Loy Kratong 2014

I arrived home from our roadtrip in time for what will probably be my last Loy Kratong.

The Road Trip to Yellowstone:

 I love our Road Trips!  Last time Kim and Mary were here, he headed down to Moab and the National Parks in that part of Utah.  This time, sadly minus Mary, we headed north to Jackson Hole,
the Tetons and Yellowstone.  Above, is one of the four arches leading into the center square of the city.  Each is made entirely of elk antlers.  Jackson boasts probably the largest reserve area for wintering Elk in the nation.  Come Spring, the Boy Scouts are allowed onto the reserve to collect the antlers dropped during the winter.  They are then auctioned off one weekend each summer with the Scouts getting a portion of the proceeds.

Happy Halloween!!!!

OK, these are from a couple of weeks ago, but Halloween was just a few days ago, so it counts, right?

Allison and the kids invited me to go to Sugarhouse Park in Salt Lake for the annual Pumpkin Boat

Races.  They are sponsored by the group that grows the big ones  Hard to believe that they float in the first place but even harder to believe that people would actually want to get inside and paddle across the lake! 

The day was beautiful and we sat in the sun for
a bit waiting for the races to begin.  The costumes alone were worth the wait and the watch.  No one capsized!  Again, hard to believe.  Below, is my granddaughter, Livi standing in front of the lucky one that didn't get carved up for the races.  I think it came in at around 1300 pounds.

Livi's birthday is on the 19th and she always wants to have a Halloween costume party for the family to celebrate.  Below are three of my guys:  Roger is the wolf, Jason, my CPA, is the Punk Accountant
and Evan my lawyer and river guide looks way to much like his Mom....scary stuff.

 Here are the Johnston's all ready for trick or treating.  Poor Rob was rather embarrassed but was a good sport to wear the costume his wife ordered for him on-line.

Livi wanted to be a "dead" bride and she looks "lovely" doesn't she.  I'm not too sure about the groom. I hope everyone had a fun day.  I spent my Halloween in Houston at the Quilt Show.  More on that later.

Finish the Trip:

This blog is starting at the end and jumping forward.  Such is my life in the world of blogging.  Above is a photo of the Stitchin Post, a "bucket list" entry that I have now checked off.  Sisters is the home of a fantastic city-wide outdoor quilt show put on  the second Saturday of July every year. This has been going on for the past 39 years and started by Jean Wells, owner of Stitchin Post as well as a well known artist and author.  July couldn't happen for us, so as we were putting together our trip to the great Northwest, this was put on the "to do" list.  It didn't disappoint.  I discovered a great fabric designer by the name of Marsha Derse and bought a few pieces from her line.  As nobody in Utah carries it, I just may have to make a return visit one of these days.

Trip to the Coast:

This summer has been a fast one and while we have done a lot of things, it has been awhile since we took more than a weekend away.  The kids are now in school so the roads are less congested and hotels have vacant signs and with perfect weather we decided to head to the coastline of Northern California.  As we were leaving SL we spotted double and triple full rainbows.  Twenty minutes from home and I am already making Roger pull over for a photo shoot.  Worth it!!! 

Cabin, etc.

We've been updating the cabin a bit; new deck outside, new paint, satellite TV, and some new furniture, below. inside.  With all of the improvements, it is feeling more and more like home, so I decided that a more permanent sewing space was in order as well.  I commandeered the loft area off the upstairs bedroom and planted my sewing machine on the small table we have there.  I still need to bring up a standing lamp and another table for ironing and cutting and I am good to go.  Get a fire going in the great room below and I can settle in for some long winter days.

 



Annual Lunag Prabang Festival

Our trip to Luang Prabang coincided with the annual large market and boat race.  People from all over the area attended the market.  I spotted these lovely sunshades which I thought would provide marvellous cover for those of our party who were feeling the heat.

Mom's Birthday:

Tomorrow, September 10th, is my mother's 99th birthday.  She is an amazing lady who has spent her life giving to others, especially her family.  She has been my strength and my mentor, pushing me to be the best I could be.  Monday morning, Evan, her eldest grandchild and my son, came for a visit before he headed off to the river (who wouldn't love a job like that!).  Love you Mom. Janice

Farmington Bay Bird Refuge: Our Summer Walks

This summer has slipped by with hardly a notice.  Too busy I guess.  When Roger and I finally decided it was time to go for early morning walks and pretend (at least for me) that we were getting in shape, we realized we had lots of options.  We have the park east of us where the grandkids like to play, the mountain trails further east of the park as well as the neighborhoods around our home.  We decided no to all of the above options and moved west for the new and old bike/walking trails that take us through the Farmington Bay Bird Refuge.

Crayon Quilts:

For my quilt group this month - it's September already!!! - I had planned to do strip piecing following my theme of teaching a new technique that could be done in more than one way.  Then I found a blog and a link about making batik fabric using crayons as the base for color as well as the wax resist for the black dye.  And with school starting and boxes of crayons on sale for 50 cents each, I decided we would all go back to school.  A little bit of fun never hurt anyone.

Annual Tea Getaway:

Above is the Tea Clan after a fun morning spent on the lake.  Adults include Allison and Rob (Johnston), Jason, Nash Way and Evan, Grace and Daniel with grandkids Ana, Livi, Ingrid, Ethan and Racquel (who wanted none of this photo stuff that grandma insisted on).  Since we have been back from Thailand we have tried to get everyone together at least once a year at the cabin.  The grandkids look forward to this chance to take rides with grandpa on the four wheeler and expand their water skills on Smith and Moorehouse reservoir.  Having everyone under one roof for a couple of days is all the reason I need to look forward to this yearly event.

Thailand Quilt Festival 2014

My quilt won an Honorary Mention for the best creativity at the Thailand Quilt Festival! 

Click here to read about it.

Love the Colors:

When Kim was last in Utah, she and I did some dyeing of fabric.  It was a lot of fun and very educational for me.  Watched and re-watched Jane Dunnewold's Craftsy DVD on dyeing, bought some books and washed white fabric to make it ready to take the dye.  I even bought a few new colors from the Pro Chemical and Dye booth at Houston last year.  This all to get ready for dyeing on my own.  Put it off, saying it had to be done in the warm weather and in a place I wouldn't be afraid to mess up (I've been known to do that).  I finally forced myself to secure a place in the garage (above) and go for it.

Summer in Utah:

The summer is in full swing in Utah.  While June was rather mild for a Utah summer, July has seen most days in the high 90's or 100.  Hot yes, but given great summer reasons to get out and do, the heat is more something to endure than avoid.  July 4th parades abound in every city small and large across the states.  The Centerville parade is one we have visited on and off throughout the last two or so decades we have lived here.   There are the clowns, school bands, horses (not so many this year though), along with a number of "advertisement" floats and decorated cars for local merchants.  I mean Wallmart drove a big semi down the street!! Our grandson, Ethan, was in the parade this year as he participated with his cub scout troop.  A few boys in the troop came first  carrying the flag.  Ethan followed with a banner naming fallen solders from the local area.  He is on the right.

Botero Horse at Embassy Chit Lom

The newest mall in Bangkok opened a little while ago, the first in what appears to be a line of new malls either mid-build or in planning.  Yes, just what Bangkok needs, another mall.

I'm afraid I have been seriously underwhelmed by this building.  Inside it looks dated and unfinished, but maybe that is the fashion now.  And talking of fashion, this is the ultimate hi-so shoppers paradise, wall to wall designer shops.  You won't be buying your Uniglo clothes in here!

Buddhamonthon & Rama IX Park

Buddhamonthon is found a short outside of Bangkok.  This Buddhist monument was built to commemorate the Thai people's deeply routed faith in Buddhism.  The park was started in 1957 and is also the residence of the Supreme Patriarch. 

The main Buddha statue (standing nearly 16 meters tall) is beautiful. 

Erawan Museum & SamutPrakarn Crocodile Farm & Zoo

I have never visited the Erawan Museum before, but heard about the wonder and unique building.  I have to admit that this is pretty jaw dropping, a museum inside a three headed elephant!  It was worth the money just to see this much.

Wh

Quilts:

First of all, I would like to thank Roger for holding the quilts.  You notice his feet below all three of them.  Good to have a dedicated assistant!  I haven't shown any quilts lately, but that does not mean I haven't been busy in my quilt cave (basement bedroom) all winter.  I have a number of tops not quilted as of yet, but these three were needed for my quilt group coming up the lst Thursday of June.

Road Trip to Nebraska:

How often do you decide on a destination and then work a road trip around getting there?  Luckily, we had a full week to get from Farmington Utah to Lincoln Nebraska and back so we decided to check out some sights up North that we hadn't visited for well over 30 years.  After getting all our obligations out of the way, we left on May 15th heading up to Jackson Hole

and Yellowstone National Park.

A Quilt Finish

Thanks to Kim, I have a post to put up.  I'm having trouble getting my photos up on the blog page, which has created a lag in posting.  So if anyone out there has suggestions about how to get photos once they've downloaded up to the blog, I'd be happy to hear from you. 

I had shown Kim this chevron quilt earlier when I was piecing it.  It is a throw size with two inch strips.  Once pieced I put it away for awhile and just recently got it out to finish it up with the quilting.  The quilting process has gone a lot smoother than the piecing and I have thoroughly enjoyed quilting each and every strip with one of about eight different quilting patterns.  You can see a few in the photo below. 



The weather is still winter here so I have been spending a lot of my time in the "quilt cave".  Spring is coming though, so I am trying to finish up some projects before the yard "garden" calls and I have to balance out my time. Hopefully, I will be able to "select all" soon and get the blog from this end going again.









MYANMAR PART IV - BAGO

A day out from Yangon had unexpected results.

The lake behind Aung San Suu Kyi's home.

MYANMAR PART III - YANGON

Black and red stained teeth on both young and old, testifies to the continuing popularity of betel.

MYANMAR PART II - BAGAN

Bagan is a must-see for anyone visiting Myanmar.  I would however suggest a cooler time of the year as it was baking hot.

MYANMAR PART 1 - MANDALAY

I think most people would agree that Mandalay is not the prettiest of towns.  Sand swept streets, ugly new buildings and a dismal shopping centre aside, there are many beautiful places to see.

The seated Buddha in Mahamuni Paya was worthy of a visit, just to see how much the Buddha has grown, due to the amount of gold leaf that has been applied to it.

This And That Again:

The Months of March and April are big birthday months around our house.  March has Roger's, Evan's and Ethan's while April has Racquel's, Ingrid's, Daniel's and Ana's.  The grandkids are starting to enjoy (prefer) going with us to buy their birthday presents as they get exactly what they want.  Take little Pokie above.  She had visited the store earlier that day with her Mom and decided exactly what she would ask us for before we arrived to drive her to Target.  She knew the isle and the number that were left on the shelf. Her pick was a "Frozen" plastic sleigh suitcase filled with a few pieces of dress up items. It is so fun to watch their excitement and anticipation as we look for their presents together.  The innocence of childhood is wonderful to be part of.  

Following the Pony Express Route:

About 18 months ago, our son Jason and a few of his best running buddies decided to run a 50 mile leg of the Pony Express trail.  Roger, as per his normal, went along as part of the support team to encourage them along. We've been talking about retracing their run while driving the large loop (425miles) which takes in a good part of the trail as we pick it up in Lehi (south of SL) and follow it west into Nevada, up to Wendover (Utah's quick fix for gambling just on the Nevada/Utah border) and then back home.  We found the perfect day, free of any commitments, and took off.

Al Ready to Quilt:

I have spent my entire quilting "career" placing my blocks on the floor to see how the flow of the quilt was going and then picking them up by row to secure the placement design - only to keep doing it again and again.  I have resorted at times, with smaller quilts to secure them to quilts I have around the room.  But now, drum roll please, I have an actual and for real Design Wall. 

I took down a print and moved the TV console to the side and realized that I actually had some space in my very full quilt room.  The foam board covered by batting is 7X4 feet.  Thank you Roger!  I can add more to the bottom, when and if needed.  What a delight!  As you can see I am working on a log cabin quilt and am thoroughly enjoying watching it grow without once having to take it apart, row by row.



This photo is NOT of Antelope Island, but rather the  Oquirrh Mountain range to the south of us and borders the north end of the Salt Lake valley.  The sun was just coming up and hitting the new snow on top.  I took this photo from my bedroom window.  Not a bad view to wake up to.  

YUMMY TREATS AT THE MANDARIN ORIENTAL

This plate of chocolates was a complimentary gift in the room of friends staying at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok.  You have to admit, that really is a lovely treat to greet you in your hotel room.  Thought they were kind enough to allow me full access to the little chocolates, the elephant was strictly hands off.

Indian Spice Tour

Sarah & I spent a happy time meandering around parts of the spice district in New Delhi.  This is the largest spice market in Asia.

Outside the train station is a little market area with a temple.  Men queued to get food (possibly a free handout).  The man behind the counter wielded a big stick (which I believe is called a lathi) as a scuffle broke out in the queue.

BANGKOK PROTEST - BANGKOK SHUT DOWN

The stage at Asoke was dismantled last night.  We walked through after 3am to find that although you couldn't drive through the site, the stage, big screens, tents etc had all gone.  There were a few forlorn people sitting around and a lot of rubbish too, though the garbage trucks were out and about clearing as much as they could.

Spiral Jetty

I love those days that you look out the window and just decide it would be a great time to get out of the house and go on a road trip.  North of our home and on the Rozel Point of the Great Salt Lake is an earthwork sculpture named the Spiral Jetty. It was constructed in l970 by Robert Smithson who used black basalt rock, salt crystals and mud collected from the area in the construction process.   The Spiral Jetty forms a 1,500-foot-long , 15-foot wide counterclockwise coil jutting out from the shore.  Originally the site was chosen because of  the blood-red color of the water and its connection with the primordial sea.  The red hue of the water is due to the presence of salt-tolerant bacteria and algae that thrive in the extreme 27 percent salinity of the lake's north arm.

SNAKES IN THE BEDROOM - YIKES!

My friend Sue (the quilter not the painter!) found this in her guest room.  This would be one of the guest rooms that she invited me to stay in!  They had spotted it earlier in a bathroom, but it disappeared before they could remove it.  Sue apparently sat in the same room with it for 5 hours sewing (Sue not the snake).  

The rumours going around that Sue asked the snake so many times which bit of fabric would look best in the quilt she was making that the snake committed suicide by throwing itself onto the guards stick, are untrue.  It was her chat about her sewing machine tension!

She has also told me that this snake is going into a jungle curry, which is a joke I hope.

BANGKOK PROTESTS

I skirted around Democracy Monument yesterday and managed to snap these photos from the car.  This was the only sign I could spot of the trouble earlier in the week.

CENTRAL WORLD DISPLAY

Central World has a stunning display of pink oriental umbrellas in one of the atriums.

BANGKOK PROTESTS - BANGKOK SHUTDOWN

It seems that the roadblock at Asoke is bedding in.  This afternoon they have erected two more giant screens.  This will effectively close Asoke junction off unless they allow traffic to travel up Ratchadaphisek, through the roadblock and onto Sukhumvit towards Nana, as they have been doing up until today (yep, I got caught in the traffic chaos there!).

BANGKOK PROTESTS - A RELATIVELY PEACEFUL ELECTION DAY

Despite worries to the contrary, voting went ahead yesterday relatively peacefully.  Below is the voting station next to Emporium.  There were very few people there when I arrived in the afternoon and the streets were quiet, but within a few hours more people were out and about.  I suppose people were waiting to see if there was any trouble before venturing out.

A BIT OF THIS AND A BIT OF THAT

I know I am not the only person who is bored by the whole protest movement, it is almost the first thing we say to each other when we meet up.  Now I could be wrong, but it looks like we are not the only bored ones.  Taken at Asoke yesterday.  If you can't see it, one of the men is asleep in a hammock.  

BANGKOK PROTESTS - BANGKOK SHUTDOWN

By now we are all used to seeing these marches around various parts of Bangkok but I had to laugh yesterday as on this march along Sukhumvit, they had really got into the singing, led by this man on a truck,

Bangkok Protests - Bangkok Shut Down

A trip back to the Silom/Rama IV junction today showed a different picture to earlier in the week.  Despite now being under a state of emergency, which doesn't allow for large gatherings (I think more than 5 constitutes large), people were clearly not about to move.  Men were busy erecting a huge metal support structure for an awning, that would pretty much span a huge part of the junction.

As usual at the roadblocks, a concert was taking place.  Several older ladies in the crowd were up dancing.

Bangkok Protest - Bangkok Shut Down Day Whatever!

There are some things no amount of protesters are going to keep me from and collecting my sewing machine from the repair shop is just one (Diet Coke and chocolate head the list).  It took 15 minutes door to door, a journey that normally takes about 35 minutes if the traffic is good.   We drove through the roadblock at Asoke, as you can see, we were simply a steady stream of vehicles.

Can't Wait To Try This!

It could be that I am the only person in the world who doesn't know this trick to separate eggs.  Take a look.  

Now I know what to do with all those old plastic bottles!

Bangkok Protests - Bangkok Shut Down Day 6 contd.

While last night was relatively quiet at the Silom roadblock, we arrived home to find things have livened up at the Asoke junction.  Suthep (the protest leader) was mid speech when we arrived, so there was a lot of cheering and whistle blowing.

Bangkok Protests - Bangkok Shut Down Day 6

Taken yesterday outside Central World.  A you can see, not many people siting there.  Mind you, in the full blaze of the sun, I'm not sure I would either.