Summer Time This and That:

 One of the best ways to spend a lazy summer evening is with family at a Luau and dance recital.  Our youngest granddaughter, Racquel, above, has been taking hula lessons for the past few months and last night was her first dance recital.  The lady who teaches the group is from Hawaii and teaches all forms of Polynesian dances, right down to the flaming batons,  We joined the family early and got front row seats.

A Batik Workshop:

I've been looking forward to this past weekend for quit awhile.  In fact, this workshop is the very reason why I joined the Utah Surface Design Group headquartered in SLC and full of crazy talented ladies.  Intimidating, yes, but what a great group to push me along in my attempts to be creative.  The class was being taught in Heber City, Utah which is south of Park City and about 45 minutes from our cabin, where I stayed between the two day class.  While Heber City is growing at a fast pace, it still is pretty rural and offers views of Mt. Timpanogus, above, and the ski resorts of Park City, below.

Brigham City Quilt Show:

Every summer, Brigham City, Utah holds, what I consider, one of the best small quilts shows around.    Brigham City is a small town in northern Utah generally know best for peach orchards and LDS Church history.  The quilt show is held in their "museum" which is in the basement of the senior center.  The first year I went, I made the mistake of going through the main floor door and and had to ask directions which took us through a senior exercise class and down the back staircase.    I know better now.  The show. above, is hung in three smallish rooms and is FREE.   This means return visits  and the need to add to their donation box.  Below are a few of my favorite.

The New Long Arm is Here!!!!

 Isn't it just beautiful!!!!  My new long arm is finally up and running and happily situated in an12X11 and 1/2 square foot basement bedroom, the Quilt Cave #2.  It takes up half of the bedroom and the doors were needed to be taken off the closest so I could maneuver around to the back to roll the bottom leader up and turn on and off  the machine.

Road to Paducah:

 I have been thinking and talking about a trip to Paducah Kentucky for a few years now.  After Tokyo, Houston, and Lincoln, this trip was designed to pretty much finish up my "bucket list" for quilt shows and museums, though (don't tell Roger) I am sure there will be more added on in the future.  We had talked about flying to Nashville and renting a car from there, but when all was said and done, we thought a road trip was the best way to accomplish this "quest". We headed east through the Rocky Mountains, above, and spent our first night in Denver Colorado.

Hole In the Rock Road:

 The wonderful thing about living in the West is that you can plan a "trip of a lifetime" around a long
weekend.  I had never been to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument before which is located in the southwest corner of Utah.  Roger had last been there 25 years ago on a camping trip with the kids and was excited to show me what was available in our own backyard.  Our destination was the 62 mile "Hole In the Rock" road which begins just outside of Escalante.

Arizona Road Trip:

 It has been too long since I have written on our blog.  Problems, problems, and more problems had beset it.  When I returned from our Panama Canal cruise (I forgot to post that one first!), my computer had died and we ended up buying a new Mac.  A lot has happened between  November and now and I am just getting the hang of things again.

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.

 



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.

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.

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.

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.