Monday, August 30, 2010

Does quilting count as Summer fun?

Sometimes I think I have too much fun with quilting! I had better leave more time to something like.....geneology. Nah - just kidding, I'll let you know when I take up a new hobby. But for now some of my free time has been going into the making of quilts. . With the marriage of Reece and Caitlin, I decided to make a quilt for their wedding present. I choose some beautiful batik fabrics that are really bright.
I think it will keep them awake at night!

Brooke has been home this summer and she wanted a project to keep her busy. This quilt is Brooke's fourth quilt. I helped her a little bit with the cutting out of some of the strips of fabric, but she did all the sewing and alot of the cutting out. She found out just how much time goes into making a queen size quilt.

She chose some beautiful batik fabrics and made a quilt using the Ohio Star. This girl is accurate in her sewing. Way to go Brooke! I am impressed.

The last quilting project I worked on this summer was in the making for the last 5 years or so. I saw a quilt hanging on the wall of an antique store in Westerville and had to take a pciture of it so that I could try to duplicate it. I have been dragging my feet in finishing it because the border is appliqued. (Not my favorite to do) So this summer, I appliqued vines, leaves, flowers ,and yo-yo flowers. How much more fun can I have! Which really means, it wasn't so bad after all. I did it!

I think that is all the quilting I will be doing this summer. Time is moving on and changes are in the wind. Garth & I are going to be empty nesters again in a few days. Brooke is off to Italy and it will be the two of us again. Two is good!

Thursday, August 19, 2010














































Summer Isn't Over Till It's Over

Did I say summer was over, No way! Did I mention more noise. Yes!

Garth, Brooke, and I drove to Portland to pick up Krystal from the airport. Did I hear a little more noise from the front seat as we got the phone call that said, Krystal had missed her plane in SLC? So we spent time exploring around Mt Hood and the 1940's lodge at the foot of the mountain. It is a fact, they actually ski there in August. Next we visited Grandpa and Grandma Baker in Estacada. It was good to see them both even though Charlene is pretty much in bed now. Finally we were able to pick up Krystal about 5 hours late. She brought along with her alot of laughter and fun. We stayed the night in Seaside, Oregon. Our hotel was right next to Big Foot and his wife, Little Foot. (No way) We were in time to get to Cannon beach as the sun set. Is there a prettier place to enjoy that time of night. It was low tide at 8:30 p.m. and life in the pacific tide pools was captivating. As it got darker we walked along the beach and enjoyed everyone elses bonfires, thinking it would be fun to join them, but sorry, no invites. We had a relaxing evening with a lot of giggling and picture taking. The next day there were many sights to see along the central Oregon coast. We stopped at most of them. By late afternoon we were in Newport and had a great time taking pictures in this little fishing village and marina. It was fun to sea the sea lions resting on the docks below the village shops. Hunger hit about an hour earlier than we wanted it to. Could we come to the Oregon Coast and not eat at Mo's? The place to eat if you love sea food and clam chowder. Yum! Next on to my internet find of a Budget minded hotel. Wow! What a find. I thought it must be good if advertized as the 8th best motel in Newport. Did I mention the sketchy part of town it was in and that the junkyard was just outside our front door. How about the small motor home within the junk yard that had the TV going until late that night? Hmmm,...Next came alot of I'm sorry, Can you believe it and laughing and joking. Hey, live and learn about motel shopping on the internet. We did survive the nightin our tiny motel room. No one came through the window, even though it was me that got to sleep right next to it to protect the family. The next day we visited several light houses , played along a beautiful beach called Cape Sebastian and stayed the night in Brookings Oregon. Friday, on to Northern California and the Redwood National Park. We took two great hikes through Old Growth Forests, taking more than enough pictures of trees and ferns. It was a wonderful few days along the Oregon Coast. The temperature was chilly. Never above 65. That called for sweatshirt everyday. Our last night was staying with Whitney and Bridget in Grants Pass, and the 9 hour drive on Saturday to good old Moses Lake. We ended a fun vacation playing games around the heirloom card table. No, Krystal did not miss her plane back to SLC !
Could there be more summer to come. There must be, it's only August 19th. Summer isn't over until it's over! Brooke leaves for Italy in two weeks!. We for sure have to do a little more playing before then.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Summer...So Far

Roasting hot dogs around the campfire
Hiking Red Top Mountain (again)


My beautiful daughters and granddaughter at Red Top Mountain


Lake Powell with our friends the Stevens


Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona

Where does summer begin, and when does it end? Our Newly Weds arrived the third week of May so then it must have started then. We had a fun time in the Seattle area and Whidby Island. Riding the Bainbridge Ferry is an experience also. June came around and we found ourselves in Utah. It's a good thing we like hiking. Mt Timpanogos Cave was our first bit of adventure. Than the next day we set off with some great friends, Dave & Carol Stevens, to begin a four day boating experience at Lake Powell. This is something that would be a new adventure for Garth and I. We started out early Monday morning only to get out in the lake a mile or so and wouldn't you know it, we had major boat problems. So for the next couple of days, we hiked into Antelope Canyon, visited Glen Canyon Dam, Lee's Ferry, ate Mexican Food, and finally, we had one wonderful day of boating. So beautiful, I want to go again!
Part of our family came down to Page, Arizona and we went to The Grand Canyon. Our family has been talking about this for about 15 years. I can't believe that we actually hiked into the Grand Canyon. Seven hours later we were at the top again. What an experience. I am also now a believer in the power of Gator Ade. Thank you Reece! And thank you Krystal for pushing us to finally get in gear and hike the Grand Canyon. Next year we will start out earlier and go to the bottom. Wow, we did it!!
Our next bit of adventure found us in Utah again. This time without Dad. Did I hear that Reece and Brooke were getting a little tired of hiking? Well we surprized them! We started out by attending the the Shakespeare play, The Merchant of Venice, in Cedar City Utah. The play was in a theatre modeled after Shakespeare's original Theatre in London. It is amazing how well that old English can be understood with such excellent actors to watch.. After the play, we drove 2 hours to Zions park and tried to set up a tent at 1:00 a.m. I ended up sleeping in the back of the Camry. We got up early that Saturday morning and hiked up the Narrows Canyon, hiking up the Virgin River. We were4 of many that wwere hiking that morning. What fun we had though. An experience not to be forgotten
Krystal came from Provo. Leslie and the grandchildren traveled to Moses Lake and spent some fun time with us. Small children are happy with the little things like swimming, picnicing, visiting the animals at Uncle Hughs house,movies, legos, bike riding, roasting hot dogs ,visiting the windmill farm, hiking to the top of Red Top Mountain, and visiting Leavenworth. Thank goodness these wern't all in one day.
The house is quiet now. Leslie and the kids have gone home, Krystal is back in Utah, and it is just Brooke and her good old Mom and Dad trying to keep things lively. Things are changing again soon. Next week there will be more noise, and I am sure more hiking is in the plans. Summer isn't over until it is over! It's only Aug 4th

HAPPY BIRTH DAY REECE!!
Timp Caves with Krystal and Reece and Caitlin