Sunshine and Mustaches

         I just love the instant gratification that is a baby quilt. Long projects are great but sometimes they are just so.... well, long. A quick baby quilt project (or two) can be a great boost when my patience and perseverance on the bigger quilts is running low.
       Fortunately for me I know some pregnant people!! And some recently pregnant people. Always nice to have a convenient pregnant person around when you want to make a baby quilt. Plus they really make the coolest baby shower gifts ever.  (The quilts not the preggos.)
     Baby quilt number one is called Scattered Sunshine and was made for my newest niece, Savannah.

I tried out a great technique described by Jenny of Missouri Star Quilt Company in this tutorial. It's a variation of her pinwheel block tricked up by 3 Dudes Quilting. Anyway, it's really easy but with the high contrast of the fabrics and the smaller block size I used, the quilt top turned out quite busy. There wasn't anywhere for your eyes to rest.  So I added a wide border of yellow, which I liked but then it was way too yellow.

So I bought some giant ric rac, something I'm been dying to work with, and stitched that over the narrow white border. It took me a while to figure out how to do the corners but I think it worked to bring the girliness back a bit.

I LOVE love love the backing to this. All the fabric were from a kit I bought from Stitches and Sew Forth months and months back. But I didn't love the pattern so it was no hardship to use it for this quilt instead. 

I have promised to put labels on all my quilts now so here is the label I did for this one.  Still trying to decided if I like putting the label on before the quilting or after.  Once it was finished and washed up nicely I put it in the mail for Utah, where it will live at my brother's house.

Quilt number two was for a cute young mom at church. We discovered one day that her mother and my mother grew up in the same little town in Arizona. And my grandpa was her mom's bishop. Small world.

For this quilt I tried another technique I've had my eyes on. After looking at this quilt by Modern Material Girl and this quilt by I'm a Ginger Monkey, I came up with this:

You can see my block dimensions are different. I was working with leftover layer cake squares - the Comma by Zen Chic line. And I didn't have duplicates. So if I wanted to have a mustache and a matching solid block, I would have to make the blocks rectangular instead of square.  I cut three inches off each ten inch block. That was enough to use the mustache template provided by I'm a Ginger Monkey.

I was afraid that the colors weren't masculine enough so I added a few more greys to the mix and kept all of them in the center diagonals of the quilt. The backing is also grey, in a delicious chevron striped minky I bought at Quiltique, my sort of local quilt shop.  The chevron stripes are not heat pressed into the fabric like the raised dots on some minkys. They are sort of shaved in, if that makes sense. So they won't disappear with heat or wear.

I also tried a new binding technique. (Baby quilts make an awesome venue for trying out new things.) It's called Susie's Magic Binding. You can find the tute here. The technique is not hard but I still managed to misread the directions and ended up with grey binding with a tiny green flange instead of the other way around. Oh well, I like how it turned out.

The green is easiest to see on the label, which I attached after I was done quilting. I think I like that better but I'm not sure it will be as sturdy.

Due to a scheduling conflict I wasn't able to go to the baby shower.  But Cynthia loved the quilt and the mustache pacifier I ordered from Amazon to go with it. Have you seen those? They are stinking cute!

I'd love some feedback on the label question - when to you attach it? And any fun new techniques you've recently tried out, on baby quilts or otherwise.

Quilting again - Thank Heaven!

One thing I have learned from this whole long drawn out moving and re-settling process is how much joy I get from quilting.  I could go into the why and hows of that but I know that for those of you who understand no explanation is needed and for those of who don't no explanation would suffice.

But while I was without my own Helga for four months (and missed her very much) I did get a chance to sew on my mother's Viking while I was staying with her. Her machine is about the same age I am. She bought it while my dad was finishing his PhD at Purdue and she paid for it mostly by teaching machine embroidery classes. This was back when machine embroidery did not involve software and was much more like free motion quilting or thread painting. Anyway, the machine is a rock. 40ish years later and it's still going strong.

My mom is an accomplished seamstress but hasn't done much quilting. Inspired by a certain daughter she decided she wanted to make a quilt for her first grandchild's wedding.  We chose something simple since we didn't have a lot of time. I had been wanting to try the giant star quilt tutorial at In Color Order and I loved this variation with the great borders at Diary of a Quilter. We also thought it would be fun to use Jake and Laura's wedding colors, which were midnight blue and sage green.

I have to say that this pattern is awesome for putting together a quick but impressive quilt and with Jeni Baker's great diagrams showing layouts for 8, 4 or 2 colors it's so versatile. We had a great time choosing fabrics and the quilt top went together quickly and fabulously.

I love the polish that the scrappy border adds to it. We took turns free-motion quilting the different sections. Each section has a different pattern with the whites all being a large stipple. My mom's machine embroidery skills served her well and she's on her way to becoming a great free motion quilter.

 The back is black and white sheet music. Particularly appropriate since both Jake and Laura are in vocal performance choirs at their college. The binding is an awesome, funky geometric fabric that has both the green and blue in it.  My mom wasn't sure about this one but I knew it would make a great binding. It keeps the quilt fresh and modern. And just makes me happy.

We split the backing up with a thick strip of bricks and a tone on tone black. The quilting shows up well on the black and you can see the various stitch patterns we used.

I didn't get exact measurements of the finished quilt but it turned out about queen size which is equivalent to a snuggle couch quilt for my 6'8" nephew. 

My sister wanted them to open the quilt before the reception so we could hang it behind the gift table. It looked pretty amazing since it matched all the wedding decor. My mom has decided to make this a tradition for all her grandkids.  She has quite a few of those so it's a good thing her machine is so immortal!

As for me, I've finally gotten Helga unpacked and settled in a corner of my bedroom. I'm making progress on my two matching quilts-in-progress.  And just to cheer myself up during a dismal week, I've started a new quilt. 

The Candy Bomber - Visit with an American Hero

 Have you ever met a celebrity? I have to admit that the idea has never really appealed to me. There are very few media-famous persons that I have any desire to meet. But a hero, now that is a different story.  Perhaps the best event of our recent homelessness was the chance to meet Lt. Col. Gail Halvorsen (Ret.) aka the Berlin Candy Bomber.

Colonel Halvorsen flew during the Berlin Airlift and after seeing a group of German children peacefully share two sticks of gum he had given them, promised to drop some chocolate from his plane on his next run. The identifying signal, a dip of his wings as he came in, earned him the name Uncle Wiggly Wings. And that initial drop of chocolate bars turned into a huge months-long operation which gave hope back to Germany's children and helped to heal the wounds of war between the two nations.

This fall a new book was released by Shadow Mountain:

The book is very well done with beautiful illustrations mixed with old photos. The enclosed DVD is not an audio version of the book, it's a video recording of a Tabernacle Choir concert during which Tom Brokaw reads the book. Impressive. So when my mother decided to purchase a book for each of her children I was excited.

And when she asked me if my family would be interested in meeting Brother Halvorsen (yes, he's Mormon) and having our book signed, I was almost giddy. Miley Cyrus? No thank you. Hilary Clinton? Pass on that one too.  But a chance to meet the dashing young captain who broke the rules and talked his buddies out of their chocolate bar rations so he could chuck them out the plane windows tied to hankerchiefs? I might swoon.

Colonel Halvorsen lives about an hour south of Tucson and somehow my mother knows someone in his stake who could get us his phone number.  One phone call later, during which he called my mother 'sunshine', we had a date with a hero.

We planned it for the weekend Geoffrey came down to bring us the Excursion. I think he was as excited as I was.

Here is Col. Halvorsen signing the seven books my mom brought with us. Don't you love his shirt? He's the sweetest old cowboy you could ever meet. You wouldn't know he is in his nineties. He had us all laughing the entire visit. He was excited to learn of our military service and asked us many questions about our recent year in Turkey. He even thanked us for our service and my children for their sacrifice.

He mostly talked to my kids, which I really appreciated. They were very attentive and I kept thinking, "Remember this! Remember this!" (I have wished before for a Permanent Record Button for my children's memories. This is one of those times it would have been useful.) He talked about great things coming from small things - two sticks of gum leading to improved international relations. He told the story of being called in to his CO's office and expecting a severe reprimand but getting a go-ahead instead. And how it went from cajoling other pilots and crew to give up their candy bars to being sent crates of candy parachutes from schools and charity groups in the U.S.

He told us of returning to Germany years later when a school was named after him and meeting a man who as a child had a candy bar drop down through the clouds to land at his feet. And hearing how that chocolate bar gave him hope that things would get better.

He was happy and joking through most of our visit. But he got choked up just once. That was while telling our kids to never pass up the chance to give service.  He told of being left home once as a teenager while the rest of the family went on day trip. The family was late getting back so he went out to begin the evening milking. He was able to get all the cows milked by himself before his father returned.  Telling us about this one act of service for his father was what brought him to tears.

Here is the crew with Brother and Sister Halvorsen.

And one of the two Lt. Colonels together. Geoffrey wants this one in his office.

Colonel Halvorsen is the kind of hero I want my kids to be. The kind of hero I want to be.  He took the small means that were available to him, two sticks of gum and some chocolate bars, and used them to share love and goodness and hope.  That small act made a huge impact in a time of great hardship.

Doctrine and Covenants Section 64 verse 33 - Wherefore, be not weary in well-doing, for ye are laying the foundation of a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. 

I have a secret belief that someday in heaven we will be shown the effects of our actions, the ripple effect that our small choices to be be kind or selfish have had throughout others' lives. My guess is that Col. Halvorsen will have a lot to watch. 

Visiting the Hive - a week with my sister

I haven't blogged in almost a month. Not because I haven't had things to write about but mostly because my laptop keeps getting stolen by my children. As their desktop computer is still on a boat, my laptop is their only connection with the online world.  So I keep having to confiscate it back from them. It makes me grumpy.

The most amazing women on earth.

But I just spent a week with my older sister  - she's the one on the left - preceded by a short visit with one of my two younger sisters - the one to the left of me. And that is enough to cure any grumpiness. It's hard for me to put into words how I feel about my sisters. But this picture sums up our relationship pretty well.

Last week Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a wonderful talk in the LDS General Conference. His topic was inclusion in the church; the idea that no matter your background, your doubts, failings, or differences there is room for you in the church community. That is how it works with my sisters.

We are different. Two of my sisters work as teachers, one a full-time kindergarten teacher and one a part-time preschool teacher. The third is an amazingly talented photographer who works when opportunity and her schedule allow. I haven't had a paid job for 14 years.

My oldest sister has lived in the same small town for 20 years. When we go grocery shopping she knows everyone we see, down to the bagger boys. Both my younger sisters lived in the city we grew up in until fairly recently. One of them now lives in Texas, far away from family for the first time. The other moved to a really small town an hour away from both my parents and the oldest sister. The last time I lived within 2 hours of my family was in 2000. My baby sister served a mission in Australia and then took her husband back for their honeymoon. The other two sisters have been only to Mexico. And I've been to more places on the globe than I ever imagined I would.


Three of us have five children each and one has two children with one more angel in heaven. Their ages range from grown and out of the nest (or nearly) to three year olds. Our husbands' careers include computer programmer, Auto shop teacher, Air Force doc and Border Patrol agent.

But we are the same.  Do you see that smile up there? It's the same one- just on four different faces.  Our husbands call us The Hive because we think alike and can understand each other perfectly with minimal communication and effort.  One of the pillars in my ever-changing, always crazy life is that my sisters will always get me. They will understand even when they can't relate. They will always support me, love me and accept me.  It's a given. A blessed one.

So my time with my sisters this past month has been wonderful.

My kids have enjoyed it too. They've enjoyed spending time with their cousins and being able to walk outside and do this:

One of the great advantages of living on the outskirts of a small town is that there is space. Space for planting a garden, space for projects, and space to ride an ATV all around the property and down the dirt road and over the jump into the wash. My boys were out on the 4 wheeler every chance they got and would come back inside with dust covered grins.

My sister and I worked on her oldest son's upcoming wedding plans. She is in charge of most of the reception and is a bit stressed about it. She is also deluded in her estimation of my talents and asked me to help arrange the flowers. So after a day's work we had this to show for it:

We also had bouquets for the bridesmaids and bride and other arrangements for the display tables and the lattice backdrop. It was an enjoyable day and felt good to flex my creative muscles a bit.

The big event of the week was the county fair. We took all the kids on ride bracelet day and it still cost me a packet to get bracelets for all 5 of my brood.

They all enjoyed the rides but I think if asked, the highlight would have been either the life-size, blue-ribbon-winning Tardis made by their oldest cousin, Jake:

Or this chicken and all his fuzzy headed compatriots:

The crowning jewel on our week there was the smoked ribs and pork shoulder created by my brother-in-law. He let Carson help him prepare and smoke the meat, thereby earning the title of Coolest Uncle. This is pretty hilarious since years ago my oldest two though he was the Meanest Uncle. But I digress. I'm not a super huge rib fan but these were the best I have ever tasted. OMGosh delicious!

They went so fast it I almost didn't get a picture! We devoured three full racks of ribs for dinner and had the pork shoulder shredded with sauce for sandwiches the next day. SO good.

As I'm writing all this I'm realizing that I didn't take any pictures with me or my sister in them. I guess that is typical. We are the moms, always behind the camera. Both of us tend to be overly critical of ourselves in photos. But I need to be better about taking shots of more than just my kids. Because I want to remember the times I spend with my sisters. Those memories are more important than a thick chin or a bad hair day. 

Arizona Beachfront Property

My good friend Juli and have a code of sorts. When one of us is having a horrendous day or is under a lot of stress, she will call up the other and ask, "I'm running away to Mexico, wanna come?" 

Let me assure you that being in the middle of a intercontinental move qualifies as being under a lot of stress. So after being back in the United States for one week, the kids and I decided to leave it once more - to go to Mexico. My parents had a week scheduled at their shared condo and invited us to go with them.

We've been going to Rocky Point since I was a teenager. First camping at Playa Bonita and then later staying in the condo.  My husband has never once been able to come with us. Initially because of school demands, then because of deployments and now because active duty members can not go into Mexico. But if you know me, you know I am pretty independent and don't stay home just because Geoffrey can't accompany me.

The last time the kids and I were all at the condo was in 2006 while Geoff was in Iraq.

Here's my cuties 7 years ago. Rory was just a baby.

I visited a few years later with all my sisters and some cousins for a great girls trip. And during our move from Utah down to Texas, my oldest two spent some time with my folks and got to visit the condo then.

But it was great to be all together again. We did all our favorite things - eating pollo asado (roast chicken) with fresh corn tortillas, cabbage and limes. Buying warm tortillas from the tortillaries by the dozen and making quesadillas with chihuahua cheese. My kids though this was hilarious and immediately renamed it puppy feet cheese. And of course we had to go buy paletas nearly every day. Paletas are Mexican popsicles. They are good sized, come on a rough thick wooden stick and are available in flavors like mango, lime, coconut, strawberry with chili and pistachio to name a few. They melt quickly because there is nothing artificial or weird in them and they are delicious!

And of course we spent lots of time at the beach.

The water was warm and shallow. It took us a few days to figure out the tide schedule but once we did we went tide pooling and collected crabs, slugs, tiny fish and weird worms in a bucket.

My mom and I took long walks on the beach in the morning. One morning we came home with this:

As I was still doing school with the kids whenever we weren't at the beach or in the pool, we turned it into a science lesson. Gotta love homeschool.

One Saturday we went shopping in an area we call Shacks Fifth Avenue.  Years ago it was really just shacks along a dirt road but lately its been developed with pavement and sidewalks. It's still the best place to find souvenirs. I bought a hammock chair, hoping our new house has a back porch. Delaney, Brannick and Carson all bought hats. Carson's was a bit unusual but he loves it.

For those of you who watch Studio C, we decided he could dress up as the Awkward Avoidance Viking for Halloween. Evan got a necklace and Rory settled on a back scratcher. Yeah, that was a weird one but whatever makes him happy.

My most interesting find was these bracelets:

Yep, that is the Turkish nazar boncuk and a khamsa!! But what are evil eyes and the hand of Fatima doing in Mexico!! Mexico has its own set of home guardians and superstitions but they don't include these. We asked the shop keeper about them but she didn't know much about them. I got the impression they were just another bead she could buy to make bracelets out of. Crazy, huh?

Sunday we went to church at the local branch and tried to sit quietly through the Spanish service. A little boy in front of me was fascinated with my Kindle. I had it out reading through a Sunday School lesson. He could not take his eyes of it. When I handed him a pen and a piece of paper from Evan's notebook he drew a perfect replica of it, right down to the small icons on the bottom of the screen and the cut out of the case for the speakers.

Monday Mom took the older boys and I to a shrimp place for lunch. Delaney and the younger boys don't care much for seafood. We sat on the top patio of the restaurant and watched the pelicans dive into the water and engulf huge beakfulls of tiny fish. The seagulls pestered them, picking at their mouths as they slowly let the water escape. Then the pelicans would throw back their heads and gulp down their meal, wagging their tail feathers in satisfaction before taking flight to repeat the process.

No, that's not a margarita. It's just the world's best lemonade - which in Mexico is made from limes.

My hot lunch dates.

After we got back from lunch,  the whole crew headed down to the beach one last time.  We were leaving the next day and had decided that our final hurrah would be to take a banana boat ride.

Here we are, all loaded up and ready to go.  We ended up paying $5 per person for a 5 minute ride. That's a bit steep but it was a fun and made a great memory.

Tuesday morning we packed up and cleaned, got our last hits of pollo asado, fresh tortillas and paletas and then hit the road.  Adios and via con Dios!

Cochem Castle - Last visit to Germany

 Yes, I am back in the United States preparing to lead a much less adventurous life in Nevada. But things moved so fast at the end of the summer that I never got to blog about our last trip to Germany. And as my new life is going to be depressingly devoid of European travel, I have to maximize the memories.

Back in early August I took Brannick and Delaney up to Germany. We flew up in a C-130 - their first time doing a Space A hop in a military plane.  Delaney had been invited to attend Girls Camp with the Kaiserslautern Stake and Brannick just needed to get off base for a bit. We were able to stay with our good friends Mark and Karen Bowen, who had just moved from Incirlik to Spangdahlem.  Since we arrived a few days before the camp started, the Bowens took us to a castle festival they had heard about.

This is Cochem Castle. It's a darling castle on a hill overlooking the Mosel River.  It was built around the year 1000 by a count. That nasty Frenchie - King Louis XIV, aka the Sun King, pretty much destroyed it in 1689 and it lay in ruins for almost 200 years. Then in 1868 a German businessman named Ravene bought it and rebuilt it in a Neo-Gothic style. As was the fashion, he used it as a summer home.  Can you imagine? Forget a villa, or a beach cottage, let's go summer in a castle.  Since 1978 the castle has been city owned and every year they have great little Medieval type festivals.

Me and my peeps.

 To my everlasting disappointment, there were no knights skipping around banging coconut halves together. (Is it wrong that my image of history is influenced by Monty Python?) But they did have these guys:

The cheesiest sword fighting you can possibly imagine. We decided that WWF wrestler rejects get jobs as festival swordsmen.  Not only were they completely unbelievable but in manliness they were a pale second compared to these guys:

Bare chests, long leather skirts, big drums and bagpipes. Yep, it doesn't get more masculine than that. Brannick loved them and I'll admit the music was pretty rockin' even in another language. Too bad they weren't selling CDs. 

Eventually we took a tour of the castle, which advertised an English tour guide. I have no doubt that he could speak English but the tour was most definitely in German. He gave us a paper with a short English description of each room and left us on our own. 

Boy armor.

Girl armor. (Just kidding).

And Goliath's armor.

 Seriously, that guy was tall. Too bad there were no pro basketball teams in the Middle Ages.  Maybe it would have been too hard to dribble a basketball and bang your coconuts together at the same time?

We really enjoyed the festival. It was a beautiful day, good company and good fun.

Here's the crazy part. Stay with me cuz it's a bit convoluted. Last October the whole family visited Burg Eltz (this post) and for Christmas Carson found a small resin plate depicting Burg Eltz at the base thrift store.  He was so excited to give it to me.  Then just in time for Mother's Day he found a similar plate with another castle on it.  I hung it on the wall next to the Burg Eltz one. After I got back from this trip I happened to look at the plates and realized that the Mother's Day plate was of Cochem Castle!! How's that for a coincidence?

Finally - just to prove that I really am in Arizona - here's a picture of two javelina we saw in Saguaro National Monument one morning. Kind of a smaller version of the one the boys shot in Pozanti.  And see those mountains in the background? Those are the Catalinas, an indelible part of my childhood mental landscape. They say 'home' to me.

Back in the Good Ol'

A long time ago I heard about a funny bit published in Reader's Digest. A travel-tired little girl lay on a pile of suitcases in an airport while her military daddy saw to the details of yet another flight. A nearby woman sized up the situation and remarked, "You poor dear. You don't have a home, do you?" The little girl sat up and replied, "Yes, we do. We just don't have a house to put it in right now."

Such is our state at the moment.

This house was merely a container for our home this past year. As containers go, it's a pretty good one. I liked it.  But it's time to say goodbye.

Goodbye house. Goodbye friends. Goodbye Turkey.

Our 'home' has been on its way for a few weeks now. The family left Incirlik on Wednesday, September 4th.  We were one of only four families who made it out of Turkey that day.  A problem with the cargo weight resulted in almost everyone who was booked for the rotator to Ramstein getting kicked off the flight.  For some fortuitous reason, my 7 person 10 suitcase family wasn't kicked off. The delay meant we didn't get into BWI until after 2 am, turning our planned good night's sleep into a three hour nap but at least we were back in the country.

Did you know that there are lovely people who show up to greet returning soldiers at BWI no matter what time of day or night?  It may have been the sleep deprivation but I will admit that when we were met with a handshake and a "Welcome back to the United States," I got all teary-eyed.

Two more flights from Maryland through Chicago to Vegas and we were done with planes for what we hope will be a very long time.  Hello Vegas!!

Geoffrey's dad, Leo,  picked us up at the airport. We had asked him to rent a 15 passenger van or something comparable for the drive down to Phoenix.  He showed up with one of those bus style RVs. My kids were over the moon. After being strapped down in airline seats for over 30 hours they could lounge and move around and get snacks and drinks out of the fridge with out waiting for an airline attendant's cart. And since this grandpa drives trucks and buses for a living, I passed out on the rear queen size bed for some catch up sleep with no shred of anxiety. Well played, Grandpa.

We had a great reunion taco dinner with Geoffrey's family which he and Leo were very late for. They had gone to return the RV and came home two hours later with a motorcycle. Have I mentioned that Leo can be a bad influence on my husband? Actually, the bike is exactly the type he's been wanting, was a great price and its purchase means I won't have to listen to months and months of motorcyle research.

The next day my parents drove up from Tucson to bring the crew down.  We had dinner with my oldest sister, Treisa and family that night and with another sister (Michelle) and brother (Traver) and respective families the next day. It was fabulous to see everyone again. And both Treisa and Traver brought party packs of Eegees. Best welcome home gift ever.

Sunday we celebrated birthdays - Grandpa Riggs, Cody - Michelle's 3 year old, and Evan - who turned 11 the day we drove down to Phoenix.

Yet another bypassed birthday make-up.

On Tuesday Geoffrey left for Vegas via Phoenix. He had collected his Jeep from Treisa whose talented husband Ed has it running better than when we left it with them.  A small trailer for his acquisition and his golf clubs later and he is on his way. He will stay in a relative's home until we find a new container for ours.

Meanwhile the kids and I are hanging out in Arizona. My parents have three extra bedrooms and lots of patience. They have a week at their Mexico condo and a week at their mountain cabin that we will take advantage of. My sisters have both invited us for visits.  So being 'houseless' is not so bad.  Because I'm feeling right at home.