Gotta wear real shoes

After I'd lived in California for several years, I was packing to visit Flagstaff, AZ, my hometown, and I realized I didn't have any appropriate shoes. I had sandals, canvas shoes, gym shoes, shoes with decorative cut-outs or woven leather, and dressy shoes, but no sturdy, waterproof, dirt-resistant shoes for wearing in snow or on dirt walkways.

I came ready with some dirt-worthy walking shoes this time, and I put them to good use. Of course we made the obligatory trip to Red Mountain, and we enjoyed sharing with newbies. What a magical place this eroded cinder cone is, with weird hoodoos and cinder  hills! Funny thing is, with just adults making the hike, it didn't take as long as usual!

We didn't do more than stroll along the rim of the Grand Canyon the day we went there, but we enjoyed the beautiful view as part of our lunch date with Mom. What a decadent day, driving to the Canyon to eat lunch (Navajo tacos - yum!) in the El Tovar Lodge: the original craftsman-style, Fred Harvey railroad stop right on the rim of the canyon.

Mmmm, a Navajo taco is Indian fry bread topped with chili and taco fixings.

Here's Ralph, taking pictures of us during our hike at the top of Oak Creek Canyon. I love the rocks!

Here's another hike, on the Sandy's Canyon Trail, where we saw pines and aspens, sandstone and basalt, wildflowers, and even a cute little horned toad!

We also hiked on the Kachina Trail, on the San Francisco Peaks. That's 11000' altitude.

There were also hikes taken around our cabin in the woods, but I opted for relaxation on the deck, instead!

Here's Pamela, who blew out her Italian hiking boots on our first day. She made the rest of our hikes wearing her Teva sandals. So much for real shoes!

Pamela tied the semi-detached soles to the tops of her boots to make the hike out of Red Mountain.

Parts and Recreation

You may think making a quilt is pretty straightforward: cut the parts, put them together. Especially when there's a particular plan to follow; I, for instance, am participating in an on-line quilt-along for a kaleidoscope quilt.

I've wanted to make a kaleidoscope quilt, with its interlinking circles. And I think it'll be a nice pattern to make using fabrics I think will appeal to Kathryn, and this quilt can be a birthday (or Christmas, if I take too long!) present for her. 

By the way, Lamby, you should stop here if you want to be surprised! 

Once I'd pulled all my fabrics and cut hundreds of pieces, I started arranging them on my design wall, to check that the colors and pattern will work together as planned. At this point,  I always get a little crazy. If I don't like the colors together, I may ignore it and hope it'll get better as the quilt progresses (it never does) or I may start throwing in more fabrics and colors, hoping to get the balance of contrast and complement I want, (which can end up a big mess!). 

This time, I liked the colors in the mix, but I played around with the design. 

This is the basic kaleidoscope design used in the quilt-along:

The colored wedges make sort of an x shape, and the white makes small interlinked circles around it. Maybe the x has a negative connotation to me, as in x-ing out the wrong answer. Maybe the association with the multiplication symbol connotes complications. Maybe it's that they are all lined up in boring rows, or that the x shape just looks, to me, like a flattened, headless body. I'm going to try some other configurations.

This one just ended up very patchwork, and you really have to hunt for the kaleidoscope pattern. Boring. It looks like a design you'd see printed on a cheap bedspread.

Another boring, too predictable design. I keep seeing the Mac computer's spinning beach ball of death...

This is a Cathedral window kind of kaleidoscope. It's very pretty, but the scale of it is too big for the size of the quilt. Plus, there's so much white, and it's so defined, that it detracts from the wonderful scrappiness of all the different fabrics and colors.

This layout is very similar to the patchwork design, but if you squint you can see a circle around that center cross shape, and it would repeat in an interlocked design. I decided to go with this design.


But after I'd sewn together several pieces, John reminded me that Kathryn wants a scrappy, colorful quilt that doesn't look too planned. This one, with all the colors separated by white, looks too organized and bright for the vintage look I'm going for.

So, out came the seam ripper, and an evening was spent un-sewing. Somehow, that always seems to happen right after Ralph has vacuumed, and I drop stray threads everywhere. Thank you, Honey, for being patient with me!

So, now I'm back to the original design, but look! I've set the blocks on point, so instead of an x I have a +!
The wedges are diamond shapes, now, instead of flattened bodies, and the design doesn't appear so grid-like.



Thanks to Cris, who is letting me borrow her sewing machine, since I burned out my own machine. Her solid Kenmore is humming through these blocks for me, and I look forward to seeing it come together. Next decision will be whether to run the design all the way to the edges of the quilt, or to surround it with white and let the design float in the middle.
I know what I think now, but I'm sure I'll have to experiment with different options before I finish.

Did you make it all the way to the end of this post? Are you bored, or did I catch your interest with my quilty thought processes?

Daisy Pillow

For Father's Day, which was also our anniversary, I asked Ralph and John to go see a movie, go see two movies, in fact, and to leave me home, alone. They did, and I enjoyed some peace and quiet, and worked on this pillow. To find out more about it, click on the Flickr link on the right sidebar...
Ralph and John returned, having enjoyed their movies, and Joseph surprised us with his arrival, and we shared a yummy barbecue dinner together.
Ahhh, we're through the Ralph's birthday-Mother's Day- Ralph's graduation-my birthday-Father's Day-anniversary season of celebrations. It always overwhelms me!

Master of Arts, Theological Studies

At the Senior Class Dinner

“You should get an award for the longest commute!” That’s what many of Ralph’s professors and fellow students said as they congratulated him at the Senior Class dinner and the commencement and reception. When Ralph explained that this year he’d frequently taken the train to and from San Diego, which afforded him several hours of dedicated reading/study time, their eyes often glazed over with wishfulness that they’d had the time to do the reading and coursework demanded of seminary.

Entering the church for commencement service.

Ralph started his Bethel Seminary education at North Coast Calvary Chapel in  Encinitas, where as a staff pastor he facilitated a seminary off-site class, and took advantage of the opportunity as a student, himself. Once he was enrolled, Ralph’s natural academic bent was invigorated. When I met him, Ralph was a pre-ministerial philosophy student at NAU, considering seminary at Gordon-Conwell, Fuller, and Denver. The Christian zeitgeist, however, encouraged Ralph to fast-track his ministry path via Calvary Chapel Bible School and Vineyard Christian Fellowship internship and in-house training. That enthusiasm to jump into ministry prompted Ralph to jump out of his bachelor’s degree program before he finished his senior year and earned his bachelor’s degree. Bethel recognized the extent of Ralph’s college coursework and his years of ministry experience; they waived the degree requirement and accepted him on probation for the first two quarters, during which he excelled.

Ralph smiling for his brother's camera

Changes and challenges notwithstanding, Ralph continued to take classes as steadily as he could, sometimes with me demanding he not quit! When we moved to Santa Maria, Ralph took intensive classes that met for several hours in a week, and required independent reading, research, and written responses. He took online classes, and independent study classes. And, for several quarters, he commuted to San Diego, stayed with friends in their homes, and worked in the library as much as possible before driving home. When he started taking the train, he learned the bus and trolley system in San Diego as well, and further increased his education in practical ways!

Looking scholarly!

Throughout his academic career, Ralph has impressed me with his dedication to thoughtful and quality work. He respected and learned from his scholarly and missional teachers. He read the books. He participated in group on-line discussions and projects. He wrote countless papers, reflections, essays. He earned top grades in all his core classes. And he let it soak in and challenge and inform his intellect and his soul. And he still came home and took out the trash, washed dishes, mowed lawns, etc. I am very, very proud of him.

Ralph with Mark Foreman and fellow mentee and graduate, Bernard Jones.

At the graduation ceremony, there was a dignity and solemnity when Ralph walked across the stage, knelt when his hood was placed on his shoulders, received his degree, and was greeted by his mentor, Mark Foreman. Mark is the pastor at North Coast Calvary Chapel, where Ralph first started taking Bethel classes, and was, long before that, Ralph’s teacher at Calvary Chapel Bible School, and one who hired Ralph to himself teach at CCBS, and who also pastored a Vineyard Christian Fellowship for many years. Eight years later, 20 years later, 35 years later, Mark’s participation in Ralph’s ceremony was significant to us.

Proud family members!

We stood when Ralph’s name was called; I was joined by John,  Maristella and Cory, Vicki, John and his friend, Cristina, and our friend, Darron. Evelyn joined us afterwards, when we enjoyed lunch together at PF Chang’s. Ralph put on his mortarboard to protect his head from the sun, and other diners congratulated him on his big accomplishment. Then, we drove home. And we’re open to whatever might be next!

Here I am!

This blogging stuff is harder than it looks. Especially around Christmas; I was so busy, too busy to stop, take a picture, and describe what I was doing or how I felt about it. Plus, I was working on presents, and I didn't want to post pictures before the giftees received them!

Star in Star for Molly

Star in Star for Emma

Dog for Mackenzie.
Made from a pair of Bill's Nordic ski socks.

Then, I had the BEST Christmas EVER!
There came a point when anything that wasn't finished didn't have to be finished. When the focus was on being ready for my kids to come home for Christmas, and that's all. The Tree got decorated, the lights hung on the house, cookie dough in the freezer. Ready.

What an honor that everyone came and stayed! There was lots of game-playing, and movie-watching, and hiking, and tide pooling, and visits to various parks, and cookie decorating, and lots of talking and laughing!

There was plenty of great food, but food wasn't the focus as much as being together, and working together. Though I didn't work at all! I cooked twice, and I cleaned once. The rest was all done by my great family! Homemade pizza, the most awesome macaroni and cheese, delicious tempeh and veggies, salads; healthy, wholesome goodness.

Honestly, the more I hear about other families, the more I like mine.

Joseph said, "I like this grown-up Christmas," and I know what he's talking about. The grown-up perspective that wasn't about presents or expectations, plus the magic of Poppy's Christmas experience made it all fun.

I wrapped several of my Christmas books, and every day Poppy unwrapped one or two, and we read them to her. After learning about the Nativity story, Poppy rearranged creches to honor the most important figure.

The adult kids enjoyed an evening out while Ralph and I took Poppy, with the required popcorn, hot chocolate, and Christmas cookies, to see lights on houses. And she loved Christmas presents, from the boring pajamas and slippers to the Light Brite and pink scooter!

On Christmas Day, the household doubled in size with the addition of many uncles and aunts and cousins. I loved every minute of it. Ralph never got to play croquet, thanks to the weather, but there was ping pong, Spades, Scrabble, and plenty of conversation to go with all the good food!

I still want to show you a couple other things I made for Christmas.

A dress for Bethany's favorite childhood doll, Becky. Remember the Strawberry Shortcake dress I made for Poppy? Bethany totally saw the resemblance, and loved it. Poppy isn't really old enough to love Becky yet, so Becky will continue to live here in uninterrupted sleep until Poppy is ready to treasure her.

You either think this is creepy, or cute. It's me, huggable, with a plateful of cookies and an armful of books. Got the idea from Angry Chicken. Bethany said Poppy had fallen asleep a few times holding a broken Christmas ornament photo of me. This will be cozier.

Have I gotten you caught up, now? I'm still trying to keep up, here!
Happy New Year! I hope I'll give you lots to see here this year!