Rose of Sharcon

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T02:52:00.001-07:00

It was something like fifteen below as we stood outside and counted down to midnight, our fingers permanently grasping our frozen glasses of sparkling cider. ☺ The clear frigidity of the night made for surprisingly perfect conditions for the firework show, however. After I pried my poor numb fingers from my cup, I was able to take a few firework pictures. By the end, I was pretty sure my shutter (index) finger was going to fall off at any moment and shatter on the ground (and you know I never exaggerate!) Anyhow, it was a great evening, but I need to go to BED! ☺

Photoshoots

2010-12-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

I've done a few family photo shoots for various families lately. ☺ It's been fun!

The T Conrads

The B Conrads

The T Bakers

The C Fabers

And... while Cary was mocking those cheesy pregnancy shots some people take... I took one. ☺ ha ha ha!

It's been good to get experience with various group sizes and ages, as well as varying climates (although Upper Lehman wasn't as cold this year as it was for last year's shoot.) Now, I just want more lenses and eventually an even better camera. ;-) ha ha.

BORING! ☺

2010-11-01T15:27:00.000-06:00

Yep. More crafts. ☺ ha ha. Here are the little purses I made for Kara and Jenna.

Kara's

Jenna's

Mom's birthday was last week so I made her a queen quilt for her bed. I started cutting pieces for it over a year ago, and then just never had time to finish it. Finally, while she and Dad were gone for a week, I was able to finish it up and put it on her bed before they got home.

Ahava is pretty sure it is her quilt.

Well... that should be my last craft post for a while. ☺ I haven't been doing anything else. ha ha. I have stuff I'm supposed to be making for people, but I haven't been to town yet to buy fabric! So... until next time.

Jenna and then some...

2010-10-28T17:52:00.001-06:00

My little niece Jenna recently got the most adorable haircut - and was even able to donate her hair to Locks of Love. Naturally, I had to do a photoshoot. ☺

In other news... it's now basically winter. :-( Sad day - especially as we were having a lovely colorful Autumn just recently. I took these pictures only about a week ago after we had some rain. Maybe I should go out and get pictures of the same areas now. ☺ All the leaves are on the ground, and there was ice hanging on everything (including the flowers and the fountain) the other morning when I walked by the Center.

More crafts...

2010-10-13T22:00:00.001-06:00

Yeah... so I'm one of those people: full of non-stop, boring posts about the ridiculously lame crafts I've been making. Heh heh. ☺ Sorry! So anyway, Jessica picked these colors out and had me make a purse for her to give to Annie for her birthday. I quite liked the finished product if I say so myself.

Close of up flower applique

the matching coin purse to go with it.

My niece Kayli wanted a purse and didn't like anything Wal*Mart had, so I told her I would make her one.

She liked it.

Matching coin purse

Close up of ribbon flower. ☺

Kayli liked her purse, and so did my other nieces. I've been commissioned to make purses for Jenna and Kara in their favorite colors, respectively. ☺ When I've completed them, expect another one of these posts.☺

Family and Fall

2010-10-04T14:20:00.001-06:00

So, as Annette mentioned, we all went up the Scenic drive in GBNP this weekend to glimpse the last of the fall colors. We tried to do a Faber Family photoshoot while we were up there. Unfortunately, Mr. Aidan Faber had not had a proper nap that afternoon and was in no mood to be charming and accomodating. ☺ Hence, the following pictures. Ha ha.

Ella was quite happy - and an easy camera target ☺

Wow! A leaf!

Aidan was pretty grumpy, but his grumpy is still pretty darn cute. ☺

Craftiness...

2010-09-29T20:07:00.001-06:00

I have been having fun with my sewing machine this year. ☺ I'm definitely an amateur and an impatient one at that. I get halfway through a project being careful and diligent. Then I decide I'm ready to be done, and I sloppily rush through the last half. However, luckily, the results don't look as crappy as perhaps I deserve. ☺

Draven's Quilt

This summer, my cousin Natalie asked me to make her sweet and very energetic little boy a quilt for his new big boy bed. I was pretty proud of how it turned out. It's really just a modified log cabin block.

Also, this summer, my sister sent me the link to this cute idea and so I just had to try it out for myself.

My new roman shades ☺

I love them! They're cute, and they are good at blocking out light when pulled down.

My most recent fun project has been making purse/bag thingys. I've had in mind what kind of purse I wanted for a while now but could never find one in a store that I liked and/or could afford. Well, I had a few extra yards of that nice thick brown material left over from my roman shade making, and so I did several searches online for cute purse tutorials. Here's the one I finally went with, although I didn't actually use her dimensions or pattern. I changed the shape up a little for mine, and added pockets inside for my cell phone, etc., so mine is not reversible.

My new purse.

I had fun with the applique ☺

So then after I was done with mine, I decided to make some for my oldest nieces as belated birthday presents. You can tell I didn't use a pattern as they are different sizes. ☺ Ha ha. Oh well. They're unique.

I was trying to get that artistic fray with the appliques. Hopefully, over time, it will look better. ☺

I've made another bag (with different materials) that is probably my favorite, but it was purchased from me to be given as a birthday gift, so I better not post a picture of it yet. ☺ It's pretty darn cute though, if I say so myself.

Well, I still have several unfinished quilt tops stashed around my room and a completed quilt top that has yet to be given a quilt bottom, but instead, I think I'll go make another little purse. ☺ I think I have a problem.

Little Munchkins

2010-08-08T11:24:00.000-06:00

So I'm finally going through some of my pictures from mid July. I take a lot of pictures and 99% of them are of my nieces and nephews, and 70-80% of those are of my youngest niece and nephew. ☺ So... anyway. Here's one that isn't of kids though. ha ha!

Right before the little kitty got swatted by the big kitty. ☺

Bubbles are pretty fun.

So are kitties! This one has an unaccountable affection for Aidan - even after this picture.

Ella likes to talk on the phone. It's pretty darn cute.

14 inches later...

2010-07-22T14:25:00.005-06:00

So Chandra gave me a haircut today. ☺

Before

After

This will be making its way to the Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths program.

Actually almost 15 inches.

Double Rainbow!!! ☺

2010-07-11T14:17:00.001-06:00

I hear some people get pretty excited about these things. ☺Yesterday, here at EskDale we got to see one for ourselves.

Isn't it loverly?

Can't see the double bow in this one.

It really was very pretty, especially since everything is so green from all the rain!

Look! A rainbow! Wow!

Proof that Ella is the treasure at the end of the rainbow. ☺

Denise and Denephew...

2010-06-16T22:40:00.001-06:00

Because I am the worst blog updater in history, here are some pictures. ☺ But seriously, I really have nothing to say. I've been quilting, sewing, and cooking - all deadly dull to write about. I did have a jolly nice concert last week, but Annette is the one who actually took pictures of that, so go check out her blog about it. You can watch the videos there, too.☺ Below are just some pictures I took when Nutty and Cary were out a few weeks ago. Their kids are sort of cute, I guess.

Outside? Okay? K! Let's go!

Where's Ella?

There she is! And there's her food! Yum.

"Doo!" (That's how she says "Boo!" ☺

Aidan and Nyla are pretty inseparable

Basking in the sun together...

Taking an afternoon siesta together... ☺

Ella loves peek-a-boo!

And she really loves Grandpa John

Boys and dirt.

Aidan LOVES the outdoors!

Mom's newest baby

2010-06-07T23:40:00.000-06:00

She's very cute! ☺

Photography fun!

2010-05-15T23:57:00.001-06:00

I got a new camera this month and have found it to be excessively diverting! ☺Luckily for y'all, you three get to see a sampling of the results from my newest hobby.

Kitty trough ☺

I love kitties. ☺

It's pretty hard to get a good picture of Ella

She's just not very cute.

Okay, so honestly, she's the cutest thing alive!

But she makes me feel like a good photographer because anything with her in it looks good! ☺

Everyone likes to kiss this girl.

Wouldn't you?

Israel Trip - Week 5

2010-04-30T09:34:00.051-06:00

March 21, 2010 - March 26, 2010
Finally! ☺I am getting around to posting the last week of my wonderful, beautiful, awesome trip to Israel. The last week went by so quickly too. Cindy and I did a lot of whining about how we were leaving soon, so we made sure to hang out with our group of friends often! We played some awesome volleyball games (ha ha!), stayed out talking until the wee hours of the morning, and, frequently, regardless of what we were doing that evening, we had to sneak into Beth El house after curfew, which was an adventure in itself! ☺We had our last two days of work and finished off both the orchard and the vineyard, which I have to say gives one a delightful feeling of accomplishment. We also went on a couple more day trips. One day, we went to a Druze village (Daliyat?) to finish off our souvenir shopping. After we went to Haifa, toured the awesome gardens there, and spent some time at the beach. Our next - and last - little trip was down to Tel Dor, where we toured the old museum and then spent the whole of the morning basking on the beach. Ahhh... to be back in Israel. ☺

The beautiful peach orchard

A common sight!

Haifa

the Bahai gardens in Haifa

Cindy, Caleb, myself, and Cheri

the beach at Haifa

Hanging out

Some lovely ladies.

We laughed a lot.

Samuel teaching Cheri how to drive the tractor! ☺

The beach at Dor

We took about 45 pictures of ourselves... this is the best one I had. ☺

Toby befriending a little gnome.

Downtown Zichron Yaakov

It's MR. BEAN!!! ☺

Saying goodbyes. I hate goodbyes.

After taking this last picture Thursday night, we hopped into a van, drove to the airport and took the most miserable flight I've ever been on in my life! There was literally no silent moment. If one child ceased its relentless screaming through the night, another vexatious youth would take over rapidly to ensure no sleep was gained. I was excessively tired by the time we made it to Salt Lake on Friday evening. However, it was a splendid trip over all - one that I'm already ready to repeat - SOON! The weather here still hasn't quite made up its mind to be Spring... and I was used to beautiful nearly-summer days in Israel. I was spoiled! ☺Also, I miss all my new good friends terribly. If you haven't been to Israel yet, you really should go... and take me with you!

Israel Trip - Weeks 3 & 4

2010-04-28T15:37:00.001-06:00

March 7, 2010 - March 13, 2010

Wow. I need to finish my trip recounting before I completely forget everything! ☺Our week started beautifully on Sunday with a delightful day trip to Caesarea and the surrounding area. Our first stop was at the "Birds Mosaic" Mansion - which is a very neat place full of OLD mosaic floors that you actually get to walk on.

After, we went to the beach where we got to see some Roman aqueducts! Very cool!

Then we went, of course, to the ancient port city of Caesarea. There is a Roman style amphitheater there, and when we got there, an Asian church group was praising away. ☺ It was pretty cool.

Caesarea

Andrew wishing he had the body of a god. ☺

King Herod's Palace

King Herod's Hippodrome

Cheri and Cindy in front of where the Roman temple was...

After a couple more days of bible courses and such, we had another day trip - this time to the Golan / Galilee area. We were able to hike Israel's second highest mountain, Mt. Meron, take a boat across the Galilee, and tour Beth El's factory on the Golan all in one day. ☺

Here we are resting... about halfway up.

Daniella, Gabriella, and Cheri

Me and Cindy on the Galilee

Our boat guy, casting his net upon the water.

The strait (note the spelling) and narrow road down from the Golan. Although at times, it felt as if we were on a roller coaster, our bus driver, Joash, managed it very well!

March 14, 2010 - March 20, 2010

This week started out with a fun day of working in the Vineyards. ☺Beth El provided us with work clothes for those who didn't want to dirty their own, etc. We didn't have to wear them, but oh, did we enjoy them! ☺ Cindy and I had fun modeling in them. Someone told us if we (Cindy, Cheri, and I) started singing in three-part harmony, we could be the Andrews sisters. Ha ha! Throughout our time there, we worked in the vineyards, tying down vines, and in the peach orchard, thinning peaches (and having peach wars). Good times, good times! ☺

Lovely!!

Cindy thinning the peaches! ☺

Dani

About halfway through the week, we got a day off from working and took a trip to the south with Brother Joachim. Our first stop was Gilgal, the plains near Jericho, where Joshua and all the men of Israel were circumcised before taking the land. It was a really neat place. We were able to take a little hike through the valley there - some of us barefoot!

Ardelle and Tirtzah

Cheri and me

Tirtzah, Joachim, and Dennis

After our desert trek, we ventured to the Dead Sea!!

Some caves at the Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found)

Me and Cindy at the Qumran - Dead Sea behind us!

At the Dead Sea! Some of us dipped our feet in...

...and some of us floated about for a bit. ☺

Jericho

We took a little hike in the hills above Jericho and found this old abandoned bunker

complete with creepy dark hidden chamber!

Looking out from the aforementioned creepy chamber ☺

Later that night, we went to somebody's house in some settlement... I can't remember names or places anymore! ☺ Anyhow, it was the New Moon! We had a lovely evening.

Blowing the silver trumpets

If I zoom in on this picture I can see the crescent of the new moon, but looking at the tiny picture below, I can't

We had a couple more work days that week, and then that Friday we took another trip into Jerusalem to Yad Vashem - the Holocaust museum. It was a very sobering and informative experience to say the least.

This is the Monument to the Jewish Soldiers and Partisans who fought against Nazi Germany.

Later that night, after a lovely Erev Shabbat service at Dennis and Tirtzah's, the younger half of our group all went out to eat. It was Joshua's 18th birthday the next day, but he smooth-talked the barman into letting him have a drink a few hours early.

Cheri and Friedi (and Tobias in the background ☺)

Josh, Scott, and Michael

Jesse and Cindy

Caleb, Joshua, Scott, and Mike

The next day was a lovely relaxing Sabbath. Danny and Hannah Link invited us to an afternoon at the Rothschild Park! It was a wonderful day.

L-R: Judy, Tim, Danny, and Hannah

Tobias and Cindy

Later, we had an evening of Praise and Worship at Beth El house. It was awesome. Mike and Scott taught us some Hebrew songs that I still get stuck in my head. ☺ Well... that wraps that up! One more week to go! Let's hope I can remember it all. ☺

Israel Trip - Week 2

2010-04-22T17:38:00.001-06:00

February 28, 2010 - March 6, 2010
Sunday morning, we took a bus tour of the Beth El kibbutz. We toured the schools, the factory in Zichron, and the farm in Binyamina. That afternoon, we started our Bible Courses with the elders of Beth El. We had one or two sessions, depending on the day and with a different elder each time. Sunday evening, we went back to the factory and had a wonderful time with Brother Joachim. He told us the history of Beth El, and it was fascinating! They really have been blessed.

Monday and Tuesday, we had two Bible courses, in between free times and meal times. ☺ During our free times, Cindy and I would frequently walk up to the moshava in Zichron and look around the shops, buy soda, etc. - we also napped. ☺

Our view from our room in Beth El House

Cute little street kitty! ☺

Wednesday, we went to Magen Shaul again to tour the factory there. We also went to Shahak and toured the factory there! It was really neat to see the innovations they have - also it made me think EskDale needs some sort of industry. ☺

Thursday, we got up early and went on our first trip to JERUSALEM! ☺ It was a magical day! We were able to walk from the Mount of Olives all the way down into the Kidron Valley and then back up Mount Moriah into the old city and right up to the temple mount! Very cool.

Wall dating back to Herod's temple period.

The Mount of Olives is behind us.

On the Temple Mount - Western gate behind me as well as the Dome of the Rock

In the Old City

The Western Wall

Didn't even know this was there until after I took a picture!

Then I zoomed in of course, and got this

David's Harp bridge!

Leaving Jerusalem

Friday, we took another day trip! We went to the Carmelite Monastery on the top of Mt. Carmel - where Elijah called down fire. Then we went to Tiberius and spent the afternoon by the Galilee! It was wonderful. We spent Erev Shabbat at Kibbutz Merchaviah -which is a famous old kibbutz, I guess. ☺ We spent Sabbath with Beth El, and that evening John and Una Gere came from Silwan to talk with us.

On Mt. Carmel

Cute little Orthodox kids by the Galilee

Hanging by the Galilee and drinking Diet Coke! Ahhhh! ☺

Galilee (or locally known as the Kinneret) and some gulls.☺

Israel Trip - Week 1

2010-04-13T14:46:00.005-06:00

February 22, 2010 - February 27, 2010
So technically, we didn't get to Israel until the night of the 23rd, but we left Utah on the 22nd. ☺ Luckily, the various flights over really weren't bad. (The flights back were less than enjoyable - more on that later.) The next day, we spent the morning on a walking tour of Zichron Yaakov, which was the town we lived in during our time in Israel. It is one of the first Zionist settlements in the land and was founded in the 1800s by some Romanians with the aid of the Baron Rothschild. Thus, it has a very neat, quaint, and early-European feel. I really loved it there!

Some pictures from our tour of Zichron

We lived within the German Kibbutz of Beth El which exists in the town of Zichron. Beth El was founded in the late sixties (I think) by an impressive German nurse, Sister Emma, and her congregation. She felt such a calling to help the land of Israel and the people of Israel, and so they came with this complete servant attitude. At first, they were severely persecuted (their buildings and homes were vandalized and set on fire, etc) because, of course, this was relatively soon after the Holocaust and here are these Germans in Israel. However, they never pressed charges, but instead kept giving and giving to the community around them. Now they are well-known and respected across all of Israel. Their community now has about 700-800 people in it.

It was really neat for me to see how another community functions and lives in comparison with EskDale. I definitely saw a lot of similarities between our two communities - especially when comparing with how EskDale was thirty years ago. Of course, EskDale is nowhere near as large - and we don't speak German. ☺ ha ha. Everyone that I met from Beth El was wonderful. Seriously. ☺ They are all so darn nice!

The Beth El Factory - they produce an incredible filtration system for bomb shelters, and their product is used all over Israel.

Wednesday night (24th), we went to the Beth El mid-week church meeting. We got our little headsets and translating units and sat down, and then the meeting started with this awesome men's choir singing acapella in beautiful harmony behind us. I can still remember what they sang too - Open My Eyes, That I May See. At first they sang the verses through in German, but then they sang them in English too, which is apparently a rare treat! I enjoyed it excessively! And even though I usually like to see when people are singing, (especially male people ☺) it was really neat to have the song just sort of waft over the crowd.

Thursday we took a day trip into Samaria to Alfei Menashe where we visited with a very incredible couple, Charlotte and Uzi Lotan. That night, we had a meeting with the Beth El elders and their wives. It was neat because Cindy and I discovered that one of them had actually been to EskDale (clearly when both of us were away at college). They all of course remember Tara, Kiah, and my parents. ☺

Charlotte and Uzi

Friday, we took another day trip to Magen Shaul, Tel Jezreel, and Mount Gilboa. Mount Gilboa is the place where Saul and his sons died, and Tel Jezreel is where Ahab's palace was. It was a very fun day! Robin and Hanna Kurucz were our wonderful hosts, and their three kids were sweet and funny. Cindy and I felt a bit like children ourselves. ☺ We had a lovely Erev Shabbat at their house that evening.

On Mt. Gilboa

Tel Jezreel ↓

Sabbath day, we spent at Beth El where we had a lovely service in the morning, and while I can't positively remember, I'm pretty sure the afternoon consisted of a nap! Jet lag!!! ☺ Well... there is week one, in a nutshell. I'm surprised I remembered that much, quite honestly. Hopefully, I'll remember the rest and then I can make a blog book of my trip! ☺

Only in Israel...

2010-04-03T23:14:00.002-06:00

As all three of you know, I recently returned from a five week trip to the Holy Land of Israel. It was a truly remarkable experience! In the next little while, I may or may not try to write daily blog posts here covering my time there - for my memory's sake mostly! :-) We'll see if I end up with the time and energy to do that. ;-)

At any rate, I took about 1500 pictures and have been slowly trying to work my way through them: editing, cropping, deleting, etc... I thought this one was rather fitting for the season as we have been celebrating Pesach this week. I snapped this shot through the rain-splattered window of our van as we drove toward Magun Sha'aul one day. This tomb is exactly like what I've always imagined when thinking of Yeshua's tomb. Isn't that cool? History is everywhere in Israel... even just by the side of the road.

Love is Patient

2010-02-20T08:51:00.006-07:00

This is a journal entry I wrote in one of my college English classes (I think in 2006). I thought of it today as we will be having a service to memorialize one of finest women the world has known.

Love is Patient

I am a hopeless romantic. I’ve always loved and cherished the concept of man and woman falling madly in love and getting married to live happily ever after together. I know that a perfect “happily-ever-after” is not something any of us can realistically expect, but to me, the story of a couple, who has undergone the test of time and still remains in love after many years, is the most romantic, passionate tale of all.

An example that further appeals to this ideal of mine is the relationship between my grandparents. My Grandma Aileen has suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for more than ten years. At the start, Grandpa Bob wholly devoted himself to caring for her every need, but it soon became apparent that he was wearing out and needed outside help. Though he opposed the idea at first, we finally convinced him it was best to place her in the nearest nursing home, which is 100 miles away from where we live.

At least once a week, but often more, he travels to town to visit his beloved wife, who no longer remembers him. He sits beside her for hours, holding her hand and talking to her as if nothing has changed between them. Most days, Grandma sits in her chair, drooling and unresponsive, and I know her loving husband’s heart breaks for her and pains to see her so altered. Sometimes, though, seeing his face sparks her memory, her eyes light up, and she says, “Bob!” She smiles up at him, a beaming toothless smile, for she lost her dentures. Then, she giggles.

Several years ago on their 60th wedding anniversary, all eight of their offspring and the extended family gathered in the small nursing home to celebrate with them. My Uncle James played Grandma’s favorite songs on the piano while the rest of us sang along, looking at Grandma to see if she would recognize the melody and try to join in. Instead, she sat smiling, enjoying the attention of all these wonderful strangers about her. Whenever someone spoke to her, she giggled.

I was sitting beside her holding one of her hands and telling her how I was playing her beautiful old violin and how I’d never play it as well as she, when my Grandpa Bob walked up to her chair.
“Hello Aileen,” He leaned over and looked into her face. “Can you believe we’ve been married 60 years today? You look just as beautiful today as you did then.” Her eyes lit up as he spoke. “Did you know that you’re my favorite girl? I’m going to give you a kiss.” And when he did, Grandma giggled.

I watched all of this with tears streaming down my face. My grandparents’ most certainly have not had a “happily-ever-after” ending, and yet, I find myself longing for what they share. The touching moment I witnessed that day is something I shall never forget. That seemingly small display of affection represented an incredible, deep love that endured through sorrow, suffering, and disease – debilitating disease that removed from one mind all memories of that devotion. And yet even in the darkest moments, that love shines through, Grandma remembers, albeit briefly, and she giggles.

Sneak Peek...

2010-02-09T23:55:00.005-07:00

Here's a glimpse of what I've been working on... :-) For more than just a glimpse, come by EskDale Auditorium next Thursday or Friday night at 8:00. :-)

Ben and Chandra family shoot...

2009-12-09T23:05:00.005-07:00

More pictures... and yes, I do think I'm so cool with my fancy shmancy watermark. :-) Ha ha. Just kidding though. I am endeavoring to create a cute watermark, hence the 20 million different ones displayed below. Anyhow, I took Ben and Chandra's family pictures this last Sunday. We drove up to Lower Lehman campground (which was closed because of the snow). So we had to hike a little to find a nice photographic spot. It was bloody cold (10 degrees!) and so the twenty minutes we were out there felt like five million years, but we survived.

*I may have exaggerated just a tiny little bit in the course of the preceding paragraph. :-)

So here are some of my favorites. I took a lot... and... I don't want to post a lot... because... I'm lazy. :-) So there are just a few of many here.

These last two actually weren't posed at all, I'm just a creepy paparazzi stalker lady.

That's all for now though because I be tired. :-)

Ella Bella

2009-11-30T20:17:00.008-07:00

Yeah... I never remember this thing. I seem to have lost all ability to write anything of relevance so... just because I need to update - and because I have the most adorable little niece ever - here you go!

The Cute Boy

2009-08-31T13:47:00.001-06:00

Night on the Plaza

2009-08-16T09:42:00.003-06:00

Here are the videos from our lovely concert, in their original order! :-) I put them all in the same player and you can just move between them so that it doesn't freeze my page trying to load 500 videos at once. (I exaggerate slightly.) Just click the button to the right of 'play' and it'll bring up the list of videos for you to choose from. :-) Enjoy. We sure had fun this year!

4th of July

2009-07-06T13:00:00.004-06:00

Here are some videos I took at our Fourth of July celebration. :-)

Kiah opening up the program

Melanie

Dad

Kiah again

Chad and Lois

John

For more of my videos visit my Youtube channel: www.youtube.com/roseofsharcon1

Rainy day

2009-06-17T14:13:00.004-06:00

So, usually, here in the desert community of Eskerville, we get like 2 inches of precipitation... ALL summer, and even that doesn't happen until late summer when the August monsoons hit. Lately though, we have had rain every afternoon for almost two weeks. Crazy! Today was the worst though. I don't know if I've ever seen that much water out here at one time. After it finally stopped, I went out to get some pictures of all the newly created rivers and ponds. :-) So... enjoy.

Here's Gerry checking how much it was - almost an inch

And for Annette, here is the finished front of the Center. They're still working their way around on the sides...

The pretty new front door and the man who made it happen - Mike Childs.

And there it is folks.

SPRING!

2009-05-12T22:19:00.007-06:00

I'm sick of staring at the same stupid ugly post about my stupid ugly applique quilt. :-) Ha ha. Therefore, I am posting a few of my pictures from this past weekend. It has been an especially lovely spring, and also Aidan was here. Both of the aforementioned happenings provided me with ample photo-taking opportunities. The results are below. :-)

Aidan loving the "fah-wer"

Boo!

Holding the stick that would, seconds after this shot, destroy the lovely flower.

Just hanging out

Some pretty scenery :-)

Mt Wheeler

Looking across at all the pretty blossoms

Well... that's it for now. :-) Maybe there will be another boring quilt post in the near future.

Applique quilts

2009-04-05T11:35:00.007-06:00

I'm certainly a beginner when it comes to making appliques, but I have made a few quilts with them. Usually, I decided what my applique was going to be, and built my quilt around it. :-) So, for example, if I knew I wanted a crib size/lap quilt (45 x 60) with flower appliques that are 6 x 6 inches each. I would probably make a 15 x 20 table in Microsoft Word, knowing that each of the squares was 3 inches. Then, I'd just sort of make up a design around my appliques. :-) Ha ha. I know, I'm a total amateur.

For my first applique quilt, I just drew some simple flowers for my applique. Unfortunately, I'm a moron, and tried to attempt a weave pattern for the rest of the quilt, which was quilt difficult for my simple little mind. :-) It turned out alright. The appliques were cute, at least. I've learned if I ever want to do another weave quilt to simply use striped fabric instead of doing a billion strips. :-) Ha ha.

My second applique quilt was much easier, though still time consuming. The applique was a relatively simple butterfly. I did cheat and draw the antenna on with permanent marker instead of embroidering them on. :-) The part that was time consuming was my decision to have a sort of mosaic type pattern around the appliques: there were a TON of tiny tiny squares. Anyhow... it turned out pretty cute though, if I say so myself.

My most recent applique quilt was one I made for my niece-to-come Ella. :-) I got the idea for it from a picture I found on Google. I drew my own appliques, but the basic layout of the quilt is the same. These appliques were definitely harder for me than the above ones. For the most part, they turned out pretty cute though - I still think the cat looks stoned. ;-)

The color looks a little off, but there you go. :-) Ha ha. That's extent of my applique ability. Oh well. :-)
(Kenneth informs me that no one is going to read this, and no one is going to care. So... POOP ON KENNETH!) ;-)

Log Cabin Quilt

2009-04-04T21:22:00.008-06:00

So as I mentioned as a possibility in my last blog, here is a quilting post. I suspect with as much quilting as I've been doing lately that there will be several more to follow.

I don't expect anybody to actually read this, but it'll give me something to do. Not to mention, it will actually make me remember what the French Toast I did. Ha.

I decided to start with this one because I made two quilts from this particular block. The basic block for the log cabin quilt is pretty simple, actually, and looks something like this:

Since I first worked this out for a baby quilt, I wanted my final quilt to be 45 x 45 inches. My measurements for the strips in the blocks were:

Middle block: 1.5" x 1.5"
Number 1: 1.5" x 1.8"
Numbers 2 and 3: 1.8" x 2.8"
Numbers 4 and 5: 1.8" x 4.25"
Numbers 6 and 7: 1.8" x 5.75"
Numbers 8 and 9: 1.8" x 7"
Numbers 10 and 11: 1.8" x 8.5"
Number 12: 1.8" x 9.8"

(I've already added in a half inch for seam allowance)

For this size of quilt with these measurements, you need 16 log cabin blocks. Block assembly is easy, though time consuming. Start by sewing the middle square to strip number 1. Then add strip 2. Then add strip 3. You see where I'm going with this. :-) The picture sort of makes it obvious, right? Also, obviously, you can do the strips bigger and do less "logs" than the twelve I have, or add more, or whatever! This is just the way I did it.

The cool thing about the log cabin block is that you can end up with hundreds of different designs using the exact same block. It just depends on how you want the blocks arranged. I'm incredibly indecisive, so I used Paint and made up a sample of my basic block with colors similar to my material, and then copy/pasted a buttload of them onto the canvas and arranged them a billion different ways before I came up with my final design(s).

This quilt is the first one I made. It is 45 by 45 inches. Because the log cabin design only takes up about 3 x 3 feet, I added a 3 inch frame to sort of round it out (actually it's 3.5" including seam allowance).

A couple months later, I decided to reuse my cardboard cutouts of the log cabin strips. This time, I made a crib size/lap blanket which is 45 x 60 inches. So basically, I did the same thing, I just needed another row of log cabin blocks. I decided to go with more of an arrow look with the completed design.

Anyhow. :-) There it is, folks: THE LOG CABIN. Dun dun dun.

Deadly dull, I'm afraid

2009-04-02T11:53:00.006-06:00

I've realized that I lead a very unbloggable life. :-) I used to write fairly interesting blogs (or so I imagined) all the time back when I had a Xanga. Now I completely forget that I even have one, or when I do remember, I have absolutely nothing to write about. I can't think of a single interesting thing to say. How dreadfully sad. I should start taking more pictures of daily happenings and posting those, just for the halibut, but the problem is I also forget I have a camera until Aidan's around. ;-) Ha ha. Thus - the thousands of pictures I have of the dear boy. I've been quilting a lot lately though, so maybe I'll be very spinster-ish and do a quilting blog. ;-) Ha ha. Anyhow... this last weekend was my birthday, and my dear sweet boy and his parents came out. :-) Yay!

Me and the boy... and his mints.

Here he is walking with his harem. ;-)

Going down to the Amphitheater to play some Basketball

Playing Basketball

Posing for the camera

And here he is chattering on the phone. He's kind of a little bit cute.

This last weekend...

2009-02-02T17:41:00.001-07:00

Nett and Cary - and of course the Sweet Little Aidan Boy - were here. Prior to this weekend, it had been at least a month since they were here last, and as Aidan began walking in that time, he had not yet fully explored our house. Boy, did he enjoy himself! :-) As Grandpa and Grandma have a myriad of bookcases and Aidan loves books, his little heart was full of joy as he went from room to room to wreak havoc. As a result of this havov-wreaking, many an "uh oh" was uttered by his relations. He is also in the phase of repeating words after others, so consequently, his favorite thing to say is "uh oh". It is so stinking cute. I just dumped out the cat food and am eating some. "Uh oh!" I'm pulling Granpa's books out and throwing them on the floor. "Uh oh!" The cats are running from me in terror. "Uh oh!" Anyhow... the weekend is over, and to console myself over the absence of Aidan, I'm posting pictures and video. :-) Consider yourself warned.

This is his "Uh oh" face.

Awww!

This is, of course, not Aidan, but Megan, but I think she looks so darn cute in this picture I had to post it. :-)

Aidan and Auntie Janille

And a cute video compilation of the sweet boy...

Cats and cake...

2009-01-23T10:08:00.006-07:00

I never remember to post on this thing. Probably because it's more like work for me these days. :-) I used to be able to sit down and whip out a long, boring, sometimes "funny" blog in no time, and now... I can't even write anything... at all. So... I have to resort to pictures. :-) Ha ha.

We have a really dumb cat that thinks she is ALL THAT. The other night she jumped from David's back on to the top of my closet and sat there looking down on all of us. She had a very regal and pretentious look on her face like "Oh, my little subservient peons down there. How pathetic your existence would be without the priveledge of serving me." :-)

Well, we had a birthday party last night for my Aunt Sharla (that's where the cake part of the title comes in). Ava was there, of course, and was adorable as usual. :-)

Near the end of the evening, it was 'beat up on Ben' time, which was pretty fun.

Well... that's it for now. :-) Maybe I'll have more new and "exciting" pictures soon.

December...

2008-12-30T15:09:00.002-07:00

Yeah... so I never remember that I have this blog. Here are some videos and pictures that I have taken throughout December. :-) For the most part, Annette has already posted about all of this anyway. ;-)

Garrison School's Christmas play - Old McDonald's Farm

My neices make up half this class. Ha ha. Megan is the goat, Kayli is the horse, and Kara is the sheep.

Here is the Nativity program that the younger kids perform every year. It's in two parts.

I got video of the Baker Elementary play Elfis and the Sleighriders, but it's taking a bloody long time to upload... so if it ever does, I'll post it. ;-) In the meantime, here is Elfis - my nephew Christian - and Bix the elf - my nephew Caleb.

Well, Hanukkah is over already, but we got a big new Menorah for the Aud this year, so we met every night all together to light it. It was fun. I didn't bring my camera every night, but...

First night

Fourth night & Candlelight service

Candlelight service

Sweet little Aidan was rather fascinated by the whole flame thing. :-) ha ha

Fifth night (and dinner at the Center)

Well... New Years is coming up. Dean is going to set off some Fireworks at midnight, and we're going to have snacks and games at the Center. Then.... the dieting has got to start! ;-) ha ha!

They grow up so fast...

2008-12-08T10:06:00.006-07:00

My adorable nephew Aidan and his second cousin (I think, because their moms are first cousins, right?) Ava are very close in age and cuteness. Here they are with Jorja, another cutie.

Jorja, Ava, and Aidan

And last year at our Hanks' reunion....

And then at this year's Hanks' reunion. :-)

Next year, I won't be able to catch them. :-)

Home again

2008-11-25T22:52:00.000-07:00

Greetings to my faithful reader - which is probably accurate in the singular form :-)

I'm back from my brief excursion to the Caribbean. Rejoice. I know I am. :-) It was certainly a unique experience. Puerto Rico itself was very beautiful, the beach was wonderful, and Viejo San Juan was fascinating. The school part was alright. My teachers were good, and I feel like I learned a lot in a short amount of time. I didn't particularly enjoy being the ONLY student, however. (It was their "slow season.") It made for a rather lonesome experience - especially since I was alone at the homestay as well. My host Carmen was an easily irritated little old lady who spent all day watching novelas like Pasión and Sin Senos no hay Paraíso (that literally means 'Without boobies there is no paradise'.) I spent more time watching those than I care to admit. :-) I did a lot of sightseeing by myself (since there wasn't anyone else), even though I was technically not supposed to go out alone because of all the riots in the street. (Election time is a rather tumultuous period in Puerto Rico as Puertorriqueños are very passionate about their politics.)

Hopefully, even though I'm technologically challenged, I will be able to attach a slideshow to this post of my pictures. :-) The start of the slideshow will have pictures from the Florida part of the trip as well. I particularly enjoyed my stay there, spending time with Kate, Tracy, and the boys and meeting a couple new wonderful people.
All in all, it was a good trip, and I suppose I'm glad I went. :-) I think I would have enjoyed it much much more if there was even ONE more person with whom I could have hung out with. Oh well. Now that I'm home, I guess it's time to figure out what to do with the rest of my life! :-) Sheesh!

Well, I'm actually at work right now, and the two visitors I had in here have gone. So........ back to watching my favorite TV show on my new sunny green iPod. :-) hee hee.

Take luck,
Sharon

Counting Down

2008-10-14T14:08:00.004-06:00

I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am. Well, excited and scared. In just one short week (and one day), I will be flying away, far far away - to Florida. After a few days there with some amigos, I'm off to Puerto Rico for a month! It's going to be great! I must admit, however, that as the big day draws near, I've been having some rather peculiar dreams about anything and everything that could possibly go wrong while I'm there. They vary from the relatively harmless (the airport losing all my luggage) to the preposterous (being hit by a giant pink bus as I attempt to cross the street in San Juan Antigua). I kid you not.

Another thing I'm looking forward to in the even more immediate future is the end of my employment for the National Park Service. I am working a half-day today (right now, in fact) and another half-day tomorrow, and then I am done! No more cave tours, no more campground fees, and, Thank the Good Lord, no more dreadfully unflattering uniform. Oddly enough, as much as I loathe the aforementioned uniform, I think I am going to miss the strange power it gives me. Just wearing it gives me the appearance of omniscience. During my short time in the Service of our National Parks, I have been asked a multitude of questions on a multitude of topics, and most of the time, I hadn't the foggiest notion of the answer. However, this didn't stop me from spouting out (mostly) plausible responses of my own invention, and naturally, I was believed because I was wearing the uniform: I must know everything! Obviously, I am well-versed and truthful about questions pertinent to our park and surrounding area, but I am continually amazed at the amount of random peculiar questions that people just expect me to know right off the top of my head. One of my favorites from this past week was asked via the telephone by a visitor who was planning to visit in December. This was his question: "Which day in December will be the best, snow-free day?" Seriously. What do I say? First of all, while I do possess a wide range of special talents, I cannot see into the future. Even weather forecasts a week in advance are possibly inaccurate, let alone several months in advance. Secondly, you're planning a trip in December and you don't want snow: go to the Bahamas, not eastern Nevada. I still think it would be hilarious to answer one of these strange questions I keep getting with the most absurd, unbelievable answer ever, and see if I still get the believing "Oooh okay!" and agreeing nod. :-) Maybe I'll have to try that on my last day.......

Which is, of course, tomorrow! :-) YAY!

Working hard or ...?

2008-09-07T15:26:00.006-06:00

I now only have a month left of work! Yay! Can I just say how weird it is working when everyone is in school? I’ve been so well-trained throughout the scheduled course of my life that I am very accustomed to never doing the same thing for very long. :-) It was always school, then summer and work, then back to school. This whole “perpetual work” thing isn’t really my favorite thing, I have to say. Real life sucks. I’d like to think (and will, therefore, continue thinking) that it won’t be so monotonous when I’m at a job I actually really enjoy. So don’t rain on my parade. Now… to only figure out what job that is. :-)

I’m actually at work right now… strictly in the literal sense of being physically at my job location. I must admit that I’m not actually “working” at the moment as there is nothing to do. :-) I’m manning the front desk, hoping to be of use to any visitors who enter. However… my last visitor came and went over an hour ago. He was tall. And chubby.

After the aforementioned month of work is over, it’ll be Sukkot! Yay! And then… I go to Puerto Rico for a month! YAY! Hopefully, the hurricane season will be completely over by then. :-) I’m so darn excited about doing something different. However, I’m not so excited about trying to figure out what to do next… so I won’t waste energy on that yet. :-) Ha ha.

* * * * * * * *

Lo and behold, I got some visitors. It was a very nice couple who wanted to fill their jugs from the spigot under the fountain. So, like the good Park Service employee I am, I got the key and helped them… and in the process, got completely soaked in a particular area of my person as to imply I had missed my opportunity to visit the little girls’ room. Yay! And of course, shortly after, the visitors’ center magically filled with people wanting information, etc. from me. :-) What a good day.

Is it time to go home yet?

I miss blogging...

2008-09-06T17:38:00.005-06:00

I created this thing ages ago. Maybe I'll have to actually start using it. :)