April 30

 Yesterday was Debby and Randy's fifth anniversary. I agreed to have the girls overnight so they could get away for a little bit.

Debra warned me: Diane wakes up at 4:45 every morning. It will be miserable!
I decided it was worth it to have them anyway - I can always take a nap, right?

4:45 came and went, and not a peep. But then at 5:30 Madeleine woke up, and couldn't find one of the toys in her bed. That was all it took to get Diane up and going. So we left Ray sleeping in his nice warm bed, and the three of us came downstairs to play and do whatever you do at 5:30 a.m. when you're a toddler. It's been a long time since I was in this stage of life. When I wake up at 5:30 a.m. now it's because I have so much on my mind - and I get up and start taking care of those things.

I looked out the window and what did I see?

 And the snow is still falling (I hope Debby and Randy can drive out at the cabin with all this snow...). Yes, it is April 30. Our first snow last fall came on October 27. It's been six months of winter. Although with all the weather disasters throughout the rest of the country, I'm not really complaining. Just pointing out some weather facts.

Here is what my darling granddaughters look like at 5:45 a.m. (Please note that there is no picture of what I look like at this time. No one would use the word "darling".)

Madeleine

Diane

They are wide awake, and off and running. It's going to be a lovely day!

Grandmother's Flower Garden Update

I've finished my first flower, thanks to graduation ceremonies and a few doctor appointments. Here it is in its imperfect glory (the purple basting stitches are still in it - but that's not why it's imperfect):

I've got to work out a few kinks, and get back in my hand sewing groove. My whip stitches that attach one hexagon to another are showing. Matching thread might have helped. I've asked Marsha, my guru, for some hints and I think I'll get better at it on the next flower.

 Meanwhile, I've got a couple of ragamuffins hanging around this afternoon.

Diane and Madeleine

Madeleine and Diane

Diane

Aren't they the cutest??

One Magic Moment by Lynn Kurland

I took a day off from my busy life and sat down to read last week. I chose Lynn's latest book, and was pleasantly diverted.

I saw Lynn a couple of months ago and she gave me a proof of the book. Now it's out for real, and the cover is much prettier than the very plain blue one on my copy.

I liked the book, but it's not my favorite of her books (of which there are very many). But it was a welcome diversion for me.

A Couple of Ragamuffins

Here are a few pictures of Madeleine (age 3) and Diane (15 months) getting their wiggles out while the rest of us were in watching graduates receive diplomas. Their Pa'a needed to get some wiggles out too, so he took the photos.

April = BYU Graduation

It is another red letter day for our family. Beth's husband Bruce graduated with his degree in History from BYU. As a mother I appreciate university commencements much more than I did as the student graduating. With a little life under my belt I realize just how much has gone into an education. No one or nothing can ever take that away from you once you've accomplished it. 

Yesterday was Commencement in the Marriott Center with most of the 5000+ graduates attending, plus family and friends. Today were all the college convocations. Bruce's was the last one of the day, and it was a very large group. Handing out the diplomas took 70 minutes (Ray timed it, and they were very efficient about it).

As an added bonus Bruce's family came from Seattle, and it was delightful to spend time with them again.

I love any occasion where we celebrate education. This has been a wonderful couple of days. 

Beth, Bruce, and Rachel

Rachel and Ray

The graduate

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly

Audrey recommended this book, and I enjoyed it. It was a Newbery Honor book last year.

Calpurnia is an eleven year old girl living in Texas. She is the only daughter in a family of seven children. As the story unfolds in the year 1899 Texas is in the middle of a drought. We learn about Calpurnia, her family, and what life was like back then.

The book is entertaining and kept my interest the whole time. The Origin of the Species by Darwin is an element in the story, and each chapter of the book has an epigraph taken from Darwin's book. The epigraphs are cleverly chosen to hint at the chapter content, but don't give away what will really happen. I enjoyed rereading the epigraph after I read the chapter. I don't know how many children who read this book would do that, but I certainly did.

I would recommend the book. It's not heart stopping high adventure. It's good writing, and a good story.

Still Waiting for Spring

While in Carson City, Nevada a couple of weeks ago, I caught a glimpse of Spring:

I drove home from Tahoe in a mild snowstorm and we've had snow almost every day since then. I'm ready for the snow to stop, and all the buds to come to full bloom.

Bring on the green!

I Swore I Wouldn't Do It, But Here I Go...

I used to do a lot of handwork. An earlier post (click here) shows my first quilt, the Cathedral Window quilt, all done by hand. I've done lots and lots of embroidery - ever since I was a little girl. I can crochet, but not knit, and for a long time I did counted cross-stitch. It used to be relaxing. 

Then it became stressful. I used to do a lot of that stuff while watching TV. Now it seems like by the time I have any chance to watch television, I am just too tired to pick up any handwork. In fact, it's the last thing I want to do.

Life keeps changing and here I am in a new stage. I am now the one taking my parents to all of their appointments. When I go by myself I sit and read in an office while I wait. That doesn't really work when I'm with my parents. We talk. But I started feeling like I was going crazy just sitting so much. So I've decided to make a Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. All by hand. I'll work on it while I'm waiting with my parents. Then I can do something and chat at the same time.

I've gathered my tools, and they all fit into a small make-up bag that I can stick in my purse. I have pins, needles, scissors, a thimble, paper hexagons, and fabric scraps. Here's a glimpse of some of what goes in my little bag:

Here's a better shot at my new red thimble (thank you Marsha). Yes, red. Now, who can resist that? I may even learn to use it. Because of course, it's red.

I've basted some of the pieces, which are shown here just laid out where they will go in the flower. When I get a flower done, I'll post it. It might not be for several months. We'll see how this progresses.

Yesterday I waited at the hospital while my dad had knee surgery. I did some paperwork I needed to get done, then started basting hexagons. I finished basting nine of them. (There are 18 hexagons per flower: one yellow center, six of a solid color in the next row, and 12 of a print fabric in the last row.) It was pretty fun!

Added later: FYI - 1+6+12=19, not 18. My children stole all of my math brains for themselves.

A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear

Maisie Dobbs novel #8

I was happy to hear there was a new Maisie Dobbs book. The last book wrapped up like it was closing the story. This one at the end felt like it left the door open for more. I sure hope there is more to come.

I liked this one just as much or more than the previous books. If you haven't read them, dive in! Start with the first one and cruise you way through to this one.

Last week at my quilt retreat there were no televisions. So when I was done quilting for the evening (usually around 9:00 p.m.) I could snuggle into bed with my books and read with no distractions.  It was a great side benefit of the retreat.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

I read this book for one of my book groups. I never would have picked it up on my own - but I found it interesting.

This is an account of cells taken from Henrietta Lacks, a woman who died at about age 31, in 1951 or so (I can't remember exactly). Henrietta had cervical cancer, which cancer then grew and spread throughout her body very rapidly, and she died in just a few months. Her cells were harvested, then used in experiments trying to reproduce cells. Her cells, known throughout the world even today as HeLa cells, took off and grew like no other cells before hers. They have been sold and used for experiments over the last 60 years.

No one in her family ever received a dime for the use of her cells. The author became interested in the cells, which led her to finding out about Henrietta, and Henrietta's children and grandchildren. This book also tells us about them. Skloot has done a good job of making the science of it all readable.

It wasn't a compelling read for me. I was ready for it to be finished about two-thirds of the way through, but as I said before, it was interesting.

Quiltmaker to the Queen

I just got back from a wonderful week in Lake Tahoe. Trish and I joined my sister-in-law Elna and her friend Caroline, and 16 other women at a quilt retreat. We were taught by the Quiltmaker to the Queen, Jill Schumacher. She is indeed the queen of whole cloth quilts, and free motion quilting. Jill does all her prize-winning quilting on a regular sewing machine - not a long arm. She's won many awards for her stunning quilts. 

It was a wonderful week under her tutelage, getting a start on some new, more advanced quilting techniques.

Here are several glimpses of our week:

Just some of my stuff, ready to be loaded in the car.

The back of the car. This is only my stuff and Trish's stuff.

 We drove as far as Carson City on Saturday, and spent the night there. The next day we had some time to kill, so we did a little sight seeing. We walked around the grounds of the capitol building (very nice), then drove down to Mormon Station. Brigham Young sent a group to settle there back in 1851. It is considered by some to be the first settlement in that area.

Trish

Diane

Beautiful Lake Tahoe. My camera did not do it justice.

 We brought our own sewing chairs. Those who did not ended up stacking chairs to be high enough to quilt. No thanks to having to sew like that eight to ten hours a day for a week!

Our sewing area. The windows overlook the lake.

Where we lived for the week. 

Elna

Trish

Caroline

Diane

Diane, Elna, Caroline, Trish

Diane

Trish

Caroline

Elna

My first attempt.

My second attempt

Close-up of some of the stitching

All in all it was a great week. We sewed from early morning, long into the night. Well, to about 9:30 or 10:00, which felt like long into the night. I started another project which is not yet done. Pictures on that later.

Now back to reality. Sigh.