Christmas Decorations Revisited for 2014

 It's almost time to put the Christmas decorations away - Where does the time go?  When we were children, the tree, purchased at a reduced price on Christmas Eve, was put up on that evening, and taken down on New Year's Day.  after being carefully stripped of the tinsel, which was laid in a box for next year, as well as any ornaments and the lights.  Today, we live with the decorations longer, and enjoy the memories that seeing them each year engenders.  The picture above is a wooden decoration painted by daughter Julia in her folk-painting days.  It hangs protected on our covered porch each December - and sometimes into January to welcome all visitors to our home.

 This little tree was purchased a long time ago, and is decorated with miniature ornaments, many acquired during my two years in Germany.

 This little Santa clasps his hands together and hangs on to the lamp in the living room each holiday.  He is a memory of dear friend Phyllis Hansen.  Behind him hang two wood-turned mushroom birdhouses that Ron made a few years ago.

 This picture is a little hard to see - it is my Petersen mouse nativity scene.  My collectibles in this line are each significant to us - I could collect forever, but manage to put a stopper on when I realize that there isn't enough room in the little glass case for more of these wonderfully crafted figures.

 This nativity scene is at least 30 years old.  It was used to tell the Christmas story a few times when we had little grandchildren around on Christmas Eve.  I know it's old, because it's marked "Made in Taiwan".

Two of these are Christmas decorations - the standing Nativity cut out of a piece of olive wood, which was a gift this Christmas from our friends, the Silvernagels, and a small silhouette of the Nativity scene which we bought in Bethlehem 21 years ago.  The figurine of Christ and his lamb was a gift from our friends, the Garners, when they moved from Preston to Mesa permanently this fall.

 The three-figure Nativity was made in Relief Society in Tumwater - long time ago.

 I found this little Nativity set in Olympia at a little specialty shop on Grand - I got it for almost nothing because the shepherds had been lost.  Perhaps they had already come and gone by the time the wise men got there?  (True story)

 This silver-plated and now oxidized Nativity set was purchased at a jewelry store in Jerusalem.  Ron didn't tell me until later that I paid too much for it, because it is just pot metal which is plated.  I still like it.

And, the is our partial collection of our Santa Claus figures.  On the left is one that I purchased at a craft fair in Olympia.  The next one is a paper ache Santa that Ron had a long time ago.  The little Santa in the air was a gift, and the one on the right was a hand-carved Santa made in Arizona by Mr. Nelson, who used to refinish furniture in Olympia.

More tomorrow.

Blue Snow

 My camera does not compensate for the blue light in the early morning on a snowy day.  I could play with these, but like the effect.  We measure the snowfall by the depth of the snow on the sundial.

White Christmas

And,  just to clarify the heading picture, it really did snow last night, and still drifting down.  How lovely to be at home and not worry about it - but the neighbors still came over and cleared off the driveway.  What a nice Christmas present!

The Poinsettia in the Window

More than a few years ago, when we wintered in Mesa, we had some friends who made stained glass pieces.  We got this one from them.  The top view is the way it usually looks in the window, but the bottom view had the wonderful glowing reflection - The sun was shining just right, and even though the windows were not clear because of rain, the reflective glow is remarkable.  Merry Christmas!

Striped Stitchery

 This is my latest creation from the Stupendous Stitchery class on Craftsy.  Doing this kind of stitching is so much fun and liberating from the strictures of matching corners, etc.  I even put on a few crystals - couldn't resist (see below detail).  I highly recommend this technique for anyone who is a doodler, or is even playing with Zentangle.  My 14-year old sewing machine is more wonderful than I realized.

Friendship or Personality Quilt is Finished!

Finished, with a new technique for binding.  Love this quilt.  I'm not showing the back, because it is a panel, which I managed to put upside down and crooked - No one is perfect, but this is the utter limit.  However, I love this little quilt.  The blocks are treasures and fit the personality of my quilting friends to a "T".  Wouldn't this kind of quilt be fun to do in a family?  Each person could design their own block - (Remember Dwight's quilt, Louise) - and then for those who don't do embroidery, others could finish up.  Just a thought - not asking for more work.  Or, one person could design the blocks.  That's what you can do in your spare time!

Friendship Quilt in Progress

This is the present stage of my friendship quilt from our quilt guild.  It will gain another border, and perhaps some lettering.  However, Louise is going to help me figure out how to quilt the embroidered blocks.    The personality of each one of the quilters is revealed in her block.  Clever!

P.S. to post below

Class is called Stupendous Stitching, not sewing.  Oops.

Newest Sewing Project

These are pictures of a sewing project from an online class at Craftsy, called Stupendous Sewing.  I had a lot of fun making this from a fat quarter of batik, using stitches on my sewing machine that I have never experimented with before.  The piece has rick-rack, rattail cord, and yarn applied, then embroidery stitches from the sewing machine, then hand embroidery to finish the top.  The top is quilted, and can either be a pillow or a picture.  This piece is far from perfect, but it was lots of fun to make.  Be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge.

Rainbows Aren't Always a Bow

Usually we see rainbows in a wide bow across the sky, but this particular one fizzled out in the middle.  At least we know where the pot of gold is - it is in the Bear River Range of mountains just to the east of us.  And it hasn't rained for about 1-1/2 weeks.  We had the wettest September ever - In just 4 days, I measured 4-1/2" in a little black bucket that I had in the front yard.  Our lots to the south of us never turned brown this year - they're lush and green.  Looks like a park.

The Turkey Buzzards are Back

Our neighbor to the east has a huge cottonwood tree that is over 100 years old.  It grows partway down in Creamery Hollow just to the east of their house.  The tree is so tall that when the air is perfectly still on the ground, there is a wind draft in the top of this tree. Sometimes in the summer, we can see eagles circling.
 We are in the path of migrating turkey buzzards, and they often stop over to rest and fly in huge circles in the sky.  I ran to get my camera, but was not quick enough, and only four are in evidence in this picture. (A camera with better telescopic lens would do a better job, but this one gives you the general idea.)  Our neighbor tells us that in the early mornings, the birds are sitting hunched over, (Snoopy vulture style), waiting for their feathers to dry out so that they can fly.  

Completion of Ron's Work for the Week

Ron's plan this week was to save the garden shed (19 years old) from disintegration - the cedar was looking very old and beaten up.  His plan was to use Olympic stain to preserve the wood.  He asked me about color - I suggested either a mossy green or a light tan.  Of course, Preston didn't have Olympic stain, so he went to Logan to get some - not cheap!  He came home and set to work on the hottest and most decrepit side (south).  The dried cedar was just swallowing up the paint, so he went uptown here to see if there was some sort of a primer compatible to the paint that he could use as an undercoat.  He was assured that a certain product would do just that, so he began to work on the support boards on the front of the building.  After a while, he came in and said that he was given the wrong information - and no, the Olympic stain won't go on over this new stuff.  Frustration!  The result is that now the shed looks European - In the village I lived in in Germany, we had the white buildings with the dark brown supporting timbers - very picturesque.   Now, all we need is a window with a window box of geraniums, and we'll be finished.  Just kidding.  The fact that Ron did all of this in 85+ degree weather tells of his dedication to getting the job done.  And, he must live right, because he finished yesterday morning, the stuff had all day to cure in the hot sun, and last night came the heavy rains - and its been raining ever since.

Big Sky Country

These pictures are from southern Montana - waaaay south of Butte.  Thought the history was interesting, and thought of Grandpa Wasden, and wondered how he went from Scipio to Butte to work in the mines in the 1890s.

Daylilies in Kelso

 Kemp picked some of the last blossoms from his daylily plants on the hillside behind his house.  They are still so beautiful.  The colors are so pure, and the blossoms huge.

And here's Bethany, blessed with a happy nature and a beautiful smile, willingly posing with some of the flowers.  Nice visit to Sonja, Kemp, Bethany, and Benjamin.

Mt. Hood

For once, when we drove along the Columbia River last month, we enjoyed a rare view of Mt. Hood.  Just before this picture, we went through the smoke from a small fire - thought we wouldn't see the mountain this time, but there it is!

More Summer Visitors

I've come to the conclusion that great-grandchildren are as wonderful as grandchildren.  Mandy and John's family came to see us this summer, and we loved the energy, the activity, and yes, the "cuteness and charm" of these delightful children.  We're always grateful when our offspring makes the effort to come to our remote part of the world to touch bases and allow us to get to know our family better.  Perfect!

Summer Family Visits

Sara, Hayden and Frank came to see us before we made our Washington trip.  We had such a nice visit.  Hayden, at 12, has really grown - taller than both of us.  He doesn't look so tall in these pictures, because both Sara and Frank are very tall.  Hayden's great sense of humor is evident - kind of like his father's wit.  Sara is still suffering the indignities of adult braces, but her smile is still there - gives her more empathy with her daughter who had to undergo the same procedure.  We feel blessed to have family come - the distance of travel is still great, and we appreciate the effort.

Hail Does Come through the Downspouts!

Tony took this picture at the corner of the shop.

More pictures from Saturday's Hail Storm

These pictures tell the story.  Be sure to enlarge each one.  We laughed at the evening news weather lady when she showed a picture of the hail under a downspout and said that the photographer may have piled the hail up - no, and no.  This size of hail makes the garden a destruction zone.  We feel so sorry for the farmers around there, who are losing their grain, hay, and corn crops.  Disaster!

Late Night Visitor

After having a day of pouring rain on Friday, continuing into the night, we had a visitor ring the doorbell around 8:30 - It was Tony!  He had ridden his red motorcycle from Las Vegas, intending to surprise us with a short visit. Little did he realize that the beautiful day he experienced in southern Utah would turn to pouring rain and freeway bumper-to-bumper traffic as he got into Salt Lake and headed north.  By the time he got to Preston, all of his really high-class gear was soaked, and he was one solid chunk of ice.  The good news - he missed the rock slide in Sardine Canyon by at least an hour, and got here safely.  A long session in a hot shower, the clothes dryer, and inventive way to dry all of his gear solved any problems.  We had a good visit, and he headed back this morning with a more positive weather forecast.  This was one time when a surprise was better than having foreknowledge of a visit!

 Tony's picture taken in southern Utah

Taken 24 hours later from our back porch.

We've Been Deluged!

 In between the buckets of rain we've been receiving, we had this incredible hail storm this afternoon!

I took a video, but can't figure out how to make the booming sound from the film be heard on the blog.  Any suggestions from those who low how?

It's the Quilts

Love this picture.  John had it on his electronic device, and gave it to me.  As you can see, it was taken a while ago, because Aline looks very little, and Kai isn't in the picture, but I appreciate it because it shows off the grandma quilts that I made these precious great-grandchildren.  (And grand-daughter.  Sara's Phil took this picture  - very nice.

The Angelic Look

Granddaughter Mandy and her third child - Aline laid claim to the book that goes with the United States puzzle, and read it every chance she could get - right side up, or upside down.  Doesn't she look like an angel?  However, the evenness of temper was temporary.  She was entranced with the magnets on the fridge.   The favorite is a frog purchased some years ago from a neighbor who was raising funds for the band.  All four feet are on springs, and each one is flat with a magnet in its feet.   Even Dallin, who is much older, took time to play with that one.  Aline tried more than once to carry off a magnet so that she find another hiding place for it.  Every time I asked her to put it back, the lower lip came out and quivered, and she stood still in place, not feeling very friendly at all.  Mean grandma!  Fortunately, there were other toys to play with.

More Tree Lillies

 The front porch smells divine - the lilies' perfume is wonderful.

 This picture is very revealing - be sure to enlarge it.

Lilly for Dwight

More lilies tomorrow.

Lillies

 Mia Lilly announced that she was named Lilly because lilies are beautiful.  I agree wholeheartedly!