ABC Wednesday--W is for...

W is for Washington themed blocks in an

Attic Windows setting.

Can you imagine looking out your Window and seeing the Washington State Bird--the Willow Goldfinch?
...or the wide expanse of Eastern Washington's farmlands?

or maybe you are looking out at some of Washington's Wildlife.

If you live on the Puget Sound, you might see one of the Washington ferry fleet out your Window.

And almost anywhere in the western part of Washington, you might see a girl with an umbrella. (Eastern Washington, where I live, depends largely on stored irrigation water for its farming because of low annual rainfall.) Maybe you wouldn't see the umbrella--since Seattleites pride themselves on not using one --"Who's afraid of a little bit of rain?"

These are some of the blocks that were made by the original members of the Washington State Internet Quilters (WASIQ) in the block swap that gave birth to the group. We celebrated ten years together this year with a swap of signature blocks that were seen in E is for... and I is for.... Starting with thirty quilters in a swap, the group has grown to over 350 members.

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You may have an image of a quilting bee, with pioneer women getting together around a quilting frame to put the layers of a quilt together--maybe while the men were working together to bring in the hay or wheat crop. It is the same image I imagine of my Grandma (G is for...) in the front room of the house on Clarence Avenue.

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Similar gatherings still happen, but in this computer age, they also happen online. If you do a Google search for "quilt guilds" you get more than two million hits. If you search the word "quilt" you find more than 18 million.

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We have had ten annual swaps of Washington theme blocks in WASIQ, and in the course of them I have gathered nearly 200 blocks. My plan is to make a Washington quilt for each of my six kids. With the blocks in my UFO pile, I declared these quilts to be a project for my retirement.

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Thank you ABC Wednesday for the reminder.

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Washington swap blocks have included all sorts of state related themes and can be done with pretty much any method. Here are evergreen trees, umbrellas, produce, livestock, and kites done with paper piecing, hand applique, and standard piecing.

Mountains--by machine applique and pieced, a jar of asparagus between, the ever popular Washington apple, more evergreens and a whale breaching.
A pieced tepee, embroidered cherries, appliqued balloons, bears, and dragonfly (the Washington State Insect) and a paper pieced tulip. Here also is the WASIQ logo--a pine tree block.

ABC Wednesday

Coming to the end of its third round

Brainchild of Denise

View others together in a no comment Anthology

or seek out others at the ABC Linky.

Awards

First posted on Friday and then the green and blue parts added on Saturday since I had to think before I could do them and sometimes that's hard.

You know something? If someone gives you an award, then you probably should remember who it was so you can say thank you. But then, I've been on four different excursions in the last ten days and it's hard to keep up. So you can imagine how crazy I was when, searching back for an award that I was told would come on Tuesday and then not finding it on Tuesday that I was so glad that when I went back a whole 'nuther Tuesday I found it--right there where I was looking for it. Whew! I was afraid I was going to have to go search every blog I'd ever seen from the UK as I remembered it came from a friend in that part of the world and I DID have the right friend after all.

So thank you Crazy Cath for the friendship which I value greatly, from Krazy Katney whose brain must be old today because great things come in multiples and someone else posted me an award and now I have to remember when and where that one was from. If retirement is like this summer has been then it will have to be called reTIREment.
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Crazy Cath left no instructions for passing this along, so I will wait until I find the other one and contemplate them both together.

Okay, I have come back now after sleeping on it (well, for how many days? you may ask.) and I am ready to fling some bling. (You didn't knwo I could talk like that, did you?) I'm going to pass this on to three bloggers. I'm not flinging it back at Crazy Cath because that is obvious, but I am going to name three bloggers I think of as friends. Two in the Pacific Northwest and one in the UK.

I know Paulie is a friend because we have a lot in common and actually get together occasionally--well, twice in the last four years but we are going camping next week. We have some similarities in our faith and experiences. Paulie likes to walk and hike and is learning to knit. I like to walk and hike and if I don't learn to knit something other than hats with big fat yarn, well...everyone I know has a hat knit with big fat yarn--even Paulie. She's taking a blogging break for a bit, but I'm sure shell stop by and say "Hi, friend."

I feel like I know Inland Empire Girl, who also lives in the Pacific Northwest. I thought of her when we spent a day with the kids at the lake last week because it is closer to her neck of the woods. Speaking of woods, she's almost as fond of them as I am, but her camping trailer is bigger than mine--lol. I'd love to meet you in person sometime, IEG. Maybe we should go camping. BTW, let me know if you come to Mt. Rainier and I will meet you there.

Now I'm not likely to meet up with Liz real soon as my travel budget is questionable after retiring, but I would love to. I did travel to her neck of the woods once (which is Wales), more than 40 years ago. Oooh, I think I am sounding old. There is a fourth friend to bestow this on, too. George. If you stop by Liz's blog you will meet George. I would love to meet George and give him some wise advice.

I feel like I have made a lot of friends since blogging, but I will mention just these three for now--er, oops, four.

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I found it!

Thank heavens I found it. I was about to appeal to St. Anthony and I try not to bother him unless it is really important but it was. It was Starnitesky who gave me this award and it was just on Wednesday. The day before yesterday! Clearly my brain has retired. I hope it enjoys itself.

Ah, duh! She gave me this brilliante award right after I took her off the Odd Shots blogroll. Maybe if she had noticed that she would have reconsidered. But she hasn't done an Odd Shot for a couple of weeks and she can be back when she participates again and she's in my favorites and that means she's one of my--er--favorites. (Thanks, Starnitesky.)

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This one has rules: 1.Put the logo on your blog;
2.Add a link to the person who awarded it to you;
3.Nominate at least five other blogs;
4.Add links to them on your blog;
5.Leave a message for your nominee on their blogs.

I have done the first two. I will let that brain refresh itself before I do nominees 'cause you know how well I could bungle that up while my brain is retired, Right! So I will deal with these tomorrow, okay?

Okay, it's tomorrow now. I have made a list of five. I have thought about it and contemplated and I would say that these five (and lots of others I visit) deserve this brilliante thing.

Michelle--Rocky Mountain Retreat--well, just look at that blog and you'll know why and it doesn't hurt that it has lots of mountains.

Leslie--The Pedalogue--Leslie seems to be really enjoying her retirement and I want to imitate that! Best of everything for your upcoming surgery, Les, because afterwards you will enjoy it even more. But I won't come play tennis with you--I tried that once.

Liz again at Finding Life Hard (can you do two to the same person at the same time is there some sort of blog law about that? If there is then phhhhht!)

Granny Smith at, well, Granny Smith, who should probably be in the earlier bling fling because she believes that blog friends are real not virtual. (Some might be virtuOUS, though, but I'm not sure.)

Then finally and always, Daryl at Out and about in NYC who says it like she sees it and is a fun and faithful blogger. (Hey, Daryl, we want more stories of Bridzilla.)

There, I've done my duty.

Why do you click?

Here is the question, and I would love for you to think about it and answer either as a comment here, or in your own blog and link back here with it:

What is it in a blog that keeps you going back?

I'm doing my thinking about it and here are some of the things that get my click:
1. Witty, well written look at daily life that includes humor, character, concern.
2. Thoughtful insights into issues--but not rambling on and on.
3. A picture is worth a thousand words--good choice of pictures to illustrate or enhance the thought.
4. A meaningful visit around the world.

5. Helpfulness to others in the blogosphere--to readers and other bloggers.
6. This might seem to be a repeat of number 5, but I think it is different. I like a blogger who offers thoughtful comments on other's blogs.

7. A clean crisp look that is easy to navigate.

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The other day CrazyCath awarded me the E for Excellent Award. Then, a day or two later, Ginni at The View From My Garden offered me the same award. There must be something here that they like.

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Here are the rules that are passed along with the award:

By accepting this Excellent Blog Award, you agree to award it to 10 more people whose blogs you find Excellent Award worthy. You can give it to as many people as you want but please try to award at least 10. You deserve this! Feel free to recognize blogs that have already received this award.

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Here are my ten, and my reasons:

David McMahon at authorblog is on my list for all of my categories. There is no question about his writing and photography, but I would like to point out one of the things he does to help other bloggers. From time to time he offers insightful explanations of how he captured certain photos, and how that method helps to make them effective. His photography lessons have improved our photos.

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Like David, Leslie, my neighbor to the north at The Pedalogue, also encompasses all of the categories. Pay her a visit and see if you don't agree.

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Jackie, The Mother of This Lot at motherspride and another blogger I've found recently, katydidnot are masters of category number one. Their looks at daily life with kids will keep you in stitches.

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I could visit Max E every day just for a look at the header on The MAX Files. What I find below the header are thoughtful posts, beautiful pictures, and a delightful visit to a different part of the world. I enjoy it immensely.

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Inland Empire Girl blogs at Gathering Around the Table and is a teacher like myself. She doesn't blog a lot about her classroom, but somehow I can see the teacher behind her posts, which excel especially in categories 2 and 3. I particularly like her sibling assignments, done with her brother and sister in looking back at moments in their early life.

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Another teacher I've known for a while before blogging and before she retired is Paulie, at Postcards from Paulie. Helpfulness is one of her special traits, along with nice photos from her wanderings about her community. It was Paulie who lured me out of the blogging woodwork. I had a blog, but until Paulie discovered it, it was hiding. It took Paulie to drag this shy blogger into the community.

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Daryl E at Out and about in New York City has an all round great blog. Sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful (sometimes both at once) great pictures, nice comments from her at other blogs. This rural girl gets an insight into urban life that I wouldn't be able to imagine from her.

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Finally, in the picture is worth a thousand words category, there are three bloggers among many who help to encourage other bloggers to share their pictures , so they fit into the photos and the helpfulness categories. TnChick operates Saturday Photohunt, which now has about 250 participants. Mrs. Nesbitt started the ABC Wednesdays last year and it is midway into its second round and growing. RuneE has established Broer som Binder on the first Monday of each month. That translates to Bridges between... I'm linking to his Visual Norway blog, because it is in English.

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Well, that's eleven from the list that I visit regularly. I could keep on adding to the list because there are others, but I have to stop sometime. I will stop by and tell them about the award tomorrow. For now, good night.

What would you do?

What would you do if you saw this approaching in your rear view mirror?




My friend who drives this car says he gets double takes all the time.

He gets "What is that?"

He finds people looking it over with a puzzled expression on their face.

He sees people reach over and fasten their seat belts when they see him coming.

Semis slow down to 65 mph when they see it.

People don't know what to think

when approached by

my friend the clown.

Bridges between... - a new monthly meme

RuneE has established this new monthly meme, "Bridges between..." Watch for it here around the first Monday of each month. The rules are here. The official list of participants will be found at RuneE's blog. Both the image and the story are important, and the broadest possible concept of "Bridge" is acceptable. That is why my first Bridge post does not even have a bridge in it at all.

So now you may be wondering why my first "Bridges between..." post starts with an old boat.

This boat, photographed on our trip to Russia in 1998, was used to patrol for poachers on the Ob River in central Siberia.

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Everything about our trip to Siberia was, well, surprising, starting from the e-mail from our son. I can remember the words exactly: "Natasha and I had Fr. Darius over for dinner and asked him if he would marry us in June..."

Chris had worked in Siberia on several three month assignments having to do with the computerization of a huge aluminum plant. When the project was complete, he went back to study, met a girl... and the rest is history...

As it happened, some red tape prevented the wedding from taking place until later in the year. But if you have non-refundable, non-transferable airline tickets to Siberia, well...you might as well go to Siberia.

Now, there are any one of a number of stories that could be told about this trip, and have--often. But this one started with an isolated university student and a passion for quilting that was tied to the Internet. Surprisingly, on a quilting forum one day that spring, I found a post seeking help in getting quilting history information for a thesis on quilting by a student finishing her degree. In the ensuing conversations, I mentioned that we happened to be coming to Siberia in June. And, so, well, again the rest is history...

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Kargasok is a fifteen hour trip by boat on the Ob River from Novosibirsk. No, not this boat--a fast boat. The trip is made north on odd days and south on even days, so a visit must be at least two days. There had been American businessmen there before in connection with the oil firm that is headquartered there, but we were the first American tourists to visit.

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We spent the first day being shown the entire town--the museum, the church, the library, the newspaper office, the market. (Or were we being shown TO the town?) We were never quite sure where we would visit next, but we followed our hosts, Alexsei and Ulia and our interpreter, Tatiana. Near the end of the day we were shown to the offices of the district government, shown around, and introduced to a gentleman whose position best translates as assistant district director.

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We visited in his office for a bit, and wondered where we would be going next. Then, at exactly five o'clock, he stood up and said, in effect, come on. Apparently the work day was over, so we followed. He led us across the road to the boat previously shown, which we boarded.
That is Justin, then 18, boarding the boat. Yes, I had to walk that plank, too. That was the only way to board the patrol boat. It is the part of this post that physically resembles a bridge. Once we were all aboard we relaxed and cruised the Ob for about an hour.

While we were cruising, my husband and the assistant district director discussed many issues, including social problems and how they were handled in each country, a bit of economics, and mosquitoes. Here they are deep in discussion, with Tatiana translating.

I must admit, when we purchased those tickets to Siberia, we did not expect to be cruising a distant river discussing a variety of serious issues with the assistant district director.

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But the next surprise was when the boat pulled up to an island in the river and we all disembarked. The assistant district director started gathering wood and built a campfire.

And we had supper. Fish soup, to be exact. I was asked to serve.

So, what did this have to do with bridges? Think about the idea of a bridge being a connection between two places. A bridge of stone or steel links these places physically. But our cruise on the Ob River served as a bridge between two peoples, sharing ideas, problems, solutions, and food and some fun relaxation.

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We have lost touch with Alexsei and Ulia over the years through a number of computer crashes and e-mail address changes, but I think of them often. So Alexsei, if you happen upon this when you do a Google search, leave a comment. We can rebuild the bridge.

I never got an award before

...at least not a blogging award. Paulie gave hubby and me this You Make My Day Award. Hmmm! Do you think maybe she had a good time on her birthday? We had so much fun, too. Thank you for the honor, Paulie.

Here are the directions which came with the award from Paulie: "Give the award to up to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel so happy about blogland! Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so that they can pass it on. "

I am going to choose four.

First of all, back at you Paulie, because I enjoy the joy you find in everyday things and your persistence in seeking out those things that give yourself and others joy. Paulie blogs at Postcards from Paulie.

I regularly find inspiration and fun in Sister Julie Vieira's A Nun's Life. She keeps me connected to the nuns I have known and to the spiritality I need. Her blog is very comprehensive--usually spiritual, but fun and human as well.

Then I like to visit Sister Susan Rose Francois at Musings of a Discerning Woman. Sister Susan Rose is a novice in the congregation that a dear friend is an older member of. Her blog provides me a glimpse of the continuity of the sisters.

Finally, I am inspired as an educator by Jane Little's My Many Colored Crayons. I love how connected she is to her crayons (as she calls her students) and how excited they are about learning.

My son Jeff first got me interested in blogs. I remember what one of his blogosphere friends said after I had posted a comment: "How would you feel if you knew your mother read your blog? Jeff knows." I would post this award to him, too, but he has not been blogging much recently.