I can't believe

that my granddaughter took a sewing class and lived to write about it. I am so proud of her!!!! Now if she can only learn to sew buttons on she will have it made. Here she is in her twenties and finally decided to take on a sewing project. In my day everyone sewed. I learned to sew on a treadle sewing machine. You had to push the pedal with both feet, some people used the toe-heel method, others used the two foot power push and once you got it going you had to watch your fingers and guide the material through the sewing process. The only "A" I got on my report card in 7th grade was in home ec. It was a breeze for me since I had been sewing for two or three years. We made an apron with two pockets, one on the bib and one on the waist.

My mother and my great aunt made all our clothes. I didn't get a "boughten dress" until I was in high school. Those clothes my Mom and Aunt made lasted through several children. I was lucky because I was the oldest and didn't have to share hand-me-downs. Today we are lucky if we can find something made in the USA, since most of the clothing is imported. Grandmother

Best Video Ever

If you are looking for a pick me up, this is the best video for it.  Enjoy!  Daughter.

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2008/04/29/vo.thailand.dozing.bear.cnn

Hook, Line But No Sinker

Hubby and I finally got out flyfishing. We took a couple of days and enjoyed the scenery at one of our favorite streams. The weather was great which is important since I am a fair weather flyfisher. As usual Hubby was hooking fish right and left and I was standing with my line catching twigs, moss...everything but fish. I finally got annoyed with watching him reel them in and headed upstream and out of sight of him. That was when I hooked this beauty. I never fish with a net so wading back to the bank with the fish in tow was a bit of a trick. I managed to get on stable ground and took off my backpack and got the camera out with one-hand. Of course at that time the fish decided to start flipping madly around. I told it to stop thrashing and let me take its picture and it could be on its way. That's when I got this shot. True to my word I released the hook and the fish took off glad to be rid of me, the camera and the hook! Mom

Sew Talented...

When I was younger, I was known for being headstrong--doing what I wanted, when I wanted and how I wanted. Needless to say this caused many disagreements between my mom and I, one of which was the battle over learning to sew and cook. The last thing I wanted to do at the age of 13 was become domesticated. I refused to sit with my head bent over a needle and thread, and I certainly stayed clear of the kitchen anytime my mom was offering cooking lessons.

Now at the age of 24, it's hard for my mom and grandmother to believe that I just took a sewing class. I think my mom asked me to repeat myself when I first told her, as I'm sure she couldn't imagine that little girl who used to pitch a fit to avoid a sewing lesson actually sewing.

During my first project, a small pillow with a zipper, I found that I'm not the best with a thread and needle as I pricked myself about 15 times. Plus, I'm sure all my classmates thought I was incredibly unfriendly during the class as I said close to nothing because it took all my concentration to work on my project and I really couldn't afford to be distracted for fear that I would ram the needle right through my finger.

At one point during the four-hour class, I almost gave myself a heart attack. We were finishing the zipper on our pillows and I went to unzip mine and literally my heart stopped and my cheeks flushed because I had sewn the zipper together. In my head I kept saying "stupid Lindsay" over and over again, and at the moment I was deciding between leaving or fessing up the instructor came by and simply told me to unstitch the stitching. Apparently we were supposed to sew the zipper together and I got myself all worked up for nothing!

Needless to say I'm not sure I'm cut out for sewing, but believe it or not I'm not ready to give up yet. I'm planning on taking the tote bag class and the apron class. Surprisingly it will take more than a few pin pricks to turn me off to sewing!

FYI: Look for a photo of my pillow in the near future! Daughter

Rusty trees

Driving through the mountains in Colorado the pine trees have a rusty look to them. This was the front page article in our daily newspaper yesterday. The article caught my eye when I picked up the paper and started to shake off the beetles. After closer inspection the beetles were printed on the article. When my husband saw the paper he shouted "we've got bugs!" I assured him they were "printed beetles."

The beetle infestation has multiplied due to global warming making climate changes. Not only have the fir trees been invaded but now aspen trees have been taken over with a fungus, two bark beetles and two wood-boring beetles. These die offs are not good, as the dead trees decay and slowly release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which can lead to more climate changes.

It is amazing what you can learn when the onslaught of beetles bring your attention to the information. Grandmother

Happy Earth Day!

With today being earth day it is a good time to celebrate honeybees. They are such industrious little workers. They have begun their spring attack of my Chanticleer pear tree. Honestly I don't know what they find so attractive about those blossoms because even though they are quite pretty they have the most disgusting smell. I can smell them halfway across the yard and they certainly do not invite me to stick my nose into their fluffy petals and inhale deeply. But there must be something about them that invites the honeybee to flit from blossom to blossom until his pollen sacs are so full that he has to head back to the hive. Without bees to help some of our fruits and vegetables along we would be in a sorry mess. So celebrate the dedication of the hardworking honeybee by slathering some golden honey onto a thick slab of toasted homemade bread and savoring the deliciousness. Mom

It's Such a Great Feeling!

Yesterday my husband and I participated in a program to plant trees for the elderly and disabled in their yards. Most of the people were so appreciative and ecstatic to be getting a tree or two in their yard, but the first house we went to made an impression on us. A group of 9 of us drove up to the house and met the owner. Chris came rolling out in his motorized wheelchair. He was a very pleasant and talkative fellow and we learned that he had served in Iraq and was a medic in the Marines. He was pulling a fellow Marine out of a danger when he was shot in the back in 2004.
While we planted his three trees he kept telling us how thankful he was, but we were the one thanking him and we couldn't thank him enough. He gave to serve our country in a war that is currently unpopular and came home a totally different person, but he has such a positive outlook and says he is just glad he is alive that if any of us had any complaints that morning they quickly disappeared. I just hope that his trees grow and that he can sit and enjoy the shade, because if anyone has earned that privilege it is him! Mom

Are we good stewards

of Mother Earth? This Saturday was Earth Day here in Western Colorado. At the county fairgrounds several local green businesses strutted their products and made us aware of what is happening by thinking "green". Several booths peaked my interest with organic clothing, organic fertilizer, solar heating and cloth diapers. Now when my kids were babies we used cloth diapers. Memories of washing and drying them came back. Often times when we didn't have a dry diaper we resorted to using dish towels. Of course the towels were cloth and soft and handy. In today's society we have diaper services. They use cloth diapers, pick them up to launder and deliver right to your door, no commercial diapers for the land fill.

The organic fertilizer is made from 100 percent certified organic material and has no toxic, poisonous herbicides or pesticides. When you think of all the toxic fertilizers and pesticides that end up in our water supply I think that organic fertilizer has a great potential. With natural gas prices going up each year the advantage of solar heating looks good. The panels are attractive and blend into the roof line. The cost of installing solar panels is expensive but in the long run will probably pay for itself. I have been using cloth grocery bags for some time now and find them more convenient. They hold more and are stronger. Some grocery stores give you a rebate for using them and no plastic sacks littering the land fill. Let's help protect Mother Earth and think "green". Grandmother

They're back!!!!

Every morning we take our dog "Smokey" for a walk on the river trail beside the Colorado River and we have been watching for the Great Blue Herons. These stately bird are LARGE. They range from 36 to 54 inches in height and can have a wing span of 71 inches. While they are fishing in the river they watch you walk along the path and if spooked take off majestically into the sky. We were concerned for them as they have taken out the Tamarisk along the river and have left the area exposed. Herons like to nest in high trees away from people. The sky around our area is often dotted with other species of birds. Lately we have been watching 9 Turkey Vultures circling near the river. Our bird feeders are filled waiting for the wrens, chickadees, sparrows and of course we are often awakened by the song from the robin on the branch outside our bedroom window. Grandmother

Lost Opportunity

A principal in an elementary school in McLean, VA has banned the game of tag during recess citing that the children have become intensely aggressive.

Isn't that the first course of action that is so often taken? Remove the thing that is causing a problem. Why isn't the first course of action to consider how to create change and make a teaching moment out of it? It seems to me that this principal is missing the perfect opportunity to teach children about appropriate social play and setting specific rules about behavior that is acceptable vs. behavior that is not acceptable. By banning the children from playing tag they are missing a chance to change their behavior and learn. As a result they will probably continue to engage in aggressive behavior...only now they know not to do it on the playground at school. Mom

Pen and Paper

I've been having writer's block with this blog. So as my mother has recommended many times in my professional life, I'm starting by going back to the basics--I'm using a pen and paper to write my ideas and then I will transcribe them onto the computer. Now this may seem redundant to some, but a computer can never open the gateway to creativity like a pen and paper can. Every time I have a deadline I stare at that blank computer page and that darn blinking cursor just waits and waits and waits for divine inspiration to strike me. But it never does because the page is like a concrete barrier and I need a bulldozer to break through to the other side where creativity, coherence and beauty lie. Inevitably I turn to the pen and paper and one word at a time that insurmountable barrier has been reduced to mere rubble and on my piece of paper lies a great beginning to another article. From this writer's perspective, computers may one day rule the world, but my hand will still be searching for that pen and paper. Daughter.

They can't bottle

the smell of spring. Today the sun is shining and there is a soft breeze blowing the fresh newly rained air. I hung our sheets and towels out on the clothes line to dry. We never had dryers when I was growing up. Saturday's chore was washing the clothes in a wringer washing machine and then hanging them up to dry. We had 15 lines on our clothes line and a five gallon bucket of clothes pins. My mother hung the clothes neatly on the lines but my sister and I lumped socks, small clothes and towels in clumps. In the winter time the clothes were stiff as boards and were laid out in the living room by the fire to finish drying. Needless to say it took most of the day to do laundry. I do enjoy the automatic washer and dryer but those perfumed dryer sheets do not take the place of fresh air. The smell of clothes off the line just beg to have your nose buried in them. Grandmother

Play Nice!

Lately the news has been filled with stories of students ganging up on an art teacher, a 10-year-old and 11-year-old pulling another child to the ground and kicking and beating her so severely that she ended up with a broken hip and of clandestine meetings where high-school students gather to watch fistfights between two other students. One thing that is certain is that kids are not being taught respect and manners anymore. When I was a child we played games that invoked learning the niceties of society. Games like "Mother May I", "Red Rover", and "Red Light, Green Light" taught us to take turns, to share and to make polite requests.

It doesn't take a genius to see that the learning of social manners is being neglected to significant degrees. Perhaps the software designers of electronic games should stop designing games of violence and start designing games where the hero gets through the castle doors by demonstrating how to say please and thank you.

Parents need to start taking responsibility for being parents and request that their children use manners in the home and that they show respect for others. Being civil in our relationships with one another is necessary to prevent chaos in society! Mom

My radio

I remember how important a radio was. It was our link to places we could only imagine. I was about 6 or 7 when my grandparents got a radio. They lived across the road from us and my sister, two brothers and myself spent the evening hours at Grandma's for an hour. (This was one way our parents got us to do our homework.) Our imaginations worked overtime visioning the life saving action of Superman, how the West was tamed by the Texas Rangers and who could forget Captain Preston of the Royal Mounted Police. When I saw the movie Superman I was so disappointed because I had envisioned him as a strong, husky, outdoors person,(privately I had thought he would look a lot like my Dad.) On Saturday mornings my sister and I would dust and clean Grandma's parlor so we could listen to Let's Pretend, followed by Grand Central Station. In the summer we made time so we could listen the the "soaps", Ma Perkins, (sponsored by Oxydol Laundry Soap,) Our Gal Sunday (sponsored by Sweetheart Hand Soap) and One Man's Family, (sponsored by Postum.) For those of you who do not know about Postum. It was a substitute coffee, since we could not get real coffee during the war years. For a birthday present from my husband I received a Satelite Radio. My favorite station is the "Oldies" where I can reminisce about those earlier days and listen to some of those characters that captured my imagination. TV will never replace those memories. Grandmother

Words From The Past Ring True Today

Craig sent me this link and the words are worth listening to today and tomorrow and every tomorrow after. Click on it and listen to words spoken by the great entertainer Red Skelton in 1969, thirty-nine years ago. Mom

Springtime and

baseball bring back memories. I was on a softball team for a couple of years in my younger days. My sister, sister-in-law, cousin and some neighbors decided to play in a spring league. One of our neighbor's folks owned a bar and they decided to sponsor us. We had shirts with their logo, Hi Ho Club and considered ourselves a team. The best part of being sponsored by a bar, is that they bought the drinks if we won. Now that wasn't very often but we had a good time out there, trying to beat the other team. Third base was my favorite position, it seemed a likely spot for me as very few hits came my way. It gave us girls a night out, our husbands tended the kids and once in a while they came to the game but the guys had a problem keeping track of the kids. We probably lost more games than we won but I remember the feeling when we did lose. I like league play, it goes faster and you sit closer to the dugout and can watch the expressions on the player's faces. Baseball and softball are great sports and when you can watch the game, it is SpringTime!!!. Grandmother

Snake Bite

The diamondbacks sunk their fangs into the Rockies yesterday during the season opener and the team died a slow, venomous death. Although the fans showed up it seems the Rockies are still off season. Their playing was no where near what is expected of a team who played in last year's World Series. Disappointing doesn't even begin to describe the pathetic show the team made. It looks like the batting and pitching coaches have some work to do. Hopefully the team will show up for a game sooner rather than later.

On the plus side the schizophrenic spring weather that Colorado is known for turned to the fairer side and while fans in the shade sat in their coats, fans in the sun basked in strappy tops and shirt sleeves. The opening ceremony was the best part of the whole game with a fly over and ceremony honoring our armed forces.

The most optimistic summary of the game is that the Rockies can only go up from here because one thing is certain, they sure can't play any worse! Mom

Happy Birthday

Grandaughter-in-law. Hope your day is a great one!!!! Remember you are not getting a year older but a year wiser. Birthdays are always special and I hope this is one to celebrate. Don't count the candles just light them up and blow them out!!!! Lots of love, Grandma

To The Birthday Girl!

This day is yours,
May all your wishes come true.
There is magic in the air,
No worries, not a care.

Errands and deadlines can just wait,
For it only happens once a year.
When candles on a cake are lit,
And packages wait to be ripped.

Many happy returns are sent,
tied up in pretty bows.
And rejoices of good cheer,
To last all through the year.

Happy Birthday to my daughter-in-law! Mom

Creativity, Wherefore Art Thou?

I have always been envious of artistic people, primarily because I am not. I have tons of ideas floating in my head, but whenever I try to translate them into art they end up being blobs, stick figures and UFOs.

I have read all the "how-to" books like "Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain" or the "Artist's Way" and although the suggestions did improve my skills, it is hard to draw a lot of things upside down and standing on your head doing landscapes just isn't practical. Looking at things upside down is suppose to take your left brain out of the picture and let the right brain take over. In my case I have a pretty bossy left brain so it is very challenging for my right brain. Now I am reading another book, but I like what this book has to say. Barbara Olson in her book "Journey of an Art Quilter" writes, "We are all creative beings. It is through a clearer understanding of our unique energy and spirit that our creative expression will manifest."

I like being considered a "creative being" and trying to be creative in quilting I am taking a design class. For our last class project we were to do a small design with lines. The picture above is what I created. I was concerned that the instructor would find all kinds of things wrong with it but to my amazement she was very positive in her comments. I left class feeling like maybe, just maybe I had a "creative being" and if I keep trying very hard I just might unleash that unique energy and spirit and surprise myself! Mom

Have you ever wondered

how fresh the eggs you bought at the grocery store were? Growing up on a ranch we always had fresh eggs. They tasted good and when you broke them the white did not run all over the pan. I had to do some research and discovered you can tell the date the eggs were packed. Go to the "sell by" date and you will find another number. This number indicates the day the eggs were packed. It represents consecutive days of the year (January 1 being 1 to December 31 being 366). I checked the last carton of eggs I bought and found out they were packed on day 71, which would be March 11. (Don't forget this year is leap year so there is the extra day.) After the egg is collected, it is graded and "candled" for defects and then cleaned before packing. So this may mean an extra 2 or 3 days. I bought my carton of eggs on March 17, so they could have been 8 or 9 days old when I purchased them. Eggs can be kept 4 to 5 weeks after the "sell by" date if refrigerated. No wonder the white ran all over the pan and the yolk was flat. Grandmother