We helped Charlie celebrate her 97th birthday last week.  Dinner out at Cool Hand Luke's, with her favorite, prime rib, kicked off the festivities!  Cool Hand Luke's not only presented her with a birthday sundae, but comped her entire meal!!!  ( Don't try this unless you're at least 97! )   Then a little get-together at Round Table Pizza the next evening with neighbors, complete with a cake, completed the birthday celebrations.

Mom treated her self to a Barnes and Noble ColorNook, which she is really enjoying.  Now I'm trying to learn how to get ebooks from the library onto the nook!  (I'm having absolutely no problem with purchasing e-books from Barnes and Noble!)   

Home from Utah

We decided to go through Zion National Park on our way home - it's a beautiful drive, and April is a perfect time to travel through the windy 2 lane road. 

The Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel connects Zion Canyon to the east side of the park.  It's over a mile in length, with "windows" cut out of the rock to view the magnificient scenery outside.  Since it was built in the 1920's, large vehicles  require one-lane traffic control through the tunnel, which can tie up traffic, but we were lucky not to have to wait this trip.  The fee for a car to drive through the park is now up to $25.00, but we have our handy dandy  "Golden Age Passport", which allows us free admission to any National Park or Monument!  What a wonderful deal!  I paid $10.00 for mine several years ago - mom's was actually free many years ago!  One of the few perks for growing older - you must be 62 to acquire your senior pass, and it gives you free admission to all federal fee areas for life! 

The park is famous for big wall climbs on the sandstone cliffs, and hiking in the canyons.  Some of the hikes involve walking in the streams, and I just saw that 2 hikers were rescued recently when they were unable to navigate through the deep water in one of the slot canyons.  The last time I visited Zion it was in July and was about 100 degrees, so this trip was much more pleasant! 

Once out of Zion, we continued on through St. George, Utah; Mesquite, Nevada; Las Vegas, Nevada, and spent the night in Barstow, California, finishing up our trip the next day.

Blogger is giving me some trouble loading photos, so I'll try to add some more later.  In the mean time, if you want to view more photos of Zion, check out:  www.flickr.com/photos/zionnps

Motels

Did you know that the motel concept originated with the Motel Inn of San Luis Obispo, constructed in 1925 - the original buildings are still standing along side 101 on the outskirts of town.  As the United States highway system began to develop in the 1920's, road journeys became more common and the need for inexpensive, easily accessible overnight accommodations led to the growth of the motel concept.  The word itself is a combination of "motor" and "hotel".

While these small "mom and pop" businesses are being gradually replaced by the larger chains such as Motel 6, Holiday Inn, Ramada Inn, Quality Inn, etc., you can still find these small motels in smaller towns throughout the country.  Particularly intriquing to me are the colorful, descriptive signs that are found in front of the establishments.

Some are delapidated and closed, others open but in sad disrepair, and a few have been lovingly restored.

Golden Hills Motel in Mt. Carmel Junction, Utah



Grand Canyon Motel in Fredonia, Arizona

The Quail Park Lodge in Kanab, Utah, has been lovingly restored and is a great place to stay!

 The Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, Arizona is still a popular spot to stay.



Keep your eyes open for these disappearing icons of American travel.

Valley of Fire

Valley of Fire is the oldest state park in Nevada and is located 50 miles northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada.  The park is noted for it's beautiful red sandstone formations.

April is a good time to visit this park, as the weather is lovely, there aren't as many visitors, and the wildflowers are blooming.

Quite a contrast from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas!

On the Road Again

Templeton, California to Kanab, Utah - about 600 miles.  Lots of high desert scenery - miles and miles of highway stretching out in straight lines.  First night in Henderson, Nevada (a suburb of Las Vegas).  The wind was blowing so hard we couldn't even see the skyline of Vegas.  On day 2 we took a back road around the northshore of Lake Mead on State Highway 167, which runs through a spectacular area of layered cliffs, desert basins and occasional views of the blue waters of Lake Mead. 

The reason for taking the "road less traveled" was to see Valley of Fire State Park, and it was well worth the detour.

Next entry....Valley of Fire State Park

Quick Trip to Denver

Last Friday I drove down to Santa Barbara, leaving the house around 3:00 a.m. to catch a 6:40 a.m. plane to visit my daughter in Denver.

Lots of snow still on the mountains. 



Denver International Airport

I attended my first ever roller derby bout at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver - the Sugar Kill Gang vs. The Red Ridin' Hoods! 

It was colorful!  It was noisy! It was exciting!  It was fast-paced!

#1968 - Pixie Yerbattles.....AKA my daughter

And a lot of fun! 

Made me wish I knew how to skate!  And was 40 years younger!

Back in California now - getting ready for another little adventure next week - a trip to Kanab, Utah!

CRAZY QUILTED WALL HANGING

In an effort to use up a large basket of scraps that I've saved from every sewing project ,



I started playing with making small crazy squares.  They stayed up on my design wall for several weeks as I rearranged them until I figured how I wanted to put them together. 

Here's the finished wall-hanging - besides using up scraps, I also incorporated paper beads, atcs, inchies, rick-rack, foreign coins, shells, a fortune from a fortune cookie, etc.  It's called "Good Offerings, #1".

Anyway, I am now addicted to making crazy blocks with my scraps.  That's why this is called "#1".

Nap Time

Mr. Bear and Ms. Casey take a nap.

Thoughts on Quilting

I must admit that the least favorite part of making a quilted project (in my humble opinion) is cutting out the pieces. I try to be so careful in the cutting and the sewing together, but invariably the finished block is not the size it should be. The first full sized quilt I made had many squares, all different and was very difficult (well, it was my first quilt, maybe I should have chosen an easier pattern?) Anyway, I discovered I really love putting together "crazy" blocks, where I don't measure at all - just cut a strip and sew!  Another advantage is that it's a great way to use up those scraps that seem to pile up. 

 

The other day I was surfing the net and came across a block that uses only squares.  Now the 9-patch is an old traditional block, and rather uninteresting, in my opinion.  But when I saw a square called the disappearing 9-patch, I was quite intriqued.  So I thought I would give it a go.

You start with 9 squares sewn together 3 blocks at a time to make a basic 9-patch square.

Then you cut in in half.

And cut those two pieces in half.

Rotate the 4 pieces into a pattern you like,

Sew them together, and Voila! You have the disappearing 9 patch.



Sometimes called "9 into 4".  Here's two blocks I've finished. 



I'm planning on making 20 blocks for a lap quilt.  The original squares are 5", which make about a 13 1/2" square.  I figured I needed 9 x 20 = 180 five inch squares.  All the 5" squares are cut from fabric left-over from that first quilt I made - (they are repoduction civil-war era fabrics).  I think this block has lots of possibilities.  I may even splurge on some charm packs for the next one I make.  Charm packs for you non-quilters out there are packs you buy that have already been cut into squares.  

  So far this year I've made a wall hanging for my fabric postcads (click here), another wall-hanging (more info on this soon), a quilt top from my crazy squares, and I'm starting this disappearing 9 patch.  I'm on a mission to use up some scraps!

Full Basket

I keep a little basket I made years ago on my table for things "to file".  It's not very big, but it seems it's just the right size for Casey, who likes to jump up on my table and sit in the basket while she checks out what's happening outside.

"Does this basket make my butt look big?"

Well, maybe the basket could be just a little bit bigger! 

Anyway, Casey has a thyroid problem, causing her to lose weight, throw up a lot, and get dehydrated.  It's a heck of a way to lose weight!  She's been on medication for about 3 weeks, and her latest check up was very positive.   She is going to undergo a radioiodine treatment next week.  No one does the treatment around here, so we have to take her to LA (about 4 hours away) and leave her for 5 days, while she's injected with radioactive iodine.  Pretty radical, but it is supposed to take care of the thyroid problem permanently.  Otherwise, she would have to take medicine twice a day for the rest of her life.  So, we're off Sunday to drive to LA.  She hates riding in the car - I'm sure she'll cry the whole way!

The Neighborhood Bully

A bully has moved into our backyard!  He is quite aggressive and runs off other birds from the feeder.  Meet Mr. Selasphorus Rufus.*   There's a lot of attitude packed into this 6 gram, three inch hummer!  They are migrating north, but have decided to stay for awhile and seem to enjoy our hummingbird feeder.  However, he does not share well!  He vigorously chases off any other hummer that tries to get a snack from the feeder! 

* Disclaimer:  This actually could  be an Allen's  hummingbird - they are very similar and I couldn't get a good luck at his back (would have green on it's back if an Allen's).