercreeper or Emerald Gaiety Euonymus bush we planted at the start of the raised bed so we have year-around interest with a varigated evergreen.

A better view of the Evergreen Climatis and the Purple Leaf Honeysuckle I planted and wove into the arbor's lattice. On the opposite side I've woven a pink jasmine and a clematis start from Reen.

One of the seven 8 foot-long bed sections is devoted to berries. Amanda gave me an early birthday present of 3 blueberry bushes-already loaded with blueberries! And we planted 22 strawberry plants, too. Those were my gift to my DearHusband. Strawberries are his favorite!

This is a reverse view (looking towards the street). In this picture you can see one of the three fuschia-pink lupines along with a veggie section of the bed. I have 5 fennel starts, a yellow straight neck squash, a Black Beauty Zuchinni, 2 varieties of cucumbers and a clump of 5 pole bean starts. In the center, I've planted 5 little root sections of Jerusalem Arthichokes or Sunchokes. I've never eaten them before but they sounded interesting.

Adding more plants to this section is on today's list. In the corner you can see a Niko Blue Hydrangea. This shady corner is a wonderful little spot. It doesn't show in this picture but just to the right of the chair is a basket hanging from the tree that is overflowing with deep red begonia and a sunny yellow tailing flower.

This is the garage wall raised bed, looking towards the arbor. I think these sunflowers along the wall grew 3" yesterday! The two cilantro divisions have just expoded with growth and the color spots are making quite a show.

Now a couple of random shots to share:

Two days of Brent's vacation were spent cleaning out the shade garden which had become overrun with vining maple, horsetails, creeping buttercup and of course, blackberries. Now the area has been re-graded away from the foundation and covered with beauty bark over a double layer of landscape cloth. Perhaps next year we will re-landscape this area.

Hey, Sisters, remember that trampled-flat broken-off section of Wandering Jew? Well, I stuck it into a pot of soil and it is taking off! New roots, new leaves!

Also in this shot are the Hebe starts that I intend for my Faerie Garden planter. That also is still on my To-Do List.

Time to don sunscreen and head back outside to enjoy some sunshine on Brent's last day of vacation. I could really get used to having my hubby home full-time. I'm gonna miss having him around every day, but I'm sure he's probably looking forward to getting back to paying work to have a breather from yardwork!

I'll Make My Own Sunshine Then...

2011-06-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

A peek out my kitchen window

The skies may be overcast again and the breeze gaining on wind status but I have a spot of sunshine to call my own!

This is the shady corner within the privacy screen around the hot tub. My begonia pots are in full bloom and starting to look lush. On the deck you can see my 2 Boxwood Basil, the tall African Basil, and the Rubin Basil. In the very back is the World's Smallest Fushia just starting it's first blooms, as well as a pair of dainty flowered Electric Lights Fuschias.

A close-up of The World's Smallest Fuschia blossoms

You can also see the top blooms of my Multi Blue Clematis poking through the lattice at the top of the privacy screen.

The first huge bloosom on my dark orange Non Stop Begonia.

This picture is from last week. This plant has added another four huge blooms since I took this picture (as you can see in the top picture).

A Bit of Whimsey

2011-06-03T20:06:00.000-07:00

While I got things ready to go onto the grill for dinner, I decorated a basket I bought today with some whimsical ribbon.

I think it makes the perfect addition to my bike!

It's not a large or particularly sturdy basket, but I think it'll do perfectly to carry my sunglass case! And maybe an apple, or a small snack. And some lipbalm. And maybe a hairbrush for when I take my helmet off. And maybe a coin purse, just in case we ride past the ice cream stand. And, and, and....

Buttercup Fields and Cotton Candy Clouds

2011-05-30T10:02:00.000-07:00

Dad and I went for a walk last week between showers and saw this beautiful vista. The birds were singing! The wind was a bit chill but the sun was warm on our faces. I enjoyed the fragrance of new green and flowers in bloom that always seem particularly heady after a shower. It was a good day.

Sunday project

2011-05-23T09:06:00.000-07:00

We may not have had much sunshine, but at least it wasn't raining! And the sun did actually come out in the late afternoon, when these photos were taken.

Brent and Aizia, along with Dad's supervision, started my newest raised garden bed. This will be a mostly shade garden, as it won't get sun until late in the afternoon. I cannot wait to get some soil into it and start planting!

Here Aizia spreads the all-important landscape cloth or weed-block fabric to the bottom of the bed. We do this in a vain effort to keep out the horsetails. At least it does help for a few years.

And the untreated sidewalls go up.

After the boxes are completed. The bare wood is lined in heavy mil plastic to protect the wood from soil exposure. It'll buy us a few extra years of life for the wood, without having to resort to treated wood.

First into the new bed will be a division of the Dicentra, or Bleeding Heart, from the corner of the bed directly behind Aizia in this picture. It was transplanted from my sister's garden last year and has just gotten huge! You can see it above her head in this picture.

Next into the bed will be these clumps of fern. They were dug out from behind the steps seen here (before they were rebuilt with solid risers) and spent last summer flourishing despite the fact their root balls were exposed.

I think I will also add some cutting flowers to enjoy in the house, seeing as I still have a flat of Snap Dragons and mixed Zinnias to plant!

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

For the first 24 years of my life, this day was solely dedicated to my Mama and thanking her for all that she had done for me throughout my life.

I remember the 'secret' projects done at school for Mother's Day surprises. In fact, while recently going through the family home (while packing Daddy up for a move into the house across the street from me), I found the napkin holder I made while in Bluebirds. It was a five pound coffee can covered in crinkled foil, with an unrolled yellow nylon dish scrubbie stretched over it and had a very bedraggled blue plastic flower attached to the front.

Forty years later, it was still in the cupboard. It had no room inside it for napkins now, being full of memories!

1962
Mama: Geraldine Roxanna Fowles Clark Wallis, Nana: Malinda Pearl Bush Fowles (holding me), and Mumum: Theda Geraldine Fowles Clark

1962

For the next 22 years, we shared the day, our bond all that much stronger since I had joined the ranks of motherhood and had a truer knowledge of the depth of her love for me.

Today, after saying a prayer to thank God for the years I had my Mama's presence in my life, I will rejoice in the fact that God has blessed me with three children to love. Loved them as they formed within me, loved them as we raised them through all the heart-melting toothless grins, the temper tantrums, skinned knees, fevers, and teenage angst-filled years.

Now, with pride, I step back and see them as adults, and love them even more!

November 2010

I want to wish my sisters, Janet, 'Reen, 'Manda, Georgia and Alyson a wonderful and very Happy Mother's Day!

As well, I'd like to send a special hug and kiss to the mother who raised the wonderful man I married! You did a good job, Mom! And I love you, thanks for being there, these past 30 years!

Labor of Love

2011-04-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

Daddy's new house is officially his today when the closing papers are submitted to the county treasurer's office. He signed the paperwork on Thursday, but the county treasurer's office was closed on Friday.

That didn't stop us!

Friday, we went to the paint store, might as well give Chris at Sherwin-Williams a pat on the back for his helpful suggestions and patience, as I spent 2-1/2 hours picking out paint colors!

It's going to be Bright White for the insides of the kitchen cabinets, as well as the trim and window sills throughout the house.

For the great room downstairs, as well as the loft area upstairs, the color is Willowy White. It's a pale green that avoids being pastel by being on the gray side. The bedrooms are going to be Platinum, it's a white with a blue-gray cast, as I wanted something bright for the bedrooms, as they seem dark compared to the all window front of the house. The bathrooms, will probably be the same color, but I haven't completely decided that one.

Friday evening I scrubbed the insides of the kitchen cupboards and readied them for paint. First tho', Daddy removed odd screws and nails to make wiping them down safe.

Saturday was official start date of painting.

I think the insides of the kitchen cabnets looks so bright and clean painted white, instead of the original gold. Don't you?

Here, Dad removes the electric baseboard heaters. With the beautiful Vermont Casting Gas Stove in the livingroom, there is no need for them. And let's face it, they're ugly. They were ugly, now they are for sale on Craigslist!

On Sunday, Brent got a start painting the great room. You can see the front of the loft area above his head. The ceiling is 2 stories high to his right.

Large gaps and holes in the walls were filled with expanding foam. Here Dad trims off the excess, so it's flush with the wall, and ready to be painted.

A safety hand rail was removed from the stairway wall to receive a coat of stain to match the posts and rails of the stairway and the loft railings.

Here you can see that the front walkway path is flanked by several large rhodies that are about to bloom into the most beautiful shade of red!

I gave the kitchen walls a coat of pale yellow. Pictures to follow soon. Today, I'll finish painting the refridgerator alcove, give the insides of the cabinets a second coat of white and start on the shelves.

Sunday dinner was served by Bob's at Birch Bay Square. Then Dad headed home as Brent and I headed to bed. All in all, a very productive weekend.

A Gift for My Sister Reen

2011-03-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

A handmade gift for my sister Reen's birthday. A needlecase full of various needles and a small pair of embroidery scissors:

The appliques are wool felt. I had never worked with wool felt before, I really enjoyed it. I bought the wool felt squares from a my favorite quilting store, Folktales in Lynden and when I got them home I rinsed them in hot water and dried them in a hot dryer to increase their felting and loft. Believe me, wool felt in nothing like the cheap felt available at craft stores. It feels wonderful, not itchy at all, has a uniform thickness, didn't pill when washed and is easy to work with!

Here's a picture of the inside front cover:

The first page of needles are Sharps in a variety of sizes.

The second page of needles is embroidery needles, in a variety of sizes. Embroidery needles have the same sharpness as Sharps, but the eye is elongated to accommodate larger threads, flosses and ribbons.

On the third page of needles, I added a variety of tapestry needles. These have a more rounded, blunted point, to slip between the threads of the fabric instead of piercing them.

The final page of needles contains a variety of household repair needles, including a spade-nosed leather needle, larger tapestry needles and curved upholstery needles.

On the back inside cover, I included a pair of embroidery scissors. Very handy to have!

This picture shows the embroidery embellishments made to the cotton cover. I added small yellow french knots to the center of the Forget Me Nots, to add emphasis and tie them into the embroidered wool flowers.

It was a very fun project and it was well received by my Sis!

Remember The Sweet Things

2011-02-20T12:34:00.000-08:00

I wish I could take credit for the title of this post, but credit goes to the author of the book by that title, Ellen Greene.

I read a book last week that has stayed on my mind. I found it's message very powerful, her story really touched my heart. She has inspired me to do as she suggests and I will Remember The Sweet Things.

In my head I have been meditating on?conjuring up?dwelling upon?working on a post about how this story has affected me. I was so moved to even seek out the author to find a way to let her know what I was feeling in reaction to her book.

Imagine my surprise at having a published author respond to my post. Now compound that feeling. This morning I got another email from Ellen Greene. It read:

Karen,
I took the liberty of posting your oh so nice feedback on my blog (www.ellengreene.org), as my web master suggests I do with especially well written letters. I protected your privacy by changing your and Brent's names. I hope you don't mind.
My best,
Ellen

If you follow either of the links above, you will find the words I used to try to share my thoughts. Please go there now and read them. I have not been able to draft anything better than the words I gave her. You can also click here to go directly to the post of my comment. When your eyes see the name Brad, read Brent; when you see the name Karla, read Karen.

I hope you will read her book Remember The Sweet Things. I hope you will enjoy their life's journey through twenty years of marriage. I hope you, too, will be inspired by her words.

I want to remember the urgency I felt after losing my Mama, to express my love to my family, my children, and especially to my best friend, my lover, my husband, Brent.
I want to remember to be present, to be aware of those wonderful little moments that should be imprinted upon my heart and memory.
I want to remember to enjoy the journey, the ups and the down, hard times and good, and as I vowed for better for worse.

I suppose being able to see the 50 year mark coming so quickly upon me that I have realized this time we have together is not infinite. I want to share my heart, I want him to know me.

By an amazing coincidence of timing, I finished this book in the wee hours of Valentine's Day morning. This post, tho' late, is my valentine to you, Brent. iloveyou. Always.

A Bright Crisp Day

2011-02-19T15:29:00.000-08:00

The sun is shining gloriously today! I decided to get out into the fresh air and took Gizmo for a walk up the way to get Mom and Dad's mail. I'm sure she thought I was being terribly mean when we didn't run up the driveway to see them. I don't think she realized they weren't there. I hope they are having a wonderful time in Italy!

From the mailbox we walked to the park and along the beach watching the whitecaps crash onto the beach.

I stood at the water's edge listening to the symphony of the pebbles and rocks as they tumbled and rolled with each wave as the incoming tide brought the waves closer and closer to my feet. The chilly wind, whitecapped waves and the brisk walk-very energizing!

Here's my little ten pound puller! She is, alternately, ten pounds of pulling or piddling. Run ahead the length of the lead, piddle as I stride past, then runs to catch up and past me. Repeat for one hour!

Could she make it any easier on the guy?

2011-02-09T13:23:00.000-08:00

My daughter's best friend will be celebrating her first year of marriage this coming Monday. That's right, they got married on Valentine's Day. Oh, and ya...it's also her birthday! Could she make it an easier on this guy?

He has one date to remember every year: February 14th. In one fell swoop he takes care of his wife's birthday, their anniversary day and the annual Sweetheart's celebration known as Valentine's Day! I guess the bad news is 3 gifts/1 day, but then again, he has a whole year to save up!

For their 1st anniversary gift I sent the following gift:

The mongrammed jeans pocket and the attached waitband encases the traditional First Anniversary Gift of Paper, three gifts actually.

One of the items in the pocket is a greeting card, inside it says:

As the first anniversary is the traditional year for Paper, I send you 3 gifts of paper.

1. This card, full of best wishes for a Happy Anniversary and for 100 more!

2. Paper Money! One bill for each year of marriage!

3. The ever more practical and just as useful, bathroom tissue!

May your lives together be filled with love and laughter!

~~~~~~Happy 1st Anniversary, Jacklyn & Richard~~~~~~~~

I Love You, Sis! Saturday & Sunday January 29th & 30th:

2011-01-30T05:30:00.000-08:00

"The memories we share remind me

of how blessed I am to have a sister like you."

~Anonymus

What's for dinner? Savory Steak and Onion Pie!

2011-01-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

Late yesterday afternoon, I started to think about dinner and what to fix. I knew that in about 2 hours, Brent would be calling to say he was one his way home and "What's for dinner?".

In the fridge was a bowl of beef strips. Brent had originally intended on using the round roast for jerky, but it was too marbeled and gristly. So he trimmed it all up and cut it into little strips. Hmmm, what to do with all of it? I thought of stir fry, or stroganoff, or....I wasn't sure what yet, but I knew it needed to be cooked up.

So I started out by roughly chopping a large onion and a red pepper. Using my large cast iron skillet, I sauteed them in enough olive oil to prevent any sticking, and to give a nice gloss to the veggies. When the onions and red pepper chunks were starting to get a well browned, I added the beef strips and a heaping tablespoon of chopped garlic.

I have been using a pair of metal tongs to toss things in my HOT cast iron pan when browning meat and veggies. I find it better than trying to stab things with a fork as it leaves the pieces intact without letting the juiciness leak out. Browning this way leaves lovely dark edges and gives a carmelized onion flavor to my dishes. Yumm!

I added in some leftover sauteed mushrooms, maybe 1/3 cup? and added 2 packets of a dried onion and mushroom soup/dip mix. We had a ketchup container in the cupboard that had about 2 tablespoons of ketchup left in it, so I added about 1/2 cup of water to the bottle and shook. Mmmm, now I had a tomato-y start to a good gravy.

I added some seasoning salt, a dash of this and that from the spice cupboard, including a glug of A1 Steak sauce, then I added maybe 1-1/2 or 2 cups of hot water, and let the pan simmer for a little while, wishing I had a lid big enough for this skillet. (I'm wondering if the round aluminum baking sheet-think pizza pan-I have in the back of the pantry, the one with my great-great Aunt Marie's name etched into the bottom, might be large enough. I'll have to dig it out and see!)

Back to the fridge to see what was in there....some leftover green beans and corn-yes! eggs-no, apples-no. Then I spied a box of ready-made pie crust rolls that didn't get used over the holidays. Then the light bulb came on and I decided to make a meat pie. I have never done that before but I have read of them and always thought it would be too much of a bother making a real pie crust. But having them already at hand, excellent idea!

I dug out my deep dish ceramic pie pan (a wedding gift from so long ago!) and after the pie crust rolls had warmed up and lost their chill, I spread one on the bottom of the pan. Of course, it split and tore. I've yet to have one that rolls out intact. But we'll call it rustic and enjoy it!

I took half of the beef/onion/red pepper out of the pan and put it into a quart container to go into the freezer, now it's a ready made base for another dinner, another day, another recipe. I also added enough of the sauce to keep everything moist.

Then I couldn't decide how to make the sauce thick enough not to make the crust soggy. Eventually, I decided to use flour as a thickener, as opposed to corn starch, because I wanted a gravy that would heat up easily without gelling, just in case I had extra gravy. (Which as it turned out, I have about a cup of gravy to put into the freezer for another use!)

I removed the beef mixture out of the skillet, into a large bowl. I sprinkled the misture with flour, tossing to coat the individual pieces and repeated until they looked well coated.

Then I took, maybe, half a cup of flour and a cup of cold water and shook in a sealed jar until it was well mixed without lumps. I added this to the sauce in the pan and made a very thick gravy. I adusted the seasonings, adding a little more salt and some ground black pepper.

I mixed in the leftover green beans and corn to the meat and onions, then piled it all into the pie pan atop the crust. I added the gravy on top, letting it seep in and fill the pie pan. Then I rolled out the other crust onto the breadboard and tried to repair the tears as best I could. Then I transferred it to the top of the pie. I pinched the edges together around the pan and tucked them down into the pan, so they wouldn't get overly browned and dried-out while baking.

I didn't think to take a picture of the pie before I put it into the oven, but it looked like Jekyll and Hyde, or City Pie sleek / Country Pie rustic as the first half of the crust rolled out perfectly, but the second half was cracked, torn and, well, rustic looking! As the beef mixture was already hot, I put the pie into the oven (on a cookie sheet just in case I didn't get the gravy thick enough and it boiled over) at 450 degrees.

While that baked, I made a layered mixed veggie green salad, but that's another post someday. After the pie came out of the oven, and it was well-browned after 25 minutes, I decided to brush the top with some soft butter. It kept soaking in nicely, so I kept at it. I probably used two tablespoons.

After dishing up, I thought of taking a picture for a blog post. So here it is!

Salad dressed and pie slice all ready to eat!

The cherries on the bottom of pie pan is a bit distracting, but you can see how yummy the crust turned out, even if it wasn't perfect! The gravy was perfect, just enough and nice and thick.

This pie gave us six hearty portions! Lots and lots of meat. Next time I will add more onions, maybe cubed potatoes or some broccoli or cauliflower. I cannot eat carrots, but I think nice thick carrot slices would look lovely in the mix.

I think the key to the perfect flakey crust bottom was having the filling already cooked and hot. I will definately do this again! What a perfect way to use up left overs!

I Love You, Sis! Friday, January 28th:

2011-01-28T05:30:00.000-08:00

"There's a special kind of freedom

sisters enjoy.

Freedom to share innermost thoughts,

to ask a favor,

to show their true feelings.

The freedom to simply be themselves."

~Anonymous

I Love You, Sis! Thursday, January 27th:

2011-01-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

"If you're going to be able to look back

on something and laugh about it,

you might as well laugh about it now."

~Marie Osmond

We thank Thee for the birds that sing...

2011-01-26T16:41:00.000-08:00

I sat down this afternoon to watch an episode of "The Wind at My Back" with a cup of fragrant Earl Grey Tea and I realised, over the conversations on the tv, I was hearing the soft little inquiring trills of my beloved canary, Piper. The soft little calls he knows will bring me to his perch to cajole him into song. Beyond our ongoing conversations of 'tweeeet, tweeet', he has been most noticably quiet since early fall.

He broke his three month molt by gracing me with several minutes of an almost hesitant song of rolling notes. Even though the verses of his song today were soft and short, they were undeniably sweet as honey, and they brought me joy and renewed anticipation that he will regain the majestic arias that won my heart!

And tonight, when I say grace, it will be with renewed enthusiasm as I say..

We thank Thee, for the world so sweet,

We thank Thee for the food we eat,

We thank Thee for the birds that sing,

We thank thee, God, for everything!

Piper enjoying his reward of fresh broccoli
while keeping a suspicious eye my camera!

I Love You, Sis! Wednesday, January 26th:

2011-01-26T05:30:00.000-08:00

"Life is a great big canvas;

throw all the paint on it you can."

~Danny Kaye

I Love You, Sis! Tuesday, January 25th:

2011-01-25T05:30:00.000-08:00

"Sisters share the innocence, imagination,

and adventure of youth."

~Michelle Malm

I Love You, Sis! Monday, January 24th:

2011-01-24T05:30:00.000-08:00

"A home is no home unless it contains

food and the fire

for the mind as well as for the body.

For human beings are not so constituted

that they can live without expansion.

If they do not get in one way,

they must in another, or perish."

~Margaret Fuller

I Love You, Sis! Saturday & Sunday, January 22nd & 23rd:

2011-01-22T05:30:00.000-08:00

Studies have shown that of the three

sibling pairs,

sister/sister pairs are the closest...

Sisters are the traditional kin keepers

in our society and have a

real commitment

to keeping the relationship going."

~Jane Mersky Leder

I Love You, Sis! Friday, January 21st:

2011-01-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

"Be grateful for the home you have,

knowing that at this moment,

all you have is all you need."

~Sarah Ban Breathnach

I Love You, Sis! Thursday, January 20th:

2011-01-21T09:14:00.000-08:00

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and our she-roes!

~Maya Angelou

Mama and Jannie. Spring/Summer 1962.

I Love You, Sis! Wednesday, January 19th:

2011-01-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

"(My sister) was the one who showed me

what women of faith look like.

She taught me how to live.

She made me proud of my family."

~Caroline Burns

December 2009

I Love You, Sis! Tuesday, January 18th:

2011-01-18T05:30:00.000-08:00

"One must live with a person to know that person."

~Irish Proverb

I Love You, Sis! Monday, January 17th:

2011-01-17T05:30:00.000-08:00

"We did not change as we grew older,

we just became more clearly ourselves."

~Lynn Hall

1967

I Love You, Sis! Saturday & Sunday, January 15th & 16th:

2011-01-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

"Oh, the comfort~

the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person~

Having neither to weigh thoughts, nor to measure words,

but pouring them all right out,

just as the are, chaff and grain together."

~Dinah Marian Lulock Cralk

Georgia's surprise birthday party. 2001

I Love You, Sis! Friday, January 14th:

2011-01-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

"The things we truly love stay with us always,

locked in our hearts as long as life remains."

~Josehpine Baker

"The people we truly love stay with us always,
locked in our hearts as long as life remains, and beyond."
~paraphrased by Karen Lawson

Sisters and cousins gathered together, knit in close for comfort and healing. By happy chance (really? chance?) the memorial dvd playing on the tv in the background shows Mama smiling over at us.

I Love You, Sis! Thursday, January 13th:

2011-01-13T05:30:00.000-08:00

"...if we believed in the media we would think the only significant relationship in our lives is a romantic one.
Yet sisterhood is probably the one that will last longer
than any other...a sister will always be around."

~Jane Dowdeswell

My grandmother, Mumum, her sister Maude and their Aunt Marie.
June 23, 1984
Sisters who still had each other, even after the loss of husbands.

I Love You, Sis! Wednesday, January 12th:

2011-01-12T05:30:00.000-08:00

"Bless you, my darling,

and remember you are always in the heart~

oh tucked so close there is no chance of escape~

of your sister."

~Katherine Mansfield

Anyone remember this? Late 70's. Hot Summer, no pool. Had a large barrel and a hose to fill it with water.

Lots of laughs!

How many sisters, aunts and cousins can you fit into a barrel at one time?

I Love You, Sis! Tuesday, January 11th:

2011-01-11T05:30:00.000-08:00

"The best kind of friend is the kind

you can sit on a porch swing with,

never say a word,

and then walk away feeling like it was

the best conversation you've ever had."

~Anonymous

Sewing Expo 3-1-08

I Love You, Sis! Monday, January10th:

2011-01-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

"What sisters really know is that they can fight with each other because they will always be sisters; they have a blood bond."

~Laura Tracey

June 1975

I Love You, Sis! The Weekend of January 8th & 9th:

2011-01-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

"She is your mirror,

shining back at you with a world of possibilities.

She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best,

and loves you anyway."

~Barbara Alpert

1986

A Sunbreak!

2011-01-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

After what seemed like at least a week of solid rain and dark, dreary days, the sun came out and brightened my day considerably!

I donned my heavy winter coat, wool beret and scarf and headed out for a walk to enjoy the sunshine before it disappeared! I found myself walking along the beach and took a few pictures with my phone.

I am so blessed to live close to such a beautiful park and shoreline!

I tried to capture the waves crashing but kept missing. This shot shows a wave about to crest before it crashed onto the rocky beach.

I found a beautiful rock with so many different colors of green in it. I would love to have a kitchen counter top that has so many different shades and patterns!

The barnacles inside this clam shell were bubbling in the little bit of water left inside the shell after it was left by the receding tide.

My view as I headed home.

The wind was blowing hard and fiercely cold but I enjoyed the power of it as I watched the whitecaps crashing on the rocky beach. I watched the wind and the waves battle the pull of the outgoing tide, leaving the rocks to sparkle and reflect the sharp winter light.

This was an hour well spent!

I Love You, Sis! Friday, January 7th:

2011-01-07T05:30:00.000-08:00

"Between sisters, often,

the child's cry never dies down.

'Never leave me' it says;

'do not abandon me.'"

~Louise Bernikow

I think today's quote speaks to the inner heart, to the tenderest, perhaps most hidden part of a woman's heart, where that small inner-child still lives and seeks the unfailing, unconditional and life-sustaining love. The love we felt from our mother, the love we perhaps only became fully aware of it's depths upon becoming mothers ourselves. The love we depend on from our sisters when our mothers have left this earth.

Do not leave me, abandon me, forget me. For that secret part of me can only be nurtured, can only be seen when viewed through the loving eyes of someone who has shared a common history, shared laughter, shared tears, joy and sorrow. To borrow the best quote from a popular movie, "I see you."

Who will you see today, with your eyes or in your heart?

1975

I Love You, Sis! Thursday, January 6th:

2011-01-06T05:30:00.000-08:00

Today's calendar quote:

"A jest often decides matters of importance

more effectively and happily than seriousness."

~ Horace

Not sure how this is a 'sister' quote, perhaps it's meant as advice to sisters.

I guess it's good advice, along the lines of "You'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar". I prefer "A spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down" much better. I'd rather have a spoon full of sugar than flies anyday!

So, at the risk of someone taking a jest in the wrong way when dealing with a 'matter of importance', perhaps simply saying it with a loving heart and a smile is a better way.

So, for today's 'sisters' photograph, I will chose one showing laughter, loving hearts and a good time!

I'm the Big Loser @ Minute To Win It game. May 2010

I Love You, Sis! Wednesday, January 5th:

2011-01-05T05:30:00.000-08:00

"A perfect sister I am not,

But I am thankful for the ones I got."

~Anonymous

My sisters. July 1990

I Love You, Sis! Tuesday, January 4th:

2011-01-04T05:30:00.000-08:00

"The best thing about having a sister was that

I always had a friend."

~Cali Rae Turner

My daughters. August 2009

I Love You, Sis! Monday, January 3rd:

2011-01-03T05:30:00.001-08:00

"A sisters' words of praise ring long and clear throughout the years."
~Allison M Lee

December 2009

I Love You, Sis! The 2011 Daily Calendar.

2011-01-01T05:30:00.000-08:00

My Sis sent me a darling little daily calendar. Each weekday and once on the weekend it gives quotes about Sisters. I've decided to share them here to help us all remember the precious bond Sisters share.

January 1st & 2nd:

"Sisters are for sharing laughter and wiping tears."
~Anonymous

Girls Night Out 2007

A prayer for the dawning of a New Year

2011-01-01T00:42:00.000-08:00

A beautiful picture of pre-dawn over Mt Baker that I found on the web.

Another year is dawning

With the chance to start anew.

May I be kinder, wiser, Lord,

In all I say and do.

Not so caught up in selfish gain

That I would fail to see

The things in life that mean the most

Cost not a fancy fee.

The warm, kind word that I can give,

The outstretched hand to help,

The prayers I pray for those in need--

More precious these than wealth.

I know not what may lie ahead

Of laughter or of tears;

I only need to know each day

That You are walking near.

I'm thankful for this brand new year

As now I humbly pray,

My hand secure in Yours, dear Lord,

Each step along the way.

~Kay Hoffman

Happy Birthday to our Firstborn

2010-12-24T00:57:00.001-08:00

Two dozen years ago this morning, we were blessed with our own Christmas miracle. A child born, a daughter joyfully received! The birth announcement said “Our love made flesh” and told the world our joy of starting our own family!

Although, you weren’t due until January 7th, I always knew in my heart you were going to be born on Christmas or Christmas Eve. Sure enough, at 12:58am on December 24th, attended by Gramma Sanna and your Daddy, you made your debut into this world, bright eyed and alert. We enjoyed Gramma’s help and company for a week, while the rest of the family in Lake Oswego postponed their Christmas celebration until she went home on New Year’s Eve.

Happy Birthday, Sirita! You’ve grown into a talented, caring and beautiful woman! I love spending time with you, whether we are sewing, crafting, cooking or just talking. You are a huge blessing in my life and I continue to thank God for you each and every day!

Sirita's Homecoming Dec 26th, 2 days old

Sirita's 1st Valentine's Day with Mama's roses and her Dolly

Her joyful laugh brightened the day for everyone. November 2008

Glimpses of Christmas

2010-12-22T12:32:00.000-08:00

Coming and going,
We see our children's smiling faces!

Smiling Snowman

Grumpy-looking Nutcracker

Glimpses of Christmas

2010-12-22T12:31:00.000-08:00

Brindle wants you to know,
she helped with the curly ribbon and taking the pictures!

Glimpses of Christmas

2010-12-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

1988

2003

An angel the kids gave Gramma Sanna

Glimpses of Christmas

2010-12-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

Here's looking at you, Kid

A Glimpse at our Christmas decor

2010-12-15T16:28:00.000-08:00

Entry way mirror. Here's where to hang your Santa hat!

The Grinch and Max welcome you to sit on the couch!

Something festive in the kitchen

A Recent Texted Conversation

2010-12-14T13:50:00.000-08:00

These are the snowmen and ribbon that used to adorn my desk at the office. I sent this picture to DaughterA to show her that despite the missing man who was broken while someone (who shall remain nameless) was dusting, they are still being enjoyed!

Our texted conversation:

Me: Snowmen gaze out the front window, ready to welcome more snowy weather as we gear up for    Christmas

A:    All except the one that jumped

Me: Well, not much you can do when someone is bound and determined to go Humpty Dumpty

A:    Exactly. You're just lucky you didn't witness it...or hear the scream on the way down. Heatbreaking

Thanksgiving for the past year full of blessings!

2010-11-25T15:18:00.000-08:00

I share a grace from my pretty plate that decorates my harvest table:

We thank Thee Lord

For happy hearts, for rain and sunny weather.

We thank Thee Lord

for this food and that we are together.

I wish everyone a day of joyous reflection on all our blessings of abundant food and loving family!

Good parents give their children roots and wings. Roots to know where home is, wings to fly away and exercise what’s been taught them. — Jonas Salk

2010-11-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

I keep repeating that to myself alot these days.

You see, in September I had to hug my daughter, my Baby Girl, good-bye and leave her in New Mexico.

She is off on a new adventure! She accepted a position as Au-pair for a professional couple with a darling two year old daughter. I was so tickled that she wanted me to accompany her on the drive to New Mexico to meet her new charge. It was a fast trip, but we did take the time to make a small adjustment our route so we could visit Arches National Park in Utah. Boy, what a wonderous place!

We arrived at Arches National Park about half an hour before sunset, enjoying each new colorful sight as we rounded turn after turn of the road, winding our way through the canyons. The amazing colors of the canyon walls and the unique rock formations were spectacular. We took lots of pictures and enjoyed watching the sun set behind the canyon walls.

Can you see the depth of field in this photo~~these canyons seem to go on forever!

The colors were so vibrant in the light of the setting sun

We returned to the park before dawn the next morning so we could enjoy the sunrise and the play of light on the other walls of the canyons. We hiked up to one arch and watched as the sun rose above the canyon walls.

The Window, opening into the morning sun.
Can you see the kiss of light along the top of the arch?

Standing center of the window, I could see in the valley beyond,
bathed in the light of the rising sun.

The view from the center of the window looking west

And just as fascinating to me as the geographical wonders was the beauty of the stunted trees in this harsh landscape.

We returned to the hotel for a quick breakfast before making our way to Albuqueruqe by evening.

I savored the remaining hours of our journey. The time together in the car was a blessing to my eyes in the beauty of the landscape we passed through, to my ears as we talked and sang along to the radio as we drove, and to my heart as I savored the remaining hours with my Baby Girl.

Before leaving New Mexico, I was welcomed into the home of some wonderful friends of my Aunt's. Tom and PJ graciously took me in, feed me, entertained me, and gave me haven while I adjusted to the idea of being without the daily presence of my daughter.

The next day I was treated to a delicious deli lunch and had the chance to get to know a little about a loving and fun couple, who I hope to visit again. After returning home to get my luggage, Tom decided we should leave early for the airport so I could have a little tour of the area before my flight home.

Imagine my surprise when after, carefully stuffing my bags into the trunk of their little red Miata, Tom tossed me the keys! As I drove through Old Town and along the Rio Grande (which isn't so grand just here) Tom gave me a history of the area and a peek at the local mansions and luxury compounds of the rich and famous.

Quickly approaching the time I wanted to be at the airport, we made a detour onto the Air Force base for a quick errand. While there, I talked Tom into playing photographer so I could picture text SonMySon and DearHusband the following teaser:

This is the view from the drivers seat of a little red Miata!

Followed next by the 'proof':

It is a fact that zipping around Albuquerque in Tom and PJ's lil' red sportscar provided me with an excellent distration to leaving my Baby Girl to begin her new adventure, in a new state, with a new job. So I am sure that it was all the very warm sun and the wind on my face that afternoon that was causing my eyes to tear upon take off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As you might have guessed, this post was delayed. I made several starts on it, and just needed to let it be for awhile. I distracted myself being busy with harvest time activities and time got away from me. Of course, losing my laptop's screen and the ability to pull up my first versions of this post added to the delay. Fortunately, the pictures were still on the memory card and I could download them to DearHusband's desktop.

I will wrap up this post on our big adventure by giving you the countdown: 7 days until our girl is coming home for a quick weekend visit! It will be a whirlwind of activity as she tries to get all her visiting in (with family, friends, and old co-workers) and she will be the photographer for a close friend's wedding before she returns to New Mexico on Monday. We are all eagerly awaiting her visit!

All Hallow's Eve!

2010-10-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

A traditional Scottish prayer for today:

From ghoulies and ghosties

And long-leggedy beasties

And things that go bump in the night,

Good Lord, deliver us!

Halloween is almost here!

2010-10-26T11:26:00.000-07:00

Front porch Welcome

Guardian of the mailbox

Watch where you put your hand!

This is a costume I made for our Time Share Chihuahua one year:

"...if only I could fly..."

If I were to make another costume for her, I'd have to go with:

October begonias

2010-10-25T09:55:00.000-07:00

Just a quick post before I run out the door this morning. This is what I saw peeking out my kitchen window this morning to see what the weather is like.

What a nice surprise! Begonias in October! I gues when they say "Non Stop Begonias", they really mean it.
Oh, and the grass-let's just say it's ornamental and supposed to be there!

And if you peek into the bottom right hand corner, you'll see my tiny fairy sized fushia is still in bloom. I am planning on bringing it indoors as a houseplant, but not until I can do a thorough bug inspection!

How To Preserve A Husband

2010-10-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

I have so much to share! I have been meaning to post more regularly but a trip to Albuquerque, the fall harvest, a trip to the Methow Valley (more specfically, the Big Red Barn in Carlton), more canning and a visit from my daughter have taken precedence.

Now, however, I found a gem I have to share from the back page of the New Revised Edition #29 Ball Blue Book: Easy Guide to Tasty, Thrifty Canning and Freezing, copyrighted 1972.

How To Preserve A Husband

Be careful in your selection.

Do not choose too young.

When selected, give your entire thoughts to preparation for domestic use.

Some wives insist upon keeping them in a pickle,

others are constantly getting them into hot water.

This may make them sour, hard, and sometimes bitter;

even poor varieties may be made sweet, tender and good,

by garnishing them with patience,

well sweetened with love and seasoned with kisses.

Wrap them in a mantel of charity.

Keep warm with a steady fire of domestic devotion

and serve with peaches and cream.

Thus prepared, they will keep for years.

I have to wonder if that was a nod to earlier versions of the Ball Blue Book, seeing as they've been publishing it since 1909! I would love to get my hands on one of the early, early editions to see what other advice is included along with the recipes for safe food preservation.

I love old cookbooks! But, just in case you are using an older version of the Ball Blue Book, the USDA published new standards for homecanning in 1988, so you should treat yourself to the 100th Anniversay Edition of the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving published in 2009.

And, in case you are wondering, the back page of this issue has a recipe for Peach-Walnut Shortcake. No more pearls of domestic wisedom. That's too bad, because I really got a good smile from the poem above!

An unexpected harvest

2010-09-21T17:08:00.000-07:00

While blackberry picking one evening last week, Brent noticed that among the brambles towering over our head, just out of our reach, were plums! Bonus! We got a few, but lamented those we couldn't quite reach.

We picked our nightly gallon of blackberries and heading home, I pointed out another plum tree, just around the corner.This is when my Dear Husband says "Stop!"

He jumped out of the truck, over the ditch, braved the mosquitoes out hunting in the approaching dusk and quickly picked me 4.6 pounds of an unexpected harvest--all while wearing a full arm cast on his right arm!

The next day, while picking more blackberries after my morning drive to Lynden, I hatched my plot.

I brought my little household step ladder with me when I picked him up from work. We headed back to the first plum tree, picked our way, carefully, through waist high grass full of thistles to the back side of the blackberry brambles and found not only one plum tree but a little grove of them. Unfortunately, most of the plums had already been found by other harvest-hands, as evidenced by the already trampled grass. We picked all we could reach, with our little ladder, and came home that time with 6.4 pounds of plump purple little plums!

Tiny but flavorful plums. (I added a washed quarter for size reference)

The next day I searched the internet for recipes using plums and came across several for Asian style plum sauce. Those recipes planted a seed, so I headed into the kitchen to get busy. Using the simularities between the different recipes I found as a base, I started cooking down the plums. With the taste-tester help of SonMySon, I kept adusting the spices and ingredients until we had it just perfect! The first three pounds of chopped plums netted me three pints of my new Aizian-style Plum Sauce. (At Aizia's request, the recipe will be titled using her spelling!) The sauce was wonderful atop a bowl of jasmine rice and moist shredded pork! A big hit we will be enjoying regularly!

All my begging for more plums on FreeCycle and Craigslist has let me empty handed so I am tickled that Jannie was able to find another source of plums for me! At, of all places, a nursery in Eastern Washington that sells fruit tree stock to nurserymen.

Autumn approaches

2010-09-11T08:52:00.000-07:00

The beautiful colors of fall are beginning to appear, tucked into the greens of our local scenery.

This tree is always the first one I notice is changing colors. This picture was taken the last week of August, and it just keeps getting prettier and prettier as the days shorten and our nights are getting colder.

I see this tree everytime I drive into town, it sits on the edge of the woods right next to the prettiest little homestead. There I see a big beautiful house that sits back off the road aways, with a flower filled garden peeking out from behind a short white picket fence with a welcoming gate in the center. Buffering house and flower garden from the highway is a lovely expanse of green lawn that is bordered to the west by a neatly ordered garden, and fruit trees that line the drive on the east.

I bet the industrious gardener who minds this little piece of heaven, has no idea that I also enjoy his garden!

Wild Blackberries Season Is Here!

2010-08-29T15:49:00.000-07:00

One of my most favorite things about late summer, next to the arrival of the beautiful new brown velvet cattails among the reeds in the wetlands, is the ripening of the wild blackberries!

I think I'll have a little bit of oatmeal with my bowl of blackberrries!

It is a great wonder that those thorny brambles, the bane of gardeners in the Pacific Northwest, produce such juicy, delicious fruit--all free for the effort of picking them!

Last week, Brent and I took an evening walk just before dinner and picked a half gallon meandering along our once around the block stroll. The next morning I stopped at a couple of spots along the road on my way back from taking Brent to work in Lynden and picked another half gallon in less than half an hour!

After I got them home, I gave them a quick rinse in the colander and put them into the freezer. This gallon ziploc baggie goes to the first sister to visit and claim them for jam! Someone from the Methow Valley, perhaps? :-)

As I reminisce about a special day...

2010-08-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

As my second born, my Baby Girl (even tho' she is already an adult) is getting ready to strike out for a new locale, a new job and a new adventure, I find myself looking back...

Twenty two years ago this week, I was 'great with child' as they say. At my weekly ob check up, my doctor announced that she would be out of town the following week but would be on-call all weekend, so Sunday would be a good day to deliver.

I thought that sounded like a pretty good idea. Sunday's child is happy and wise, so the nursery rhyme goes.

I summoned my parents from Oregon, along with my Japanese sister, Mika, who was visiting the US. Brent's parents came up from Everett and we all went out to Sunday brunch, including soon-to-be-Big Sister, Sirita. It was quite the party. I had decided that this was going to be someone's birthday, and I wanted to have my family around me.

After a leisurely brunch, we headed to the mall to walk. I was sure this was going to get the ball rolling, and sure enough, I did have a couple of contractions while we made three laps around Bellis Fair Mall, which had just opened and was still under construction on one of the wings. But at least it was air conditioned, an important consideration in late August! I got a lot of funny looks when I would stop occasionally to squat down to stretch out my lower back.

We tired of the scenery and the men folks tired of trailing behind us, so they headed back to our place and all of us girls went to the fabric stores. I had a hankering to start a cross stitch project. Back then we had three fabric stores in town, so this ate up considerable time while we walked and perused my options for needlework.

Finally, I decided on a counted cross stitch pattern of a choo-choo train, loaded with various zoo animals. Once I had the pattern chart, pre-made bib and floss in hand, we headed home ourselves. I was feeling rather blue, as I was so sure labor was going to start and was a bit disappointed to be going home.

After a while, I made myself comfortable to watch TV and start stitching my bib. It was a bit crowded in our apartment with seven adults and a toddler but everyone was game to humor me and stick around, just in case.

I remember it was about 6pm when I realized the tightening of my low back and belly was getting rather strong, and seemed to be happening about every 10 minutes. I got up and walked around to see if it would continue. It did, and it grew more intense, quickly, very quickly.

I announced "It's time!". Brent, Mama and I headed back to town and the hospital. As we headed out the door, I told Brent's folks not to go anywhere, 'this isn't going to take long and you'll get to see your new grandbaby before long!"

Just as I predicted, it didn't take long. This baby was in a hurry!

The doctor announced "it's a girl!" even before she was completely born, because as soon as her head was out, out popped her whole right arm 'reaching for Daddy's wallet!" When the wallet wasn't forthcoming, that little hand clamped onto the forcep the doctor was trying to clamp the cord with! Wow! was that little fist strong! Whatta grip she had!

Three and a half hours, from start to finish, and I was holding a beautiful baby girl! She seemed so tiny compared to her 20 month old sister! Only 8 lbs 6 oz! And so precious! We had a hard time wrestling her out of Daddy's arms to share with Gramma Zanna!

We called home to let Grampa Barry, Mika and the new Big Sister know the baby was a girl and found out Brent's folks had headed home to Everett. They hadn't even made it home before the baby was already here! Ha ha! I gave 'em a big 'I Told You So, shouldda stuck around!" ha ha Gramma Diz and Grampa Iver came back up the next morning to see their second granddaughter.

Grampa Barry left Mika in charge of putting Big Sister down for the night and came to the hospital to welcome Aizia Roxanna into the world!

Have you ever seen a more beautifully shaped mouth!?!

Happy Birthday, Aizia!

May laughter dance along your path,

May joy and success walk with you, and

May love always light the way through

every step you take in your future!

As you strike out for new horizons and great adventures, remember Daddy and I love you with all our hearts and we will eagerly await to hear all about everything and everyone you find!

Happy Trails, Cowgirl!

Tree trunk removal project completed!

2010-08-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

This spoke to me today...

2010-08-24T14:24:00.000-07:00

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."
~Martin Luther King

What we do shows who we are. Our character is magnified, perhaps most visible when viewed during challenging times and situations.

Summer heat

2010-08-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

It's going to be a great week for the Northwest Washington Fair this coming week, it's gonna be really warm, supposed to hit 90! I'm predicting lots of sunburns.

It's getting a little warm for me when the house doesn't cool off to less than 75 degrees overnight! I don't mind 80-90 degree days, as long as it cools off so I can sleep!

Best $20 spent this week? A box fan!

It was a wonderfully pleasant evening on the deck tonight. While trying to snap a couple of photos of the Gold Finch bathing in the fountain, I took a few of the flowers around the deck.

The top spout is the favored bathing spot for all the birds.

Acidanthera. Related to Gladiolus. Wonderfully fragrant!

The pink flower in the fuzzy foreground is a Lupine seedling transplanted out from under the giant yellow Lupine in the front yard

I'm so pleased the rhubarb has survived it's traumatic transplant.

See the string trellis beyond the arbor? It's often full of birds awaiting their turn in the fountain.

What you can't see in this picture is the pumpkins, zuchinni, and yellow crook-necked summer squash vines climbing the trellis.

I never did get a picture of the Gold Finches enjoying the fountain, maybe another time. Stay tuned!

Like Father, Like Son

2010-08-15T13:08:00.000-07:00

Just a random photo today....

It's not a good photo because of the relections through the car window but Mom and I had a giggle over the fact that the are sleeping in identical poses! And we weren't in the store but for a few short minutes!

Happy Birthday, 'Manda, my sister, my friend!

2010-08-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

My first memory of you? I remember playing on the swing set in the backyard of the brick house we lived in. I was holding a new baby doll, given to me by my godmother, Auntie Marion. She gave me the doll as a ‘don’t want you to feel forgotten’ gift while the new baby was getting all the attention. (I can still remember how the doll smelled, it evokes that memory everytime I hang a new vinyl shower curtain. Her skin was labeled 100% virgin vinyl). I remember swinging and looking down at the baby doll in my arms comparing her to the real baby in the house and saying, “I can’t wait till this baby grows up so I can play with her!” I remember being excited about you, not just as a baby to adore, to gaze at while holding, but being excited about the prospect of having a sister, a built in friend, to play with!

I still look forward to playing with you! Only now, we have to coordinate our schedules to carve out Creative Memory weekends or walks through plant nurseries whenever we can!

When I was seven years old, I thanked God for the baby sister, today I thank God for the wonderful friend she has become! You are one of the blessings of my life and one I hold deep in my heart.

In past, an anniversary of a life begun; Today, an entire life to celebrate.

2010-08-08T00:00:00.000-07:00

To celebrate my Mama's birthday, I have posted to my website devoted to her rememberance.

I share this link with you today. Roxanna Remembered.

The Magic of Clouds

2010-07-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

There is something very magical about flying through clouds.

These photo were snapped during the second leg of my trip home from Huntsville, Alabama, aloft between Dallas Fortworth and SeaTac.

These photos don't do the real thing justice. As I looked out the window at the clouds, they were so multi-dimensional that it looked as if I could just step off the wing onto a fluffy bed and bounce my way from cloud to cloud!

What I found most interesting is how the different layers of clouds move independently of each other. While watching a slow moving, solid, very white curvaceous cloud formation, a wispy layer of clouds would zip by above or below it.

I found it quite entrancing and very peaceful. A nice escape from the reality of a cramped economy seat on a full flight.

This woud be a true joy of traveling by air.

What to my wondering eyes should appear....

2010-07-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

I woke this morning before 7:30, as I lay there trying to decide if I wanted to be awake, I could hear the birds calling. If I listened carefully, I could hear the tinkling of the new backyard fountain through my open bedroom window even though the blinds were down. Then I heard something like a cough come through the window. That was a bit unnerving and it woke me completely out of my drowsy state. As I lay there trying to decide if I had really heard something or if I had dozed into a dream, I heard rustling noises. Okay, that was real, like someone was rifling through the empty pots in my potting area at the end of the shed.

I got out of bed and snuck into the bathroom to peek out of the open window and this is what greeted me...

Six, count 'em, six skunk kits romping in the morning air. Baby animals have a cuteness factor of 1000, especially when the are playing! I watched them charge at each other, stomping with the front feet and skittering sideways as if they were getting ready to spray. I was enchanted by their little personalities! After a while they scooted around the corner out of sight.

Soon Mama Skunk appeared. I watched her use her powerful front paws to tear up the grass by the roots, pulling a pile of thatch against her chest. When a clump wouldn't come up with a tug or two, she used her teeth to yank it out of the ground. She kept scooping it towards her as she backed into the hole under the shed.

Apparently, Saturday mornings are for housekeeping, even when you live under a shed.

I watched her emerge from the shed several times to take armfuls of grass back under the shed. At one point, an assembly line happened, with Mama at the front digging, she would pass the bundle down one side of herself without looking back. Then the kit pushed it back to the next, who backed up under the shed with it and disappeared.

So, DearHusband wants to know what we are going to do about it. I said, "Nothing. She's lived under the shed for at least 5 years that we've noticed." Other than having to use the shovel to scoop up the large-dog sized 'dog-logs' she pushes out from under the shed at the corner, and to pitch them into the empty lot behind the shed, she's a good neighbor, no bother at all. She's tidy, sightings are rare, strong smells have only occurred once this spring, and since she's moved in, I've seen no evidence of rats in the shed! She's earning her keep, as far as I am concerned.

I just always announce my arrival in the backyard by clanging something together or stomping my feet on the deck, so we don't startle each other with an unexpected appearance!

My only concern will be early next spring when we want to completely fence the back yard. How do we get her safely out from under the shed so she doesn't get fenced in. Hmmm, any ideas? Anyone?

And a good time was had by all!

2010-05-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

For Daddy's 70th birthday, Mia Sorella (my sisters, as I so fondly refer to them) and I planned "Barry's 70th Birthday Bash Luau"!

We reserved the shelter in a beautiful little neighborhood park just blocks away from home. The kids helped to decorate, with streamers, balloons, and even a sandy beach scene-complete with sand pails, shovels and pretty shells.

We all brought foods galore and Toby manned the grill. We feasted on BBQ Pork Ribs with my Special Recipe BBQ Sauce, Satay-style Salmon, gourmet apple and cheese hot dogs, homemade potato salad, baked beans, chips, veggies and dip, fresh tropical fruit salad, watermelon, Lemon Poppy Seed Cake and so much more!

You'll notice that we all got into the spirit of the day and came decked out in our finest island wear! Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate, it was rather cold for late May! A couple of fronts moved through, aided by pretty gusty breezes and we had several bouts if rain. At one point, we could see our breath! in May! but we kept moving with games and sometimes huddled around the barbeque grill for warmth!

The kids didn't seem to notice the cool weather and occasional rain-they were too busy laughing and playing games.

We had a whiffle ball game...

Have you ever seen a pitcher having more fun? I love my NephewZanderman's smile!

NieceB makes contact!

and she's off!

NephewGW concentrates while at bat, Blayde watches on from the sidelines

NephewGB gets a hit!

Aizia takes a turn at bat....

and sprints to first base!

Georgia put together "A Minute To Win It" type games.

This one is Who Can Empty the Box of Kleenex Fastest?

Ready? On your mark, get set...

Go!

Notice here that Maureen's hand is a blur of motion, Amanda's whole arm is setting a frenetic pace, and my hand is in perfect focus due to slow-motion!

Oh ya, sure! Amanda's box is empty because she must have been putting her kleenex into my box faster than I could take them out!

This was like running the 50 yard dash in grade school again, Karen dead last and outta breath!

At least this time it was due to hysterical laughter!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

A work in progress...

2010-05-11T19:16:00.000-07:00

Everyone has been asking for pictures of our backyard progress. Today, I planted the new raised bed planter that wraps around the deck. I still have room to add 3 Spanish Lavendars and something else that's evergreen, one at each end next to the stairs. The bed is interspersed with flowers (bright yellow marigolds, purple petunias, vintage red stock, mixed cosmos, mixed snapdragons, purple giant empress salvia, lupine, Mama's double burgandy peony, a Kleims Hardy Gardenia, assorted oriental lilies, acidanthera) and vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, radishes, garlic, walla walla sweet onions). The area in the background in this shot hasn't been worked yet. I still need to repaint and relocate the fireplace. Relocate the compost bins-which are now empty. You can also see the end of the shed that my potting bench is attached to.

This is the backside of the raised bed surrounding the propane tank. You can see the access path between the hostas. The hostas were brought over this evening (by our neighbor across the street), just as we had finished planting a couple of items in the front side of this bed. I have plenty of room to transplant some tiny ferns from under the deck stairs into the corners behind the hostas. Lots of planting room left. Hmmm, time to go shopping!

From this angle you can see the front of the bed wrapping around the propane tank. In the center is a pink dogwood tree. It is in it's own seperate box within the bed to protect it from overwatering. On each end is a Snowmound Spirea that will have tiny white flowers soon and the labels promise vibrant red foliage in the fall. Between the tree and the Spireas is where my rhubarb divisions will be replanted amid the compost from my bins. I will plant a line of cosmos along the back behind the rhubarb to help hide the tank. Lots of room along the front the bed for colorful annuals. Eventually the ground will be covered with landscaping material and then beauty bark between the beds which will line the perimeter of our property line and along the front of the deck bed.
And, just this evenng, DearHusband has decided we can build a 2 foot high framed lattice screen that we can put between the plants and the propane tank to further hide the tank. The giant pot you can see behind the tank has my Multi Blue Clematis that I plan on putting to the right of the Spirea in the foreground and train up over the top of the tank. I am hoping to get two divisions from the clematis so I'll have one on each end of the tank.

Phew, it was a busy day in the garden. I was blessed with bright sun to warm me and just enough of a breeze to keep me cool. The weather promises to be great again tomorrow!

Real Women drive trucks!

2010-05-06T22:39:00.000-07:00

This is the picture text I sent my daughters on Monday afternoon:

Real women can drive their own trucks to get garden soil, mulch, and haul the trailer to the dump! I bought myself a truck today! I hear 1988 is a good year. (The year DaugherA was born!)

It's kinda silly how exited I am to have the means to pull my trailer again! Its been a few years since we got rid of the 'man van' and our only trailer-hitch vehicle.

Wednesday, I took my truck to Walmart to make it's first haul: A pink dogwood tree (Cornus Florida-Cherokee Chief), 2 5-gallon Spirea (Snowmound), 2 1-gallon Spirea (Snowmound), and 6 12x12x2 cement pads for the backyard fireplace.

I went to Walmart because I had seen that they had Dwarf Alberta Spruce in a one gallon pot for $7. However, on closer examination the spruce were not in good shape, they had been badly pruned and had many a bald spots. But I did see some plants that were very heatlthy looking. The Spirea was healthly looking, not pot bound, and full of buds. I got the large ones to go into the new raised beds in front of the propane tank in the back yard. They will have small white flowers and striking red foliage in the fall. I was thinking I'd put the smaller ones in the raised beds along the deck but realizing they will grow into 4'x4' mounds, they will be too big for the space. Maybe I'll add them to the planting beds in front of the picket fence in the front yard.

I couldn't resist the Pink Dogwood. My favorite tree! I have on that is front and center in the picket fence bed, but it's a variety that leafs out, the blossoms start out as green and don't turn their rosey red color until mid June. This new tree is in flower with very few leaves yet. It will be front and center in the new bed!

Pictures of the new raised beds will follow soon, as soon as I have them planted with all my plants and flowers.

Time For Spring Baskets!

2010-04-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

Sshhhh, don’t anyone tell my Elantra sedan that it’s not a pick up truck! I hauled home more flowers today than I ever have before in one trip!

Back seats folded down to hold four 12” hanging baskets, the front passenger seat and truck full of flats!

This post may well bore anyone who isn’t a gardener. I know my DearHusband’s eyes glazed over when I was telling him all of what I bought, name of flowers and quantities, what will go where. Remember the “blah blah blah blah…” sound the kids from Peanuts heard when their teacher or any adult spoke? Yeah, I think that’s what he was hearing as he watched my mouth moving.

Seeing as I have been using this blog to remember what I do from year to year in the garden, I am going to detail my purchases today. Feel free to yawn and look bored, if so inclined.

For my window boxes, deck planters and pots for the front walk I bought (in order of importance):

1 flat of 4 packs (48 plants) “Midnight Dreams” Petunias - fragrant dark purple

1 flat of jumbo 6-packs (36 plants) “Vintage Red” Stock - I especially love to put this in the back row of my window boxes so I can enjoy their spicy clove scent.

1 flat of jumbo 6-packs (36 plants) of Red Verbena

1 flat of 2.5” pots (32 plants) of White Bucopa to trail over the edges of the pots

1 flat of jumbo 6-packs (36 plants) of “Regata Mix” Trailing Lobelia

1 flat of 4-packs (48 plants) of Yellow Marigolds

And 20 Zonal Geraniums of assorted colors for the center of each pot or window box.

For landscaping use I also bought:

1 flat of 4” pots (18 plants) of “Giant Purple Empress” Salvia - hummingbirds love this plant!

1 flat of jumbo 6-packs (36 plants) of Ganzia in assorted colors. I’ve actually had this ‘annual’ come back for a second year!

I also bought two 4” pots of “Jack Be Little” pumpkin starts. One pot has 3 young starts and one pot has 4 starts. I am thinking of training these to climb up the two (accidentally dwarfed) flowering cherry trees in the front yard. Won’t it be fun to see mini pumpkins hanging from a tree?!

I have been going to this nursery for 15 springs now (I have watched their children go from riding their Big Wheels through the greenhouses to the oldest now holding her own sweet baby). I have always bought their 12” mocha colored pots that are nice and deep with lots of room for root growth but I didn’t like the color and plant combinations this year so I bought the more shallow 12” pulp pots. It looks like the are trying something new as these pots were labeled with “Inspired by Design” tags that listed the plants in the pots. I saw 6 differently titled baskets and I think I showed considerable restraint on only bringing home four.

For the front porch I picked out a basket titled Blueberry Sorbet. It has Blue Petunia with Dark Blue Vein, Dark Blue Petunia, Lavender Verbena and White Bucopa.

Between the front bedroom windows hangs Raspberry Sorbet: Pink Petunia, Dark Fuschia Petunia, Dark Fuschia Verbena and White Bocopa.

On the far end of the back deck I hung up Jazzy: Supertunia Raspberry Blast, Deep Burgandy Verbena and Lime Ipomoea (Sweet Potato Vine).

In the coveted position in front of the immobile side of the dining room sliding glass door is Blue Ribbon: Dark Blue Petunia (so they say, I call it a dark purple-my favorite), Petunia Glow in Lavender Shades, Light Blue Lobelia and Lavender Calebrochoa. This is where I put my favorite basket as it’s the one I look at all day long when I’m in the house. It is easily viewable from living room, dining room and kitchen.

Keeping my fingers crossed for a rain-less day tomorrow so I get busy potting these beauties!

How to get your tomato starts off on a strong foundation

2010-04-13T10:18:00.001-07:00

The last few years I have only planted one tomato plant: a Sweet 100 or Sweet Million, whichever variety was available that year. This lone tomato plant had a prominent place among the all the planters on our backyard deck, trellised up against the privacy screen around the spa. With only one tomato plant to lavish my attention on, it grew to amazing proportions and continued to produce huge clusters of sweet mini cherry tomatoes until a hard frost would do it in. This is how I lay the foundation of my colossal tomato plant:

First start with healthy young plants. It's okay if they are leggy, but avoid the rootbound who are sure to have suffered stress from bouts of water deprivation. I usually only buy one plant, but the nursery had one plant in a 4" pot for $1.99 or a 4-pack for $1.29 and as my daughters expressed an interest in gardening on their apartment decks, I made the logical choice of more plants for less money!
Next start with a deep, but not necessarily oversized pot, as this is a transition home. Add an inch or two of good soil. Having just had 6 yards of 5-way mix delivered by dump truck to our driveway, I had lots on hand!

Now here's the hard part: Cut off all branches up to the last two sets of leaves. Use a clean, sharp pair of scissors or garden snips as you want a clean cut, not a tear that might wound the stalk.

Next take the rootball and place it on it's side against the soil, bending the stalk gently upward to center the stalk in the pot.

Next surround the stalk with the soil, gently tamping in place, up to the remaining set of leaves, hopefully not too far above the top of your container.

Tomato plants will send out roots all along the buried stem which will result in more roots and stronger growth. Having more roots allows the plant to take up water in a more even way, helping to avoid the stress brought on by drought-to-flood situations common to plants in deck planters.

I will repeat this process a time or two into successively deeper pots until I have their final destination prepped and ready, at which time I will repeat the process, leaving only 2 sets of leaves above the soil.

Don't be afraid to snip off any early blossoms. I want the plants to first put down a good foundation of roots to support the abundance of fruit to follow, which will in turn produce better quality and quantity of the harvest!

Next, I watered thoroughly with tepid water from the house as it's still too cold outside and the water from the hose would be shocking to these beauties.

Finally, I placed the planted containers into a garbage bag lined laundry basket to bask in the warmth of my house and the warmth of the light coming through the sliding glass door onto the deck, until all danger of frost has passed.

I hope this primer will assist you in your gardening pursuits!

A hearty welcome to an early spring

2010-04-01T13:54:00.000-07:00

I was standing at my sewing room window while talking on the phone with my Auntie Jan about what a beautiful springlike day it was when a little male hummer with a bright red godet flew up to the window, said "zeep, zeeep, zeep" to announce he was here and hungry and off he zipped!

It was an amazingly mild winter with only one prolonged spell of snow and ice back between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Looks like the only casualty in the yard is the supposedly "hardy" gardenias I bought from Lowes. Wish I'd saved the receipts-do they offer a guarantee anymore?

♪♫•¨•.A sewing we will go, a sewing we will go, hi ho the dairy-o, a sewing we will go ♪♫•¨•.¸¸

2010-03-31T08:16:00.001-07:00

This morning at the crack of dawn (that'd be 6am for us ol' retired folks) I placed the call to register for the Martha Pullen School of Art Fashion in Huntsville, Alabama from Monday, July 19th to Sunday, July 25th. I am so excited I can hardly sit still enough to type!

It was a hard to decide on which of the 11 schools to attend, but I finally decided to take the Louise Cutting Fashion School Thursday through Sunday. I will also be taking her 3 pre-day classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

I have tried to find pictures on the internet of the patterns we will be using in each of the classes. Here's my best bet:

Monday from 8:30a-4:30p, I will be taking the Tabard class. This is the description from the school brochure:

The tabard originated as a humble peasant’s garment before the Middle Ages when heraldic emblazons elevated it to noble status. Today, this short coat is worn open or belted, sleeveless or short sleeved. Louise Cutting has designed a tabard for you that is loose fitting, off the shoulder, and sleeveless. This vest style coat features a bulk-free, easy cut-on front with side and hem facings. The straight hem utilizes Louise's easy mitered corners and her "X" stitched boxes to create deep, comfortable side vents. This stylish garment in linen will add polish to a pants and top outfit. The pattern will be available in sizes XS through 3XL and, with Louise and Sandy’s assistance, any needed alterations will be an easy adjustment. You will have an assortment of kits to choose from that include several different colors and patterns, so your personal style will be reflected in the finished project.

Tuesday, this will be my class:

The “Nine Lives Vest” is from the “Shapes” pattern line by Louise Cutting and can easily be worn as a top rather than a vest. Create an asymmetrical linen vest with differing shoulder seam lengths, stand-up collar and diagonal hem. This easy and versatile button front vest/top looks great with or without a blouse or t-shirt underneath. The pattern is available in sizes XS through 2XL, but with the help of Louise and Sandy, alterations can be made for additional sizes. The vest will be made of a linen blend fabric and students will be given a choice of kit colors in class.

Wednesday will be the Anything But Ordinary Top. I haven't been able to figure out which one of her patterns will be used for this class, but again, here's the description from the school brochure:
Ordinary becomes extraordinary in this cropped, pull-over style top (all sizes) with a buttoned tab closing on the left shoulder. Its sleeves are short with slightly dropped shoulders. Mitered corner side seam vents at the top’s hem show beautifully in linen. You’ll be able to complete this top quickly and have an extraordinary complement to so many of your outfits.

On Thursday, the official school starts and we begin with a 2 day class on the High Five Jacket:

This jacket is fast and fun to make! After working with Louise and Sandy to determine your perfect size and any needed pattern alterations, you will be ready to create the High Five Jacket. Choose from an assortment of colors and prints in linen, linen blend or tencel fabrics. While making this stunning swing style jacket, you will learn techniques for perfect precision hems, mitered corners and three-quarter length sleeves. Add a fabulous button, and take home a great finished jacket, an altered just-for-you pattern to use over and over, and lots of construction and fitting knowledge, ready to use with all your future garment sewing projects. Patterns will be available in adult sizes 6-20. Louise and Sandy will work with you to find your smaller, larger or in-between pattern size.

On Saturday and Sunday, I will be attending the One Seam Pants class:
Nearly every designer’s offerings include a pair of one-seam pants that make everything else in the collection look great. You’ll learn to achieve a fabulous, flattering fit by applying the secrets Louise has uncovered in her extensive study of designer garments. Louise and Sandy will teach you to use the chart included in the pattern instructions, measure and make pattern alterations, and then construct a great pair of one-seam pants with a custom fit. You will choose from a selection of colors in linen, tencel or linen blend fabrics. This pattern offers the option of a pant leg that falls straight from the hip or a narrower leg and snugger fit. Join Louise for two fun-filled days of creating your first pair of perfect-fit one-seam pants, and take home the knowledge and skills to supplement your wardrobe by using this pattern over and over. Patterns will be available in adult sizes 6-20. Louise and Sandy will work with you to find your smaller, larger or in-between patter size.

I have actually had the pattern for the One Seam Pants (a title she has trademarked, by the way) for about 4 years now but haven't tried to make it because she mentioned in her 45 minute Sewing Expo class that I've taken twice (two years apart) that you cannot make a muslin for this pattern and expect it to come out anything like it would when you use a fashion fabric because of the drape issue with muslin fabrics. I've been thinking about using something cheap from Walmart's $1.50 yard bin but have never found anthing suitable. Plus I'm not sure about a choice of fashion fabric for this project either. Now my problem is solved! The class will provide me with a selection of fabrics to chose from!

I am most excited about this school as I will get to work with the pattern designer/drafter for a personalized fitting! It's so hard to fit a pattern to yourself without any help! (Again, I miss my Mama)

Tomorrow, I will post about the evening classes I will be taking for my heirloom sewing for babies interest!

A Hearty Welcome to an Early Spring

2010-03-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

I don't care what the calendar says, it's been spring here for a couple of weeks! The daffodils are all up and dotting the landscape with bits of sunny yellow.

The cherry blossoms trees are adornedwith their pale pink finery, the strong breezes off of the bay send showers of tiny petals to dance and swirl across the lawns.

This Spice Viburnam bush is ready to flower. This will smell heavenly when the blossoms open!
Even the lilac bushes are budding out!

I was standing at my sewing room window admiring the beautiful sunny day when a jewel in flight appeared before my eyes! The hummingbirds are back! A full week before they arrived last year, according to this post from last spring. He knew I was looking at him from the other side of the glass, he zipped side to side making a 'zeep, zeeeep, zeep' noise to announce that he was here and hungry! The feeders are up and being frequented!

I love this time of year! I cannot wait to start gardening! Let's get our hands dirty!

Hello, my name is Karen and I have a fabric addiction...

2010-03-09T11:40:00.000-08:00

This is the email I recently sent to my 'partner in crime', my sister who attended the recent Sewing Expo with me.

Good Morning Sis,

Well, I have been stewing and worrying about having to tell Brent about my fine fabric induced euphoria and the resulting Mastercard bill for $330!

I've kept the fabrics next to my chair in the living room, tidily bundled and sheltered in my leather footstool. I touch them, I run my fingertips lovingly over them, I pet them frequently. Every. time. I. sit. down.

So, last night before dinner he decides to pay bills. We've been doing it together. I don't know if you remember me saying this, but when I went to work full time, I told him I couldn't do it all by myself, so he took over bills. I always said, I paid the bills for the first 15 years, he pays the bills for the next 15. Well, he paid the bills for 11 years, and when I retired I wanted back in....so, we do it together.

So he goes to the MC website to see why the bill is so high and I have to confess.

I explained how we were experiencing all the fine fabrics, the textures, the colors, the polished salesman, a true horse trader..."you have to feel this, see how fine, oh it looks so good on you, definitely your color, I'll give you a good deal, feel how fine this is"... and I have to confess how I got carried away...

How I got carried away...I thought the pale celery baby cashmere was $23 or $26 per yard (a definate splurge)...but it wasn't. It really wasn't. When I got home and really looked at my receipt I realized I paid $97 per yard for 2 yards. Yes, ninety-seven dollars a yard! What have I done?

I told him how I almost hyperventilated when I walked away from the stall and realized I had just spent $330 on 4 pieces of fabric and how you kept saying, "Breathe, just breathe". I told him how much I've been dreading telling him how weak I was when I am the driving force behind our NOT SPENDING efforts and how much I regret the price but I cannot regret the fabric. I AM WEAK.

He starts laughing, he laughs until he had tears in his eyes! He says "I bet your a**hole just puckered up!?!!!HAHAHAHA" (how can you say that to your beloved wife?)

I say, "It's not funny, I almost cried right there on the floor of the expo. I couldn't catch my breath..."

I tell him that he cannot tell anyone, especially not his parents, they won't understand...please!

"Nope!" he says. "Everyone always enjoys a good laugh at my expense, now it's your turn!" "I can't wait to tell the family. Remember Dad's famous "The Shirt" story? Well, this is yours!" (insert cackling here)

It could have been worse, he could have been angry. :-)

Well, back to my morning chores. I am determined to start sewing the apron pattern this afternoon!

Love to all,
Karen
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Hello, my name is Karen and I have a fabric addiction.

My most recent textile purchases still have me mesmerized.

1-7/8 yards each of 60 inch wide fine Italian 100 percent cotton shirting that feel like silk, the weave is so fine and tight, the threads are so fine...one is pure white and has a beautiful, intricate trellis pattern woven into it. The other has tiny black squares that form little 'X's in a vertical stripe. Oh, the perfect blouses I will make from them!

Two yards of a 60 inch wide of beautiful olive wool and silk blend that has such a beautiful woven pattern. It is heavier than the shirting but still lightweight. Oh the perfect tunic length over blouse I will make from it!

Oh, how can it describe the pale celery green baby cashmere? It is the most expensive thing I have ever purchased! It is 60 inches wide and I have two luscious yards of it! So soft and delicately woven, so silky it doesn't make me itch at all! I decided on this one for a wonderful wrap that has armholes in the center of a large oval, creating a wrap that can be worn in multiple ways. I dream of the finished garment, I dream of trying out different edge finishes, but how can I bring myself to actually lay scissors to this fabric? Until I cut it, it remains perfection! But, Oh the perfect wrap I will make from it!

(if I can bring myself to cut it...)

Works For Me Wednesday

2010-01-27T13:45:00.001-08:00

My post today is for Works For Me Wednesday. You can find wonderful tips and ideas over at Kristin's website We are THAT Family .

This quick and tasty dish was a favorite of my husband while growing up. I can get this on the table in less than 30 minutes, start to finish. It's very budget friendly.

They simply called it:

HotDish:

1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup dried chopped onion (or a pckg of beef onion soup mix for extra beef flavoring)
Lawreys Season Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 can condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 can cut green beans
1 lb tater tots or 4-8 cups mashed potatoes

Brown ground beef, drain off fat with turkey baster, putting liquid into glass container. If you can see that alot of beef juice is without fat, return to pan and use to hydrate dried chopped onions. Season with seasoning salt and pepper to taste.

Transfer seasoned beef mix to casserole dish, add undiluted tomato soup and green beans.Top with either tater tots or mashed potatoes.

Be sure to use a deep enough casserole dish so you don't lose the sauce when the weight of the potatoes presses down on the saucy beef.

You can stretch this dish by making the mashed potato topping the main ingredient with a little saucy beef to dress. Or you can keep the saucy beef to pototo ratio even to make it more hardy. Serve with a green salad and french bread (or even plain toast) for a complete meal. Sliced canned peaches or apple sauce also make a nice companion side dish.

When in a hurry to get dinner on the table quickly after work, I'll microwave the casserole before adding the potato topping and then just brown the potatoes under the oven broiler. If not in a hurry, warm in oven at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes till tater tots are browned.

When using mashed potatoes, I will make lots of peaks to brown nicely. Will also sprinkle with a little seasoning salt or just paprika to add flavor and color garnish.

This recipe is easily doubled or tripled. Save time and effort by doubling recipe and freezing half for another meal next week. Just freeze the saucy beef and green bean mixture, add the potato topping on the day you serve it.

How to spend a lazy rainy afternoon...

2010-01-14T17:40:00.000-08:00

Surfing the net, reading blogs, of course!

Who knew the US Postal Service has a sense of humor?

2010-01-13T20:44:00.000-08:00

I thank Thee Lord...

2009-11-26T07:00:00.000-08:00

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

How this Autumn is, in a way, also a Spring for me

2009-10-17T12:18:00.000-07:00

As I sit on my comfy new couch looking out at the front yard I see the beautiful golden colors of the cottonwood trees in the woods behind the houses across the street. The clouds are sinking to enclose us. Only the trees closest to me can be seen all the way to the tops. The ones in the background are shrouded in mist and look like water-color paintings. The continuing rain has added a glossiness to the plants in the yard. I can honestly say I have never noticed before that my little pink dogwood tree has beautiful red fall foliage. I see the little chickadees checking out the birdfeeders and the drooping heads of the sunflower flowers that grew from bird dropped seeds. Although the growing season has wound down, my yard is still alive with life and colors.

With renewed eyes I am learning to appreciate this season, autumn. In the past, it has only been the precursor to my dreaded winter. This year, autumn marks a new beginning for me and those who share my homelife.

I have come to the point with my fibromyalgia pain and it's ever-present fatigue, that I need to increase/change pain management medication or try a drastic change in lifestyle in hopes of staving off more meds and the accompanying side effects. So, after many tears, prayers and long talks with my DearHusband, we have decided that it is time for me to retire.

I have one week left to wrap up an almost nine year career and will be returning to the 'career' that has always been first in my heart: fulltime wife and mother.

I am excited about the prospect of having time to devote to getting healthy and regaining some strength and stamina. I am really excited about the prospect of having energy to return to my love of heirloom sewing and needlework! I am even looking forward to the challenge of re-learning how to live on one income and keeping a frugal household budget.

I have to think this is going to be a marker in the timeline of my life. There was childhood and pre-marriage, marriage pre-children, the years of raising our family, and now, a new chapter. One I hope to share with a return to blogging and sharing with friends and family.

Day 2 in Aruba: Monday, June 22nd

2009-06-22T22:10:00.000-07:00

We slept in, much later than we expected. Although we intended on keeping our early to bed, early to rise routine, I turned my 7:30a alarm off and suddenly it was 11:30a! We spent the early afternoon exploring a bit of the island, went down several dirt roads along the coast and drove along the water's edge for quite a while.

In spots the coast was rocky and wild, big surf and carved weathered beach. In one place the beach was ALL coral pieces instead of sand, bleached white by the sun. It was very musical stepping down closer to the water it sounded like chimes as DearHusband walked down ahead of me. Footing was tricky as the fingers of coral tended to roll and shift as we stepped on them. It was very charming, almost a magical sound.

We went to the famed California lighthouse, nice view from there. There was an expensive restaurant up there, along with a vendor selling shaved ice. Much welcome shaved ice. It was hot!

The scenery wasn't what we were expecting. Not much vegetation other than cactus, some of which were pretty impressive! I guess we were expecting a tropical island but found ourselves instead on a desert island. It seemed incongruous to us to be loooking at a beautiful coastline and a great blue ocean, in the same lines as we saw in Hawaii, to turn 180 degrees and see nothing but sand and cactus in the lines of Arizona. Took us awhile to get used to it. That and the wind, not a breeze, but a hot wind that blew constantly. I can see why they warn you about not getting sunburned as you don't realize how hot the sun is with the constant wind blowing to cool you off. It was refreshing--would be unbearable without it!

Today I saw my first pelican in the wild. Maybe it was a small one, but I thought they were bigger. We watched it feed, diving all the way into the water then paddling around for a bit before taking off to fly for a short time before diving again. It was impressive. We also saw lots of lizards with blue spots. Wild and very skittish, very hard to get close enough to take a good picture. The ones I did get were too grainy when cropped to show any detail of their spots.

Then we made a trip to the grocery store to pick up some breakfast, lunch and snack foods. After last night's dinner, we knew we'd need to economize on breakfasts and lunches. We were starving, not having had breakfast before we started out exploring so we stopped at a Wendy's before going to the store. The cost was very close to the same price as at home, only priced in Dutch Guilders. We also saw alot of other American restaurants: Pizza Hut, Tony Roma's Benihana, Taco Bell, Dunkin Donuts, and Subway, the last two being on the premises of this resort, along with a Baskin Robbins.

Dinner was more than a bit of a disapoinment. We went to the much touted, Driftwood Restaurant, which the chef himself is said to catch the special of the day. The service was terrible, the food overpriced and overcooked and worst of all, after spending more than $25 USD roundtrip on a taxi, so we could both enjoy rum cocktails, the drinks were lacking much rum and horribly overpriced. Unfortunately for them, Texas de Brazil is a lot to live up to in both first class wait staff and five star cuisine!

Impressive cactus! See the ocean at the left of the picture? This was just yards from the coast.

Day 1 in Aruba: Sunday, June 21st, Father's Day

2009-06-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

After leaving at 4p Saturday for SeaTac, we arrived in Aruba shortly after 1p on Sunday (20 hours of travel and waiting in airports), rented a car and found our way to Playa Linda in Orenjestad. It is a cute little condo. 1 bedroom with a single daybed/couch and a double sized sleeper sofa in the kitchen/dining room.

Inside views:

Outside views:

We quickly unpacked and went for a long walk on the beach. It felt good to wade into the warm ocean water, it is a beautiful turquoise blue. Even the sand is different. It is white and powdery soft.

Look SisterA, Mrs Toes in the white sands of Aruba!

This is a view of the condo from down the beach a ways. It's shaped like the pyramids in Mexico, each balcony has a full view without being blocked by a balcony above your head.

Although we were really tired after our overnight flight across country to New York, then another flight down to the Caribbean , We didn’t want to waste a moment of sunshine, as our trips to Hawaii has taught us that it gets dark much, much earlier than our 11pm at this time of year! Upstairs to the 3rd floor to change, then back to lounge poolside. Nineteen months after our last swim (Maui), we enjoyed a little bit of swimming before our lack of regular meals began to register. Mostly because it was close by and we were starving, and the fact that there was a line, which told us it was probably worth a bit of a wait, we went across the street for dinner at Texas deBrazil. An excellent decision! I will tell more later…

A couple shots of the pool area:

Here we go...

2009-06-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

Leave SeaTac 9:58p on JetBlue. Great airline! I would fly them again in a heartbeat! In fact, when we fly again, they’ll be the first airline I check for! We paid for extra legroom but even those seats available for less money seemed pretty roomy! All you can eat refreshments, after making the usual trip down the aisle offering beverages and snack items, the stewards put a nice display out on the galley counter and encourage you to help yourself! Each seat has it’s own TV, they encourage you to use your own earplugs or headset, no need to buy headsets that only work on a specific airline, oh and did I mention plenty of legroom! Very important for a claustrophobic like myself!

Our first glimpses of Aruba

Surprise! An Early Father's Day Outing

2009-06-14T18:40:00.000-07:00

We did it! We surprised him! The kids and I planned an early Father's Day outing at the Woodland Park Zoo and we actualy pulled off the surprise without DearHusband guessing what was up! Until we got off at the zoo exit off of I-5, he thought we were heading to Auburn to spend the day at DaughterS's and then to enjoy a spaghetti dinner!

Here's a couple of photos of our outing:

After weeks of sunshine, this day was cool and cloudy. Even SonMySon gave up and used an old sweatshirt found in the trunk of his sister's car.

Zebra's are my favorite animal at the zoo. I almost wore the sterling silver zebra earrings I got at the Denver Zoo but was afraid it might offer a hint as to our destination!

DaughterS posed on a boulder overlooking the zebra viewing area.

All in all is was a wonderful outing. We wrapped up the day with a delicious spaghetti dinner before our long drive home. Hope you had a Happy Father's Day, Lover. One week early.

Lord, hear our prayer, ease our hearts

2009-05-21T19:58:00.000-07:00

I normally try to only post about things that bring me joy or make me laugh. But today I feel I must share a tragic event.

Today, DearHusband, DaughterA and I did something we and close to a hundred other people should never, ever have to do.

We attended the memorial service for a former teammate of my daughters', a bubbly, sparkly and joyful young woman whom my husband enjoyed coaching, and we had the privilege of sharing ten years of our life with when it revolved around tournament softball.

Chrystal Anne Hansen, age 22, engaged to be married and six weeks pregnant was killed in a car accident, only 3 minutes from her home, by a drunk driver who blew through a red light and t-boned her in an intersection with such force that it pushed her car through the intersection and into the roadside ditch. Her fiancee later suffered a brain aneurysm. The drunk who committed double-murder with a ton of moving metal, walked away without a scratch.

If so moved, you can read the newspapers articles here.

The service was a wonderful gathering of friends and family, and I feel we were again privileged to be in the company of those who loved her, to listen as they shared stories of laughter and adventures enjoyed by Chrystal. I thanked her father for having the service and for giving us the opportunity to share in the obvious love that abounded in the room full of people.

It must be true, that God gives you the strength when you need it. I don't know how her parents were able to be there, dry eyed and calm, actually giving comfort to others as well as, hopefully, gaining comfort from those around them.

Her father said something, while we stood near the table that held lovingly made posters and collages of photos taken throughout Chrystal's life, that continues to reduce me to tears each time I think of it. It a quiet voice, he said to my husband, "I was going to be a Grandpa..."

All I can say of the man who killed Chrystal and her unborn child, injured her beloved and forever changed the lives of their families, May God have mercy on his soul. Because, believe me I certainly would not, do not, will not ever. In my humble opinion, I believe we should bring back public floggings for people who deliberately get behind the wheel after drinking and cause the death of another person. It wasn't an accident that he drank and drove, you cannot accidentally get behind the wheel while impaired. It was a conscious choice he made, and now others will continue to suffer for it. The current slap on the wrist these criminals get isn't sufficient. They should be flogged, and perhaps, if they survive the shock and injury of having the flesh stripped from their backs, the memory of the pain and humiliation will keep them from drinking and driving again.

Please forgive me if I sound hateful, if my words injure you, my innocent readers, but justice needs to be served and examples set.

An example DearHusband and I have set for our children, friends and family is a zero tolerance for alcohol consumption in relation to the privilege of driving motor vehicles. Knowing the alcohol impairs judgement, we have removed the danger of inaccurately judging our level of impairment by making it a HARD AND FAST RULE, if we have even so much as a sip of alcohol, we do not get behind the wheel! Is that an inconvenience? You bet it is! It means only one of us can imbibe when we are out to dinner by ourselves, as we live too far out into the county to take a cab. But let me tell you, I and my beloved, will never take the chance of injuring ourselves, or worse yet, someone else by a poor decision that might forever change the lives of those we come in contact with.

I know this is, what some may think, an extreme attitude, but once again, a drunk driver has taken a life, two lives actually this time, and I hope my children will remember this event and our family rule when they are out for the evening and choose to have a drink. Honor the memories they have of Chrystal, remember the terrible impact on the lives of all who knew her, step up and be responsible for their own decisions, and put the car keys away when the alcoholic beverages come out.

I pray God give comfort and strength to the families and friends of Chrystal, may they find comfort in shared memories, may time ease the pain of separation, and the promise of seeing her again, restored and in heaven give us peace.