Milestones, the Next Generation

I remember it like it was yesterday. September 1986, Audrey's first day of school. I took her into the kindergarten classroom and helped her locate her seat. She turned to me and said, "You can go now." I walked out of the classroom, barely holding back the tears. I ran into some friends and quickly composed myself.

When I got home Ray asked if there had been many tears. I said no, that Audrey had done very well. He said, "I wasn't talking about Audrey."

Today Austin started kindergarten. I wasn't there to see him go, but he called me right after school to tell me about his day. He had the time of his life. 

My oldest grandchild, setting out on his own quest for learning. I hope he loves it as much as I did, and still do.

Austin, August 31, 2010

Audrey, Austin, Joseph

Pardon me while I go find some tissue. I feel just like I did when Audrey started school.

By the way - he doesn't attend Wendover High School (although I think he's smart enough to). He catches the bus there - pretty handy, since that's where his dad teaches.

A Vintage Affair by Isabel Wolff

I just read the library synopsis of this book. I wondered if they read the same book I did. What they felt was the emphasis of the book, I saw as a sideline.

But then, I felt the story meandered around and tried to cover a few too many things. It had some shallow areas that could have used some good development, and some things that should have been left out.

Overall I thought the book was okay. Not a complete waste of time, but I felt teased by its possibilites, and a little let down by its actualities.

I did like the vintage clothing parts. That was interesting information for me.

So here's my endorsement: read it if you want - it's a light read - but don't rush it to the top of your list.

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Mockingjay came out Monday night. I didn't want to be up that late in a madhouse (aka local bookstore), so I went out first thing Tuesday morning to buy it. I needed a read for my trip - and this was perfect timing.

I saw three people coming out of Barnes and Noble with the book as I walked in. I went in, grabbed the book which was conveniently placed right in front, and went to the check out line. The two people in front of me had the book, and two more came behind me with the book. As I left the store, a friend of mine walked in, and went immediately to the rack and picked up the book to buy. Pretty popular. Ray works at Costco, and said they sold out of the book early. Costco does carry a three pack containing all the books in the series, and he said that was nearly gone also.

Warning: very minor spoilers ahead - no specific plot spoilers, but how I felt about the book might inadvertently give some hints as to what happens in the story.

I couldn't wait for to start the book, so I began it Tuesday night, putting off other things I should be doing. Finally it got so intense I had to put it down and shake it off for a few minutes. I decided to wait and read it on the trip.

Mockingjay was not the roller-coaster, hang-on-for-dear-life ride that the other two books were. Well, not from start to finish; there were definitely very exciting parts. Also, I had forgotten how violent the books are. I could never in a million years watch a movie of these books. I had to skim parts of all the books that were too intense and graphic for me.

Collins wraps the story up - which I wanted. I hated the extreme cliff hangers of the other two books. (Although look how fast everyone runs to get the next book.) I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I think I wanted a happy, fairy tale ending, and didn't really get it. In fact what develops fully in Mockingjay is the statement on war and its effects on our planet and people that Collins makes. The ending is consistent with that theme. I'm anxious to talk with someone about it. I think it will help me process how I really feel about the book.

I have mixed feelings about the book - I liked it, but I'm not yet embracing it unreservedly. I'm still processing it. That's good writing - keeping someone thinking about the book after that final page is turned.

 I reviewed The Hunger Games here and Catching Fire here.

Just Warming Up

My sister Tweeter can shop longer and faster than anyone I know. She lives in Hawaii, and when she comes to the mainland she hits the stores running. My other sister, Cheryl, and I tag team keeping her company because it is exhausting to keep up. And she finds everything on sale.

Tomorrow Tweeter and I both fly into Seattle. It's my dad's 80th birthday, and we are having a celebration on Saturday. Thursday the three sisters are going shopping. Probably all day.

Today I did a preliminary warm-up. I started errands at 9:45 a.m., made seven stops (including buying Mockingjay - after all I'll be sitting in an airport and on a plane - perfect timing), and was home by 11:30 a.m. That was pretty quick. I think I'll be able to handle Thursday, no problem.

I hear Talbot's Outlet store is having an amazing sale this week. You can bet we'll be there.

Another Workday

Trish and I have added another work day. Now we are going down to Debby and Beth's and giving them quilting lessons. It is so fun. You can read about it on Debby's blog here.

Then and Now

I came across this picture of Ray carrying Beth in a back pack:

Ray and Beth, 1989

And it reminded me of when we went to Yosemite two years ago. This is Ray carrying Matthew who was about the same age as Beth was in the picture above:

Ray and Matthew, 2008

Happy Birthday Ray!

53 years old today. The best man I know.

Here's a little trip down memory lane - these are a few favorite pictures, some of which I've carried around in my wallet, most of which I have pinned up on the wall surrounding my desk so I can look at them all the time.

1978, Essen Germany

1982, BYU graduation (BS Business Finance)

1984, Santa Monica, California

1991

1997 or 1998, Lake Cavanaugh, Washington

Mid 1990's, Comdex or a Trade Show

2006, Sandy, Utah - Debra's wedding reception

2007, Trek

2010, Yosemite

2010, Yosemite

It is a joy traveling through life with you, Ray. Happy Birthday. I love you.

A True Friend

Today was Thursday workday. Trish came over, walked into my office/sewing room, and asked, "Has young Ray been in here?" I said I didn't think so - at least not for any extended period of time.

She said, "It smells like boy in here." Yikes! Time to open the window and air things out. Thank heavens for a friend who can honestly tell you when you have a problem. Seriously. 

The window stayed open until the deluge began. We had a serious rainstorm here this afternoon and our neighborhood sustained some damage. Our home had water pouring in a couple of window casings, and our storage room got some water in it also - all of which was easily mopped up with a towel. Several neighbors have Disaster Relief trucks in front of their homes, and I know many basements have water in them. Ray is currently out with our pump and shop vac helping clear some of the water from those homes. 

Trish and I ventured out for lunch, got about two minutes down the road and turned around and came back. It looked like you could ride some big waves on Wasatch Blvd. Then we hit 17th East where it turns into Draper Parkway and part of the road looked washed out. Large orange construction barrels were floating along. That's when we turned around and scrounged for lunch here at home.

Now the sun is shining, and it is absolutely beautiful outside. My window is open again (I'm going to get some air freshener in down here) and I'm enjoying a gentle breeze. It is hard to believe it stormed so hard earlier.

Meanwhile Trish and I had one of our least productive, but most enjoyable and relaxing quilting days. She pinned two quilts, and I put a final border on one quilt and cut out another. That sounds more productive than we were. We sure got a lot of talking done, though.

Here is the fabric that I am using on my new little quilt. These are the leftovers. I grossly miscalculated how much fabric I would need, and will be able to get lots more use out of this fabric than I originally thought. 

I really like the fabric. I bought it while on Vashon Island last Spring. It feels fresh and cheerful. I'll enjoy working with it.

(Pictures of my other quilt when it's all done and quilted - hopefully by next week.)

Perilous Work

I've got another six weeks or so of yard work before the weather really changes and I can hang up my gloves and bucket for the year. I'm trying hard to get the yard in order before that time.

Yesterday I corralled Ray (son) to help me work on the rock wall. I don't like to do the wall because there are a gazillion snails (I stopped counting at 25 the other day), and of course, the spiders. They just love those rock crevices.

I asked Ray to do the top part of the wall. I told him it is a lot easier for him to climb up and down than it is for me, which is very true. I did not mention to him the other reason: the spiders up there are bigger and more aggressive. I think they've worked their way to the top, so to speak. He rolled his eyes, but climbed right up and got to work.

About 45 minutes later I heard gasp. I looked up and Ray said, "Two very large spiders just rushed me." (I must admit to being relieved it was him and not me - for me it would not have been a mere gasp). Then he looked to his right, and scrambled down the wall. "Another one right by my face!" (Now I was really glad it was him and not me - I'm still here to tell about it.)

About five minutes later he announced he was done for the day (who can blame him?). As he left he said, "If only we could start a war between the spiders and the snails, maybe they would decimate each other."

A mighty fine plan.

Some Words of Advice

1. Label your quilts.

2. Take pictures of your quilts.

3. Record size and any fun details of your quilts.

Dogwood Quilt, completed 2007

For awhile I was faithful about doing those things. Then life got in the way. And I got lazy. And now I regret it.

I started quilting in 1992. About 5 years later I decided to keep a journal of my quilts. I hunted down all the ones I had made until then and took pictures of them. I was very diligent in keeping track of my quilts. I put the start and end date of making them, I put the pattern source and size, and any notes about the quilt (why I made it, problems I had, any fun details). I also took a picture of the quilt and put it on the page.  I had two binders with pages of my quilts.

Recently I decided to scan all those pictures and put them on my computer. Audrey went one step further for me and set me up in Picasa and made a link at the top of my blog to see the quilts. I've been working on this for the past month or so.

Imagine my dismay to discover I'm missing at least three years worth of quilts. There are a few factors. One, it was when I was switching from film to digital camera. Two, part of that time included a move (quilting things packed up for many months) and a broken arm. Three, when I was in a hurry to give away a quilt, I sometimes forgot to take a picture of it.

I've commissioned my children to take pictures of the quilts I made them or their children in those years, and they are doing that for me. But I'll still have a big gap. I guess that's just life, and I'm lucky it's not any worse than that.

Now I journal my quilts on my blog, so that helps.

The other thing I've done is not labeled my quilts well over the last few  years. Now I'm very sad (I hate doing labels, that's why I didn't do it.) None of my grandchildren's quilts have a label on them. I don't think my daughters' wedding quilts do either. I need to remedy that. It won't be fun, but it's my own fault. Maybe I should start my quilts now by making the label first...

It's good to know I still have things to improve in my life. Somehow it never ends.

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead

This book is the Newbery Award winner for 2010.  I finally got around to reading it last night. Although I have not ready any of the other nominees or honor books for this year, this book certainly deserves the award.

I was captured by two things right off the bat. One, it opens with the fact that Miranda's mother is going to be on the TV game show The $25,000 Pyramid. Two, it references Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time.

I'm a game show junkie from way back. I remember being glued to the Pyramid daily. Plus, having been a contestant on Wheel of Fortune, I had another little buy-in. The chapter titles in the book could all be a category on Pyramid. Very clever, I thought. And subtle. I don't know how many kids would get that, but I sure did.

I love all things Madeleine L'Engle. But I didn't always. When I was young, A Wrinkle in Time was all the rage. Everyone was reading it, and telling me over and over that I should read it. I tried to read it several times, and never could "get into" it. It wasn't until I read it as an assignment in a juvenile lit class in college that I liked it and appreciated it. Here's an interesting side note: the main character, Miranda, is obsessed with Wrinkle. A Wrinkle in Time was the Newbery Award winner for the year it was written. Obviously when Stead wrote this book she had no idea she would also be a Newbery Award winner.

All that introduction and those are not the main points to the story. They certainly figure in the story, but they are not the main points. It is hard to describe - there is a mystery to the story, which we discover as the story unfolds. I loved the denouement. In fact, I want to go back and read the book again to catch the clues as I go along.

I don't want to give away any more of the book. Read it. You'll be happy you did.

One Enchanted Evening by Lynn Kurland

Another easy romantic read by Lynn Kurland.

I stayed up until two last night reading, woke up early this morning and finished it.

Now time for a nap.

A Shout Out for Fantastic Fiction

The librarian in Wendover recommended a great website to Audrey, and she passed it on to me.

Fantastic Fiction

You can look up books, and you can look up authors. Here's what I really love: when you look up an author, if they write a series, the books in the series are all listed in the order they were written.

One of my frustrations is that it is sometimes hard to tell in the library system the order of books in a series. And even if you pick up a book to read it, the other books in the series are not always listed, and certainly are not always listed in order.

While this website solves that problem, it creates another: more books to read!

Of course, that's not really a problem.

Adventures in Quilting

I was quilting today and my mind drifted for a moment. Suddenly I was sewing over one of my pins.

I can't believe the needle hit dead center. No broken needle or thread. I cut the pin loose, reinforced the stitches in that spot, and was back on my way.

The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Susan Wittig Albert

This is a new mystery and a new mystery series by Susan Wittig Albert. It is set in a small town in Alabama (Darling, Alabama), at the onset of the Depression. Rather than one person who is the "sleuth", a few members of the garden club - the Darling Dahlias - ferret out the answer to the mystery.

It looks to be a good series. I felt like I got a good introduction to the characters and look forward to getting to know them better in books to come.

Susan Wittig Albert has a knack for creating different mystery series that each have their own unique flavor. This one is very different from the China Bayles books as well as the Beatrix Potter series or the Robin Paige Victorian/Edwardian series.

Note: usually while I'm on vacation, I read a lot. Really a lot. While we were in Yosemite I think I got 10 pages read. Shows how much other fun I was having...

Courage

The phrase gather your courage sounds so simple. At times I am very brave. At other times my courage is scattered so far and wide that there is no hope for gathering it. When it comes to heights and instability, my courage is well beyond my reach.

My children are intrepid. They do things like jump off of bridges (swinging bridges) hundreds of times:

Debra

I jumped off the swinging bridge. Once. In 1991. (I will only walk across it if there is no one else on it.)

My children jump off high rocks by waterfalls hundreds of times:

Audrey

I hiked to the waterfall for the first time this year. I did not jump. I thought to myself, "It's a good thing I never knew what my children were doing up here."

My children hike Half Dome (some of them multiple times):

Bruce, Samuel, Randy, Ray, Audrey, Joseph

Okay, I hiked Half Dome. Once. In 1991. I did not do those treacherous cables. Instead, I lay on the saddle and cried, and only looked down one time.

I regard with admiration my brave children and grandchildren (the two boys jumped off the bridge this year, with just a tiny help from their Uncle Ray).

But everyone needs an audience to appreciate their bravery, right? I'm a great audience. I'm happy to live vicariously through their joy in these instances.

Yosemite Pictures

We took over 1000 pictures between four cameras. Take heart, I have only a few more to share than I have already posted.

These are a few favorite shots of just my very own children:

Debra and Audrey

Beth and Debra

Beth, Debra, Audrey

Beth, Debra, Ray, Audrey

Okay, one last picture of the whole group:

L to R: Ray, Debra, Diane, Randy, Madeleine, Ray, Diane, Elizabeth, Audrey, Matthew, Joseph, Austin, Rachel, Beth, and Bruce

Yosemite 2010

The food is eaten.
The car is unpacked.
The laundry is washed, folded, and put away.

The memory banks are full.

We had a delightful, fun and sun filled week in Yosemite. We played in the river, hiked, jumped off the waterfall,  climbed Half Dome (a few intrepid souls - all the adults in our family have now climbed Half Dome - quite a feat!), sang songs, played games, and had the best week of family time ever.

Our little day camp at the river

Here are the family highlights:

For Baby Diane: playing and napping in her pack-n-play at the river all day (she wins the best baby award)

Diane, happy all day long

Diane

For Elizabeth: playing with the sand and rocks by the river and sitting on anyone's lap who would hold her

Elizabeth

Elizabeth and G'ma

Elizabeth and Pa'a

For Rachel: throwing rocks into the river, eating Swedish Fish from Pa'a

Rachel

Madeleine and Rachel

For Madeleine: going to the river all day long, playing with cousins

Madeleine

Madeleine and Austin

For Matthew: climbing the mountains, eating, going swimming 

Matthew

Austin (above) and Matthew (below) floating down the rapids

For Austin: the animals, all the beautiful trees

Austin

Austin (left) and Matthew on the rapids

For Beth: playing games, eating "It's Its" (thanks for the treats, Clarks!)

Beth

Bruce and Beth

For Bruce: the view from Half Dome

Bruce on the top of Half Dome

On the top of Half Dome - Samuel Clark, Bruce, Joseph, Ray

For Ray the younger: just being able to relax all week

Ray

Ray planning his entry under the waterfall

For Debra: the waterfall

Debra

Debra on top of the waterfall

For Randy: the waterfall

Randy

Randy jumping at the waterfall

For Audrey: the waterfall (I sense a pattern here...)

Audrey

Audrey the mermaid

For Joseph: the waterfall and Half Dome

Joseph

Joseph doing a cannonball

Half Dome hikers: Bruce, Samuel, Randy, Ray, Audrey, Joseph

For Ray my husband: being with Diane (me) and being with everyone else

Ray

Ray and Diane

For Diane (me): being with my family for an entire week in one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The Linford Clan
Top row, l-r: Debra, Randy, Ray, Joseph, Audrey, Bruce, Beth
Middle: Ray and Diane
Children, l-r: Austin, Diane, Madeleine, Elizabeth, Matthew, Rachel

 The best week of my life.