My Bag is Packed

For some reason the tune to "Leavin' on a Jet Plane" is running through my head. But I'm not leaving on a jet plane and I do know when I'll be home again. Instead I'm getting set to drive over the pass, spend the night at my daughter's (who I hope is going to get up very early and drop me off at the check-in site), and spend three days walking sixty miles. My walk is in memory of my mom and my sister as well as in honor of and memory of dozens of friends, and friends of friends. Their names are on my hat. (Click in the sidebar to learn about my hat.)

I've been catching up with some bloggers who have walked this year or are preparing, and I'm getting excited.

If you are in the Seattle area, there are some areas set aside as cheering areas--good safe places to watch the walkers go by. You can find information about the cheering stations, the opening and closing ceremonies here.

My goal: NO BLISTERS!

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzmmmm!!!!!!

The next run to get in position must have been about 20 feet over the house.

Check my Yakima Valley Daily Photo post tomorrow to see some from yesterday.

Too bad there is not a PhotoHunt theme of LOUD coming up.

ABC Wednesday--A Quilter's ABC--H

H is for Half Square Triangles.


Half square triangles are a basic part of the design of most quilt blocks. A half square triangle is made by dividing a square diagonally. You can see these half square triangles here, all of which are part of other blocks.


If you look back at some of my other Quilter's ABC posts, you will notice a lot of half square triangles as part of the blocks.

This block is made up of half square triangles and squares. It is the Hour Glass.



This next block is known to me as the Churn Dash. (I forgot it when I did C.) You will see that it also includes half square triangles. But I include it in H because it is also known as Handy Andy, or Hole in the Barn Door, or Hens and Chickens.


While looking for H blocks, I found a reference to this one, and thought that it would be appropriate to make it for this year's ABC. Quilt blocks have historically been a woman's way of expressing political opinions. I purposely did not make it in either red or in blue, though, to remain a neutral position till November.
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The block is Road to the White House.

Denise started the ABC Wednesday meme and it is now administered by a team. Thank you to Denise and the team. You can find the ABC group no comment blog here with links to other individuals here. There is also a Mr. Linky at this address.

Odd Shot on Monday

Comment here for others to see your own odd shot today.

Details are linked in the sidebar.

The blogroll there is updated irregularly.

This seed pod seems odd looking but charming.

I wonder what it was before, and what it will grow next year.

Sunday's Psalm--23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time

R. If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the rock of our salvation.

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to Him.

If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.

For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,

Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me through they had seen my works"

If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
sunset in Yakima Valley, Zion Nat'l Park, bluebird--Mt. Rainier, Avalanche Lily, steeple and sky view, flock of mountain goats at Mt. Rainier, skies over Nevada, waterfall at Zion, Falls Creek at Mt. Rainier, fountain on Seattle's waterfront--notice homeless person sleeping in background
Meribah and Massah are both names which refer to the fountain which sprang forth when Moses struck the rock in the desert in Exodus 17:1-7.

PhotoHunt--Theme: Strings

See TnChick for PhotoHunt details and other PhotoHunt participants.

Next week I will, for the second time be tying the STRINGS on my walking shoes to walk 60 miles to raise funds for Breast Cancer research.

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If you would like to sponsor me, click the Breast Cancer 3-Day button at the top of my sidebar. All sorts of support is good, though, including prayers for NO MORE BLISTERS!

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Now I must see if I can prepost something Wild for while I am away from my computer.

Skywatch all from last weekend

Go here to see skies from all over the world.

ABC Wednsday--A Quilter's ABC--G

ABC Wednesday has a home here.
ABC Wednesday players sign in here.
Thank you to Mrs. Nesbitt and the team who keep it going.


G is for Grandma.

My Grandmother Della Bollibaugh Oldham, photo taken by my Dad in 1928
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G is for Grandma and no, I haven't lost track of my quilting theme. Though I never saw her in the process of quilting, my Grandma Oldham was the original inspiration for my interest in quilting.

My older cousins, who lived across the street from her, talk about the quilt frame suspended from the ceiling in the front corner room and the ladies from the Methodist Church who would come and sew regularly. We lived 90 miles away--a formidable weekend drive in those days. And I am the "baby cousin", knowing her only much later in her life and after her eyesight began to fail.
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Now being the baby cousin did not mean that I was left out of the quilts from Grandma. At the age of 78 and going blind, she made me this Single Irish Chain--also known as Double Nine Patch. The work is all by hand.

The squares of the nine patch are 3/4 inch across. (So is a penny.) The quilt, which is roughly double bed sized, has at least 4000 of them.

I don't know if the flow of the colors through Grandma's quilt just happened, or were carefully planned. In my interpretation of Grandma's Double Nine Patch, I tried to follow the spirit of that flow of color. Using a black background, very bright squares, this was done by machine with modern strip piecing methods. The squares are a whole inch across.

G is for Grandma's inspiration--with modern methods.

Twofer Tuesday--Portrait Studio

When this young marmot came romping down the trail toward us the other day, I thought--he hasn't taken the lecture about how the animals have habituated themselves too much to the human presence in the Park.

Then I realized that he simply wanted to pose for his portrait in profile.

Jonna started doing Twofers on Tuesday--two related photos or photos in pairs. You can visit her here.

Bridge Trepidation

Bridges between... is a monthly meme sponsored by exploring bridges of all sorts. Visit master bridge builder RuneE at Visual Norway to see the list of bridges featured this month.

I have to admit that I sometimes approach certain bridges with trepidation.
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As an example, there was a time when the necessity of crossing this bridge would have denied me the pleasures of the rest of the hike.

There is ample warning that it should be crossed with caution--one person at a time. Perhaps what prevented me in the past was mischievous offspring who found it funny to jump or swing on the suspension bridge while mom was halfway across.

The grandkids know better. Now, how they could all cross this one at once is beyond me. They knew better than to start before Grandma was already across.

My former anxiety is apparently well documented. My daughter remarked, "Mom, I can't believe you crossed that bridge."
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(Hmm, I remember a similar remark about a roller coaster some years ago and on that occasion I had to ride the thing again with all six kids watching or they wouldn't believe it.)
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I took a really good look at this one before crossing.

Altogether, I have become quite confident in crossing footbridges of all sorts. I can even steel myself to drive across most highway bridges.
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There is one bridge, however, which I can only cross with my eyes closed. If I should find myself in its vicinity without another driver available, I would have a detour of around 80 miles to get to the opposite side of the river. It is the bridge at the mouth of the Columbia River at Astoria, Or. You can see it here.
It is four miles--FOUR MILES--That's 6 kilometers! long and for about half of that you cannot see anything below you. That is the part that bothers me--not being able to see what I am crossing.
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Do you have any bridges--either physical or figurative--that you cannot or will not cross?