Holiday Spirit

Cubby's been into cookin' lately.  At first he was content with just the pots and pans. But then he realized that it was much more fun if there was actually food to cook.  Imaginary food is much easier for grandma to clean up.  When he cooks bananas and gold fish and crackers and whatever else he's fast enough to grab, grandma actually has to wash the pots when he's done. (Note the hat from Halloween). - especially when Gennie tries to help with the clean up.  I suppose I could teach Cubby to wash his own but that would involve water and soap bubbles and a whole new set of challenges.

Last night, Cindy and I braved to cold to go see Jen Sygit and Friends at Stage 1210 in Old Town. Lots of friends, music and singing. It was excellent. I came home still in the spirit and sat in front of my Christmas tree listening to my new Songwriters Anonymous CD and handquilted until after midnight. The quilt behind the tree is a block exchange from one of my first years in the group, could it possibly be 1992? It's still a top but I hang it up anyway.   

These are Gorham crystal angels from Germany that my parents bought me many, many years ago. I don't feel like it's really the Holidays until I get them out each year. They absolutely sparkle in the light from the piano. These may be the last pictures from my cell phone. Santa might be bringing me a new camera and I'll be able to take real pictures, we'll just have to wait and see...

Quilts Not Snow

Unlike several other blog postings today, mine does not include that white stuff that started yesterday and won't quit. Coming home from work tonight was a challenge. I passed several fender benders at 20 mph and was very grateful  I made it home in 40 minutes, double my usual time and up my steep driveway intact. I read Frieda Anderson's blog tonight and she talked of her love of trees. I guess I've found my niche in leaves. There are so many ways to express leaves in quilting. This is the quilt I started at the Retreat by the Lake.

Here is a view of a block exchange quilt. The blocks were dated 2001. I guess it's about time it became a top. I'm planning Jane Sassaman LEAF fabric for the border. Could be wild!

Linda has posted this music quilt on her blog but I like the way the light hits it hanging over the rail. OK, new skill. This is the first time I've inserted a link into by blog. What's next? Slide shows, music. I feel like I'm way behind but one step at a time. 

About Time

I thought it was about time I put some quilts on my blog. Last weekend a group of us went to the Quilt Retreat By the Lake.  You can see my latest quilt tops on Linda's blog. The long weekend was WONDERFUL!!! and provided quality uninterrupted time with fabric, friends and food (of course)!

Here are two quilts that have already gone on to new homes:

This is my circle quilt from the Mary Bajcz workshop: Drawing with your Rotary Cutter. "Let the Sunshine In" would have been a good quilt for the Quilt A Song Challenge currently on display at the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame but this quilt has gone to a silent auction for the Women's Center of Greater Lansing.

This is the back of Cubby's birthday quilt. It's a companion fabric to the front. I had originally planned to give it to him on birthday #1 but he got it on #2. How did he get so big so fast? I've already started collecting fabric for his next quilt. It's horses and cowboys but don't tell him!

This is the front of his "Transportation" quilt. The vehicles (his favorite fire engine is in the middle) were a printed panel but not printed straight on the grain. Using the "twist and turn" method let me get them all included without going crazy and gave the quilt more visual interest.

Thursday am I'm off to visit my sister for her big birthday. I'll be looking for beads for my newest leaf quilt top which I finished at the retreat and probably some Jane S fabric since it's easier to find on the west coast. No matter what we do, it will be fun to celebrate and enjoy the sunshine and warm weather with my sister.

Happy Halloween!

Cubby wasn't into this thing called Halloween. He thought he was going to see the ducks. "Where are we going? The ducks are that-a-way!" Bib overalls and flannel shirt and farmer John hat. Next year I'm sure he'll definately tell grandma what he wants to be for Halloween!

We stopped to see Cyndee. The weather was so nice she was out on the driveway handing out treats.  Not like last year when we were all bundled up in the rain!

We hit a few more houses along the way. Eileen was on the road with her crew and Daisy and Carol weren't around so we didn't get to see them. One house had someone on the porch playing the accordion which fascinated Cubby . Cubby kept trying to take his treats out of the bag and give them away. I'm sure he'll have other ideas about that topic too by next year. When we got to Ruth's, he was more interested in the Ghost Dogs (see the glowing eyes in the door!) than the candy. We got back to Grandma's and played with puzzles until after 10pm. What a night! 

Saturday - On the GO!

On Saturday, Claire and I and Cubby went to Van Atta's Fall Festival. Under blue, cloudless skies and Cubby fresh from his nap, we were all set! They had a number of activities for the little ones, including an inflatable obstacle course. Still a little small to make it up the ladder, Cubby gave it a try. There was also a bouncy tent, a clown and some slimy-type animals from the Potter Park Zoo.

Cubby found a wagon used for hauling  plants and was off so fast I could barely snap the shot.

The wagon was bigger than he was! He loved looking at the flowers.  I bought a grass plant and he carried it around for me. Working in marketing, we're always discussing how to keep the next generation involved in gardening. This event is a great idea.

Mystic Shake, one of my favorite local groups played on an appropriately decorated stage and there was also a craft show too. What a wonderful way to spend a fall afternoon!

Fire and Rain

Yesterday, I braved the rain to go to the Lansing Symphony Orchestra Chamber Concert at Plymouth Congregational Church. After 4-plus inches of rain, I probably wouldn't have gone if I hadn't already purchased a ticket. I wondered how many others would show up.  I wore my knee-high barn boots prepared to splash through the puddles. It turns out there was a good crowd to listen to the Beaumont Brass.

Beaumont Brass is the faculty brass quintet from MSU. They are all EXCELLENT musicians and each play in the GLSO or Grand Rapids Symphony.

They played two pieces with "Fire" in the title hoping to 'evaporate' the rain.  One of the other featured pieces was "Seasons", written by John Stevens in 1984 (the year my son was born). It was very modern (I guess I expect brass quintets to play more baroque music). The piece was very interesting and enjoyable and painted a vivid picture of the four seasons.

The Beaumont Brass closed the program with John Philip Sousa's "Stars and Stripes Forever". It was definitely  not a march.  I have never heard it played any faster. There was no piccolo so the trumpet had to take over that part.

A gloomy, rainy, sodden Sunday afternoon with exciting music filling a church with incredible acoustics. I'm glad that I didn't let the weather keep me hostage.

Happy Wheatland!

Last weekend, I attended the 35th Annual Wheatland Music Festival with my friend Irene. I had a WONDERFUL time! Everyone camps. Some have RV's and camp in large fields but we found the perfect spot in the pines for our little tent. Irene's son Ben came from Ann Arbor and her son Nate and his friend Veronica came all the way from upstate New York.  The guys also had a group of friends with them, one had even come from Seattle!  They created their own little "compound" of tents in a different area away from the moms but we ran into them several times during the weekend. Ben even danced with his mom until 2am on Saturday night - Sunday morning?

There are three stages, the Main stage shown here, the Centennial Stage and the dance stage.

Some of the acts that were on the Centennial Stage were lesser known but just as good as the main acts.  We even got to see our own Jen Sygit and Jeremy Kittel. The dance stage was always hopping from early morning yoga, afternoon dance classes (I took 3 dance classes), and evening dances that went well after midnight. In addition, there are activities for children and teens and two other workshop tents where you could learn how to play different instruments.

I took a beginning Bodhran class and since I didn't have a bodhran, we learned on a pizza  box with a dowel for a tipper.

One of my favorite parts of Wheatland besides the relaxed family atmosphere was the impromptu jammin that went on. Many people bring their instruments and just get together and start playing. Here's a group playing in the picnic area.  Both nights there was a Stringband playing in the clearing near our tent - great to fall asleep to. The Fabulous Heftones from Lansing kept popping up here and there. Even little kids would get out their fiddles (I even saw a little girl on a camp stool with a cello) and leave their cases open hoping you'd show your appreciation. I was only gone two-and-a-half days but I feel like I had a real vacation.

Griffith Observatory

Griffith J. Griffith was born in Wales in 1850, came to the U.S. as a teenager and eventually made his fortune in Mexican silver mines and subsequently, California real estate. He had visited public parks in Europe and decided that in order to become a great city, his hometown, Los Angeles would need a great public park. In 1896, he donated 3,015 acres to the City of Los Angeles.  

Griffith became interested in astronomy and in 1912, he offered the City of Los Angeles and additional $100,000 for an observatory to be built on top of Mount Hollywood.

Griffith realized that the observatory would not be completed in his lifetime and set up a trust to continue his vision. The depression era made the finest materials available at a reasonable cost.

The formal dedication of the Griffith Observatory took place on May 14, 1935.

from an article by Christopher Hansen, Melanie Wang and Anthony Cook.

Going, going...

Another summer is flying by. Every year I have such high hopes for my garden. I've been in this house now 18 years and a wonderful (or even above average) garden still hasn't happened. The first year I lived here there were two big patches of Hens n Chicks. Over the years they kind of faded away... I actually did a little weeding this year and look what I found!! This is the inspiration I need to say, "just wait until next year!".

This is a quilt photo that Cyndee took at the Ann Arbor show. At work they are trying to liven up the work space (and squeeze in 30 more people) with more rows of cubes and bright colors - lime green, Home Depot orange and a deep teal the painters call Lagoon. I think this quilt could be my inspiration for a wall hanging to go in my new (smaller) space and would work well in the new color scheme.

Sailing Away

On Saturday, Alanna and I drove to Bay City to take a sail on the Tall Ship Appledore IV. It was an incredible day for sailing! Although hazy when we left, by the time we arrived there was nothing but blue skies. There were whitecaps on Saginaw Bay which meant the wind was 12-15 knots. Perfect for sailing!

We motored up the river but when we reached the bay it was  time to hoist the sails. Alanna, being an experienced sailor and current Commander of the Power Squadron volunteered to 'heave to'.

Once the sails were raised, we dashed across the bay and back. There were squeals every now and then when the spray would come over the ship but nobody was seriously soaked.  All part of sailing.

We returned to the dock much too soon.  The Appledore IV has public sails on the weekends and is available for private parties and wedding receptions, etc.  It's non-profit and the dollars earned from public sails are used to fund educational sails for school kids the other five days a week from April to mid June.

Now I'm reading Diana Gabaldon's 3rd volume in the Outlander series called Voyager. In it, the main characters are traveling by ship from Edinburgh to Jamaica in 1768. Maybe on a ship much like the Appledore IV? 

If I Had A Boat

It's been almost a week already since Cindy and I travelled to Meijer Gardens to see Lyle Lovett. The concert was fantastic! Over 2 1/2 hours without an intermission. Beth saw him at Common Ground the next night and loved that concert also.  I don't know how performers do it night after night.  One of my favorite songs is "If I had a Boat". In the song, Lyle says that he would take his pony on his boat out on the ocean.

I just finished reading "A Salty Piece of Land" by Jimmy Buffett. He must have liked Lyle's song too because it is a story about a character who leaves Wyoming and takes "his pony on a boat out on the ocean" and all of the characters they meet and the crazy adventures they have. It's interesting how a line from a song can influence a whole novel. (Like when a photo or a texture can inspire an entire quilt. Cindy, I still haven't done my 'sing a quilt' project...) It's great summer reading.

Cindy enjoying the crowd before Lyle. Note, her chairback is just slightly higher than regulation (they officially measure them).

Debra and Tom having a picnic.

Margaritaville

What a wonderful summer evening to be outside! Especially enjoying fun music, friends, food and a few beverages. Tonight, Carol, Daisy, Ruth, Tish and I went to Reno's to hear the band Living Soul. The band plays Jimmy Buffett music.

That's Carol and Daisy behind the shades. Daisy commented that there weren't many white-headed people on the patio.  We're glad that she's adventurous and willing to kick up her heels with the 'kids'.  You go girl!

Ruth and Tish. You can see their beverage of choice! Tish has been refinishing a challenging door and earned the rest.  Living Soul is playing most Wednesday evenings so if you're interested, let us know. The food's great and you don't have to cook!

Summer Evening

Tonight was my night to babysit Cubby while his mom went to school. One of our favorite things to do is 'stroll' down to the Tollgate Wetlands to check out the ducks. There are all kinds of wildflowers in bloom right now and if you look carefully along the path, you can see a whole bunch of new Japanese Iris, Sedum, Daisies, and other flowers planted by the Drain Commission in the last few weeks. The mulberries are almost done and the the baby ducks (7 at last count) are now 'youth' ducks - the male mallards are starting to get their shiny feathers.

Cubby spent a few days with his other grandparents at the lake and Claire and I just barely survived being without him.  Sunday afternoon he came over and said, "up,up, pease, pease, pease." He wanted to play in the sink. (His mom didn't know we had done it before - what happens at grandma's...). He's wearing Gennie's packable water dish as a hat.  It struck me that it looks kind of like a graduation cap... oh no! He's never growing up!

My New Grandbaby?

Here is a picture of Ian and Liz taken at Mother's Day.  It was so good to have them here. I don't get to see them very often. They are both students, both working and trying to keep up with maintaining a house. Ian emailed me this week that they had a new addition at their house......

Yikes! A snake.  They've talked about bearded dragons (Terry P) for awhile but I guess this little guy just called out to them at the Reptile Show. He's a red-tailed boa and is about 18" long. Eats mice for now... Irene pointed out that it's easier to leave on vacation with a snake as opposed to most other pets. I guess that gets me out of grandma babysitting duty. Phew!

California Boys

No, it's not Lassie and Timmy but it is Timmy and Matthew.  These are my sister's boys. They are full Collie brothers and are about a year old. She started out with just Timmy (the darker one) but through circumstances, Matthew needed a home too. They play and wrestle just like good brothers should.

These good looking guys are my sister's other two boys. This was taken prom night in their yard. How do kids grow so fast? They have this lemon tree, a huge avocado tree, plums (picked 10 pounds just this week) and apples. They can also grow tomatoes year-round. (Don't we wish...)

Graduation Day.  640 graduates on the field and about 5,000 fans in the stands. After graduation, they bus them to Disneyland all night for a 'safe celebration'. Needless to say, my nephew slept the whole next day. 

First Visitors

Don't they look great? Phyllis, Tim and Dewey on the front porch of their new house in Burbank, CA. My sister and I went to visit - was it only last week?  They are still waiting to close and have furniture and washer and dryer on hold just waiting for the paperwork to be final.

The old owners got as far as remodeling the kitchen complete with enormous stainless steel appliances including Tim's Viking Range (we know who does the cooking in this family).

Phyllis and Tim have great plans for the house including moving some walls and installing a master bath. The garage will be Phyllis' new quilt studio with a sliding glass door and a skylight for plenty of light and artistic inspiration.

We had a wonderful visit. Phyllis told Tim it was exciting to be entertaining their first guests in their new home and I was happy to be a part of it.

A view from the front, lots of square feet for the fabric storage, um... studio. Don't look for this house the next time you're in Burbank. You may not recognize it. Tim plans to take off the flagstone and brick the lower half and stucco the top to fit in with the rest of the neighborhood. Phyllis and Tim (and Dewey) are like two kids off on a wild adventure and loving every minute of it.  If anyone has any favorite paint chips they'd like to send (fabric samples maybe?), they are having trouble deciding on colors.

California Hi Ho!

Off to California!  My nephew is graduating from High school in Burbank, CA and my mom and dad and I are flying out for the festivities.  My sister has planned an itinerary which includes a Dodger Game, fabric shopping, family picnic, bead shopping, oh yeah, graduation, more fabric shopping, fresh seafood, LA Garment district (fabric, embellishments, beads) and a concert at the Walt Disney Center by the U of M (sorry green fans) Men's Glee Club.  

This is the building designed by Frank Gehry.

I'm not sure where we are sitting but I'm excited just to be going there.

If we get the chance, I'll try to connect with Phyllis and Tim.  They are supposed to be moving in to their new house tomorrow.

Memorial Day Weekend

On Saturday, Cyndee and I hit the garage sales. My find of the day was a complete set of cushions for my old porch furniture for only $5.00!!!!  Red plaid is probably not what I would have chosen, but it IS patchwork and at that price, who could resist? I also found some pottery wine goblets.  Showing my age, I remember using them in the 70's and how cold they kept the wine. Remember, back then you could legally drink at 18... Apparently, they must have had some nostalgic significance for their previous owner too because he was a little wistful about letting them go. I assured him that they were going to a good home.

  

We met Ruth and Deb at Sparty's for brunch.  Deb had brought her latest creation so we had show and tell in the parking lot. Beautiful quilt!  I think it's going to be a graduation present.

Today Cubby and his mom came over for lunch and we spent some time outside. Here he is scooping poop (not really). I had forgotten how cute they look with their chubby little legs sticking out of their playsuits.  It's great to be a grandma. You get to relive all of the things you were too busy, tired, stressed... to notice with your own kids or hadn't thought about in a long, long time. 

 
After Block Exchange tonight, Ruth and I took the three dogs for a long walk through the neighborhood and observed the different methods of container gardening.  Gennie had fun walking with her friends Sadie and Dora and is now 'zonked out' here at my feet. Do we have to go to work tomorrow?