Father Christmas and London

Well, here I am again.  The “London” part of my post is another one of my shameless Grammy posts, LOL.  I have been tending my DGD, now aged 15 months, once a week.  These pictures are from a couple weeks ago. You can tell because my kitchen is bright with sunshine from the skylight. And sunshine is far too infrequent here this month...

Here is London with “Melmo” that Grammy bought her.  Her new best friend.  “Melmo” is what DGS Hunter calls him, so Melmo it is...

London even likes her Melmo socks.  I couldn’t resist this picture of her hair. I’m a sucker for cute baby’s heads with soft curls...

When London visits, Boomer usually finds a quiet place AWAY from her. But on this day he ventured out for awhile.  She is really good with him, and vice versa.  It’s unusual.

I’ve almost finished up about five crazy-quilted Christmas ornaments.  I hope to have them ready for my next post, although one will have to wait until after Christmas, because it’s for a friend who may read the blog and recognize it’s for her....

So, in the meantime, enjoy some vintage Christmas postcard images.  I have tons of these, and might as well share.  I have a special fondness for old men with beards Father Christmas, so expect to see a lot of those.  

I debated about whether to include the one below.  I really think he looks like a demented serial killer... see what I mean?  If that little girl woke up and saw him there... What do you think he’s thinking??  Oh, never mind. I want to keep this blog’s G rating, LOL!!

I’ll be back with stitchy stuff soon.... you know how the Holidays get...

Hugs,

A Crazy Quilt Antique Store?

DH and I have been visiting his family in tiny Tubac, Arizona for years.  His brother Dennis, who owns the Tubac Trailer Tether (mobile home park, camp ground, laundromat and propane dealer) has lived there over 25 years.  It is about an hour south of Tucson and a half an hour north of the Mexican border.  We love it, and I have posted about it and its annual arts festival several times before (see the Tubac link on my sidebar).

But never before did I ever notice the CRAZY QUILT ANTIQUES sign on the little road from Tubac to Tumacacori.   Tumacacori (Too-mah-KOK-ah-ree) is a little town (not really even that... more a gathering of buildings) about 5 minutes from Tubac.   There is a restored 1752 Mission there, a world-famous (no joke) spice shop named Santa Cruz Chili and Spice Co.   I even saw it listed in the Supply Source section of two of my Mexican cookbooks, and they have a cookbook available on Amazon.

The pix above and below were from February 2009 when we visited...

But I digress.......  The Crazy Quilt Antique Store.  I didn’t see it, but cousin Kim was in the car and she, knowing my CQ addiction, blurted it out excitedly.  I did an immediate U-turn (no traffic there, LOL) and we pulled in.  It was deserted.  Beyond deserted.....  let me show you...

Needless to say, after Kim took the pictures, we proceeded on our way to the spice store.  And after spending a bundle there for the last several years, all I bought this year was Chinese Five Spice, some taco seasoning blend, mulling spice (for cider), and nutmeg.  But the smell of the shop alone is worth the trip!

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While we were visiting Bruce’s family, we were given some old family pictures that included Bruce as a young boy and young man.  I fell in love again!

 These were taken in a photo booth when he was a young teenager.  Doesn’t he look mischievous?

And here is his (handsome, IMHO) official Army photograph

...and about ten years later kissing Sarah, who is cousin Kim’s daughter Sarah (and is now a mother of two herself!)

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And finally, this is how we celebrated our Thanksgiving.  An open invitation is extended to all the residents of the trailer tether (hey, they aren’t too uppity to call them trailers, even though some of them are really nice double-wide mobile homes) and even lots of the town merchants and residents.

About forty people attended.  We had three turkeys and all the trimmings.  And sunshine!

Below is the back of our family trailer/mobile home (the brown one) where we stay whenever we visit.  Bruce’s brother Dennis, who owns the park, is the one in the left foreground with his back to the camera.  Next to him in the hat is Lyman Blackwell, the man who invented the battery-powered smoke detector.  Really.  Google Lyman Blackwell or read this.  

And finally, coincidentally as I was preparing this post..... see the little girl in the picture above that Bruce is kissing?  As I said, it was cousin Kim’s daughter Sarah.  Her full name is Sarah Hadley, a nice old-fashined name, right?  Right.  Check out what I saw today on the home page of the Yahoo group Antique Pattern Library:

That’s it for now.  I’m off to cook dinner and then stitch some CQ Christmas ornaments  It should be a fun project while we sit drinking our coffee in the living room after dinner with a fire in the fireplace and the TV going. Or not going. Maybe I can get DH to give in to some Christmas music instead.....  Hey!  Where are my chestnuts??

Hugs,

Visiting Arizona And the Dam Bridge

... that’s the Hoover Dam Bridge, which is not only a dam bridge, but a damn HUGE dam bridge!  The media types were all atwitter in October over the opening of the Mike O’Callaghan - Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge (which will surely be better remembered as the Hoover Damn Bypass Bridge).  Check out one of the bazillion articles and videos here.    (Picture below is from Parade Magazine)

The bridge is the largest bridge in the Western Hemisphere, and is a soaring monument to human ingenuity.  We have driven from Las Vegas, over Hoover Dam and down through Arizona countless times.  It was always a traffic nightmare at the Dam, especially after the events of 9/11 forced tight security checks there.  Delays of an hour or more were not uncommon.   In addition to the traffic concerns, and in fact more important than traffic concerns, was the safety and security of the damn and the safety of the pedestrians and dam visitors.  So, long story short - the bridge was constructed over 8 years to span a huge gorge created by the Colorado River.

We were REALLY looking forward to seeing it and driving over it.  Well guess what?  Unless you get out and take the pedestrian tour, you don’t see anything!  About a mile or two from the bridge, you can see a portion of it in the distance for a few seconds.  And other than that, you never really know you’re on a bridge, much less such a grand one.  The side barriers prohibit any view from the car.  This is all that we saw....

What a disappointment!  Next time we make the trip (in February), we hope to be able to stop and do the tourist thing ...

Moving along, thought I would share some pictures of my BIL & SIL’s (Glenn and Annette) house and 5-acre property in the hills above Tubac, AZ, where Bruce’s siblings live.

Part of the side yard near the house

They are cactus lovers and literally have scores, if not hundreds, of species.

And some of the species do bloom in November!  

BIL Glenn explains to DH Bruce how they stack the rocks to make those artsy piles and towers.  To the right are cousin Kim and Annette.  Annette is Bruce’s sister and Glenn’s wife.  “Cousin” Kim is really the daughter (my age) of Bruce’s older (deceased) sister Faye.

Kim and Annette walk toward the back of the property.  

The arroyo (dry creek bed) that separates Glenn & Annette’s property from that of Dennis, who is one of Bruce’s other brothers.

Some desert brush

A lovely Mesquite tree.  Glenn collects the deadwood and burns it in their chiminea (outdoor chimney/heater - see below picture of backyard).

Backyard.  Chiminea is on the extreme right on the patio.  They have built a small wall around the immediate backyard to keep out the coyotes, javelinas (wild pigs), rabbits, etc.   What you can’t see is their amazing cactus beds along the inside of the wall.

An unusual cactus “volunteer” near their driveway.

I have other pictures of our Thanksgiving visit to Arizona which I’ll share in the next post.

Christmas Crackers Finished

Every year at Crazy Quilting International, we have a Christmas Cracker exchange.  These are fashioned after the English Christmas Crackers; however, ours contain CQ goodies like fabrics, beads, laces, etc.  We sign up to prepare and mail from 1-3 crackers (which are cardboard tubes filled with the goodies then wrapped and tied) to different members as assigned.  In turn, we receive as many as we send from others.  This year I signed up for two.  These are the finished crackers:

The cover fabric is a pre-done patchwork Christmas fabric that I purchased at JoAnn Fabrics about three years ago.  But inside......... well, I can’t say.   The recipients will receive them soon (if they haven’t already) and will just have to wait for Christmas to open them!

In the meantime, I’m waiting for the postman to deliver mine!  Isn’t it wonderful exchanging gifts with like-minded people who know and understand what you love?

Autumn Block Finished for Rita

Last week I was away on vacation in Arizona (more on that in a future post) and missed posting my Happy Thanksgiving message and the vintage graphics I had prepared for you.   So, to all my readers, I hope you had a wonderful day (regardless of whether you observe the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday or not) and made good memories with family and friends.

While on vacation, I did get some stitching time in, although not nearly as much as I had hoped.  It was one of the fastest weeks I’ve ever spent, and it seemed that there was always something happening.   Anyway ... this is the Autumn Round Robin block that I did for Rita.  I loved her colors!

Starting in the upper left, the vintage embroidery came from a large floral piece given to me by a friend at Wheeler Farm.  It was originally on black tulle that shredded whenever it was touched.  So I removed it from the netting and have begun using pieces here and there by simply tacking them on as I did here.  

The wreath is made of tiny scraps of leftover silk ribbon bits (some as little as a half inch).  I tacked them on with thread over a circular wreath base stitched with gold Kreinik braid in a feather stitch.

A funky owl on a branch and floral arrangement in the center.

Another vintage snippet; this time it’s a crocheted daisy.  The center is a pre-made sequin and bead flower.   Some basic seam stitching (which was actually done first) completes the block.

We are taking a round robin break at CQI for the month of December.   Over the past years, we’ve learned that it’s not wise to tempt fate with our blocks when the world is in a Christmas mailing frenzy!  These blocks did get mailed off today (it’s still November, after all!) to the next stitcher, but I will probably be without round robin blocks to stitch on for December.  But that works out great; I plan to finish up the Tea Time wall hanging and do some CQ Christmas ornaments.

I’ve got lots to post over the next several days, so take care and check back soon!

Hugs,

Blocks Pieced for Tea Time Round Robin

I have been packing and preparing to leave on vacation for a week - to Arizona for Thanksgiving with DH’s family.  We love going down there - and usually do every winter - but this year we missed our annual visit because of Bruce’s back surgery in February.

I’m taking the Tea Time wall hanging along to work on (and finish up!), as well as a block for the Autumn Round Robin I’m in.  And in January I have a couple other round robins starting.  One is a Tea Time DYB (where every participant pieces six 6” blocks, and every person stitches one complete block when it comes their turn).  Anyway, here are my six naked Tea Time blocks.

I found the batik cotton while rummaging through my stash.  It became my inspiration piece and stepping stone for the color scheme.  Of course, a lot of the block is covered as it is stitched, but I think it has the potential to be very elegant and different.  

So, I’ll be gone for awhile.  In the meantime, Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Real Iron Man

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this before, but DH works for a company that is into robotics.  He actually started working twenty-something years ago with the University of Utah.  Then that science research department morphed into a private company named Sarcos.   Sarcos did the robotic dinosaurs for Jurassic Park (the ride), and did the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas (that was actually one of Bruce’s projects).  They’ve done lots of other things as well, of course, including a lot of top secret work for the military.

About three years ago, Sarcos was purchased by Raytheon, and became a satellite company called Raytheon-Sarcos.  As of October first, they were officially absorbed into Raytheon and are now a specialized robotics division of Raytheon.

One of the most notable or attention-grabbing projects has been their “real” Iron Man suit.   It’s actually called an exoskeleton, or XOS for short.  You may have read about it in a newspaper (AP and UPI have visited, so has the movie studio from the Iron Man movie, etc.)   They’ve had write-ups in Scientific American and many other magazines.  And now the project has been named as by Time magazine as one of the best 50 inventions of 2010.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2029497_2030613_2029814,00.html

You can also watch a short (and interesting!) video about it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO0xNI3xpmE

And who says geeks aren’t fun?!?