Queen Magnolia Blossom

Link to my New Blog

2009-11-11T11:58:00.002-06:00

I've started up a new blog for all my ummmmm, edifications. If you are so inclined go to:
Paths That Cross

Catching Up

2009-08-06T09:00:00.013-05:00

I was on a roll for awhile describing the June trips to both Hawaii and Utah when I was rudely interrupted by the laptop crashing. *Sigh* It's still in the hospital and there's a good chance that the hard drive is fried beyond repair. *Deep sigh* The worst would be that I've lost photos. I was working up to a post about the night we watched the sun go down over Hanalei Bay that was the most spectacular sunset that I've ever witnessed. Here I go again using superlatives when speaking of Hawaii, but it's true. Fortunately, I do have my photos intact from the Utah trip and I'll be adding those soon. In the meantime, last week we had a 5-day visit from our daughter-in-law Sara and her newborn baby boy Jameson. We babysat while Sara went to Dallas for a Mary Kay seminar. Cuteness Alert! The photos you are about to see are the cutest!

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Jamie is posing on Matt's bed. He's less then 3 months old, born in Amery Wisconsin on 5/11/08 so at this stage of life he is into sleeping, eating, going thru diapers, posing for photos in his tiny little onesies and outfits, and generally making the whole household very happy with his extreme baby cuteness.

Kimmel fed Jamie a lot of bottles and they took right to each other. Here is Jamie all tuckered out after eating, snuggled up with Kim deep in the heart of Texas:-)

Rosey was very curious about this tiny human. She wasn't at all aggressive and kissed and licked Jamie on his chubby cheeks and was very protective of him.

Matt too was curious and I think infatuated, and has taken to being an uncle. Here's Matt the lifeguard home on a break from the pool that day, guarding Jamie.

Jamie can't yet sit up straight on his own power but was very cooperative during all the photo shoots I put him through.

I let him sleep on Casey's bed. He doesn't roll over yet, but I kept checking on him about every other minute just to make sure. It was somewhat exhausting taking care of a baby. I had to get my naps in, too, while the baby slept.

There's something about having a baby around that just makes everything all right.

Hawaiian Cribs

2009-07-14T06:38:00.011-05:00

We were the luckiest tourists to have friends and family who put us up and put up with us in Hawaii. All I can say is, if you know people who live in Hawaii and you want to go visit, nurture the relationship, buy gas and groceries, pick up restaurant tabs, make quilts, lay low and be very cool exemplary houseguests. Above is the home of my sister Katie in Kilauea on the garden isle of Kauai where Kimmel and I were lucky enough to stay for the second week of our vacation.

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Tom and Katie celebrated their silver wedding anniversary while we were there with a very fun party - lots of good friends, their older daughter Erin, a gourmet potluck, a very boogie dance band on the lawn, a bonfire after dark, a special hula dance in their honor, and cutting the cake that Tom the Baker whipped up that day in his bakery. I was so happy to be there and included in the festivities.

The back porch of T & K's house from the back yard all cleaned up a few days after the party:

If you've been following previous posts, I'm sure you're wondering about my scraped knee:-)

One of Katie's many orchids:

An orchard of Lychee trees by the side of the lane driving back to their house from the road:

Katie's shade house where she grows dozens of orchids plus other plants:

What is this awesome flower? I'm stumped. Send me the name and I will mail you a fat quarter of Honu batik fabric.

The side of the house. The plant is a type of ginger I believe:

Another mystery flower:

We walked to the bakery one morning for bialys and sticky buns. My pretty little sister checking out the poinciana trees:

Katie is a master gardener. There are six large raised beds by the side of the house:

Just published - a children's book by a local Kauai woman about our President. I ordered a copy for myself and the young people in my life.

Back to the Big Island. This is Tom and Rosemary's geodesic dome home on Painted Church Road in Captain Cook:

Around the yard a banana tree. I must say there is something very sexual about banana trees. Rosemary said that the ancient Hawaiians forbid their women to eat bananas. It was kapu.

I think this is heliconia. I want to get a pedicure with these very colors.

Rosemary treats the family geckos very well and puts out jelly on the rail each day so they will come around for a visit. Only one in this photo, but it's normal to see a dozen at a time all around the porch.

Delicious breakfast! Bagel, cream cheese, lox, capers, papaya, dragonfruit. Before setting out for another perfect day in paradise. And of course, the Kona coffee grown right across the road by the neighbors. You can mail order some Kona coffee from Mary and Ron, owners of the Kona Lisa Coffee Company.

The painted church on Painted Church road. A Catholic church and graveyard in the lava:

Inside St. Benedict's Roman Catholic Church:

Stephanotis on the fence by the church. I placed the plumeria blossom next to it for the photo. Rosemary gave me a gardenia from her garden that day for my hair.

Utah- Beautiful Strange Land

2009-07-13T05:15:00.010-05:00

I was lucky enough to go to the General Assembly of the UUs in Salt Lake City last month. I loved being there for five days. I'd almost forgotten how much I miss and love the intermountain western U.S. I didn't photograph much inside the convention center but much of the conference itself was great. UUs in general do a good job of convening and I enjoyed great traditions like the banner parade, the service of the living tradition, the Ware lecture, the UU University, seeing friends from elsewhere including my two brothers-in-law from Illinois. On Friday, we lit out of town up into the high alpine country.

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A view of the Mormons' Temple Square from our 13th floor hotel room. You can see the temple and in front of it - the shiny oval domed roof building is the home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. You've got to pass full Mormon muster to go inside the temple itself but you can tour all the other buildings.

So for our road trip we headed to Mount Timpanogos about an hour away in the Wasatch mountains:

Going up the road:

My fabulous UU women travel companions from First Jefferson Church in Fort Worth - Sue, Kathy, Julie. We were all Standing On the Side of Love the entire time.

We came to the most wonderful spot called Cascade Springs and spent a lot of time here:

The natural springs formations make travertine in the rocks:

Moi. God this was such a beautiful place. We saw these small spotted brown trouts jumping out of the water to catch bugs, tiny yellow warblers, a pheasant, tons of wildflowers. I collected a water sample here for our UU water ceremony.

Yellow columbines:

Large dandelion like flower:

The Mount Timpanogos range:

More cascade springs:

Going down the mountain on a curvy switchback, we saw many beautiful old growth aspen trees. The photo doesn't do justice:

Another vista of Mount Timpanogos - alpine wonderland:

Returning to our hotel that night, after the evening's activities this is a Chihuly-like glass sculpture inside the performing arts center. Rev. Mary Harrington preached a sermon that night "A Lifetime Isn't Long Enough" that was one of the highlights for me during the conference. After the day we had, I was feeling quite emotional.

Next day, inside the temple square visitors' center, a big display about building the temple. I was fascinated by the creepy appearance of the architect:

The spires reaching to heaven. I can't remember who the golden statue is, either Joseph Smith or Brigham Young:

Testing the Jump feature

2009-07-10T09:54:00.008-05:00

I just followed the blogger instructions to post the first summary paragraph of my post, followed by a read more link to another page where the rest of the post appears.

Trying to figure it out

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and if I'm doing this right you've clicked on read more! and are now reading these lines.

Kilauea Sunset and Around the Big Island

2009-07-10T06:54:00.007-05:00

Above is the sunset near Tom and Katie's place in Kilauea on Kauai. We had just returned from a a full day at Ke'e beach at the end of the road. We decided to drive out to the lighthouse and on the way back we stopped by the side of the road to watch the sun go down. What follows in this post are a lot of pics around the Big Island the week before.

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The Hawaiians used this as a sacred site. Another sign said that Captain Cook read an english burial service for one of his men at this site in January 1779 and that it was the first recorded Christian service in the Hawaiian islands. Across the bay (not visible) is the Captain Cook monument that marks the spot where the Hawaiians did him in a month later Feb. 1779. The history of Captain Cook is very interesting. I can't say what it was, but I did feel something spiritual standing here. It was a little bit eery.

This is near Manini Beach where we went swimming but couldn't snorkel that evening due to rough water. I didn't venture too far out.

Tom and Rosemary:

Surf near Manini Beach. I never got tired of the white surf on the black lava rocks.

Another hole in the lava rocks near shore where the surf crashes in. You wouldn't want to fall into this hole. This was near the southernmost tip of the big island of Hawaii.

This is Punalu'u beach on the way to the volcano. It was cloudy and windy while we were there.

The choppy sea and surf at Punalu'u. I waited awhile for some honu to swim up out of the waves. But no luck that day.

The child on the turtle's back. I believe this is a verdigris bronze relief sculptural piece. I thought it was very sweet.

Our snorkel place -- Two Step at Pu'uhonua O Honaunau

Across a little inlet from Two Step is the Place of Refuge. While we were getting ready to leave one morning after snorkeling, we noticed the hula dancers come out and we stood and watched for awhile. Because King Kamehameha Day was the next day, we assumed they were practicing for a celebration. Aren't the coconut palms spectacular?

The big cruise ship Pride of America outside of Kailua-Kona harbor. The modern cruise ships are like giant floating hotel skyscrapers. I have never had an urge to go on a cruise and seeing this ship didn't change my mind about that.

Back at Two Step, each time we were there we saw painters setting up their easels and I stood nearby and watched them work for awhile. Such inspiration for an artist!

I joked with this guy about the conditioner I was using to untangle my hair after a swim. He asked me if he could borrow it:-) Notice the cool tattoo on his back.

Another shot at the Place of Refuge right before we went to the airport to catch a flight to Kauai after our very wonderful week on the Big Island. It was bittersweet saying goodbye to T & R after being together and a great visit.

Ka'awa Loa Plantation

2009-07-07T08:45:00.007-05:00

Above, the sun going down behind the clouds on Manini Beach on the Big Island.

Dearest Rosemary found the very wonderful Ka'awa Plantation Guesthouse and Retreat for our first two nights in Hawaii and this where they delivered us after the long flight from the mainland. It's tucked away up a steep, winding path from the road. We sat outside in the dark on the big wraparound porch with a bedtime snack of macadamia nuts and mango juice and I started pinching myself that it was all for real. We had landed in a tropical paradise!

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Next morning, Kimmel took in some breakfast and the view from the lawn while I walked the grounds:

Waiting in front of the outdoor lava shower for T & R to show up to take us away for a day of touring, finding snorkel gear, and swimming in the ocean. This girl needs a tan:-)

The view of Kealakekua Bay from the lawn. Don't think you can spot it in this pic, but a person hanglided by as we took it all in. This is a pretty good example of how the vog messes with the view:

What a treat to shower outside in the open air! The hosts placed the hibiscus blossoms in the shower and the ferns add a nice touch:

Okay, bear with me as I get started on some of the amazing flora everywhere you set your sights -- a bird of paradise:

Plumeria (lei are often made using these very fragrant blossoms):

A large rainbow eucalyptus tree, I had not laid eyes on one until now:

Heliconia:

Ornamental pineapple with the Monstera Deliciosa plant behind:

Buddhist prayer flags gracing my way on my walk up and down the long steep driveway:

The a-frame cottage on the grounds where the B&B managers Michael and Greg live. Let's face it, gay men make the best B&B hosts; everything was impeccable.

The driveway and front entrance:

I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted this quilt on one of the sofas. It was a gift from a good friend of our host, Greg's - Jennifer Brecht of Colleyville, TX! Of all the freaking places in the world, Jennifer is a quilter from Rosemary's old hometown in Texas. I plan to look her up sometime soon.

The Mural City

2009-07-05T16:57:00.012-05:00

Right after the vacation to Hawaii (and I still have lots more to say about that) I flew out to Salt Lake City for the General Assembly of the Unitarian Universalists. I joined three UU women from Fort Worth for a 1,200 mile road trip home and we saw some western landscape that knocked my socks off -- the Wasatch mountains and canyonlands in Utah, southern Colorado, northern New Mexico. Heading east out of Santa Fe we got on Interstate 40 and noticed a billboard advertising The Mural City. I was on a quest for some real New Mexican green chile......

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So we decided to stop for lunch in Tucumcari. Do you remember that weed, whites, and wine song about going from Tucson to Tucumcari? Well, it's actually called Willin' by Steve Earle and made famous by Little Feat. But, I digress. This is the mural on the Chamber of Commerce:

On the opposite side of the Chamber of Commerce:

Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of my very favorite religious images:

Another welcome sign. This was downtown on the side of a building on the corner.

This is the corner building from a distance. Tucumcari was pretty run down and looked economically depressed, a sign of the times. This image seems so stark, yet beautiful to me.

Look at the lake scene here and the mesas and also the oval shaped door through the wall. The artists' names are inscribed here, Tom Windham and Doug and Sharon Quarles (I wonder if they're a married couple? I don't think I'd want that last name. Doesn't seem like it would bode too well for the marriage:-)

Another section of the mural above. See the sailboat and the houseboat. I wonder what kind of fish those are.

This one was right next to the larger one above. It's a mural of the damn that creates the lake shown in the other larger murals above. Aren't you impressed with my clever photography of the adobe building down the alley:-) Isn't the eagle cool?

This one speaks for itself. I love the eagle's next.

The next two are two parts of a larger painting. Notice how the sky in the painting matches the sky that day. It was a crystal clear, dry, warm, big sky day - beautiful. The mesas, the cowboy on the horse, the cattle, and wow the clouds!

This was a tribute to a local guy apparently an air force pilot who has died:

The next two are also two parts of one painting. As you can see, the Legendary Road Route 66 goes through Tucumcari.

It was fun driving around and I was getting in and out of the car to take all these pics. We almost left town before finding a place to eat but on the road back to the highway we noticed an open restaurant with lots of cars in the parking lot. They had the best Mexican food and I feasted on a large burrito with green sauce plus fresh sopapillas with honey for dessert. Yummy.

Let's see if this youtube of Willin' by Little Feat will embed so you can enjoy the tune:

Na Pali Coast

2009-07-01T20:51:00.008-05:00

Every day in Hawaii was like living in a postcard. The Na Pali coast on the northwestern side of the garden isle of Kauai is one of the most breathtaking landscapes that I've ever seen. You can reach the coast only by hiking in or by boat and we opted for the luxury of a boat tour that departed from Port Allen at 2:00 pm.

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I started my day with a scraped knee - injured when I slid down a steep trail the day before -- going to a beach at Princeville on the north shore. Katie said the injury showed that I'd earned my stripes. It can be pretty rugged tramping around to fully experience all the grandeur of paradise:-)

Another catamaran with about 35 people nearby us that was almost identical to the type of boat we were on:

Approaching the area where we stopped for awhile to swim and snorkel by going in off the back of the boat. I spotted a green sea turtle (honu)in the water plus a few fish. But as anyone who's in the know knows, the best snorkeling in all of Hawaii is at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island right down the road from Tom and Rosemary's place!

The Na Pali Coast. The pics were taken as we cruised northward. It was a perfect day. Feel free to double click on any image to zoom in. The colors of Hawaii are breathtakingly beautiful:

As we approached the farther northern side of the coast, the scenery became even better if you can believe it:

Notice the cave right at the water's edge and the waterfall to the right of it. The color of the ocean almost made me cry with joy, it was so beautiful:

Tom and Katie, with their two daughters Erin and Gillian, went kayaking and camping the Na Pali coast a few years ago. I think this is one of the spots that there is enough beach on which to camp.

More Na Pali:

Profile shot of my pretty little sister:

The wake of the boat as we turned around to head back from whence we came:

Kim, Me and Katie happy as can be on a day I'm sure none of us will ever forget:

The sun was going down as we were watching both bottlenose dolphins and spinner dolphins who approached the boat to say hello. Apparently, it was fairly unusual to see the larger bottlenose dolphins (3). There were more than a dozen spinner dolphins later on. It was very thrilling to see these animals jumping and diving in and out of the water.

Going back into port as the sun went down. It was a bumpy, wet, and fun end to a terrific tour.

The Big Island-Going to The Volcano

2009-06-23T11:33:00.008-05:00

It's hard for me to know where to start describing our two week vacation to Hawaii.

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We spent the first week on The Big Island where we stayed with Tom and Rosemary, dearest friends who moved away from DFW a couple years ago to retire in paradise. This is actually the southernmost tip of the U.S. where we stopped on our way to the volcano. If you look closely above you can see the windmill farm on top of the Pali (cliffs). The combination of blue sea, black lava rock, and white surf makes for a breathtaking vista. I was experiencing total natural high moods almost the entire two weeks we were there.

We came to Punalu'u Beach hoping to see some Honu (green sea turtles).

We didn't see any Honu and Tom remarked that it was the first time in many trips to this spot that the turtles didn't make an appearance. It was only slightly disappointing as we did spot turtles later on at other places. In fact, I could write a whole blog post about all the amazing wildlife we saw and I will.

Kimmel at Punalu'u happy to be on vacation:

The Halema'uma'u crater gas plume at the top of Kilauea. It is this crater that emits the gasses that are carried by the trade winds to other parts of the big island and cause the Vog (volcanic fog)that blots a clear view of the horizon a lot of the time. It is really very sad and we all want Madame Pele to make the Vog go away.

The four of us at the visitors center with Halema'uma'u in the background. (Mary, Rosemary, Tom, Kim)

Here are Tom and Rosemary with a painting of Madame Pele or Pelehonuamea. Notice how her hair is flowing black lava. She is my new mythological heroine. I am totally fascinated by this. Check out the wiki entry for Madame Pele if you are interested to learn more.

And another painting that depicts the legend of Pele. Although I've now been to Hawaii three times, I'd never travelled to the Big Island until now. I always return eager to learn all I can about these beautiful Hawaiian islands and Polynesia.

And of course, me being me, and R being R, we had to go to the quilt shop in the town of Volcano, HI! Did I buy anything there? Duh. The Monstera Deliciosa (or split leaf philodendron that grows rampantly on the islands - some say that it's "houseplants gone wild" all over HI:-) pattern caught my eye.

What a superfantastic time we had that day!

College Kids

2009-06-03T20:31:00.005-05:00

Chelsie and Casey saying goodbye again after just saying hello today after saying goodbye last week when they went to Boston to have a mini reunion with kids from their study abroad program(s). They stayed at a posh beach cottage in Plymouth Massachusetts that is the home of parents of one of the friends. They absolutely loved the life there. Tonight they're driving back to Austin for summer school at U Texas. They just come and go we don't get to see too much of them. They're really good young 'uns and it sure does seem like they have a future together. I'm a little sad missing them again *sniff*sniff* Everything looks pretty green after the rain we had earlier today.

The Perfect Home

2009-05-26T20:33:00.002-05:00

I found this homework paper that I'd stuck in an old journal of mine. Matt wrote this about four years ago when he was in the sixth grade. It's hard to describe my feelings as I read over it today. It's a little nugget that I'll keep forever in the archives of Mom. Mostly I was just in awe of the inner workings of his young mind and his wry insight, humor, writing skill.

It's entitled The Perfect Home by the Walmart CEO :

My perfect home well It's the biggest most costly thing around, compete with two grown kids with a step mom younger than them. Gated community no blacks, Hispanics, or asians. And of course No one who works in Walmart. Well I guess Hispanics can work in my yard As long as they get any Ideas about my Cadilac escalade or lambergini diablo. My neibors are Well-to-do business runners Who I'll sell out and betray as quickly as they beat me at golf.

And complet security system to ward off any journalists or Punks with mohawks who have been reading to much of the Anarchist's Cookbook. And don't Yell at me for All the tax cuts Im recieving. Im miserable, I get no pleasue out of my life, I deserve Those tax cuts. My house has the biggest Boat ever created for a lake smaller than Crawford, tx. I make enough for every person in the world to have a spacious apartment but I have to maintain my Multibillion dollar home. Thats the goal in life right Consume, Consume, burn a book or two, then Consume some more. Well I guess I win then.

(sorry if this paper was too radical).

How he ever knew about the Anarchist's Cookbook I'll never know. He probably found it on the internet:-) And that disclaimer at the end about being too radical is a hoot! Although it bugs me that he was already feeling it necessary to edit himself or that he thought he might get in trouble for expressing this point of view. The teacher made a comment in red ink at the bottom: "Now go another direction - Draft 2 and write about another perfect home from another pt of view--" Sheesh, it really pisses me off that she was so dismissive of the genius she was teaching. Or at least, that's how I interpret her silly advice. *bristling mother bear* Seems to me like he nailed it the first time.

Hope you enjoy this bit. I just had to commit it to blogland.

Da Boys. Fast Forward.

2009-05-21T16:52:00.005-05:00

From my backyard to your computer screen......Da Boys as they appear today. We have had the nicest weather all week and I'm hoping it holds up through out the Memorial Day weekend. I plan to plant geraniums and periwinkles all around, that's how my garden grows. And not feel too neglected about the husband being off again at yet another bridge tournament:-(

Da Boys

2009-05-20T11:18:00.003-05:00

This is an oldie but goodie photo of Casey and Matt from about 15 years ago on the back porch. Dave really likes this pic so he scanned a print and sent it to me. It's been nice having all four of us sleeping together under the same roof this week with Casey being home after just finishing the spring semester. He's got 3 years of college behind him now and allow me to brag just a little and mention that the kid still has a 4.0 GPA. Amazing, and for classes like differential equations, econometrics, advanced calculus, linear algebra, etc. stuff that's all greek to me. And Matty is doing pretty darn good, too. He went for his first job and got hired to be a lifeguard for the City of Euless this summer. It was more than just filling out an application and getting interviewed. He had to take 40 hours of Red Cross water safety and lifeguard instructions, pass physical tests in the pool, and submit to drug testing. (I didn't used to like the concept of employment drug testing, but now that I'm still raising teenagers, I approve.)

Okay, gimme a break. So what if I'm bursting with pride? You've got to count your blessings where you can.

More Arnold Arboretum - Lilacs and Bonsai

2009-05-12T12:11:00.003-05:00

Mother's Day 5/10/09 was Lilac Sunday at the arboretum and it was truly awesome. There were dozens of mature lilac trees on Lilac Hill. Needless to say, the fragrance in the air was magical. I so miss lilacs in Texas during the spring, as they just don't thrive here at all. This is the beautiful and less abundant white lilac.

This one looks variegated but it's really just the newer blossoms emerging that are lighter.

People were posing their kids by the lilacs and taking photos like we do here with the bluebonnets.

Darker purple delicate blossoms.

The Bonsai garden was enclosed in a circular wooden fenced in gazebo type structure. I find Bonsai so fascinating. When I'm born again in the next life (not:-) I hope to come back as a master bonsai grower.

Most of these plants date back to the mid 1800's. There was one Hinoki cypress (not pictured) that went back to 1787.

Zoom in for a close view.

An unusual maple tree. The leaves aren't your typical Canadian flag shaped maple.

Miniature golden larch - fantastic!

Now for some comic relief from my amateur botanical dissertation. I spotted these guys at the rest area in Arkansas. Yep, that's me Big M Running With the Big Dogs.

Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain

2009-05-11T23:01:00.007-05:00

My oldest sibling Peter and his wife Kathleen posing in a dogwood tree. I can't describe in words the glory of the flowering trees and shrubs all over the park.

To wit, a beautiful pink pine tree sprout:

The skyline of Boston from the top of Peters Hill, a drumlin glacial formation in the middle of the arboretum

Who knew that I'd have to go to Boston to see a Texas Walnut tree? I can't remember ever seeing one here.

Kathy and Peter checking out a pine tree next to a weeping larch. They are doing some landscaping and studying trees. Peter says that Samuel Beckett's favorite tree was the larch pine. It has wonderfully soft needles.

The azaleas were brilliant everywhere I looked. This is one very good example.

We ran into a nice arboretum guide with a grey ponytail and Boston accent who told us to go check out the Dove Tree. It's very rare, from China. He sent us off on the trail and said to look for the blossoms that look like kleenex.

I put this in for Rosemary. She's trying to educate me about Reading the Rocks and this rock wall around an amphitheatre area was very interesting

I can't remember what this is but it looked like arthritis to me.

Me and Bro about to climb the Peters Hill. When we ascended to the top we relished in the fantastic view below of Boston skyline.

The Merry Merry Month of May

2009-05-03T08:11:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was the first Saturday workshop that I've been going to for a few months. Here's Carol with another of her small reproduction quilts. Her work is so good and she always has good tips for precision sewing and finely detailed quiltmaking. I love the zig zag borders and the browns, tans, and madder colored fabrics are starting to grow on me.

Julie and Carol holding a bargain flea market find. Julie paid $35! No one in the group was familiar with this particular block. The hand quilting was exquisite.

On our way out to Denton for the annual Kentucky Derby party at Jack and Sandy's place, we saw this bradford pear tree just split in two by the storm. Crazy! It was only one block away from our house. You probably saw reports of the Dallas Cowboys' practice tent getting destroyed; it was part of the same storm system.

The hostess and host, Sandy and Jack. It was good fun catching up with some great friends whom we haven't seen in quite awhile. Turns out one of the women is into the Breast Cancer 3-Day and plans to walk DFW with her husband this year. And two other friends are out of work and getting nervous about finding jobs and what the future holds. Sandy's school district where she teaches high school math is shut down next week because of the swine flu. I'm grateful that our friends hold up this tradition each year at their place in Denton.

It kept on raining through the party. I love this shot of their horse and donkey taking shelter on the back porch. They prefer that to the official shed. You can see the lake developing on the back forty. It was a little hairy driving home and continued raining through out the night. Rosey woke me up at 3:00 am shaking and crying about the thunder and lightening. Poor girl.

Thea and I are departing Tuesday Cinco de Mayo on our road trip -- 1800 miles to Boston MA -- to help move the dog, cat, and things Thea needs for their time in Boston. I've got some mixed feelings about the trip, mostly about the gruel and grind of driving that many miles. But we're going to drop in on Gary and Laurie in Poughkeepsie and I'll also get to spend some time with my Bro in Boston. I fly home on Mother's day hopefully with some good stories to talk about. Over and out.

I Got Punked

2009-04-24T19:03:00.005-05:00

This was pretty funny. About an hour ago the phone rang and this ensued:

Me: Hello
Caller: Yes, I'm calling to get your support to secede from the United States *deep female voice*
Me: Are you serious? *excitedly, WTF?*
Caller: Yes I'm very serious
Me: Who are you and where are you calling from?
Caller: I'm calling from an island in the south Pacific
Me: Would that be Hawaii?
Caller: Yes, it is.
Me: You little sneak:-)

And then we both just cracked up because I realized it was my sister Katie, ever the punkster, and she realized that she had got me a good one. And then we had a great catch-up conversation and bashed Governor Good Hair for awhile and then closed on a very excited note because Kim, Matt, and I are going on vacation to Hawaii in June and will spend time at their place on the island of Kauai. Can't wait!

Left to right: Tom, Gillian (whose 19th bd is today!), Katie, Absent:Erin the older daughter

Secede, my ass. Hahahaha.

ALotToBlogAbout

2009-04-21T18:07:00.004-05:00

Hooray, it's wildflower time in Tejas! I was in a funky neighborhood near my church and spotted this ramshackle house with bluebonnets planted in the yard. I love the yellow paint job.

Last week a workshop with the oh so wonderful Marsha McCloskey. It was an honor to be worshipping at her feet as she is so talented and an excellent teacher. She presented a lot of information from the book that she co-wrote in 1992 with Judy Martin entitled Pieced Borders. This book has been a great reference for me on several quilts I've made. Some of her ideas were second nature for me, but I learned a lot about drafting quilt blocks to achieve the size you want to make for your own quilt. I'm not very good at math. Usually, I just learn what I need to know about the task at hand. How I ever produced a math wizard in Casey, I'll probably never understand; maybe it skipped a generation just like quilting often does.

Today we drove out to the Fort Worth Prairie Park. This is a treasure of a place -- 1,000 acres of natural grassland prairie that people are working hard to save and not get sold off to land developers. There is so little unplowed land in the world and if it all disappears, our children and grandchildren will never know about ancient ecosystems, flower and animal species, or the unspoiled beauty of the earth as it existed 100 years ago.

Some purple Indian paintbrush.

There were some cattle and horses grazing on the land. We were told that buffalo lived there too, but we didn't see any. This horse hung out by my car the whole time we were tramping around on the prairie and when I returned to the car, she sniffed me and let me pet her. It was pretty cool, her face reminds me of Rosey.

And here's another great memory of this month in time. I teach Sunday School classes to UU kids, grades 1-2 who are about 7 or 8 years old. We organized a stamp-painting project to make a new wallpaper border to decorate around the classroom. First the kids learned how to make stamps carving potatoes, and then later we had our stamping paint day. This is what we produced. So cool. I could ramble on about each and every one of these children. There's nothing quite like hearing the thoughts and opinions of young children. I consider it to be a blessing in my life.

Scenes from Austin

2009-04-06T06:44:00.006-05:00

The distinguished scholar posing in his newly adorned regalia:

There is lots of mural artwork on Austin buildings all over the city. This one is inspiring me to go ahead and make the house quilt I've had on the drawing board. It's on the Hyde Park Bar and Grill where we dined for lunch.

We had a fun day trip to Austin last Saturday where Casey was honored for academic achievement at UT. Matt didn't go with us since he was, apparently, having a great time at the youth Rally at First Jefferson Church. Instead we were joined by our good friend and designated Uncle to the boys, Dave Jack who has just relocated to DFW from Denver after getting laid off work. Dave Jack has celebrated a lot of milestones with us over the years. We reminisced about how he drove his car backwards in the hospital parking lot the night Casey was born. And now the boy is 21 with just another year to go for his college degree. How time flies.

A fountain on campus near the LBJ Library and the football stadium. It was a warm, windy day. You can see the water overflowing the sides.

There were also visits to Waterloo Records, remember Austin is the live music capital of the world, where I picked up the Truth according to Ruthie Foster, Best of Townes Van Zandt, and Keep Your Soul; and then a stop at Amy's Ice Cream for some delicious butter pecan. Mmmmmmmm, good. A fun day was had by all.

Penny Pockets with Los Cascarones

2009-04-03T09:38:00.002-05:00

I just finished the penny pockets and filled them with Laurie's handcrafted Cascarones- confetti-filled Easter eggs. Laurie says she saves her eggshells all year round and then makes up dozens and dozens for Easter. You can find a tutorial for making the penny pockets on the Moda website here. Thanks to Susan at Blackberry Creek Home Arts for the tip about these cute little pouches.

Got My Work Cut Out For Me

2009-04-02T09:27:00.001-05:00

I just spent a few minutes taking stock of the quilt projects in various stages of completion. This is by no means everything, just some things that made it to the top of the heap.

The class project for the first Saturday class at Cabbage Rose is a 10" wreath block using machine applique techniques, definitely not my strong suit and I could argue that I'm still trying to figure out what exactly is my strong suit. This is the medallion part of what will eventually become a 36" wall quilt, if I decide to finish it. Oh, and I just wanted to photograph the photographs of the boys when they were cute little guys in front of the spiky point quilt that used sunflower fabric. Remember when sunflower fabric was all the rage about ten years ago?

I promised at our church service auction to turn these into a t-shirt quilt. Every year I say this is the last year I am going to make t-shirt quilts. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for color and fabrics for a pig roast themed quilt. Help!

It may not be apparent, but this is a big project -- 35 scrappy star blocks for a queen size bed quilt for my big sis. I need to piece the quilt top now that it's taken years to finish the 35 blocks. The pattern is the same, but the fabrics are scrappy so I wouldn't go into a catatonic state repeating myself (did I say?) 35 times. This will be the gift for the big sis's 60th birthday July 2.

The baby boy baby quilt for the soon-to-arrive stepgrandson. I picked up these Amy Butler charm squares at Dallas Quilt Celebration and added some Kaffe Fassett fabrics with a couple rows of pinwheels. Cuteness!

A finished project below! I got distracted reading somebody's blog the other day, saw a tutorial, and decided to make a bath mat for Matt using a recycled bath towel. I told him the feet were there so he would know what to do with this object

Convo Day 3 - Saturday

2009-03-26T10:10:00.001-05:00

Was almost four weeks ago, where does the time go? My tendency at conferences like this is to not miss anything if I can help it. We began again with a 30 minute, inspirational morning worship and being day three our theme was Fire.

It turned out that this seemed to be everyone's favorite quilt of the four. Lots of raffle tickets were sold for this one and Rita, who coincidentally was the head honcho raffle ticket salesperson, won this quilt. Hmmm. She swears the fix wasn't in:-)

The morning's theme was about UU's making international connections by partnering with congregations and organizations in other countries to build and strengthen relationships, to create model programs of community action and to share expertise through problem solving. There was a big emphasis at this convocation about the power of Microfinance and Microlending and how small loans can mean a world of difference to people who are working hard to support their families and provide economic stability in their communities.

Dr. Kalpanna Kannabiran, a sociologist and legal scholar from India, spoke to us at length about the struggle for women's rights in her country and how "bridges are being built fearlessly and with faith" across seemingly insurmountable problems including displacement of lower caste peoples, forest rights being stripped away from the locals, bonded and child labor, punitive agricultural policies, lack of informed consent in clinical drug trials using contraceptives, "reproductive tourism" (a new concept for me about foreigners from the U.S. and Europe coming to India seeking surrogate mothers to bear their children), on-going chronic physical and mental disorders from the toxic Bhopal Union Carbide gas disaster in 1984, the effects of war and conflict, the list seems to go on forever.

During a tasty lunch in the large ballroom Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt of the Fourth Universalist Society in NYC spoke to us about her experiences growing up in domestic violence and the lessons that kind of trauma can teach us. She was so warm and engaging and I've since discovered her blog at: http://revrose.com/

The afternoon was full again with the Global Sisters group and a workshop with an international panel (Argentina, Phillipines, Netherlands, England, and some of the best the U.S. has to offer-Margot Adler, Rev. Shirley Ranck, Dr. Sharon Welch-) about spreading our theological wings. I was feeling pretty humbled about now being in the presence of so much womanly wisdom and genius!

If you're sticking with this, I could go on about the Saturday night banquet and program but I think I'll put it all into another post. It was billed in the program as "An Evening to Remember." Stay tuned for more.

Weather Report

2009-03-26T08:23:00.003-05:00

Just skip this read if you don't like talking about the weather. But the clouds that rolled through yesterday about 1:00 pm with the big rainstorm were so ominous that I had to grab my camera. It was also chilly outside and felt like winter was returning. It turned out to be a good storm with lots of soaking rain but no damaging winds or hail. I'm itching, literally, to get out in the yard and do some weeding and planting but every time I do, seasonal allergies (rhinitis) just about incapacitate me. Claritin helps somewhat but none of Dr. Weil's alternative remedies helped much in the past although I think I'm going to track down some of the Chinese herb he mentions in this article and give it a try. I've enjoyed reading everyone's blogs about their gardens and I'm also excited that I've just enrolled in a north Texas CSA (community supported agriculture)and will receive fresh, local, organically grown fruits and veggies from Texas Ranch Dreams starting soon. I hope everyone is enjoying spring wherever you are. Claim the day and make it your own for all the potential it holds.

King Tut

2009-03-18T13:40:00.001-05:00

It's spring break week and Casey came home from Austin for a few days. We got up early Monday and went to the Dallas Museum of Art for the King Tut exhibit. It was fascinating but I do have to admit I can't get the Steve Martin song and dance routine out of my head. It was a gorgeous day and great for taking some pics around the museum area. Notice the line of magnolia trees across the street on the left.

The fruit of my loins:-) Casey keeps ignoring me when I tell him I'm ready for him to have hair again. There's still some morning fog not burned off the top of the skyscrapers.

Because it was Monday, we couldn't tour the permanent collection but received passes to go back another time. I definitely want to see the Eliasson exhibit.

Catedral Santuario de Guadalupe:

Magnolia trees next to the Nasher sculpture museum:

There's a You Tube video of Steve Martin doing his thing from 1979. Unfortunately, it won't let me embed it here, but you can catch it on You Tube. Watch carefully, Henry Winkler also appears in this video. Born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia............

Convo Day 2 - Friday

2009-03-18T11:49:00.001-05:00

It's a good thing that the planners put together a great Program Book because the schedule was so full and fulfilling that, despite being there and taking notes, I have to check the program to remember all the excellent speakers, panels, workshops, meals and activities. We began with a short morning worship service and it gave me a chance to enjoy the four background quilts up close on the main stage. These four quilts were made by the fiber artist Rev. Laurie Bushbaum, who as an ordained UU minister, describes herself as a "Woman of Cloth." I first got to know Laurie 13 years ago when she circulated an exhibition of her work on tour to different UU churches across the country and I arranged for First Jefferson to be the first stop on the tour. We loved her work so much that we purchased one of her quilts and also two stolls that we sometimes drape over the podiums in our sanctuary.

Here is Earth:

Air:

Fire:

Water:

I was very impressed by the theme speaker, Rebecca Adamson the founder and CEO of First Peoples Worldwide. Rebecca is Native American and in her talk she described how native societies organized themselves matrilineally and systems were based on sharing and cooperation She gave us new ideas to think about and raised awareness about the status of indigenous peoples and lands around the globe, particularly how the extraction industries (oil and gas) continue to abuse and usurp lands on a massive scale. But a bigger light bulb moment came when she described how conservation organizations are actually worse than the extraction industries when it comes to misappropriation of native lands. In fact, when national parks are being created by conservation organizations like World Wildlife Foundation, indigenous peoples are being evicted from those lands rather than being allowed to stay as the rightful Keepers of the Earth that they have been for many generations. Rebecca also talked about the need for the news media to make space in the news for real stories, about people being forced off their ancestral lands, about tribal people becoming extinct. The ultimate goal is balance and sustainability and that we take and use only what we need to survive. It was interesting to note that Rebecca's mother introduced her to UUism as a child growing up in Ohio.

During lunch we heard from Frances Moore Lappé, author of many books including "Diet For A Small Planet" who spoke about empowering grass roots democracy in action. She reminded us that it's too late to sit around and lament how bad things are - we only have time to move forward and work hard to save the planet. I enjoyed an afternoon workshop on Globalized Theological Conversations that included a panel of women ministers from the U.S., Great Britain, Romania, and the Phillipines.

Several of us went out to dinner in downtown Houston and it was a good chance to catch up with Susan D. who moved away to Corpus Christi last year. We then returned to the hotel for the evening plenary session that included a wonderful theme speech by Rev. Dr. Rebecca Parker, our own UU "prophet" followed by a Circle of Singing led by Carolyn McDade. Here is a photo of Carolyn at her piano projected on one of the big screens during the singing. Carolyn was our theme speaker at last years' women's conference in Little Rock. Her beautiful music does so much to inspire.

There was so much else during the day - interactions with friends, making small weavings on the cardboard looms, more work in our small Global Sisters groups, an international panel I didn't mention earlier about understanding women's rights worldwide that included participants from Darfur and northern India. It was a very remarkable day.

Glass Satellite Dishes

2009-03-13T08:10:00.003-05:00

This is the work of the artist David Keens, an art professor at UT-Arlington. The location is the faculty club at UTA where a group of us had lunch after enjoying a Planetarium show on campus. The show included a description of the night sky above Arlington and unfortunately because of the cloudy skies and (much needed) rain ever since Tuesday I haven't had a chance to go out and study the night sky. Click here for more info about the planetarium. It was also National Turban Day on campus. Who Knew? It all makes me want to go back to college again all for the fun of learning.

Jo Morton's Little Women's Club

2009-03-07T15:21:00.007-06:00

Is the name of one of my small quilting groups. I just joined last fall and we meet on the first Saturday at Cabbage Rose quilt shop in Fort Worth. The group is led by Carol Staehle who is one of the original "19th Century Patchwork Divas" from Arlington TX. This group works with patterns designed by the quilter Jo Morton and uses primarily reproduction fabrics. Here is Carol teaching the class today shown with the sample small quilt we're all doing this go round.

Carol goes out of her way to make the class interesting and always offers something extra - a small reproduction quilt with a pattern and photo, door prizes -- today I won a precision trimming ruler! And mostly her expertise and knowledge. She's quite prolific and had these two fabulous quilt tops to show today:

One of the women -- and I'm sorry I can't remember her name to give attribution -- showed these charming small quilts - a tumbling block and a postage stamp quilt. Don't the colors and fabrics just sing?

And here's Peggy, another wonderfully prolific and talented quilter, with her version of the class project.

I get so inspired being around quilters and enjoy meeting and sharing our work.

Kimmel and Matt go to Quilters' Stash

2009-03-06T14:40:00.003-06:00

And here's what I got - fabric fat quarters and the nouveau 17" square rotating self-healing rotary mat. Like a Lazy Susan and please I don't mean to offend any of my friends named Susan! Also check out the Edible Arrangement - dark choco coated apples and strawberries from the delivery boy in Grapevine. From Casey and Chelsie, the best kids ever! Thanks to my wonderful family xoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Convo Day 1 - Thursday

2009-03-06T12:04:00.002-06:00

With much anticipation we set out for Houston. It was prearranged for me to drive the Prius with passengers Ashley and Sofia. I was stressed about fitting all our stuff into the car, after all I'm used to driving a minivan on road trips, however it all worked out with room to spare. One of my objectives was to get Rosemary's Ocean Songs quilt to the convo safe and sound. Here are my charming young passengers. We stopped for lunch in Madisonville TX at a TexMex place on the town square, happy to be

together and headed for the conference.

We travelled on and arrived at the Hilton of the Americas in Houston. It's a luxury hotel and as soon as we checked in we saw friends from around our SWUUW district including the inimitable Laura, our convocation administrator in charge of everything. I checked around and hooked up with Julie F who showed me the perfect quilt stand that had been constructed for the Ocean Songs quilt. Julie F. had also organized a weaving project with dozens of cardboard looms and yarns, strings, fabric strips, ready for all to weave into the convocation threads. I spent the rest of the afternoon in the space outside the main ballroom that was set up for people to meet, have coffee, sit and stitch, greet, people watch, rest. You could look out the windows and see the Houston skyline, the ballpark, the convention center. There were Texas style vittles to eat with a wonderful mariachi band. In true Texas fashion All Y'all were welcomed!

It came time for the opening ceremony. I gathered with friends from First Jeff and Susan and Jessica from Corpus Christi. It was very exciting. We were drawn into the grand ballroom by the sounds of drumming. I immediately noticed Margot Adler (of NPR and wiccan priestess renown) leading the women drummers in front of a wonderful stage that included a large ICUUW banner and a quilted back drop. The four quilts were Earth, Air, Fire, Water, corresponding with the themes for each of the 4 days of the convocation. A beautiful bronze chalice was on the edge of the stage. There were musical instruments and all the elements necessary for a grand gathering. Margot led us in chanting the Earth, the Air, the Fire, the Water, Return, Return, Return, Return and we were convened.

We heard from some of our SWUUW sisters who welcomed us, including Sylvia pictured here at the podium in front of the Water quilt. Gini Courter, moderator of the UUA, explained how we'd meet in small groups to select issues and actions that we'd like to work on, using our democratic process with Global Sisters Groups We met Barbara Beach, our program director who did a monumental job throughout the convo, guiding and leading us from one activity to the next. We were also welcomed by the honorary chair of the convo, Maria Sinkford . We heard from our music leader Sara Dan Jones and were introduced the the fabulous singer-songwriter duo Emma's Revolution. As if all this wasn't enough, we then heard from theme speakers Jennifer Baumgardner and Amy Richards. Margot Adler, using her NPR Justice Talking interview skills, moderated the conversation with Jennifer and Amy, "What Does it Mean to be a Woman in the 21st Century?" We were discussing second and third wave feminism, it was all very compelling. After the ceremonies were over, Ashley worked me me into the night setting up Rosemary's wonderful quilt "Ocean Songs - the Goddess, the Fish, the Mermaids." It was in a prominent location and received a lot of admiration and attention. It was perfect that Rosemary dedicated it to Laurel Burch and Carolyn McDade and so nice to have a piece of the Big Island present, although we would have loved it even more if Rosemary would have been with us, too. Finally, after midnight, we crashed into our luxury hotel beds, tired but eagerly anticipating Day 2 of the Convocation.

Another Birthday!

2009-03-05T11:13:00.001-06:00

My fabulous friends, the First Jefferson qUUilters and especially Thea, surprised me with a gingerbread cake yesterday at our regular Wednesday meeting. That really made my day and put me in a good mood for the actual 57th birthday today. So far it's been a great day. Rosey and I went for a long walk and when we returned Mom phoned from her home in Columbus and sang happy birthday to me long distance.

Then I cooked up a Cheesy Jalapeño Quiche from the Crème de Colorado cookbook and I'm waiting for Kim to come home for lunch and share with me. Are you getting hungry reading this post?

I've received cards, a good one from Peggy with the character Maxine - " They say memory is the first thing to go. Happy Birthday, whoever you are!" And my Facebook friends are sending messages on my wall - a new phenomenon for me this year. On a rather bittersweet note, I talked with my lifelong friend Sue in Ohio. Today is the first year anniversary of her husband Jim's death from a sudden massive heart attack at age 57. After lunch I'm heading out to shop a little, go to the bookstore, and enjoy the warm weather. Weatherbug says it's going to reach 85°F today. I can remember past birthdays here when we've had snow. I'm getting the urge to get out and start in on some serious yard and garden work. You never know what you'll get in Texas this time of the year. And later, Matt, Kim and I are going out for dinner and a movie and enjoy just being together.

Stay tuned for more from Queen Magnolia Blossom. I've got a lot to say, with photos, about the International UU Women's Convocation in Houston last weekend. It was a great experience and I'm still out-processing.

The Big One

2009-02-11T23:47:00.002-06:00

No, it's not a heart attack or an earthquake in California. It's what we've been calling this monster batik quilt that's an ongoing group project for at least the last two years. Believe it or not, we are actually HAND quilting this! Kim helped me tack it up to the wall and Rosey immediately took her righteous place on it. Zoom in on Rosey and check out her satanic eyes. It looks like red eye, but instead the eyes are yellow and the red eye auto fix feature in windows photo gallery doesn't do anything. At any rate, isn't this quilt the nuts?

Miscellaneous February Stuff

2009-02-03T18:04:00.004-06:00

I was watering the indoor garden the other day and thought it all looked nice with part of the fabric stash in the background. You can't see it, but my sewing machine is on the left and I sit there a lot during the day and listen to tv and radio. I'm keeping an open mind during the first 100 days of the Obama presidency. There's a lot I like, especially his bold move going on Arab tv, closing Gitmo, signing fair pay for women legislation, being FOR the Steelers in the Super Bowl. And I'm apprehensive about the tax cheats, Geithner got approved at Treasury and Daschle backed out today as nominee for Secy HHS. Okay, maybe they're not cheaters but I earned a modest amount of money in both '07 and '08 as an independent contractor and I fully understand that no withholding happened and that I'm responsible to claim my income that was reported on 1099's. Also, I use turbo tax that does a pretty darn good job of math and tax code for how much taxes I owe. I don't want to sound like Fox News and while I don't have an Ivy league degree, maybe Geithner should consider me for a job on his staff because I Get It. It ticks me off when these guys get in front of a microphone and say they're sorry, embarrassed, it shouldn't have happened, it won't happen again, etc. ad infinitum. Will all the reporters we have on about 20 different channels, please brush up their investigative reporting skills, and keep us posted on some semblance of the truth? Please? I miss Molly Ivins so much. The 2nd anniversary of her death from inflammatory breast cancer was Jan. 30.

I ranted in my last post about the water heater disaster but a good outcome was cleaning up the garage and later that night Matt was out there playing some great guitar. Proud Mary (hehe, the mom) says the boy's got talent. He was jamming on his electric guitar and Kimmel commented he sounded just like Robin Tower and indeed he did! It's pure joy to listen to this kid roam the house and play his 3 guitars.
And here's a kitchen still-life featuring the cast iron cornbread pan I picked up for a mere $3 at the church rummage sale this weekend. Cornbread Hell, are you listening? I would love to gift you with this at some point. Do you have one? I already cooked up a batch of Jiffy Mix and the pan is well-seasoned and the little cornbread sticks are , well, just groovy and yummy when eaten hot outa the oven.

What A Day

2009-01-30T21:17:00.003-06:00

Got up at 5:00 a.m. Yes it was early, but not too early for me. I'm a morning kinda gal, remember? Put some jeans and a sweatshirt on top of my undies, thick socks and the LL Bean moccasins and headed to the kitchen next to the laundry room where the hot water heater lives. Right away I knew something was amiss and when I opened the door and saw the water on the floor I thought oh fuck. Coffee ain't happening now. I went into action and tried to summon up everything I knew yeah right about freaking hot water heaters. It wasn't a gushing river, yet but damn what a way to start the day. I started baling water and turning off the valves and mopping up and thinking goddamn where is Kimmel?

So I notified him that it was 5:30 and we had a house emergency and please get up and dressed and help me out. He did so right away and then we proceeded to solve this problem in our typical dysfunctional tell each other what to do with some yelling and harsh words thrown into the mix. Sigh. (Later we exchanged apologies for yelling.)

I picked the fattest phone book from a big stack, paged thru to Plumbers, and called an emergnecy 24/7 number. No answer. Called another and GOD BLESS LAURA, she answered the phone and told me she'd get a plumber dispatched.

Meanwhile, oh you don't want to know. The good news is our house didn't sustain any damage and we stimulated the economy by purchasing a new hot water heater, with a bench to elevate it up off the ground, and a drain pipe drilled through the bricks out to the yard. It cost a butt load of money. Otis and David, my plumbers, plus a third guy, got off on all my liberal bumperstickers that I'd stuck on the old hot water heater over the years. I told them I'd probably put them back on my car now that the Dems are back in power. And a city inspector needs to come back next week to look at the installation job, to certify it meets the city code. Shit, it's enough to turn me into a Republican.

Kim went to work, Matt went to school. I stayed home and supervised the installation. I cancelled my lunch at Papaya Garden with Ashley. I had that strange feeling that I've had in the past that I'm getting over charged for a major appliance. And then I made peace with the situation and said thanks Goddess we have money to pay and I'll get a hot shower soon!

So on a quilty note, here's what I did after all was said and done. Look at these blocks for what I call Sunny's Quilt.

Fraternal Twins

2009-01-29T19:33:00.003-06:00

The First Jefferson qUUilters made these friendship quilts for two dearly departed members last year and collected lots of signatures and messages on the quilt tops from church people and friends. Susan who moved to Corpus Christi with her hubby Rev. Phil Douglas, a newly minted UU minister who was called to serve a congregation, selected batik fabrics for her quilt shown on the left. And Pat selected the fabrics for the other twin on the right, also batiks. Pat and Frank retired to a rustic cabin in the woods of Buffalo Creek Colorado and took up full time residence at the place that's been in Frank's family for a long time. They planned and executed the remodeling of the home in advance to be ready for their retirement and Pat had paint chips and photos of the walls as she selected her fabrics. It was an excellent group effort and we all made the friendship star blocks, even Rosemary mailed in a couple of blocks from Hawaii, The star centers are scrappy from our fabric stashes. I machine quilted wavy grid lines on both quilts and added pieced bindings to finish them off. Here's what the backs look like:

Thea made the pieced back on Susan's and Pat's quilt back is a Kaffe Fassett fabric whole cloth. I shot these photos last Friday and it was a hot winter Texas day at 77 degrees F. What a difference a week makes, temps dipped to 20 F and we had one of the worst ice storms in years 4 days later! We survived.

Meet Me In Houston

2009-01-23T00:58:00.003-06:00

As a quilter I'm very excited to be going to the UU Women's conference in late February. It's going to be at the same hotel, the Hilton of the Americas, where the International Quilt Festival takes place each year next door to the George Brown convention center. Let me tell you, this is going to be one helluva @#$%@#$% great gathering of fabulous women from all over the world. The schedule of events is so exciting I can hardly contain myself. Not only will I be there (hehe) but so will Margot Adler. Rebecca Parker, Rebecca Adamson, Carolyn McDade, Frances Moore Lappe, Laurel Hallman, Gini Courter, to name a few, plus many of my less well-known sisters from all over Texas and the Southwest UU Women's Conference. This conference is the dream come true of the one and only Laura Nagel, a real visionary planner and tireless worker who knows how to bring people together. You can check out the Convocation here.

Oh, and I'm still doing the happy dance after inauguration day. Hail to the Chief. Welcome President Obama!

4 Days Left

2009-01-16T23:51:00.002-06:00

Ever since December 2007 I've had the official Out of Office Countdown calendar prominently posted by my desk. Each month there was a new calendar boy photo of Bush with one of his more outrageous Bushisms of which a favorite is "I am the master of low expectations." Well, lo and beholden my sister Katie sent me a belated Christmas present recently all wrapped up in Mele Kalikimaka paper. It is pictured above, the new children's book entitled Goodnight Bush, a parody of Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. I wonder if it's still a classic bedtime story for parents everywhere? I read it to my kids all the time and can vouch for the way it could put them to sleep if read with all the right pauses and inflections. I don't know whether to laugh or cry about the new version. It's very funny but also such a bitter reminder of how completely Bush fucked up everything he touched.

I hear he's at Camp David this weekend to enjoy some final perks of the office and then next week he'll take up residence in Dallas less than 20 miles away. I watched a number of his exit interviews with total disgust but not surprised that he is delusional and still making excuses for the total disaster that was his presidency. So, to the Supremes I say shame on you for appointing him in 2000 and to the electorate who voted for him, shame on you, too. It's not like no one warned you.

Pay It Forward

2009-01-16T23:20:00.003-06:00

I signed up for Pay It Forward at Based On a True Story via Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom.

Here are the rules:

1. If you want to play be one of the first three people to comment on this post.
2. I will send you a small gift. I’m not sure what it will be yet. It is a surprise!
3. In turn you agree to post this on your blog and choose three new people to play.

I received my gift this week - a nice package of fat quarters. It made me take stock of all the fabric that I've been gifted with recently. I don't mean to exaggerate but it's a thrill to open mail and find fabric fall out of the envelope. If you get the urge, just comment and I'll send you a small gift.

Toile Means Cloth in French

2009-01-07T20:10:00.003-06:00

Casey arrived home safe and sound and happy on Monday after almost four months in Paris. We are still catching up and sharing stories and photos. He had the time of his life and was completely fascinated with history, art, travel to London, French Riviera, Normandy, Belgium, Amsterdam, Hungary, Berlin, Florence, Bologna, Naples, Roma, Barcelona, Dublin. His classes at the U of Paris Sorbonne were quite challenging and forced him to navigate his world in French language for several hours each day while at school and also in the city and when at home with his host family.

As we drove out of DFW airport he noticed banners for the King Tut exhibit in Dallas and commented that "could be interesting, haven't seen any mummies in awhile." Pictured are the fabrics he brought home for me. A couple of meters of toile and some charm patches of provencal fabrics. It's a treat to have something to add to my stash directly from a patchwork shop on the river Seine in Paris. But what do I do with Toile? It presents a new quilting adventure for me.

Out With the Old, In With the New

2009-01-01T06:57:00.003-06:00

I was fascinated with the new ball in Times Square last night. It spoke to the quilter in me and my love of designs using hexagons and equilateral triangles. If you're feeling geeky like me about this, you can read more about the new ball here. It's made out of Waterford crystal and will remain out on display year round in Times Square. I think I'll add a trip to NYC on my list of things to do in my travel future so I can see the new ball.

I came across a new meme about setting and completing realistic goals and have decided to give it a try. It's called the 101 Things To Do in 1001 Days project and I'll be spending the next week or so working on my lists. Check back later if you're curious about what I come up with. I have a tendency to overextend or say yes to too many requests, and this feels like a fun way to help keep that in check. Cheers to everyone and Happy New Year!

Prospero Año Y Felicidad

2008-12-29T17:15:00.003-06:00

Casey is in Barcelona with his beloved Chelsie for New Year's Day! How fantasticó is that? They have just finished a semester of "study" abroad at the U of Paris at the Sorbonne. I mention study in quotation marks because, ahem, how studious exactly are courses like wine tasting? But I will never dwell in that zone, he is having the fabulous experience of a lifetime, thank goodness we had the money to pay for it before the great depression, and next he returns to UT Austin to complete his degree and make something of himself:-) Here they are supporting the Tower of Pisa.

Merry Christmas, Y'All

2008-12-22T23:24:00.001-06:00

Our cyber card to y'all. Merry Christmas!

Quilters Are Creative!

2008-12-20T07:57:00.005-06:00

A one-of-a-kind special gift from Susan above. I'll be having sweet toast for breakfast for awhile. And it's posed in front of another drawstring bag. I'm on a roll stitching those up. And, in case you're like me and haven't gone all out on the house decorations this year, you can enjoy these table decorations from my guild meeting Christmas party yesterday. Every table was different. Give quilters a theme and they know what to do.

Advent

2008-12-15T19:43:00.003-06:00

Tis the season for advent, an observance that I've carried over through the years with my family during the month of December. We always had an advent wreath at my house and growing up Catholic we focused to the extreme on Christmas and the birth of Jesus. That included a lot about the nativity and virgin birth and the holiness of it all, but I knew when I was little that the cool bits were all about the stars and light and returning of light after the darkness that marked the winter solstice. I've always been a pagan at heart, I suppose. At any rate I love the tradition of a wreath to be mesmerized by the light of the candles, especially the solitary color for the 3rd week; and an advent calendar to count down the days til Christmas and all the presents. Yes! My advent calendar is a wall quilt with little windows that unfold and I've noticed that Matt still likes to open them up when he remembers. He's still childlike enough to play with the advent calendar quilt. Heartwarming:-)

And friends and family are reaching out more than usual with all kinds of news and concerns. Despite all the world problems, I feel a lot better this holiday season than I did a year ago when I was in a mild funk and had a hard time feeling much joy. So I will keep on feeling the love and appreciate the life I have and enjoy each passing day.

Christmas Presents

2008-12-13T14:42:00.003-06:00

I usually make a few Christmas presents and this drawstring bag is going in place of the quilt that isn't quite ready yet to present. It's a surprise so I can't say who's getting it. I'm also going to include a photo of the work in progress as proof that I'm really following through on a special quilt that I promised a very long time ago. I cringe when I think how long ago :-( The bag is made from 20 of the fabrics that are also in the quilt. I used fabric selvedges for the drawstring cording. Not sure if I'll do that again, but it does pull up the bag nicely. I used a very cool pattern with tutorial on Kristin's blog. Thank you Kristin for sharing this with the world! I love it. The top photo is the bag before I added the drawstring. You can see the triangular folded bottoms on both sides. And then the finished gift. The unnamed recipient does exquisite cross stitch work and she can use this to contain a project, but for now I'm going to add a fiesta ware serving piece for her collection because I can't just give it to her empty, now can I?

The Wind Cries Mary

2008-12-10T22:23:00.005-06:00

I don't know why I've been thinking about Jimi Hendrix so much lately. Maybe it's because Mitch Mitchell just died and reunited with Jimi and Noel Redding in the great big gig in the sky. Patti Smith recently did a (very good) cover of Are You Experienced on her album entitled Twelve. And I keep listening to Manic Depression and The Wind Cries Mary, one of my favorite Mary songs that I've collected over the years. And what's up with the big hair? These guys are giving Texas girls from 1965 a run for their money.

I Love My Church in Fort Worth

2008-12-07T18:09:00.004-06:00

Today our choir presented a wonderful concert that reminded me once again why I go to church. The choral music included a fine selection of carols plus the Sinfonia Sacra by the UU composer Daniel Pinkham sung in latin by this motley crew you see below. We were enthralled by our TCU student pianist playing Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss during the Offertory of all things I hope everyone contributed at least $100.

Then Kimmel and I went to a meeting for parents of the high school Our Whole Lives class due to start up in January. This will be the next phase of Matt's classroom education - at church no less - on human sexuality. I don't have any pics but we had a two hour meeting where the parents connected with each other and the volunteer teachers who will spend the next four months teaching our kids about all kinds of sexual topics - sexualization, intimacy, identity, health and reproduction. The teaching team includes a labor and delivery nurse at the public hospital in Fort Worth plus a high school biology teacher and a college psychology professor, all members of our church. And, this is the next phase of a curriculum that Matt already had in junior high that included 27 classes on the same topics. Needless to say, this is very comprehensive.

After the OWL parents meeting I checked out our Tree Trimming party where the kids were making ornaments and garland from recycled items. Look at these beautiful young people!

And leaving I couldn't help but take a photo of a very typical bumpersticker vehicle in our parking lot. You gotta love it.

Another Dose of Fall Color

2008-12-05T09:33:00.003-06:00

Took this shot from the post office looking across the street two days ago when it was still quite mild and warm outside. Our Trinity Trojans advanced to the region finals tomorrow versus Allen, another playoff game in TX stadium. But I'm a wimp and won't navigate the stadium traffic unless it gets up over sixty degrees. Call me a fair weather fan I don't mind.
UPDATE 12/07/08: Euless Trinity lost to Allen 21-34. I'm still crying in my coffee the morning after. After a perfect season as defending state champs and no. one ranking in several national high school polls. We're sad but as I told Matt, get over it you can't win 'em all. That's Life.

Brrrrrrrr

2008-12-05T08:48:00.005-06:00

It's Hacky Sack time! If you are in or near Fort Worth this weekend drop by the Alternative Holiday Bazaar at First Jefferson Church. You'll feel like you're shopping in a foreign country and find lots of Fair-trade items, unique, handmade, local and international gifts. All sales support human dignity and care for mother earth. I got these hacky sacks last year for my boys who love to play with them and drive me bonkers kicking them all over the floor:-)

We had our first deep freeze of the season and it's still only 32 defreese (intentionally kept typo-:) as I speak. Here are a few quilty things I'm working on:
Above you can see I've made progress on Ellen's quilt over the last 3 years -- fourteen blocks in all what an accomplishment. Only 21 more to go. Next to a half hearted attempt at paper piecing a small x-mas tree wall quilt. What should I decorate it with-needs a lot to make it into much of anything.

And above is Pat's friendship star quilt that I'm machine quilting on Elna. Pat, if you see this have hope! Do you like the Kaffetastic fabric I picked for the backing? Susan, yours is climbing up to the top of the UFO pile, don't despair.

Hurricane Ike Quilt V3

2008-12-01T22:56:00.002-06:00

Just a quickie to show you the Hurricane Ike quilt with pieced border. Let me tell you the pieced border just about drove me crazy and there are half a dozen flaws that I won't point out. Suffice it to say this quilt top is finished and ready to be quilted. Actually, I like it the more I look at it and all the fabric is from my stash but my stash doesn't look any more depleted than before I made this.

Black Friday Blogiversary

2008-11-28T06:42:00.004-06:00

It's still dark outside and I'm at my laptop assessing our Thanksgiving holiday yesterday. I love mornings - definitely the best time of day for me. It was the first year my family has been separated. Kimmel is still in Champaign with the Joneses and Casey is in France, midway through his semester of study abroad at the U of Paris at the Sorbonne. Casey left a voice mail, in French, wishing us Happy Thanksgiving.

Matt and I have been enjoying our time alone. This is Matt (with Jacob to his right and Jacob's Dad Eric with his back to the camera in the background) about to chow down on tofu nut loaf, a dish that caused the other kids to turn up their noses and make disparaging comments. Matt has been a strict vegetarian for over four years so our dinner table always includes a vegan option and we've developed some pretty decent recipes for Thanksgiving.

Highlights of the day included talking to Jude about her Australia trip, she literally got off the plane and came over to Jennifer's in time to eat; watching the Cowboys beat Seattle followed by a family friendly game of Trivial Pursuit. The winning question was "What is Sponge Bob Squarepants's house shaped like?" Aaargh. How trivial and meaningless is that?

Today I'm going to observe my first Black Friday Blogiversary by, what else, going shopping. I can't live without a functioning dishwasher any longer and have been waiting to find a bargain.

Happy Thanksgiving from Euless

2008-11-27T12:48:00.002-06:00

A Shumard Red Oak sapling from Arbor Daze a couple years ago. I watered and nursed it in a bright sunny spot in the front yard for the last two hot, dry summers. Matt cooperated and avoided mowing it down thanks to the two bricks protecting it. Hardy little plant. Now it stands about 15 inches tall and has pretty fall colors.

With any luck and care it will grow to look something like this in about 25 years:

We're about to leave for Jennifer's house for the big feast. I made heavenly chocolate pie, legendary crab rounds, and tofu nut loaf, and baked two loaves of store brand sourdough baguettes. More later after we return -- satisfied and grateful!

Random Sampling

2008-11-20T18:02:00.004-06:00

Look at these log cabin blocks, all stitched to yellow paper foundation pieces and wrapped up in ziplocs. The fabrics were all donated from guild members' stashes and Jay organized everyone to help make blocks which we all turned in at our quilters' guild meeting and they will get sewn together into what will be our next big raffle quilt at the 2009 quilt show. Whew! I know a lot to wrap your mind around but I'm waking up with a cuppa hot French Market coffee and chicory that I picked up at Central Market in Fort Worth yesterday. Now, that's an experience going to Central Market. It occurred to me that the floor plan of Central Market is the same concept as the Ikea store. You go in and you are trapped in a one way maze that forces you to shop through every department before you reach the check out lanes up front. I had in my hot little hand a $10 off of a $50 purchase coupon, and of course one always needs groceries, and I was in the neighborhood, so there. I didn't really get anything too decadent except maybe the crab meat stuffed salmon filet that I devoured for last night's supper on a bed of organic spring mix triple washed and ready to use. I noticed the display of the Beaujolais Nouveau. Casey had called from Paris just the day before and told me about the uncorking of the beaujolais nouveau at midnight on the 3rd Thursday of November. At $14.99 per bottle I decided to pass it up and go find some at a less upscale store. Which brings me to my plan for today. First, a good leisurely walk around the neighborhood, then tune into the Ohio State vs. Michigan game to watch while I machine quilt Pat and Frank's going away friendship quilt. They went away in May so it's time to get 'er done. And then after the game I'm gassing up the Prius and driving over to Lewisville to Quilt Country, my favorite metroplex quilt shop. They hold an annual sale where your ticket for admission to obtain the 25% discount requires you to bring in canned goods for the north Texas food bank. I love this tradition, it's become one of my yearly rituals. What are you doing today?

Proud to Call Columbus Home

2008-11-09T11:25:00.013-06:00

Here's the view on Election Day right across the road from Mom's apartment taken about 7:00 a.m. The fog is in the valley of Big Walnut Creek and it's a great spot for bird watching. We woke up early. I was totally into election day and wanted to go catch some good Ohio vibes for Obama. Mom started her morning by turning on that old sourpuss Mother Angelica to say the rosary and I knew I had to go find some different scenery and stimulation, so I made my escape.

The day before we hung with Maureen and Grace having a good time being together and touring around Columbus. Maureen wanted to check out Jeni's Ice Cream in Bexley, based on Ellen's recommendation. Gotta love Ellen for ALWAYS knowing the best places for sweets! Check out the Andy Warhol screenprints on the wall behind the counter. You see his ice cream sherbet Pop Up artwork advertising a Jeni's sponsored art exhibit in Columbus. Great poster and what a cool ice cream store. They had lots of gourmet flavors. I picked butter pecan and honey pistacchio for my cone.

Here are Maureen and Mom coming out of Jeni's happy to be having ice cream for lunch.

We cruised the old neighborhood near Franklin Park. This is Dad's Uncle Pat and Aunt Anna's house on Franklin Ave. right next door to the Oliva's who had 10 kids compared to our 8 going on 9 kids. There were Obama yard signs everywhere. I used to walk by this house everyday going to and from school at Holy Rosary elementary. Mary, Betty, and Margaret Kirwin, Dad's first cousins, all lived there during those years. They were considered to be old maids (what a stupid sexist term) but Dad was real close to all them and always took us kids around to see them for family get-togethers. It's a good example of old-style Columbus brick 2 story houses with attic and basement and good front porch. Would you call that a mansard roof?

Back out to The Villas where Mom lives now. The trees are so colorful and if you scan in you'll see the stone and green slate roof of the old St. Therese's shrine beyond the pond.

I was lucky to be there on the day the five new Muscovey Ducks arrived via the US Postal to join a lone Muscovey duck whose name escapes me. It was the talk of the pond and very meaningful for Sister Michael who is the head honcho nun in charge of The Villas. It really is a very beautiful 16 acres and landscape where Mom's community is located.

Here's a street scene in Forest Park, our more recent old neighborhood in northland Columbus where I lived during junior and high school. My guilty little secret to report is that I drove thru White Castle in my PT Cruiser rental car for some whiteys to munch on before I got on the plane to fly home. The burgers were delicious! I drove all over Forest Park the streets have all tree names, e.g. Sandalwood (we lived at 5730), Firwood, Loganwood, Gumwood, Redwood, Ironwood, Cottonwood, etc.

And there you have it, my stroll down hometown memory lane.

Happy 90th Birthday, Mom!

2008-11-08T08:08:00.009-06:00

We hosted over 100 people for Mom's birthday party at The Villas of St. Therese, her retirement community in Columbus. Mom still lives independently in a one bedroom apartment at The Villas. She's been there almost 3 years now and seems happy to be living among new friends and also old friends and relatives who've migrated there as senior citizens. Here's a good photo of the oldest and youngest members of the Kirwin family - Mom, age 90 and Grace, age 3. Aren't they pretty? Katie sent the lei and other tropical flowers from Kauai.

The cake was delicious, everyone raved about it:

I was so happy to see my niece, Molly Kirwin, at the party. She came all the way from her home in Mingo Junction to honor Mom. Molly will be 17 years old on Nov. 14 and is a high school junior. That's her Stepdad Rocco Cutri standing with her.

And here's my niece Meghan Hulme with Maureen's hubby Chris Iero in the background, who's scoping out NFL scores on his blackberry.

My sister Ellen Meehan. Don't know what she's laughing at, but Ellen was the best hostess. She and Maureen did all the party planning and most of the heavy lifting. I appreciate my Sisters!

From left to right, Chris, Mike Meehan, who really took the best photos and many more than I did, and my sisters Trisha Hulme, seated and Maureen Iero, standing.

We got unusually picture perfect warm sunny Ohio weather for the weekend. The fall foliage was still pretty spectacular. This is in Blacklick Woods early morning Tuesday - Election Day. I'll post more landscape pics later.

Yes We Can

2008-11-05T17:52:00.003-06:00

Change can happen. Si, se puede! What a great and historic day in America. I'm still doing the happy dance. I feel so hopeful after the depression and ruination of the Dubya years. I wish Molly Ivins was alive to see this day.

Hurricane Ike Quilt V2

2008-10-29T14:03:00.007-05:00

When I found a gray floral print suitable for a neutral background so the batiks would pop out, I decided to use a setting I'd used before for Rosemary's Leaving Texas quilt from a pattern in Judy Martin's Log Cabin Quilt Book. I'm happy to give credit where credit is due, thanks Judy.

I've squeezed in time sewing between writing job descriptions for Bombardier Flexjet(for which I'm getting paid), job descriptions for Church (don't ask, no pay involved) about 15 loads of laundry including a lot of Casey crap from his room, making vegan chili for Matt, organizing family photos for my Mom's 90th birthday party, mentally making a list of things to pack for the Sat. trip to Columbus for the party, a shopping list for 130 sack lunches for a meeting at Church on Sunday that I won't be attending, staying in touch by phone and email with Kimmel at work, where Bell Helicopter is RIFfing 4% of it's workers today. I'm not complaining, and I do like to stay busy, but lordy lordy on the other hand there's times I feel like joining the monastery. But my list of things to do pales in comparison, I'm sure, to something like rebuilding a house after a hurricane.

Hurricane Ike Quilt

2008-10-27T09:13:00.002-05:00

While I was listening to Ohio State lose to Penn State, I cut up all these 8.5 inch squares and arranged them on the design board. They're all batik fabrics from my stash and again my goal is to use up fabrics that I've got on hand rather than go to the quilt store and buy more fabric. Hard as it is to resist the temptation! I call it a Hurricane Ike quilt because I hope to gift it to my cousins John and Sherry in Galveston who are rebuilding their home after Ike blew in with 5 feet of water and wind damage on Sept 13.

Mooning Halloween

2008-10-25T15:12:00.006-05:00

No, that's not my derriere although my loved ones might say it's a close match! I'm in the middle of a glorious Saturday afternoon before Halloween. We're having a party tomorrow for kids of all ages at church. I don't have a costume instead I'll be wearing my new Obama shirt all day long. I needed to bake some treats to donate for the Cake Walk and decided on something easy on the budget-- Rice Krispy Treats pictured below. I gussied them up with fabric ribbons and skull straws.

Rosey's been hanging with me all day as usual. She bolted out the front door when I walked out to snap this photo by the doorstep. My kalanchoes thrived this year even in the hot sun. They'll need to come in soon before first frost as they shrivel fast when it gets cold. The mum pictured is in a plastic container from the store and needs to go into the ground pronto. Gardening is always interesting in this part of the world. I let a plant go all summer that invaded a corner by the fence and after it grew to be about 10 feet tall I did a little research and discovered that it was ragweed, yikes which I'm allergic to so that plant was uprooted and thrown out. We still have some mowing and cleanup to do before we're ready for winter but that'll get finished after all the annuals freeze.

Today's fun extends into the evening when Ohio State plays Penn State for which I'll tune in the TV. As I type, Texas is beating OSU which doesn't make any sense to all you Buckeye fans. In this neck of the woods, it also means Oklahoma State U. So there, don't be parochial or Buckeyecentric - expand your outlook:)

12 More Days

2008-10-23T12:20:00.004-05:00

My Obama-Biden T-shirt showed up in the mail today. It's a good quality shirt and has an extra large label touting that it's made in the USA by union workers. It now looks like I'll need to vote early since I'll be in Ohio on Nov. 4 and flying home that evening. When I booked my flight I wasn't thinking about not being able to watch election returns when the polls close. Let's hope that it's all over by the time I get home. Mom's 90th birthday party is scheduled for Nov. 2, one day after her actual birthday. She was born on 11/1/1918. I bet it will be exciting being in Ohio the very weekend before the election. Maybe I can catch some last minute campaigning in person while I'm there.

In Memory of John

2008-10-18T21:26:00.006-05:00

And so I walked today in memory of my Bro who committed suicide four years ago. Although John would be the first to say he was an atheist and didn't believe in an afterlife, I think he would respect my feelings that something was in the air on this beautiful Texas October day. It was that overwhelmingly sad thought that I wanted him with me just to witness and have this day together. We had a lovely rose ceremony where all our loved one's names were called out BUT I so much wanted John with me instead of the rose. But as the counseling goes, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem, and I'm teary-eyed just typing these thoughts.

Well, I'm always waivering on the borderline between agnostic and atheist. I have to tell you about the sign I witnessed on the way home, or maybe it's just something that holds the whole fragile web of life together:

I'm cruising down I-635 going about 65 mph. It's a wide open area just north of the DFW airport. I notice a huge flock of what I think are swallows. They zoom in over the highway and I look up and can see that they aren't birds but are much smaller! EUREKA, I think! These are a ginormous flock of monarch butterflies headed for Mexico. Are butterflies a flock? If only I could have stopped by the side of the road and pulled out my camera but what the hell I'm speeding down a superhighway. I tried to spot the orange markings for identification but what else would they be?

And I also walked in honor of my friend Thea who's own brother Robert committed suicide this year. We've been friends for years and now something like this to create another common bond and I hope strengthen our friendship. Not that it was ever a club that I wanted to join but you never know when the tiger is going to jump screaming out of the forest. To quote Kierkegard?

My Presidential Voting Record

2008-10-12T14:57:00.004-05:00

Or, for whom I've cast my vote over the years.

1972 - George McGovern and Sargent Shriver
This was my first presidential election. The legal voting age had recently changed from 21 to 18, so I was eligible at age 20. I've always identified as a yellow-dog democrat (still do). McGovern was the candidate for youthful college students, like me. We hadn't heard anything, yet, about Watergate, but I thought Nixon was a total scoundrel. I was hopeful and idealistic and felt like McGovern had a fighting chance and that the Vietnam war would finally end.

1976 - Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale
This was a very exciting election for me. I lived near downtown Columbus and Ohio was then, as now, a big swing state. All the candidates came thru numerous times. I was able to walk to the state capitol building on my lunch hour. The first time I heard of Jimmy Carter was from his wife Rosalyn, who impressed me with her one-woman effort at stumping for her husband. Later, I also saw Jimmy Carter in person, Gerald Ford (the incumbent Prez who was introduced by Woody Hayes, Ronald Reagan (who made an appearance at the Ohio Theatre, introduced by the actor Jimmy Stewart).

1980 - Jimmy Carter and Walter Mondale
A blah election for me. Carter was unpopular, there was economic inflation, gas prices were going up to over $1.00 (gasp), hostages were still held in Iran. It was depressing to witness Reagan's great landslide victory. I still remain out of touch about Reagan and his great appeal. I just never got it.

1984 - Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro
Another blah election since Reagan made me feel blah all over. Mondale's pick of Geraldine Ferraro for VP was ahead of the time, compared to today. She was very impressive but not enough to boost up Mondale to victory.

1988 - Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen
Looking back, anybody should have defeated Bush/Quayle but Dukakis was such a milquetoast. His message never connected and Bush just rode into office on the Reagan glory. Ugh.

1992 - Bill Clinton and Al Gore
Finally, a candidate to love! Despite all the warts. Against Bush One, who fumbled big time with his geeky message "no new taxes." Or was that in 1988? Regardless, I had little regard for the Bush clan, including the First Lady.

1996 - Bill Clinton and Al Gore again
Nothing to argue with. Four more years!

2000 - Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke
I have no remorse about this decision. As a Texan in the reddest of red states, I felt the time was right to support a 3rd party candidate. I misjudged how divided the country was and felt like Gore would win hands down. Even if I'd voted for Gore, it wouldn't have changed the outcome of Bush getting appointed by the Supreme Court. Many of us said at the time, that Bush would be a disaster. Little did we predict how absolutely devastating he would be as president. Will I live long to enough to see the country recover from the Bush years?

2004 - John Kerry and John Edwards
I fully rejected the Nader/Camejo ticket, despite still loving Nader's alternative point of view. I was swayed by my fellow democrats who said to vote Kerry/Edwards because look what happened in Florida in 2000, not that it even mattered. Nothing was made of the Ohio debacle that gave Bush the election. And, now look where we all stand at the end of 8 years of Dubya. I'm worried more than ever in my life how we're going to overcome the problems we face.

2008 - I will vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden
Let's all hope and work for Change, Peace, and Justice in our country.

It's NOT Politics as Usual

2008-10-08T13:19:00.003-05:00

I watched the debate last night. My take is that Obama wiped the floor with McCain and I further predict that Obama will win the election decisively on 11/4/08. I made up my mind a long time ago that Obama was my pick and I can't help but get a little giddy over the prospect of his becoming president. He's one helluva cool cucumber, articulate, smart, thoughtful, exudes confidence, and above all what I perceive to be a totally genuine human being. From a purely emotional standpoint, when I saw that bouquet of white roses he got Michelle for their anniversary, I almost swooned:-) Husbands, pay attention.! Only 104 more days until we give Bush a swift kick out of the White House and send him into exile in Crawford, TX.

Check out my Obama/Biden yard sign. Barring an unforeseen miracle, Texas will remain a red state, but I relish letting my neighbors know where I stand. And I LOVE the Obama rising sun logo centered over the shape of Texas. The tide is turning!

Another First Jefferson Wedding

2008-10-07T06:49:00.002-05:00

Kris Comeau and John McVean were married at our church last Saturday, Oct. 4. Kris joined the church about the same time our family did back in 1995 and her two kids Brian and Morgaine are about the same age as Casey and Matt. She and John met at work, and we've gotten to know him during the last couple years since they've been together.

John is from Scotland, thus the traditional kilt and Scottish attire. They're a quite striking couple, don't you think?

Julie Tribble made the cake and it was tasty!

Here they are getting pelted with bird seed making their getaway.

TVQG Quilt Show

2008-10-07T05:31:00.005-05:00

Greetings all! Here's a few of my photos from the Trinity Valley Quilters' Guild quilt show last month in Fort Worth. This sampler quilt was one from a display by the Divas - a group that's been re-creating old traditional designs using reproduction fabrics.

This is a machine quilted tablecloth by Sue Needle. She rescued a Vera Neumann piece from Ebay and turned it into this gorgeous art quilt.

Aren't these colors great? This three-piece (but not a triptych?) is called "Mooloolaba" by Pam Luke who was inspired by a beautiful beach in Australia.

Here's a maple leaf quilt. I just love how the leaves are all scattered over the surface instead of in neat, little block rows. This pattern is on my list of quilts to make before I die. Iris Young who moved away to Olympia WA several years ago, came back for our show and brought this along for display. Iris also made 4 postcards for the Priority Alzheimer's exhibit.

This small quilt is called "Mandala" by Susan Garay. Susan's personal style was on display all over the show this year. She's one of my new favorite art quilters.

Here's another one of Susan Garay's called "Lefties Have Rights, Too."

This is one section of the Priority Alzheimer's exhibit that I "curated:-)" - my own small quilt called "Kaffetastic" is on the top, second from right.

The Best of Show winner by Janet S. Stuart was a masterpiece of machine quilting and swavorski crystals that gave a very velvety and shiny appearance to the surface.

A quilt by one of the judges that caught my eye:

And another up and coming Fort Worth art quilter is Wendy Hook who made this 4 piece quilt inspired by her backyard swimming pool.

Here's another Divas quilt by Carol Staehle. I love the way Carol uses jewel tones in her work.

Yet another Susan Garay quilt. "The Lepidoptera Effect." Big shout out to my buddy, Susan!

And me, standing next to my humble quilt show offering "Flower Power."

This is really just a sample of what was at our show. I'm glad I had a part on the show committee and that we produced such a fantastic show. The quilters of Fort Worth are quite prolific and growing in talent. It certainly inspires me to keep on quilting through the troubling times we find ourselves in.

Flower Power

2008-09-15T10:40:00.003-05:00

It's finished! This is my first large quilt that I hand quilted over the course of the summer. It may be my last large hand quilted quilt, too. Needless to say, this is a big milestone in my quilting career. Those of you who know me, know that I prefer machine quilting techniques but there's something special about the look of hand quilting that you can't get from a sewing machine. I used a pvc pipe rectangular hoop for all the blocks and sashing, but when I reached the pieced border I removed the hoop. It's quilted 1/4" around all the patches and I didn't mark any quilting lines - it's all freestyle - which gives it a folksy appearance. I love using pieced borders, they really add a lot of pizzazz. It's quilt show week and this will be on display at the Trinity Valley Quilter's Guild show in Fort Worth this weekend.

Baby Q Makes Her Entrance

2008-08-29T07:30:00.005-05:00

Here she is Q'Princess Scott-Williams, born 8/26/08 in Fort Worth, baby daughter of Queen and Chris. We've known Queen for three years since she evacuated from New Orleans during Katrina and decided to settle down in Fort Worth with her two boys. They are true survivors and now they've added a little sister to their family. Queen is an inspiration to me, hard-working and quite resourceful. Of course, everyone loves a newborn and every newborn needs a quilt. It's got alternating Ohio Star blocks (one of my fave blocks) and soft, fuzzy, furry baby blanket blocks. Note that the quilt squares are 9" so that gives you some perspective to Baby Q's size. She wasn't due until 9/21 but nevertheless is very healthy. Queen had a c-section and now definitely has a full plate, recovering from childbirth, taking care of the baby and the boys. Makes me tired just thinking about it, but it's a joyous event.

Back to School

2008-08-25T08:02:00.005-05:00

Here's my baby Matt, class of 2011, on his first day of sophomore year at Euless Trinity. I snapped this shot in the backyard before he left. He was up and ready to go early today, and excited to be starting at Trinity. The Trinity Trojans football team is ranked #1 in the nation in a pre-season poll on espn so we'll get to see some good football right here in Euless. See how green the grass is. We've had a few weeks of milder weather, i.e. not so hot with some soaking rain showers, but the heat is on again and will be hitting 100 again all week for the kid's first week back to school. Gosh, where do the years go? I remember like it was just yesterday taking Matt to Kindergarten and now he's six feet tall and learning how to drive.

Life is Never Dull

2008-08-16T14:52:00.010-05:00

Casey walked in the other day, very nonchalant, as if it was no big deal that he'd taken a razor to his entire head. And indeed, it is no big deal. I've been saying things like "it's only hair" ever since he was 12 years old. I detect from the smug smile on his face that he's pretty darn pleased with himself. If I had a scanner, I could add a whole series of Casey hair cuts through out the years. Here's one I found from his 18th birthday.

I'd rather be quilting than just about anything else. What you see in this plastic tub are 85 small quilts that I've been collecting from the members of the Trinity Valley Quilter's Guild. We're going to display them at our quilt show next month and after the show donate the whole bunch to Ami Simms. Ami is a superstar quilter who dreamed up a non profit to raise money to find a cure for Alzheimer's. She's another one of my personal heroes. Her website is amisimms.com

If you look closely you can see one of my Queenly tiaras that I wear from time to time to remind the guys who's in charge here:-)

French Impressionist Paintings in Fort Worth by way of Chicago

2008-08-10T21:43:00.003-05:00

I toured a fantastic exhibit yesterday with church friends. The location was the world renowned Kimbell Art Museum designed by the great architect Louis Kahn. There were beaucoup paintings on loan from Chicago. Kimmel didn't want to go, it's not his thing, so Juliet attended as my guest with a group from church. It ain't easy to describe the experience, guess you had to be there. Call it an overload of art, architecture, good people, good food. Check out the Henri Moore sculpture in the photo.

I reminisced about a road trip, from Oxford OH during my college days, to Chicago to see a Georges Braque exhibit at the art institute with my art major roommates. I immediately told Casey and Chelsie that they need to get to the Kimbell to see this exhibit because it will make them so excited about the study abroad in France they're about to do. Oh to be young again!

Cute Little Girls in Wisconsin with Armadillos

2008-08-06T20:08:00.007-05:00

Maddie and Izzie Goldstein, ages 7 and almost 2, are our grandchildren. Their parents are Loren (Kim and Marcey's son) and his wife, Sara whose wedding we all attended three years ago in Amery WI, where they still live. Sara was in Dallas last week to attend the Mary Kay Cosmetics convention. She joined the Mary Kay sales consultant ranks this year and is very excited about the company and opportunities for her career. I hope it works out for her. Madelyn (Maddie) is Sara's daughter from before she met Loren. After their wedding, Loren legally adopted Maddie and then a year after the wedding they added Isabella (Izzie) to the family. Considering the structure of the family tree, I'm on the second tier of grandmother status and technically don't really feel like Grandma, but I guess I am. Sara's mother is also a Mary who goes by Grandma Mary with the girls, so it's a little fuzzy what my name is but it hasn't really come up much, yet. There are a lot of complicated, fragile, long-distance ties that hold families together, wouldn't you agree? The armadillos were gifts we picked up at the Texas souvenir shop down in the Dallas West End on Saturday. Sweltering through a record heat wave.

Breast Cancer 3-Day

2008-08-01T10:15:00.010-05:00

Here's a little fabric postcard I'm mailing to my Sole Sister Julie today. She is going to Chicago next week to walk 60 miles in the Breast Cancer 3 Day I'm proud to call Julie my friend and Sole Sister she is indeed one of my personal heroes. She's a seven year breast cancer survivor and since 2004 has been participating regularly in 3 day walks all around the country. This year alone she is walking in two cities - Chicago and San Diego. In addition, she will be on a crew to support the walkers in Dallas/Fort Worth. Go, Soley, Go!!!!!!!

I was inspired by my sister Maureen who walked in Boston in 2003. When I proposed the idea to Julie, she persuaded me that we could do it and we went to San Francisco in 2004 for the walk and had a fantastic walk and sole sister bonding experience! And then again last year in 2007 we walked together in the Boston 3-Day. What started out for me as a fitness quest turned into some kind of new religion:-) and while I won't be walking or crewing this year, I will be at some time in the future and always hold this organization near and dear to my (ahem) chest!

Fort Worth to Houston and Back with Casey

2008-07-31T09:15:00.007-05:00

Casey and I went to Houston and back in twelve hours on Tuesday. He had an 8:00am appointment at the French consulate to obtain a student visa. We set out at 2:30am and as we were pulling out of the driveway, he double checked his paperwork and discovered that the passport wasn't there. I remained fairly calm since I've been through innumerable situations of unpreparedness like this before with teenage boys! He had left it over at Chelsie's house the night (hours) before where he was filling out the paperwork. So, after a quick detour to get the passport, we were on the road for 4 1/2 hours and arrived at the consulate near the Houston Galleria by 7:30 am. Everything was in order, we left the passport with the visa person who asked us to return at 10 to pick it up. We set out for a nice meal and ventured back onto the mega-highway to find a decent place to eat. I jumped off the mega-highway after only a couple miles and we literally stumbled onto this charming French Riviera Bakery and Cafe - how serendipitous and appropo for the mission at hand!

We both ordered omelets with croissant, double espresso and fresh squeezed OJ, all quite delicious. The staff were both Asian and Latino --Houston is a real melting pot-- but the ambiance and decor was purely French except for maybe the Tabasco? Come to think of it, Tabasco is indeed Cajun.
The Paris street map on the wall was surrounded with French postcards:

Since it was light outside driving back north on I-45 to Dallas I was able to take note and ponder the large billboards - one of my favorite past times on Texas highways. The most memorable were:

"Branded by Christ, Training Champions for God" These words surrounded a large photo of a young cowboy and cowgirl couple. I couldn't tell if they were advertising some kind of ministry or a rodeo, probably both.

In the Huntsville area where Texas death row prisoners are executed we saw this one for the Texas Prison Museum: "Big Sam, Ol'Sparky, and War Heroes" The Ol'Sparky reference to the electric chair prompted a comment of disgust from Casey. Big Sam refers to the ginormous white statue of Sam Houston by the side of the road. Who knows what war heroes they're talking about.

And as we got closer to Dallas we saw "Domestic Security Alert, Report Illegal Aliens, 1-800-Number, The Job You Save May be Your Own" This strikes me as pure fear-mongering and I have no idea who paid for that billboard.

And on the outskirts of Buffalo, TX there was "Buffalo Stampede - third weekend in September" Go figure.

We made it home in good shape and almost did it with just one tank of gas. I was real pleased that we got 45 mpg for the trip in the Prius. The next day, we woke up to a double rainbow out the back door and a very refreshing and much needed rain shower!

Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth

2008-07-26T19:18:00.002-05:00

I love this video, have you seen it before?

Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Christmas in July

2008-07-25T13:53:00.005-05:00

The plants are, on the right the flowers Kimmel got me yesterday for our 21st wedding anniversary, and on the left the poinsettia plant from last December that just keeps growing. You can see some of the red leaves peaking out in the middle but all the newer foliage is all green. I wonder if the leaves will turn red as the plant grows. I love the yellow daisies, very sunny just like the weather outside. The seven day forecast reads something like 100-102-104-101-101-100-100 with no rain in sight. Unless you can go off to some cooler climate in the mountains or at the beach, there's not much you can do but hunker down and sweat it out while drinking lots of ice water. I wake up early because that's the coolest time of day before the sun comes up and if I'm lucky I might feel a slight cool breeze outside. We don't have a sprinkler system so it's a struggle to keep the lawn and plants watered. You can easily identify which plants are drought tolerant, like periwinkles and artemisia that thrive in the sun and heat. Matt plans to spend the rest of the day at Six Flags and I'm about to drive him over there in my wonderfully air-conditioned new car. I wonder how long he'll last outside. They have spray misters all over the park and kids don't seem to mind as much.

Here's some quilty things I've made recently. The two small quiltlets are for Ami Simms's Priority Alzheimer's project. Check out http://www.AlzQuilts.org to read more about the fabulous Ami Simms and the non-profit organization she has created to raise money for research and awareness for people with Alzheimer's disease. We challenged the quilters in our guild to make these great small quilts for our show in September. I've got at least two more on the drawing board. And the two star blocks are from the Pepper Cory workshop last week. These were made using paper foundation sewing techniques. I like to stay inside the A/C and sew on a day like today.

Casey and Matt

2008-07-21T19:01:00.003-05:00

It's the eve of Matt's 15th birthday and boy do I remember what I was feeling fifteen years ago-- hot, hot, and hot, and ready to deliver! I always say that when birthdays roll around the ones to celebrate are the mothers who gave birth. Once I sent flowers to my Mom on my birthday with a card that read "Thanks for having me." I saw that in Dear Abby and thought it was perfect.

We're getting ready to send Casey to France for study abroad soon. On 9/11/08 he flies to NYC, on to London where he'll spend a few days, then to Cannes for his "orientation" to the country before he goes to Paris where he'll live with a family and commute to the U of Paris at the Sorbonne. Yes, it's true I just said all that. I have to double check everytime I type those words. College sure wasn't like that for me! He turns 21 and votes absentee for President while he's there. He'll spend the holidays in Europe and not return until after the first of the year. Oh to be young again. As a parent I hope he doesn't take it for granted. I still see instances of immaturity combined with insight and growth. Yes, I do believe he'll make something out of his life. May it be so.

Dad on the World Wide Web

2008-07-05T21:46:00.002-05:00

Peter found this archived image of our Dad on the web. Dad died in 2000 at age 84. He was a business man with a journalism degree and he would have absolutely loved what the internet has become for all of us keeping in touch and researching all the encyclopedic information. The photo is from about 1971 when I was in college. He was about the same age in this photo as I am today. He'd be happy to know that I'm blogging about him.

Obama's Grandmother

2008-07-04T11:50:00.004-05:00

How can I not vote for this woman's grandson? She's beautiful and looks so full of life! Happy 4th of July to everyone, one of my favorite holidays to reflect about how fortunate we are to be born into and live in America. I just heard that Senator Jesse Helms died today. Jefferson and Adams, who also died on July 4th in 1826, must be rolling over in their graves. Despite all the hard economic conditions so many Americans are feeling, I hope everyone can have a festive day off work and celebrate a good time and catch some fireworks tonight. We'll be eating one of my favorite dishes from childhood - Mom's Potato Salad - with lots of hardboiled eggs, celery, onions, salt and pepper. It SO reminds me of good times spent in Ohio with my large extended family when I was growing up. I'm real picky about potato salad, never buy the store brand and when I make my own I don't like to drench it in mayo. Happy July 4th!

White Tippy Tail

2008-06-30T18:45:00.004-05:00

This month marks the 9th anniversary of adopting our dog Rosey. The story goes that she is a UU dog since Jennifer found her abandoned at First Jefferson Church, took her home, and then persuaded us to take her in as the canine member of our family. Rosey is Matt's dog since he was only 5 years old at the time and was the one who really, really, really wanted a dog. And what a great dog she has always been - very pretty, loving personality, completely loyal, and very smart. If you had to name a fault it would be that Rosey is a terrible guard dog. Sure, she loves to bark at the mailman everyday, but if someone were to break and enter she would probably make friends before she would scare them off.

I have a lot of Rosey stories. One in particular is about the day I got home from work and Rosey met me at the door, barking and agitated which is very unusual behavior on her part. She walked to my desk where my laptop computer was located trying to tell me that something was amiss. And indeed it was, my laptop had been stolen by someone who came in through the unlocked back door. The thief had also walked into the back room and stole an x-box game CD from Matt's X-Box. We think we know the culprit, a neighbor teen who was in our home often. We confronted him and his family but he denied it and we've never been able to make him confess, despite involving the police. But I will always remember Rosey's attitude that day. Someone reminded me there was a Lassie episode along those lines.

Another Rosey story is her falling deathly sick and nearly succumbing to Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia one year ago this month. She was in the ICU at the vet hospital for six days but she survived to live another year. I remember the extreme grief and worry I felt then. And coupled with a ridiculous outrageous bill for it all but I'm grateful we had the means to pay for it and I always told Kim that I would have gone into debt to treat Rosey. She's losing the fur around her eyes in rings lately. She got a clean bill of health at her last check up and I think it's just aging, but like all us middle aged girls - Aging Sucks!

Made by Hand

2008-06-24T16:13:00.005-05:00

I just mailed a package to my niece Grace in Ohio. It's an exquisite little girl's dress that was made by my friend Barbara who is an expert smocker. Her work is the epitome of perfection and one of her pieces was recently featured in an Australian smocking magazine. The photo doesn't do justice to the level of detail on this dress. Not only does it have smocking across the bodice, but also piping and tiny little applique flower buds around the collar and sleeves. And french seams hold it all together on the inside. I put up on my design board over a quilt top I made in a Sue Nickels workshop. It's the background for a medallion quilt I hope to develop someday, or to be more blunt another UFO in the pile.

I purchased it at our church service auction last fall with Grace's birthday in mind. She will be 3 years old on July 8. Here she is, the little cuteness, when she was only 3 months old. She is the youngest of the Kirwin grandkids and the apple of everyone's eye. She unseated Matt Jones, who will be 15 next month, for title of youngest grandchild and I'm still not sure he's over it. He seemed to relish that position in the family.

I also made this fabric book for Grace when she was little. I was so pleased with myself coming up with the title -- you can't see inside, but I fussy cut different United states from a novelty print , i.e. Ohio, Texas, Colorado, Florida to represent the locations where her aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents live. I'll have to update this post with a current photo of Grace at her birthday party. Maureen, are you listening?

Quilt Tops

2008-06-15T14:33:00.002-05:00

Had a productive sewing day yesterday. I finished two quilt tops, got the linings and battings together and will get on with the quilting. The one on the left is for Claire, who I mentioned earlier, is going through chemo for Hodgkins Lymphoma. I will machine quilt it using diagonal grid lines with variegated thread. The one on the right is the Quilter's Stash block of the month from 2006, I think. I pulled out the quilt squares from my UFO pile and sewed them together in this setting. It doesn't thrill me, but I added the pieced border to punch it up a bit. What do you think? I plan to hand quilt 1/4" around all the patches and put it on display in the Trinity Valley Quilter's Guild show in September. I better get busy now if I want to get it finished in time.

My New Ride - At Last

2008-06-11T19:29:00.003-05:00

Woohoo I have my new car, a Toyota Prius that I bought on May 31. I'm experiencing the thrill and smell of new car plus the smugness of fuel economy at a time when gas costs $4 bucks per gallon. I love it! Come on over and I'll take you for a ride.

My First Address

2008-06-10T21:52:00.004-05:00

I was noodling around all day trying to find old photos. I didn't find the one I was looking for but I did find a bunch from October, 2005 when we all were in Columbus for Jimmy's funeral. I am one of nine siblings. I remember a skit that Bill Murray did on Saturday Night Live where he was talking about growing up in a large Irish-American family and he rapidly repeated the names of all the kids in his family by birth order. We used to do that all the time, too: Peter, Ellen, Jimmy, Mary, Annie, Kathy, Tricia, John, Maureen.

This is the house that my parents and three siblings lived in when I was born - a typical working class home for young families. The house had a for sale by owner sign and we called to inquire about the price. It was in the $200K range, amazing! Three years ago the neighborhood was going through changes where it's now the desirable place to live. Mom couldn't believe it when she heard what it was worth. That's Kathy, Mom, and Me standing by 1369 Elmwood Ave, Columbus, Ohio. I wish I had that porch with comfy chairs to sit and watch the world go by on my house here in Euless. We moved about a year later to our new house, the first one that my parents bought, and the story goes that I crawled up the front steps when we moved in. Too bad I don't have a picture of that!

A Wedding!

2008-06-07T18:30:00.004-05:00

The wedding of Tasha and Lewis, a fabulous young couple, took place today at First Jefferson UU Church. They picked this day because they wanted to get married on 06-07-08. I mentioned to somebody that this was the first biracial wedding I've attended and I remember somebody else saying recently that there should be more mixed race marriages because ultimately we might have world peace. Well, I say amen to that. They used a couple of ancient rituals in their ceremony - tying their hands together before the vows and jumping together hand in hand over a broom after being declared husband and wife.

I am fascinated by wedding cake artistry. This cake was done by Julie Tribble. I love the lime green and yellow colors for the wedding. The decorations were perfect and refreshing for a sweltering hot day in Fort Worth. It was a joyous occasion.

Healing Quilt for Claire

2008-05-29T12:52:00.002-05:00

We got some bad news last week about dear friends who moved away to New York a couple years ago. Laurie and Gary were members of our church and Laurie was a novice quilter back then but also a very quick study and now does beautiful hand quilting and applique. They are parents to two great daughters Claire and Adria. Claire, age 24, was the valedictorian at Martin HS in Arlington, the largest HS in Tarrant County, and went on to college at Wellesley in Boston where she got her degree. Adria followed in Claire's footsteps to Wellesley and is still a student there.

Now, the bad news is that doctors discovered a large tumor between Claire's lungs. The family was planning to leave on a vacation to Scotland. Claire still had a bad cough that apparently was being treated as asthma and Laurie insisted that she see a doctor before the trip. The tumor was found by x-ray at the hospital in Manhattan. Claire is now being treated for lung cancer and will start chemo soon. It's so shocking and terrible, their lives have changed in the blink of an eye.

I told Laurie today that when the going gets tough, the tough get quilting. And I automatically started to put together this healing quilt for Claire to cheer her up which as you can see is still a work in progress. Actually, Claire is the one with the amazing, positive attitude which is helping Laurie and Gary to hold up better than they might. It's all so random, all I can think is that we need to count our blessings everyday and live like there's no tomorrow.

Car Talk

2008-05-28T22:24:00.003-05:00

Like those guys on NPR, I've been car talking for a couple weeks now. We bought Casey an early 21st birthday present so he can use it to commute to Frisco - no, not San Francisco but rather Frisco TX - for his summer internship. He's turned into a junior executive, I never thought I'd see the day. And that's ditto for the enthusiasm he exhibits with the windex cleaning his new old 2002 VW Passat with 93K mileage. Parenthood continues to amaze me.

UU Church Service Award

2008-05-21T15:51:00.005-05:00

I was presented with a service award at my church last Sunday and I am very thrilled to receive this honor. Am I gauche to say I think I deserve it? Yes probably, but this happy face chalice symbolizes how great I feel!

Here is a still life of the beautiful roses with plaque. The little sculpy pencil cup holder is another gift received the same day for being a Sunday School teacher for grades K-2. It's nice to be appreciated. I truly do love keeping the dream of Unitarian Universalism alive in what often seems to be a godforsaken world.

And the plaque presented by my friend and colleague Danuta was a wonderful tribute. I was truly honored. Thank you First Jefferson Church. It's times like this gives me hope that my small contributions matter.

Fort Worth to Austin and Back with Casey

2008-05-14T12:03:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I made the 200 mile drive to move Casey out of his dorm and back home for the summer break. I got Old Faithful-our 1990 vintage Toyota Previa van with 213,000 miles on it-road worthy and headed out solo to Austin. This is a view from Casey's room in the high-rise dorm on the 21st floor looking down on the famous Tower. Observations and notes from my trip, in no particular order:

*Three worn sand-colored humvees being carried on a tractor trailer probably going to Fort Hood. This reminded me unhappily that we are still at war in Iraq.

*The "One City Under God" giant billboard driving thru Alvarado "paid for by Christians who care."

*Beautiful wildflowers and green fields. The bluebonnets are finished but there were lots of galardia, primrose, winecup, to name a few. The corn will be knee-high by Memorial Day in TX.

*The Smiley Face gas station -- the cheapest gas available.

*102.5FM = Waco's Rock Station

*Stopping at the Hillsboro Outlet Mall where I purchased 4 pairs of summer sandals at the Bass store. What a splurge-I've never bought 4 pair shoes for myself at one time, ever!

*The two-dome geodesic dome funeral home in Waco.

*The statuary place near Temple where I got my fancy-painted bird bath years ago when Casey went to scout camp at Tahuaya on the Lampasas river.

*A bad motorcycle collision with an 18-wheeler. I saw the aftermath of the wreck on the rain-slick highway. I don't know what happened to the motorcyclist but there was an ambulance on the scene.

And getting to Austin is always fun. Here's the stop sign right outside Casey's dorm:

And here he is, the object of my affection, on the street corner. Dobie Center, the high-rise dorm is behind Casey. He lived there two years. It's a big black and green monster of a building. Casey begrudgingly, but being a good sport, posed for this photo. He said to me "What am I? In fifth grade, Mom?"

Junior High Band and Orchestra

2008-05-12T21:45:00.008-05:00

I realize I went gaagaa over the rock concerts earlier, but I am really gaagaa over the outstanding Central Junior High concerts we attended that featured Matt in both the Band and the Orchestra. He's finishing 9th grade at the junior high and will be going to Trinity High School next year. He's been the only student for 3 years who participated in both the band (on percussion) and orchestra (on cello). Like he describes himself - "I've got music in me." Last Friday night was the band concert.
Here's Matt standing by Kimmel's car looking like Mr. GQ himself! I don't have any shots inside the auditorium, but Matt played percussion instruments and also the upright bass on the song "In The Mood."

Tonight's orchestra concert was the culmination of all these kids who've been in Suzuki Strings and orchestra since elementary school. Matt started cello five years ago in 5th grade. Here's Matt before the show:

And here's some of the 9th graders:

And the entire 9th grade group presenting a pirate hat to their teacher, Mrs. Truex. She is such a cool teacher. She phoned her husband from her conducting stand before the concert began because she had forgotten her baton! He couldn't find an extra one at home, so he improvised and rushed over with a chopstick that she used throughout the concert!

That's Matt to the right of Mrs. Truex on first cello.

And one last photo of the entire combined orchestras before their final piece:

The music was very beautiful and I got a little teary-eyed just being in the moment listening to these young teenagers do this. Dr. Suzuki, who was Japanese, created the concept of Suzuki Strings -- which is basically teaching young kids how to play by ear, and then gradually introduce site-reading -- after WWII when he saw the terrible devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He wanted to bring some beauty and joy to give people hope and now this wonderful program is taught all over the world.

More Roger Waters Concert Photos

2008-05-08T11:40:00.002-05:00

The second half of the show was a cover to cover performance of Dark Side of the Moon. It was so entertaining and, naturally, being the best selling record of all times (I can remember listening to it day in, day out during my senior year in college when I was trying to figure out what to do with my life) everyone was singing along with all the words. This is all the clocks projected onto the moon during Time during the very cool percussion intro to the song:

The laser light colored images were some of my favorites. You can see the moon on the movie screen behind the pyramid shaped laser light projector:

Best Concert Ever

2008-05-03T17:30:00.002-05:00

Last night I went out with Kimmel, Matty, and Dave Jack to see Roger Waters perform the most superfantastic concert ever. Here are the guys before the show:

My JACKet is keeping my seat reserved!

Roger's first set was a mixture of great Pink Floyd songs including Set the Controls to the Heart of the Sun all the way through Roger's own Leaving Beirut. Movies and images were projected behind the stage on a huge screen throughout the show, in sync with each song adding a visual treat while listening to the music. Everything was interspersed with old photos/videos like this one when the band was young.

And this warped into a tribute to Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd's original band mate and Roger's co-creator of so much good music. You can see Roger and the band below Syd finishing up on Shine On You Crazy Diamond:

Then we listened to a couple tunes from The Final Cut where Roger gave us a full pounding about his anti-war stance, which I fully agree with, followed by the emergence of the Pig that had many sayings: All Religions Divide, Impeach Bush, Torture Shames Us All, Don't Be Lead to the Slaughter, Obama with a ballot check box next to his name.

The Pig floated off into the night sky towards Love Field during the intermission. After which the band came back out and played the classic album Dark Side of the Moon in it's entirety, which included classic laser light visuals including a pyramid diamond hologram that projected colorful light rays all over the place. I'll share all that in my next post. It was beyond Cosmic!

P.S. This is my first post using Windows Live Writer. Hope it works.

Joe Jackson at the Palladium Ballroom Dallas TX

2008-04-30T14:15:00.002-05:00

Wow, what a great show we saw last night! I can't say enough about the fabulous Joe Jackson who was in fine form on a grand piano with his bass player and drummer - a very effective 3-Man Band. He opened with "Stepping Out" and closed with "Sad Song," both from his album Night and Day. In between, the music was oh so good, very boogie dance music, with John Lennon and Duke Ellington covers, and a great sampling of songs from in particular, his Laughter and Lust album and the newly released Rain. It was my first time at Palladium Ballroom in south Dallas with friends Jack and Jack and another Mary. I'm fixin to go get the new album. All in all, a truly delightful experience.

Day After PA Primary

2008-04-23T07:16:00.004-05:00

Do we really want four, or even eight, years of this picture? I don't think so and here's why: I really dislike what I see as Hillary's sense of entitlement that this is her time and rightful place to be the president. Her refusal to see that the people, especially the young, want a change in leadership and a new generation of politics free from all the mudslinging that this Democratic primary "silly season" has sunk to. Even when she was the First Lady I always sensed that she was not genuine and would do or say just about anything to get her way. Bill and Hillary had their time in the nineties, with all their triumphs and success, but also the stupidity and polarizing effects of Monicagate. I am grateful to the Clintons for their service, but their time is over. Obama in '08!

And what's up with Hillary asking her supporters to send in more money because she's broke? Didn't they just (finally) disclose that they are worth about $100 million? If she wants to drag this all the way to Denver, I say she uses her own money rather than asking all those religious, embittered, gun-toting hardworking class people to finance salaries for people like Mark Penn and Howard Wolfson.

Okay, back to my sewing machine and the thrill of putting two different pieces of fabric together. I may give up on politics by the time the inauguration rolls around next January.

Dewey and Linda

2008-04-17T21:11:00.004-05:00

We loved having Dewey and Linda, Kimmel's brother and his wife, blow through last week. They follow collegiate volleyball and were in Dallas with the Illini men and women varsity teams who were competing in a national tournament. We had chili rellenos, shrimp enchiladas, fajitas, and burritos at Lupe's Tex Mex restaurant before we said goodbye to them as they headed back north to Champaign.

They're very fashion conscious and always dress for the occasion. Check out Dewey's tuxedo shirt and Linda's Texas tropical dress. What a great couple of kids!

Springtime in Texas

2008-04-16T13:16:00.004-05:00

It's definitely a mixed bag! I love spring in Texas and try to enjoy each day because I know that the dreaded summer heat will descend upon us soon. I transplanted these Beverly Sills irises from Rosemary's place last fall and they're now blooming in all their light pink and fragrant beauty. But April showers are often terrific thunderstorms that bring tornadoes,destruction, and sometimes even death. We narrowly escaped wind damage last week that destroyed many old growth trees just a mile to the north. The schools even shut down for the day because of power outages.

Some other flowering plants I get to enjoy in my yard are Indian Hawthorne. I've nurtured this one along for 10 years. I remember 1998 being the year of a worse than usual heat wave but I watered this little plant every day.

And there's also Ajuga with the purple flowers that does well here.

My roses will be blooming soon and I've got to plant geraniums and other annuals, too. All while struggling with dreaded seasonal allergies that seem to get worse each year. But on the other hand, it's a blessing to enjoy the outdoors with all the growth and flowering. It makes me feel grateful to be alive. Cheers to all!

My Secret Pal

2008-03-27T13:18:00.005-05:00

I've been writing letters to my secret pal at church this month. She is a seven year old girl and today the big secret was revealed as to who our secret pen pals really are. This is such a cool thing to do. It's easy, fun, and is a great way to building relationships. Here's a little doll quilt I made for her gift. Rosey, as usual, is sitting in one of her favorite spots underfoot.

Update as of March 30th: Her name is Katie. We have a lot in common. Her mom's name is Mary and they live in Euless. Not many church people live here in our little burb. I think it's because being 14 miles away in Fort Worth, it's a bit of a commute, and unlike more traditional denominations, we don't promise salvation from eternal damnation. As a result, we are few in numbers but strong in principles. I may ramble on more later about Unitarian Universalism when I get in the mood. Here's a photo of the two of us hooking up today. Katie loves art and presented me with a framed original drawing of hers. It's a chalice that says We Are UU.

First Quilt

2008-03-22T13:38:00.004-05:00

Casey's girlfriend Chelsie made this quilt and did a great job for her first attempt at quiltmaking! It was actually the first time she's used a sewing machine, too. I helped her pick out fabrics and we worked on it together when we had a chance over the last year. She meticulously machine appliqued the turtles and tropical fish using embroidery stitches around the edges. We found the Laurel Burch ocean songs panel and decided to incorporate it midway thru the process.

Here's the back of the quilt - includes scraps leftover from the quilt top.

Now it's all finished and Chelsie is using it in her dorm at UT in Austin. Another example of a great young person doing good!

Torrential Downpour Today

2008-03-18T19:57:00.003-05:00

As I type the rainfall is up to 7" locally and all flights were cancelled today at DFW. I pledged to spend the rainy day working on our tax return, but ugh, I just couldn't do it. Instead I spent some time watching the excellent HBO (my favorite channel) miniseries John Adams.

Mostly though, today I want to highlight the efforts of my nephew Kevin who participated in a fundraiser for kids with cancer. Here's Kevin after getting his head shaved in honor of all the little kids who go bald after chemo. Way to go, Kevin!

On the presidential campaign front, what a speech Barack Obama gave today on the topic of racism. He's been under fire because of his minister, but he used the opportunity to turn a big negative into a positive by just addressing the issue. I continue to be impressed by this candidate.

Brothers

2008-03-13T20:52:00.007-05:00

Here's the cool cat at the Papaya Garden restaurant in Euless. My dinner salad had hearts and star shaped carrot pieces with my favorite ginger dressing. The kids love that they have lots of vegetarian dishes on the menu.

It's the night before Casey returns to Austin after spring break to attend SXSW music conference before classes start up again. Lucky Matt gets to go with him since I said I'd spring him early from school tomorrow so he can get started on his spring break. It was great having Casey around.

I think he's going to make something of his life!

Obama for Prez

2008-03-12T12:12:00.005-05:00

The Texas primary is now history with Hillary winning the popular vote, although the results of the caucuses haven't been finalized yet. It appears that Obama will win the caucuses which will actually give him a majority of delegates from Texas, not counting the superdelegates. Sheesh, it's complicated. Matt and I attended a rally for Obama a couple weeks ago at Reunion Arena in Dallas.

We rode the TRE from Centreport to Union Station and walked over to Reunion Arena. The line of people waiting to get in snaked away from the main entrance, down a couple city blocks to the parking garage and then all the way up to the 5th floor of the garage. We waited and waited in line, watching more people walk up behind us -- and it was a sea of humanity -- black, white, latino, Catholic school girls in their uniform jumpers and saddle shoes, lots of parents with babies, at least one transvestite dressed conservatively for midday, people hawking campaign buttons and t-shirts.

While we were standing in the parking garage, we saw the motorcade of limos and police escorts going into the arena with the candidate and his entourage. Then, we slowly filed in, all 20,000 of us. It was really amazing to see the support and excitement that Obama has engendered. Afterward, we walked over to the West End to eat lunch, passing that famous Dallas landmark, the Texas School Book Depository building, now housing the 6th floor museum. I snapped this shot of Matt with the Hyatt and Reunion Tower in the background before we boarded the train to return home. It was a fun adventure for us.