CoffeyHaus

Evening class of Scrapbook Fusion added at ETC!

2012-01-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

The class scheduled for March 2 from 10:30- 1:00 still has openings if you want to come in the day time. For those of you who need an evening class- I've got great news!

Many requested an evening class and one has been added. Yay! It will be March 2 from 6:00 pm to 8:30! Of course you can sign up at the store or call in. You can also sign up online and get a 10% discount off this class (such a great deal).

See more photos of this photo-journal album here.

Scrapbook Fusion Class at ETC

2012-01-21T20:47:00.000-08:00

The next class I teach at ETC in Mesa is on March 2. Sneak peek:

The sample is up at the store in mesa.

You don't want to miss this photo-journal album. This book uses fabric and paper and all sorts of embellishments. With quotes to inspire you and prompt your journaling and pages to journal on- you can tell your story. It would be great to capture your thoughts, memories and photos about a friend, your mom, or spouse to give them as a gift (think Mother's Day!). OR- give the album blank and let them fill it in. In fact, you might just need to make 2 of them so you can have one for your own musings!

All materials are included in the price of the class. Don't miss out! Remember, if you sign up online, you get 10% off this already great deal :)

RT 2011: On the Way to Nauvoo: Caldwell County to the Home of Mark Twain

2011-09-22T20:15:00.000-07:00

We left the next morning-Monday July 11- to drive to Nauvoo, IL.

On our way out, we stopped by Far West in Caldwell County. There is a site that was dedicated back in the 1800's by the early saints to build a temple. It has a monument that briefly explains this.

A little farther north is the Adam-Ondi-Ahman site. It is a beautiful area that has significance in biblical history as well as church history. It is acreage of undeveloped land. It does have trails you can walk to see the area, and plaques along the way that tell a little bit about the importance of this site. Other than that, there isn't anything to see. The view is incredible and the peace one feels there is undeniable.

From there, we continued on to the eastern border of MO to cross over to Illinois. To avoid road blockades due to flooding, we went through Hannibal, MO. This was also a great way to go because it was the home of Mark Twain, the American author.

There is a Mark Twain museum and walking tour.

On the tour are places such as the Huck Finn home, Mark Twain's childhood home, his father's law office and other significant structures from his childhood or his writings.

Sophia and Isabel in front of the Huckleberry Finn House

Unfortunately, we got there rather late in the afternoon and had such a little bit of time to see it. I bought tickets anyway so that we could go and see what we could since we were there… they closed so early. I wish we could have had more time. We didn't even spend any time in the museum. Although we got to the gift shop 7 minutes before closing time, the cashier had already closed the register so we couldn't even get a small momento of our visit. Totally LAME.

We headed out of town and straight north to Nauvoo, IL. We got there just in time to watch one of the live performances they have called "Sunset on the Mississippi". While the girls watched that, I talked with the Sister Missionaries in the Visitor's Center to find out the best way to see and experience everything in Nauvoo. I am very glad I did, too, because there were so many things I did not know about. They have live shows throughout the day and in the evenings, and some of them need tickets in advance. The tickets are free, but you do have to reserve them. I found out how I could get tickets for the shows, the showtimes for all the other shows and wagon rides, and a map of the village to plan when we would go where. I was even able to catch the last half of the performance with the girls.

I'll tell you all about Nauvoo next.

RT 2011: Kansas & Missouri July 7-11

2011-09-21T16:58:00.000-07:00

One way to get to Lawrence, KS goes through Liberal, KS. We went through Liberal to see Dorothy's House- of Wizard of Oz fame and the Wizard of Oz Museum. Liberal is just a wee town in Kansas, and this "museum" is just a wee museum in a wee town! It was a little… corny? cheesy? silly? Perhaps a little of all of the above. But, it was a nice break to get out of the car, get lunch, take a tour through Dorothy's house given by Dorothy herself! Plus, they had a warehouse out back to tour. They had recreated sets and scenes from the movie that you walked through that told the abbreviated story of the Wizard of Oz. At the end of that tour there was a display case of various Wizard of Oz collectible items, early editions of the book, Frank Baum's desk and typewriter and other artifacts.

It was 1 part hilarious, 1 part interesting and 1 part pathetic. We did get a Wizard of Oz DVD from the gift shop that Sophia watched in the car. So, that was useful to occupy another two hours of car drive…!

Dorothy's House. We took the tour; It has furnishings and items from the time period, not from the movie set. It is set up similarly to how it was for the movie. Dorothy herself gave us a tour of the house!

Dorothy presents her home to us, including the bedroom where she was when the twister hit.

Dorothy's bedroom shows the twister coming right outside her window. We were lucky to get out of there in time! (Just kidding; it is just a painting to look like the twister that carried her and her house to Oz.)

Sophia with Dorothy. This statue is at the entrance to the museum complex.

Isabel met Dorothy, too.

Tin man, who searches for a heart, with Sophia along the yellow brick road.

Isabel & Lion, who seeks a heart.

Sophia, Scarecrow- who needs a brain- & Isabel.

This is at the end of the "museum" of scenes from the movie.

We continued from there straight to Lawrence, KS. Why Lawrence, you ask? Well, because my friend Cassandra Elwell lives there. That is, of course, her married name. I knew her in middle school and high school as Cassandra Curry. She has 2 adorable daughters and a fantastic husband named Matt. We had so much fun with the Elwells. Let me tell you all about it.

First, we walked around downtown Lawrence one day. We window shopped the quaint little shops and got lunch. Matt met us for lunch and after we finished he took us by the TV station where he works.

Matt is a weatherman on the local news. He took us to the studio with the TV cameras and the "green screen" that displays the weather map on television. The girls had a great time doing "disappearing" tricks with the green screen!

Sophia, Campbell & Anna Paige in front of the green screen.

Matt helping Sophia and Isabel set up the "floating head" trick with the green screen. Sophia held Isabel's head, and then Isabel held Sophia's head.

Isabel holding sophia's head. Unfortunately, Isabel's blue shirt was seen as part of the green screen. She isn't supposed to be transparent! But, you can see Sophia's floating head. Where did her body go?!!

In the same studio is the news desk and the night show desk. The girls took turns being the news anchor behind the news desk. They reported such news as their favorite colors, the food they had eaten this past week, possible first day of school outfits- for Sophia- as compared to the uniform Isabel would be wearing the first day of school and every day thereafter.

Other news items included road trip trivia such as the places we had already visited, the various animals we had passed, the farms of Texas as compared to the farms of Kansas and some other topics which were difficult to make sense of between the laughing of the news anchors.

Campbell, Sophia & Isabel hosting the morning show

Sophia, Campbell & Isabel laughing it up as they "host" the show!

After anchoring the news, they hosted the night show and interviewed the wide array of guests that were appearing that night. There was an interview of Campbell done by the reputable host and mother, Cassandra Curry. Isabel hosted Sophia as a guest on the show and then Sophia hosted Isabel. At one point, we had all the guests out at once- Campbell, Anna Paige, Sophia and Isabel. It was a group discussion rather than an interview situation, as you can imagine.

Campbell being interviewed by her mama, Cassandra.

In case I have mislead any of you, these were not broadcast shows. We just had some fun pretend time at the TV station!

Another day we toured the KU campus in Lawrence. It is a beautiful campus that is very hilly. Who knew there was so much variation in elevation in Kansas?! It was a hot and humid day, which really wore out the kids. During our tour, we took every opportunity to enter air conditioning...

We visited the Natural History Museum on campus. All four of the girls enjoyed this. Not only because it was out of the heat, but because they each found something interesting and fun. Plus, it was free- so, that's awesome. Actually, all the museums on campus are free. That works out nicely.

Isabel in front of the Natural History Museum entrance

Unfortunately, I don't remember which building is which in the following photos, but they are all very lovely. I love the stone and the details in the stone (as seen above on the pillars and the walls next to the doorway) on the structures on campus. All the architecture was quite lovely.

We stopped by the Art Museum to see a quilt exhibit. Apparently, that only displays every other year, and this was the "off" year. Bummer. The kids were getting restless anyway, so it turned out to be best that we didn't tour the art museum.

We stopped by the Memorial Union and took photos with the JayHawk- the Kansas University mascot.

Campbell, Isabel and Sophia on the KU Jayhawk in front of the Memorial Union

The girls had fun climbing up and down stairs and taking the elevator. Cassandra and I had fun sitting in the air conditioning talking for a few minutes…! We are at the top, the girls are several stories below (3, I think? 5? I'm not sure. I don't remember!) We took a photo of them on the landing inscribed with the KU "battle cry".

There was another thing on campus that was pretty awesome. It was a hut.. or gazebo.. or arched enclosure thing made out of branches. I can't even remember it clearly. I really wanted a photo, but I didn't see it until we were leaving. It was such a hot day and the girls were all quite tired and cranky that we dared not stop. Here is what I found out about it online.

The artist Patrick Dougherty does installations he calls "stickwork". In May 2009, he was an artist in residence at KU. In a joint effort with faculty members & students, he created a site-specific, large-scale tree-sapling sculpture outside The Commons at Spooner Hall. You can see photos of the process and learn more about the project here.

This is what the elm tree looked like before he began the project.

The stick project in process.

Another day we went into Kansas City. We went to Union Station to the Children's Museum. They had an astronaut's "training room" that Sophia enjoyed. It had space shuttle controls, a dizziness test, stationary bikes like that astronauts would use in space to keep physically active, a kitchen that had displays of astronaut food and how everything was stored so that it won't float around, and a few other things. As Sophia is totally "lost in space" right now- as in, loves everything about astronomy and astronauts, she really enjoyed this. Plus, the day before we had watched the last space shuttle launch on TV at the Elwell's house, so we were all jazzed about space, astronauts and space exploration.

We had lunch together in Union Station in the main area under the beautifully decorated ceiling. After which the girls and I headed to Independence MO and the Elwells headed to a friend's birthday party.

Independence MO was one of the places the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints settled in the formative years of the church. Saints lived in Kirtland, OH and MO simultaneously.

Saints were gathering together from New York and Pennsylvania in OH because there was land set aside for them that should be enough room for them to build a community and worship together. However, as they began to arrive, some of the land that was promised was no longer available, so some were sent to Independence, and Caldwell County. The gathered together in a place they called Far West, MO. They had planned a spot to build a temple and create a head quarters for the church.

In Missouri we visited the LDS Visitor's Center in Independence which has displays and presentations that tell the story of the experiences the early saints had in MO between 1831-1839.

Across the street is the head quarters of the Community of Christ. This is a church organization that was formed by people who were once part of the congregation of the saints that followed Joseph Smith- the LDS church. They held some of the same beliefs but altered others and formed a different church that is not related to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. They have a self-guided tour that anyone can take. We guided ourselves through their headquarters temple and learned about their organization.

The Community of Christ Headquarters. It kind of looks like an upside down ice cream cone :)

There was also an enormous stained glass window that was gorgeous. This is one small portion of it.

Joseph Smith restored Christ's church and the organization He established when He lived on the earth. Brigham Young was sustained and ordained the prophet of the church to succeed Joseph after he was martyred. Brigham followed the instruction Joseph gave to head west, and some people disagreed with this and stayed behind. This is when the Re-organized Church of Jesus Christ split off from Christ's restored church. They have since renamed themselves The Community of Christ.

We were listening to the headsets at each of the designated spots along the tour and about 3/4 of the way through, Sophia turned to me and said, "It just shows how one mistake can take you so far from the truth." I agreed; that is exactly it. They had some of the restored truths, but they had been altered and changed to where they were no longer the complete truth that Christ restored through his prophet.

From Independence we went to Liberty Jail. This is where Joseph Smith was incarcerated on false charges for sixth months. He and five others were kept in filthy and inhumane conditions and were barely fed. It is astonishing and inspiring to me how he was able to keep the faith and rely on our Savior through these times. There are several revelations he received while incarcerated here that are valuable instruction and inspiration for each of us as we face adversity and are despondent.

"My son, peace be unto they soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all they foes. Thy friends do stand by thee, and they shall hail the again with warm hearts and friendly hands. Thou art not yet as Job; thy friends do not contend against thee, neither charge thee with transgression, as they did Job." D&C 121:7-10

Good advice- the trial shall pass; with eternal perspective- it is but a short moment. Also, it could always be worse; if you don't think so- just consider Job from the Bible!

Inside the visitor's center, there is a reconstruction of the cell in Liberty Jail in which they were incarcerated.

The door in the back of the room is the original door from the jail. The rest is not from the original jail, but it is built exactly how it was then, down to the thickness of the walls and the space with loose rocks between.

There is a sort of life sized diorama set up to give you an idea of how cramped it was. the ceilings were low, so that a tall man like Joseph would not be able to stand to full height the entire 6 months he was there.

Sophia and Isabel in front of the rebuilt Liberty Jail

Isabel and Sophia in front of the Liberty Jail visitor's center

a close up photo of my silly girls at Liberty Jail

After a great day experiencing these significant places in church history and feeling the spirit there, we headed back to Cassandra's house. This took us back through Kansas City. We were able to see the Kansas City temple that was under construction.

The entire grounds is surrounded by construction fencing. I can only assume it is because there is still heavy equipment on site and a lot of construction still going on.

You can see the boards in some of the windows, as they are not all complete.

a silhouette of the front view of the temple

Behind the temple was a large grouping of trees and plants ready to be put into the landscaping when the heavy construction is done.

Of course, while in Kansas City, we had to stop for some famous Kansas City barbecue! We went to Jack Stack Barbecue- and it was delicious.

It's a shame part of their sign is burned out!

That Sunday we celebrated Isabel's birthday with the Elwells. I had brought a few gifts for her and Geoff had sent a little package to the Elwell's home for Isabel. It had arrived the day before. I made brownies and got mint chocolate chip ice cream (her fave!) and we had a little party with Campbell and Anna Paige. We left the next morning-Monday July 11- to drive to Nauvoo, IL.

RT 2011: To Albuquerque, NM and Amarillo, TX

2011-09-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Albuquerque late Friday night. On Saturday evening, Isabel had a date with Grandpa to go to the Santa Fe Opera for an early birthday present. They had dinner at the Opera before the show. They went to see La Boheme. Isabel really enjoyed herself.

As I did not go to the opera with them, I only have photos of the two of them before they left! Isabel and Grandpa getting in the car to head to Santa Fe.

We were at Grandma & Grandpas' house for the 4th of July. Fireworks were banned all across the southwest due to drought, and this was the case in Albuquerque and the surrounding areas. Grandpa and Geoff started a beef brisket in "The Green Egg" early in the day so we could have a fabulous, slow cooked, smoked brisket for our 4th of July dinner.

We had a leisurely day together just talking and playing. We could smell the delicious meat cooking throughout the day. Not only could you smell it when you went outside on the patio, but you could smell it inside the house because the windows were open to let in the cool breezes.

Grandma had made some baked beans the cooked over the grill for several hours. That smelled delicious, too! Then the time finally came that the brisket was done. YUM! We couldn't wait to eat.

Somehow, somewhere something didn't work out quite right. The brisket came out kind of… tough. Yeah, it was tough. It was tasty, but it wasn't the ultimate perfection we had all been expecting. As we ate dinner, we talked and laughed and wondered at this curiosity of this brisket. Everyone trying to be polite and say, "Oh, it isn't too tough. It is good." and the like. All efforts to console Grandpa. At one point something gross was said about a tough brisket and Sophia exclaimed, "You're going to make me throw this up, and it was so much work getting it down!”

Oh, my goodness! It was hilarious. At that point, there was no way to deny that the brisket was, in fact, tough and somewhat difficult to eat!

The dinner wasn't completely unsuccessful, however. Sophia and Grandpa had a glorious water fight at the end of the meal. All's well that ends well!

Kooks! They had so much fun together :)

Geoff flew back to Phoenix Monday morning and the girls and I drove on to Amarillo, TX. Meagan drove up from Dallas, TX with Abigail and Avery to hang out with us for a couple of days so the cousins could play.

A Texas wind farm we passed on our way to Amarillo.

I looked for more "Old Route 66" opportunities to see on our way. I found a motel that is a Route 66 icon to stay at, and also a roadside attraction to stop at on our way.

Just outside of Amarillo is Cadillac Ranch. It is an art installation on the ranch of Stanley Marsh 3. It was created by the The Ant Farm art group in 1974. It is a collective work of all those who go visit it with a can of spray paint.

There is a row of 10 junk cadillac automobiles dating from 1949 to 1963. They are said to represent the "Golden Age" of American automobiles. They are buried, nose down at an angle corresponding to that of the Great Pyramid of Giza. They are facing west along Interstate 40, directly on the former Route 66.

Meagan met us there with 3 cans of spray paint. We left our addition to the art installment.

Sophia scales the car to perch at the top. She's a climber; on everything. We think she actually is half monkey.

Isabel checks out the driver's seat

Sophia got wet paint on her; not the paint she was painting- but paint left from some previous visitor. It made me think- I bet the paint on these cars is never actually dry!

Isabel hangs from the body frame

Sophia doing some serious damage- erh, I mean art!

Isabel found a deserted can of latex paint that had a small amount left in it. She put it to good use, too.

Sophia hard at work

She's lovely!

Abbi and Avery were right in the middle of the action, too! We had to beg for turns with the spray paint!

Abbi adds her artistic perspective

Avery shakes up the paint, ready to go to town on the cars again.

Isabel, Avery, Abigail & Sophia in front of the cadillac line up at Cadillac Ranch

Isabel, Mamie & Sophia at the gate to "the ranch"

Then entrance gate to Cadillac Ranch; Avery, Sophia, Abigail and Isabel

Meagan & I swingin' on the gate

Unfortuntately, I didn't know about a few other eccentric things we could have gone to see in Amarillo. Namely, the Floating Mesa, Dynamite Museum- an ongoing project consisting of hundreds of mock traffic signs- & the Amarillo Ramp.

We did stay at the Big Texan Steak Ranch and Motel- a holdover from the Route 66 days.

It has an enormous restaurant with a gigantic cow out front- you know, about the size of cow their famous 72 oz steak comes from. They have a "steak challenge" that if you can eat the 72 oz steak and the side dishes that come with it in less than an hour, it's free…!

It is painted to look like the facade of an old west town. Our room was in the pink building.

Abbi, Isabel, Sophia and Avery

The Big Texan also has a pool shaped like Texas. What could be cooler than that?!

We stayed there two nights. On the first night, there were about 50 to 70 Harley Davidson motorcycles parked in the parking lot. Not even kidding. It was too dark to get a good picture that evening, so we were going to get on in the morning. Unfortunately, when we went outside to get the shot- They were gone! That evening, another Harley group pulled in. They had a big truck along with them that said "Norwegian Harley Davidson Riders" or something like that. There weren't nearly as many Harleys this time, but there were at least 30 or 40.

I think they were really from Norway because they were at the pool at the same time we were there and they were all speaking some language other than english! I guess the Big Texan is a popular stop for Harley riders…?! At any rate, sounds like fun to me.

While in Amarillo, we mostly swam and played together. We did take a little outing to the Amarillo Art Museum. It was very small, but they did have a room of textiles- mostly antique rugs from the middle- east. There was also a gorgeous wood screen on display. It had inlaid wood that made a scenic design and beautiful hinges (hardware). While we were there, a photographer from the Amarillo Globe News was there shooting photos. He took a photo of Isabel, Sophia and I. He asked our names and where we were from and why we were there that day. I don't know if it ever made it into the paper or not. Either way, we enjoyed the museum.

Of course we ate at the Big Texan Steak House one night. Sophia, Abbi & Avery each got a meal of the children's menu that came with a cowgirl hat. I got an adorable photo of the girls in their hats.

Abigail, Sophia and Avery

Sophia and Avery

Sophia also got a rooter float that came in a "souvenir boot mug". She was thrilled with this. She wanted that boot mug so badly!

Sophia enjoys her root beer float, made better served from a "boot mug"

Everything is big in Texas!

We left Amarillo after having breakfast with the Skidmores Thursday morning, July 7. We headed towards Lawrence, they headed home to Dallas.

Road Trip 2011- Things We Saw Before We Even Left Arizona!

2011-09-19T18:06:00.000-07:00

This is the first year Isabel can attend Young Women's camp, which is the third week in June. School starts August 8 for Isabel and August 15 for Sophia. Therefore, the month of July is our best option for our 2011 Summer road trip.

This year's plan is to see the church history sites in the midwestern United States. Of course, we want to visit our extended Coffey family in Indiana, and visit any family and friends that are along the way. Here is the low-down.

We headed to Albuquerque on Friday, July 1, 2011 to visit Grandma Brenda & Grandpa George Coffey. Geoff drove over to Albuquerque with us to visit his parents and then flew home the same day we left to drive to our next destination. On our drive over, we took a small detour to go through the Petrified Forest. To go over to the Petrified Forest from I-40 East, you go towards Holbrook. We passed the Wigwam Village #6 located there.

The Pixar movie Cars pays homage to this Route 66 icon with "Sally's Cozy Cone Motel". Here are more photos of the Wigwam Hotel.

Another old Route 66 icon was the Twin Arrows Trading Post. It is no longer in business, and the buildings are in shambles. The prominent red & yellow Arrows are still there, but are not far behind the buildings in the way of deterioration. We stopped for a photo by the Twin Arrows.

The dilapidated buildings that used to be the Twin Arrows Trading Post.

Isabel, mom & Sophia in front of the Twin Arrows landmark.

Apparently, Geoff got shot by one of the arrows. You can tell because his tongue is hanging out like he is dead.

We got off I-40 at Holbrook to take AZ Hwy 180 to the south entrance of the Petrified Forest. This works best because you can drive through the forest and exit out on I-40 E and continue on to NM.

When we arrived at the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park, we stopped at the Rainbow Forest Museum at the south end of the park- right where we entered. It has displays about the land, animal life and geology of this area in prehistoric times. It was a completely different place back then. It is quite fascinating. Besides the Rainbow Forest Museum, these are the things we stopped to get out of the car to see.

Behind the Rainbow Forest Museum is a short trail around the Giant Logs. We walked the .4 mile loop to see some of the largest and most colorful petrified logs in the park. “Old Faithful”, at the top of the trail, is almost ten feet across the base.

Geoff and the girls in front of Old Faithful, a petrified log that is almost 10 feet across at its base!

Sophia and Isabel sitting on one of the Giant Logs.

The colors & patterns found in the petrified logs is quite amazing.

Sophia was fascinated by the tree rings in the "rocks". She knew it was petrified wood- or wood turned to stone over thousands of years- but, to see the characteristics of a tree in the colorful rock was impressive.

Sophia counts the tree rings of a Giant Log.

When we finished at the museum and Giant Log loop, we drove to see Agate Bridge.

"225 million years ago, a lot of tall trees were washed into a floodplain, where a mix of silt, mud and volcanic ashes buried the logs. The sediment cut off oxygen and slowed the logs decay. Silica-laden groundwater seeped through the logs and replaced the original wood tissues with silica deposits. Eventually the silica crystallized into quartz, and the logs were preserved as petrified wood.

Later, centuries of scouring floodwaters washed out the arroyo, or gully, beneath this 110-foot long petrified log and formed a natural bridge. The petrified log, harder than the sandstone around it, resisted erosion and remained suspended as the softer rock beneath it washed away." (source)

This is how the bridge looked the day we visited. It has a concrete support under it to keep the petrified log as a bridge, rather than allowing it to break apart and fall to the ground, as nature would eventually have it do. I found a historic photo of Agate Bridge from 1895. Other than the support structure that was added in 1911, do you see a difference from 116 years ago?

Agate Bridge, Petrified Forest 1895

We stopped at several more overlooks, including Newspaper Rock. There are telescopes to use so that visitors can get a close up view of the petroglyphs on the sides of the rocks. The archeology of the area is also quite fascinating. There are many other brochures about the area; some of which are only available online.

This photo of Newspaper Rock was taken with my Nikon camera with a zoom lens on it. It is situated in a valley and it can only be viewed from the overlook that is quite a distance away. Therefore, the telescopic viewers are needed to see the petroglyphs on the sides of the rock.

Geoff holds Sophia up to the viewer so she can see the Petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock. The following two photos I took with my 200 zoom lens, zoomed in as far as it would go. Can you see the images on the front and side faces of the rock toward the bottom?

More petroglyphs on Newspaper Rock in the Petrified Forest.

We drove on to the Painted Desert Inn and stopped at a couple of overlooks along that loop. First, some photos of the painted desert:

At high noon (or close to it), some of the colors are a bit washed out in the bright sunlight. However, you get the gist of the bands of color along the rocks.

The Painted Desert not only sports bands of beautiful colored rock, but also interesting rock formations from thousands of years of erosion. In contrast to the striation of pastel colors of the painted desert is the black basalt capped rock formation on the other side of the road.

"The black basalt that caps the cliffs before you stands in stark contrast to the colorful Chinle Formation visible throughout the Painted Desert." reads the info board at the overlook...

Our last stop before getting back on the road to Albuquerque was the Painted Desert Inn.

View of Painted Desert Inn from Tawa Point to the east

The Inn built by Herbert Lore in 1924 was nicknamed the "Stone Tree House" because so much petrified wood was used in its construction, a tangible tie to the landscape. In 1935 he sold it to the National Park Service. At that time, The Civilian Conservation Corps, started by FDR with his "New Deal" did many projects to preserve the Painted Desert Inn.

The Inn reopened in May 2006 after 18 months of extensive rehabilitation. I found it interesting that it really looks nothing like the original Inn built by Herbert Lore. However, it is still a marvelous bit of architecture. Much of what is original left in it- I am not sure if it is original from when Herbert Lore built the Inn or if it is "original" projects done by the CCC.

During the renovation, they did not stucco over on small area of petrified stone around the door. This allows the visitors to see what the petrified wood (stone) looks like and that it was actually made out of the petrified wood of the area!

Painted Desert Inn after renovations completed in May 2006. It is open for business once again! Although, it no longer functions as an inn or restaurant. There is a gift shop, restrooms and you can look around the inn at some of the interior details.

The restrooms were made to match the look of the (rehabilitated) Painted Desert Inn

The bookstore/ giftshop is on the main level of the Inn. The dining (lunch room) is on the same level and down the stairway is the tavern.

Some interior details include:

Hand painted skylights in the bookstore

The Lunch Room & Dining Area; I love the old wood floors, the colors and designs painted on the walls and the hand hewn wood furnishings. I mean- check out those benches!

The mural to the left was painted by Fred Kabotie. It was restored during the rehabilitation.

mural by Fred Kabotie

The Kitchen of the Painted Desert Inn

The only original CCC chair that showed the painted artwork for restoration.

Stairway to the tap room

Hand painted skylights over the stairway

The tap room was Herbert Lore's reception area and bar.

There are several original tin light fixtures that were hand made by the CCC. Pictured below are three varieties.

The concrete floor on the viewing porch still retains some of the original color (again, by original- I don't know if it is "Herbert Lore original" or "CCC Original". Either way, it is quite old.

stained concrete of the viewing porch

Rough hewn Ponderosa Pine shade structure off the side of the Inn.

The former sleeping rooms, located on the Northwest end of the Inn.

Then, we got back on I-40 headed east to Albuquerque. We arrived that night.

Backwards, But it Works…

2011-09-18T23:19:00.000-07:00

I know this is completely backwards, but this is the way it's goin' down. I periodically go through and publish my blog to book; the posts that have not yet been published, that is. Well, this time 'round, I have so much missing. Some really important things that I want to be in the book. The book kind of takes the place of my journal and a comprehensive scrapbook. Anyway, I "slurped" my posts into BookSmart and then added what was missing. So, although it is supposed to go on the blog first then imported to the book- this time, I wrote several "posts" in the book and I am now posting them to the blog. Completely backwards. Deal with it ;)

They are in the form of screen shots of the page in the book. Hopefully, they will be readable. Let's find out.

I'm gonna publish this, see how it looks and see if I want to add the rest this way. I finished our entire 2010 road trip in the book, plus all of the above and a few more. K. Here goes.

I Want This Chair

2011-08-05T09:15:00.000-07:00

I want this chair. The fabric is adorable; even better in real life. It was made exclusively for this chair. The chair is on sale for nearly half off (this weekend only). It has wheels, which is ever-so-handy when working in my studio. AND, the seat lifts up for a bit of extra storage. I'm in love.

My birthday is this upcoming Thursday (Aug 11), after all....

"30 Stars" quilt top

2011-05-31T12:59:00.000-07:00

I finished piecing this today! I started it ... a while ago... with Janet. We both ordered the kit and worked on it together. She finished piecing hers, had it quilted and bound and has had it displayed in her home for a while now... No matter- at least I finished it! Janet was instrumental in helping me along. Thanks, Janet :) Finished size, this is 42" x 42".

This is really only the second quilt I have made. The first quilt used a base grid to make it "on point". I used mostly Kaffe Fasset fabrics, and I really like how it came out. But, it was much, much simpler!

Just had to show you I finished. It has been a long time coming :)

NYC- Revisited For A Minute

2011-05-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

I forgot to show you this great thing when I told you about my trip to New York. Geoff and I had been walking around for a while after dinner one night. I wanted to stop in Anthropologie to snoop around because I love their style. He found a chair in a corner and sat and read on his phone for a while, so he was perfectly content to let me wonder about.

Anthropologie had this great book for sale called "Playing With Books: The Art of Upcycling, Deconstructing, and Reimagining The Book".

They had an absolutely fabulous display.

The "Chandelier" is made entirely of cardboard and paper. It was incredible! I only had my iPhone with me, so the photos aren't as good as I would like. But, here is the chandelier a bit closer up.

The tassels are paper; all the decorative filagree is paper; the ruffles and pleated layers- all paper. The black base is painted cardboard. This photo just does not do it justice. It was amazing.

Just needed to tell you about it.

What To Do with 15 Girls Aged 8 to 11… Activity Days

2011-04-19T14:54:00.000-07:00

As I have said before, I am in charge of weekday activities for the 8-11 year old girls in my church. The program is called "Primary Activity Days". I am still trying to think of a cute and clever name for my group of girls to refer to them instead of saying "Activity Day Girls"... I dunno. Just an idea. Suggestions?

I have been doing this since around the middle of 2009. Not only are the activities I plan supposed to be fun, but they should also help the girls make and reach goals in the Faith in God program. This program is designed to help them build a testimony of the Savior, Jesus Christ and develop themselves in other areas. There are four main areas of focus: Learning and Living the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Learning to Serve Others, Developing their talents given to them by God, and preparing for the Young Women's program in the church. That is the next step after Primary Activity Days to help teenaged girls grow closer to Jesus Christ and strengthen their testimony. It really is a comprehensive program to foster personal and spiritual growth in young girls.

These are some of the (fun) activities I have planned for the girls. I'll do it list style, and put in photographs when I have them. I will also include the goal section it helps to fulfill.

August 2009 Back to School Party at my house. It was an all out messy frenzy! They played in the hose on the trampoline and tracked water in and out of my house. Some girls brought make up and nail polish and gave each other "make overs". They watched a movie and had snacks and drinks. All of these activities lead to big mess! But, they had a great time and got to know each other a little better.

Water fun on the Trampoline

Only one person fell off the trampoline in all the madness.... (oops) But, no one was injured.

Sophia and Buffy painting each other's nails

more nail painting action

Make- overs, 10 year old style :)

Some of the dazzling results (Isabel is on the right)

Sophia's make-over. This isn't even the best part....

Sophia used dark eye shadow and a Q-tip to make underarm hair as part of her makeover! All the girls were in stitches over this addition. It was hilarious!

make-up after math... just part of the party "carnage"!

Oh, did I mention they gave me a make-over, too? Including the elegant faux-hawk seen here. (from left to right) back: Lyssa, Estrella, Lizette, Karlee, Isabel, Teá; front: Sophia, me, Caitlyn

some of the party mess after I started cleaning up!

... more mess! They had a great time.

September 2009 Make Conference Workbook, “Decide now to make General Conference a priority in your life. Decide to listen carefully and follow the teachings that are given. Listen to or read the talks more than once to better understand and follow counsel. By doing these things, the gates of hell will not prevail against you, the powers of darkness will be dispersed from before you, and the heavens will shake for your good.” —Elder Paul V. Johnson (goal requirement: Learning & Living the Gospel part 1)

[photo of project]

October 2009 Discuss conference talk, “What Have I Done For Someone Today?” by Pres. Thomas S. Monson; make “Warm Fuzzies” jar mentioned in talk. (goal requirements met: complete Learning & Living the Gospel from above; if fill the jar with "warm fuzzies" (each one is an act of service) completes requirement for Serving Others)

[photo of warm fuzzy jars]

October 2009 Make and mail Christmas cards to terminally ill Noah Biorkman, a 5 year old boy. (goal req: making cards = Developing Talents; doubles as a service project)

[pdf of info about Noah]

He passed away November 23, 2009
I took a group photo of the girls in November to put in the Activity Days Newsletter to the parents. Such a great group of girls.

November 2009 Read & learn the 12th Article of Faith. Discuss what it has to do with service & how we can make our community a better place. Each girl received a card and color pictures to take home to teach to her family at Family Home Evening. (goal req: Serving Others)

[photo of poster]

December 2009 Make job & service coupons to give to family members for Christmas. Discussed things one could do to help around one’s home. We discussed the importance of obeying and honoring your parents and learning how to work. (goal req: Developing Talents; if complete all coupons = Service)

[photo of coupon book]

December 2009 Discuss New Year’s Resolutions and a chance to start a fresh with personal goals of improvement. Ideas included reading scrips more regularly, being more physically active, eating healthy, attending activity days every time and others. Everyone was given a calendar chart with star stickers to keep track of progress for their New Year Resolution, be it fitness, or scripture reading, activity attendance, etc.

In January, I started a genealogy unit with the girls. We did some journaling projects, some scrapbooking activities and some family history activities. We spent several months doing various activities in this unit. I made a lot of handouts and gathered a lot of tips for writing your about yourself as well as interviewing a family member- like a grandmother or grandfather, mom or dad etc. I made pages that were "cute" and ready for the girls to add their info and photos and it could go straight into their scrapbook/ personal history book.

January 13, 2010 Prepare a pedigree chart with your name and your parents’ & grandparents’ names. Prepare a family group record for your family. We visited Family History Library and received a presentation given by the Family History Librarian, Janet Carruth. We discussed the importance of eternal families and how genealogy relates to this. (goal req: Learning and Living the Gospel)

January 27, 2010 Continue with genealogy and journaling. Write a letter to or journal about a teacher, your parent(s), or your grandparent(s) telling them what you appreciate and respect about them. (goal req: if write letter = Serving Others; if journal = Prep for YW)

February 10, 2010 Continue with genealogy; add scrapbooking. Add more to personal history/genealogy book; scrapbook a photograph and journal about the photo. (goal req: scrapbooking = Developing Talents)

I had each of the girls wear an outfit they really liked or their favorite outfit and write about why they liked it. I think this gives an insight into their personality at the time. Here is the photo of Sophia in her favorite outfit. It is the skirt she made (by herself) at a sewing class. That is why it is her favorite!

Not to mention the pose and the way she wears her clothes (shoes) tells a great deal about the child, as well. The best part is what they write down about it. It is so much fun!

February 24, 2010 Continue with genealogy, scrapbooking & journaling. Talk about how our life story is an ongoing process. The Lord has asked us to keep a personal history & to journal. Pass out more scrapbook & journaling pages. (goal req: scrapbooking = Developing Talents)

March 10, 2010 “My Friends” Scrapbook page; Make a list of qualities you like in each of your friends. Choose one quality to develop in yourself. Discussed how showing respect, kindness & other Christlike qualities strengthens you, your family and others. (goal req: Serving Others)

March 24, 2010 Prepare for April General Conference; Made a tent out of chairs and blankets and read and discussed the story “Conference Reverence Tent” from “Friend” magazine. Made the trail mix to go along with it, every girl took the trail mix poem/recipe home to share with their family. (goal req: Learning & Living the Gospel- making GC a priority in their lives)

[photo of poem handout]

For a change of pace and to work towards other goals, I started a health and nutrition unit with the girls. We spent several weeks learning about muscle groups and stretching, doing exercises, learning about healthy eating habits from the food pyramid and discussing the Word of Wisdom.

April 14, 2010 Fitness and physical health unit. Discussed major muscle groups with muscular-skeletal system diagram for each girl (in color). Discussed stretching each muscle group to prepare for physical exercise. Each girl got a handout showing how to do the stretches. Did fitness tests of running, sit ups, mountain climbers to begin our Physical Fitness program plan. Girls will continue with stretches and exercises we tested on their own at home to fulfill goal of one month of participation. (goal req: Developing Talents- good health)

April 28, 2010 Continue fitness and physical health unit. Reviewed major muscle groups while we stretched to prep for our fitness trials. Practiced running, sit ups, mountain climbers, jump rope, etc to go along with our month long fitness goal. Girls will continue on their own at least 2 to 3 times per week to achieve physical fitness program goal in Developing Talents (goal req: Developing Talents- good health)

Sophia and her partner, Liseth switch off holding each other's feet to do sit ups.

Sophia counts how many times Liseth jump ropes during the one minute time limit. Then, they trade places. (note sophia's fabulous outfit which includes three layers on the bottom: gouchos and two skirts.)

Liseth counts Sophia's mountain climbers during the time limit. Then they switch. I want to assure you that I do not only take photos of my child. I just refrain from posting the other girls, as I do not have their parents' permission.

May 12, 2010 Stretched, did timed fitness trials again to see improvement over our past month’s physical fitness regimen. If girls continued the program at home, they would see their improvement as well as pass of the Developing Talents goal. (goal req: Developing Talents- good health)

May 26, 2010 Made a journal jar. Used glass jar child brings, or one I provide to fill with journaling prompts or questions that I printed on color paper. This will add to their genealogy, help learn journaling for YW and lifelong habit (as prophets have admonished us to do); also gives them Faith in God activity to do throughout summer. (goal req: Learn and Live the Gospel; Journaling helps Prepare for YW)

[photo of journal jar with prompts]

June 2010 Off for summer travel

July 28, 2010 Discussed modesty, its importance, modest fashions & not-so-modest fashions. Fixes for inappropriate dress. Discussed standards in “For the Strength of the Youth” and talks given by General Authorities. I looked at several talks, but drew from this & this, mostly, & this (which is not a GA, but had great info). You could also serve up a modified portion of this article by LZ Granderson on CNN.com. We made “Modest, yet Modern, Paper Dolls”; girls cut outfits out of fabric for their paper dolls that were modest and fashionable (goal req: Developing Talents-modest dress)

August 4, 2010 Discuss Word of Wisdom, nutrition, four food groups, portion size, fueling our body with healthy food to keep the temple of our spirit clean and energetic to serve God. (goal req: Developing Talents- good nutrition; 1/2 of Learning & Living the Gospel: discussed D&C 89- still need to teach to others)
I put together a great deal of information for this. I made a folder that had a quote about the Word of Wisdom on the front:

"May we continue to stand for physical, mental, and spiritual health through observance of the Word of Wisdom and receive the blessings predicated upon obedience to the word of the Lord."

–President N. Eldon Tanner

I gathered and printed many handouts; a few of which were: food pyramid, explained whole vs refined grains- I boiled information like this & this down to tell them which are whole grains & which aren't and the message: "Make half your grains whole"! I had handouts on muscle anatomy, stretches, & a chart to keep track of "high physical activity" days- not "exercise days"- because I told them running around and playing "hard" at recess or after school counts as being active and staying healthy.

August 25, 2010 Back to School Swim Party!

September 8, 2010 Begin planning Mother-Daughter Brunch. What type of food should we serve? How do we make it a rounded, nutritious meal? How do we invite our mothers? How do we decorate? (goal req: Developing Talents- learn to plan an event, thinking of others)

September 22, 2010 Make invites for Mother-Daughter Brunch. Each girl will make a dish with their mother to share at the Brunch. We will carpool to stake activity that day. Stake activity will finish Developing Talents goal (good grooming & caring for and about oneself). It also completes a “choose your own goal” for Developing Talents (learn to plan an event with others comfort and needs in mind)

October 9, 2010 Have our Mother-Daughter Brunch! Discuss Faith in God program. See activities the girls have done throughout the year. Attend Stake Activity together. These 2 events, in conjunction with past activities, fulfill 2 Developing Talents goal requirements.

After the Mother Daughter brunch, their was a stake activity for the girls. We all drove over to that together. Chris Forier and the rest of the Stake Primary Presidency planned a great activity for the girls. One of the things they did was make bracelets.

October 2010 Joseph Smith's First Vision video and FHE lesson materials for the girls to share with their family. (goal requirement: learning and living the gospel)

October 2010 Halloween Quiz and paper bag pumpkins with candy

this is the sample I made to show the girls what we were doing

The girls show off their completed pumpkins!

November 2010 Discussed family traditions, especially Thanksgiving. Gathered family recipes and wrote down family traditions to add to our genealogy scrapbook. We talked about why traditions are important and special. I gleaned from a new era article, a general conference talk by Cheryl C. Lant, a speech given by Merrill J. Bateman, and lesson 18 from YW manual 2 (I think!).

I made them a sugar "cone-ucopia" filled with dried fruit instead of candy like this one:

December 2010 Cookie Exchange

January 2011 Discussed President Hinckley's 6 Bs. The following activity we decorated frames to frame the 6 Bs printout I made for them.

I made this cute-ified version of President Hinckley's "6 B's" from this article.

The girls used glitter paint, "gems", paint, stickers, flowers, buttons and lots and lots of personality to decorate their frame!

Sophia shows off her finished product. So cute!

The girls show off their finished works of art

This friend on the left can be quite camera shy... but, I think it is more to "show me who's boss" than it is not wanting her photo taken ;)

Oh, Sophia wanted to be sure her pink golf ball was included in the photo...

February 9, 2011 I told you about our Valentine's Day trip to the Firestation this past February. Any excuse to visit the fire station... ;) Just kidding. Kind of. Seriously, tho- it was a really great activity. Unfortunately, the lighting where the truck was and the huge reflector strip on the side really made for a terrible photo. But, here it is...

On the other hand, my cupcakes & the valentine I made looked great!

February 23, 2011 We made Hot Pepper Jelly to learn about cooking. We chose Hot Pepper Jelly in honor of Arizona's anniversary of Statehood, which is February 14. You know- hot peppers, the southwest... I was too busy cooking jelly and canning it to take photos. Too bad, because there would have been some cute ones.

March 19, 2011 One of the girls who attends activity days was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She decided to meet with the missionaries and discuss the teachings of the church with them. She decided to get baptized, so we all went to her baptism for our activity on March 19. We had a small celebration after the baptism.

April 2, 2011 The girls and their families met on the front lawn of the church building between General Conference Sessions for picnic. Sophia wanted to bring our family's traditional "conference treat" to share with everyone, so I made a monstrously sized batch which we brought and shared with everyone there. It was a little warm out, but not too bad. Overall, it was a beautiful day.

April 9, 2011 I took the girls on a hike in Dreamy Draw Mountain Preserve. The weather has been so fickle this spring; we have had many beautiful days with perfect weather, a few that have gotten quite hot, and a little bit of rain. Of course the day of our hike, it rains! It wasn't a heavy rain- just a light, yet persistent one. But, we went anyway!

Usually rain in Arizona is refreshing. We don't get it that often, and it is usually still warm out while it rains that it is just fun to go out and play in it. However, this rain was a tad cold. Not unbearable by any means, but at 56° and wet- it got a little chillier than these little desert girls are used to.

I had planned on doing the 220 loop, but as it was wet, the 100 to 1A was a better choice. We just headed out and turned around when we were ready. After we had trail mix, of course!

our whole group before we headed out; a kind gentleman offered to take our photo with myself & Sophia Jensen in it with the girls! Unfortunately... my eyes are closed. ohhh, welll!

trying to pitch rocks over the ravine :)

all the girls about halfway through our hike; yes, yes. some girls hiked with umbrellas! cute.

We hiked for about 45 minutes, then we went back to the church building to eat our lunches. We "picnicked" in the gym, which is a large, open room. When there is a big, empty room- there is plenty of fun to be had by kids...

yes... there are all kinds of fun things to do in a big empty room!

We had a great time!

Homemade Laundry Soap

2011-04-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

"Wow! We must be really poor!" – Geoff Coffey

I have a friend who made her own laundry detergent and then posted about it on Facebook. When I read it, I thought, "I want to do that! I've never heard of that before, but- I wanna do that!" She made a liquid detergent, which is what I need. I have an High Efficiency Washer and due to the way the detergent is dispensed, and because it uses less water than agitator washing machines, you really need to use liquid detergent in the machine.

Problem was, her batch seemed to make a huge bucket of detergent. I didn't want such a big container to store. Plus, when I make it, I want to make a lot so I don't have to make it again for a long while. So, that would mean even more big ol' buckets hanging around. That just won't do.

Another friend of mine directed me to a website that has a concentrate version. Yes! I am all over that! Since it is a paste, I think I will put it directly into the washer drum rather than the dispensing drawer. But, no matter... I think it will still dissolve properly. Right?!

So, it is three simple ingredients plus water. I changed things up just a bit and added my own ingredient at the very end: essential oil for scent. The products used to make the detergent don't smell badly- they smell like soap. I thought I would see how it turned out to add some essential oil for a different scent. I used Eucalyptus this time. Here's the low down.

Mamie's Laundry Soap

adapted from thewhitesilkpurse

2 bars Fels Naptha

2 cups 20 Mule Team Borax

2 cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda

6 cups of hot water (+ more, as described)

1 tsp essential oil (scent of your choosing)

Use 1 tablespoon per load

So, first of all- what are these ingredients?! Fels What-tha?! 20 mules what? and Arm & Hammer... are we baking or cleaning? I mean, c'mon!

Now, let's get this straight: you need washing soda, not baking soda. They are different. I know, I know- you use baking soda for cleaning, too. And, feel free to still add it to your laundry load as needed. I'm just sayin'- for this recipe you need Washing Soda.

In Mamieland (where I live), Washing Soda was on the top shelf in the laundry aisle at the grocer. Borax was in the same aisle, but I found it at Ace Hardware Store, as well. I also got my Fels-Naptha at the hardware store. I *think* it was in the laundry aisle at the grocery store, as well. But, I don't recall. What I don't have pictured here is the essential oil. It comes in a small glass jar, usually with a dropper dispenser. I got mine at Sprouts Market, which is a farmer's market, health food store with a very large vitamin and "natural" section. I also got my Castile soap there for making shampoo. But, that is another thing altogether. Okay, so back to the recipe. You have gathered your ingredients. Here's what you do:

1) Put 6 cups of water in a pot on medium heat. It will almost boil by the time you are done. But, you don't want it to boil! So, keep it at medium.

2) While the water is heating, grate the Fels Naptha. I don't have a food processor with a grater attachment- heck, I don't even have a food processor! Hence, I grated this stuff by hand. You can use a typical box grater, or a mandolin style grater. I started with the box-style micro grater. It was sharp and worked swimmingly, however I found the mandolin style to be a little easier on my wrists and arms. If you do have a food processor, by all means- use it! However, you may need to cut the bars into smaller pieces to fit them in the feed tube.

I am all the way old fashioned... box grater and everything.

3) Add the soap to the water that is on the stove heating and stir frequently. This part takes 10 – 15 minutes. Keep stirring until the soap is completely melted. Do NOT let this boil or you’ll have soapy bubbles all over the place... You really, really don't want that.

It was while I was doing this step that Geoff came into the kitchen. He asked me what I was doing. I told him I was making laundry soap. He looked at me, looked at the pot of yellow liquid that I was stirring and said,

"Wow. We must be really poor!"

"No! Dork-butt" I said. "I am being resourceful. Plus, I can make it the scent I want. And, it is a great deal less expensive." (And, what I don't spend on laundry detergent... I can spend on hobbies like sewing, jewelry making, scrapbooking or quilting... but, he doesn't need to know that!)

4) When the liquid is a goldenrod color and there are no chunks or flakes of soap left, the soap has melted. Turn off the heat and add the Borax and the Washing Soda. Stir that thick brew until all the powders have dissolved and it is well combined. Probably about 3 or 4 minutes.

5) Pour the liquid equally into 4- 1 quart jars.

I think I made a mistake at this point. Not certain yet, though; tell me what you think. I reused glass jars & lids from fruit and applesauce. I didn't buy new canning quart jars for this project. The point, after all, is to save money- right? I washed them and their lids in the dishwasher before use, of course. There is nothing wrong with this, except I don't think these jars were quite a quart. I think they were probably... "3/4 of a quart" jars- or 3 cups. I still only used 4. I should have used more to have enough for 16 cups (4 quarts = 16 cups). And then- to make matters worse- I filled each jar to just under the shoulder line until I got to the forth jar, and there was only enough to fill it half full. So, that is what I did. I just got it in my head that the jar would be full nearly to the top after making this brew. But, I think there was supposed to be more empty space at the top of each jar- and in my case, another full quart jar- since I only have the equivalent of 12 cups. All this to say that I don't think I added enough liquid in this next step....

6) Add just enough water to bring the contents up to the “shoulders” of the jar. [I assumed my jar would basically be full with soap, but had I equally divided the soap base- I think I would have needed to add more water to reach the "shoulders" of the jar than I actually added.] This will leave about 1 ½ inches of headspace. Put lids on the jars and let them sit overnight (about 8 hours).

7) The soap in the jars may separate while it is standing. There will be firm soap on top and kind of gel-like soap on the bottom. Sometimes "crystals" form at the bottom of the jar. No worries, according to the original instructions... [However, since my soap was still so thick- I did not have much separation, if any...]

8) After they have sat overnight, take one of the jars and cut up the firm soap. I just stick a knife down into the jar and cut it up like a pie. Next, pour all of this into your blender or mixing bowl. I have a Kitchen Aid that I used with the paddle (not the whisk or dough hook). And, I had to just scoop it all out.

Tip: To get every last bit of soap from the jar, pour about 3 tablespoons of hot water into the quart jar and swish it around. If there are crystals, stir for a bit to dissolve it all; then swish the water around. Pour this to the mixing bowl (blender), too.

9) Start on the lowest speed of your mixer (or blender) and increase the speed gradually. Your result will be something that looks like really thick, pale yellow whipped cream. You may need to scrape the sides down with a spatula a few times to get it all the way mixed (blended). It's like creaming the butter, sugar and eggs when you make cookies. I mixed two jars at a time in my Kitchen Aid bowl. I have the 5 quart bowl, and- as we all know- each of my jars in only 3 cups instead of 4. So, there was no problem fitting it! If they were full quarts, they would have fit just fine, as well.

Pour/spoon the now blended soap back into the quart jars. Your jars will be full now and you may even have a little more soap for another jar. Pop a lid onto the jar(s) and your soap will keep indefinitely. It gets a little firmer in the jar when it sits, but it stays spoonable. I didn't have extra for another jar, but it did fill my jars, since one of mine was half full before.

For two jars, I used a soap scent you buy in the soap making section of the craft store. It is not as strong as essential oil, so I am not sure how it will turn out. We will see. I used the Eucalyptus essential oil in the other two jars.

It takes one tablespoon per load. A quart has 64 tablespoons (16 T per cup, 4 cups per quart). A 4 qt batch makes 256 T of detergent, or cleans 256 loads of laundry. That is enough to do 10 to 11 loads of laundry for 24 weeks- about 6 months! And, you still have enough 20 Mule Team Borax and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda to make 2 more batches.

If you bought 6 bars of Fels Naptha, you could use up all your ingredients (except maybe the essential oil; you may still have some left. Not sure- I'm still playing with the amount that needs to be used for a good scent but not too strong.) and make 12 quarts of detergent. 12 quarts would do 14 3/4 loads of laundry every week for 52 weeks; that is one whole year! What is the cost on that? Well, where I live it looks like this:

6 bars of Fels Naptha @ $1.49 each = $8.94
1 box of 20 Mule Team Borax @ $5.49 each = $5.49
1 box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda @ $2.99 each = $2.99
1 small bottle of essential oil - price depends on scent, but average about $10 per bottle = $10

If you can find the products on sale- even better! They store on the shelf indefinitely and, borax and washing soda a great for lots of other things, as well. Read at the box.

Total: $27.42 (+ tax)
Note: you will have enough essential oil for several more batches. And, this is the cost of detergent for an entire year. Usually, my large bottle of Tide costs just less than that and it only does about 100 loads. Big savings!

Fits great on my laundry shelf between the paper towels and other cleaners. They are small and store well.

Now I need to go wash the laundry… I'll let you know how I like the soap!

Road Trip 2011?

2011-03-31T00:58:00.000-07:00

I'm dreaming of this for our road trip this summer...

The complete route is delineated on google maps.

I have made an itinerary; but not having spoken to any of the people I would like to visit while in the various places, it isn't a sure thing.

I would like to take the girls to a majority of the historic sites that are significant to the history of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, more commonly known as Mormons.

"Studying history can help us see the hand of the Lord in the lives of His people. Alma encouraged Church members to remember the captivity of their fathers. “Yea, and have you sufficiently retained in remembrance his mercy and long-suffering towards them?” (Alma 5:6). Recognizing and remembering such blessings is essential to maintaining a spirit of gratitude" [source]

Here's the proposed timeline:

July 2 Lv PHX to ABQ; Stay in Sandia Park to visit Gma & Gpa

Possible Stops en route:

Petrified Forest Nat'l Park

Walnut Canyon

July 5 Lv ABQ to Liberal, KS (B to C) (need hotel 1 night in liberal)

July 6 see Dorothy's House, Land of Oz Museum, or Mid-America Air Museum and drive to Lawrence KS to see CE

July 7 hang w/CE & fam

July 8 Independence Visitors' Center, Liberty Jail, Far West & Adam-ondi-Ahman; drive to Nauvoo (need hotel 4 nights in Nauvoo area)

July 9 Nauvoo Pageant that night (July 5-30, daily except Sun & Mon)

July 10 (sunday) Nauvoo visitor Center (Open daily 9:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.)

July 11 (July 9-11, during the day) Tour Nauvoo:

July 12 Carthage Jail (Open daily 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.), travel to Indy

July 13-16 See Aunt Noon, Heather, AL, KP, WB, & other friends; (possibly plan a "Mini-reunion" for sat July 16 to see many friends at once?)

July 17- visit Kisby/Draper (Fishers, IN)

July 18 (Mon) Fishers to Columbus (pt K to L)- see Columbus, OH Temple- drive to Kirtland (pt M)

Kirtland Visitor Center (M-S: 9 to 7; Sun: 11:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.) (need hotel 3 nights in Kirtland)

July 19-20 (need hotel) Kirtland: 9 or more places to visit

… then drive to Kendallville

July 21-25 Kville (leave July 25 early AM) See Grandma Wilondek, KL, Aunt Sally, Aunt Soupy

July 25 Drive to Omaha NE or Council Bluffs IA (long drive, go to Hotel)

July 26 See Mormon Trail Center at Historic Winter Quarters, Winter Quarters Temple & Kanesville Tabernacle & Drive to Lincoln, NE (hotel in Lincoln)

July 27 Lincoln NE: Roller Skating museum, International Quilt Study Center & Museum, &/or Telephone Pioneer Museum ~OR~ Drive to FT Collins w/o visiting any places

July 28 Drive to Ft Collins OR Stay one Day in Ft Collins to visit Bob & Marietta (if drove day before)

July 29 Drive to Durango CO

July 30 -Aug 2 Durango CO (maybe? talk to CE)

Aug 3 Drive to PHX

en route: Wupatki Nat'l Park and Sunset Crater Volcano Nat'l Monument

Home to Phoenix in time to start school on August 8!

We'll see...

Spring Break 2011: Flagstaff, AZ & Lowell Observatory

2011-03-21T09:19:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning, March 17, we headed up to Flagstaff. Sophia's Lowell Observatory trip was finally going to be fulfilled. We arrived just after lunch time, yet we had not eaten. Beaver Street Brewery has long been a family favorite, so we stopped there for lunch. As it was St. Patrick's Day, I had their Corned Beef dinner. It wasn't nearly as good as the one I make, if I do say so myself. It was tasty, nonetheless.

The history of Flagstaff begins with pioneer travelers on their way to California. The story of Flagstaff's name goes like this:
"[Emigrants headed west] came from Boston in 1876. Originally planning to settle in the Little Colorado River area near Winslow, they found the area already settled and decided to move on to California. On July 4, 1876, the group camped at a small spring with the peaks looming overhead. In honor of the nation’s centennial, they stripped a pine tree of its branches and bark and raised an American flag. When they moved on, their “flag staff ” became a landmark for those who followed."

Flagstaff really began to thrive when, in 1880, the Atlantic and Pacific Railways began to lay track from Albuquerque to California. The railroad made what was otherwise an isolated treasure chest of natural resources accessible to markets for farm products, meat and lumber. Flagstaff grew in the logging and lumber industry as well as cattle ranching.

Once we finished lunch, we went to the Pioneer Museum in Flagstaff. The Pioneer Museum is in the former Coconino County Hospital for the Indigent. On the property of the museum is a territorial era cabin, and a steam locomotive carrying logs. We saw exhibits on early medicine, Route 66, logging, Flagstaff history and there was an iron lung there. We all found it quite random- yet very fascinating. In the end, we all agreed it would be a lousy way to have to live. I told Geoff if it ever comes to me needing an iron lung- just let me pass on and I'll see him on the other side. Photos from the Pioneer Museum.

Sophia, Isabel and Geoff on the Caboose of the steam locomotive

The logging car of the train. I felt it a must to take a photo of this, as Flagstaff is known for lumber. After all, Norther Arizona University (NAU) has the "Lumberjack" as the school mascot!

Engine No. 12- the steam locomotive at the Pioneer Museum

This is a territorial era cabin on the grounds at the museum. You could step inside and see some items from the era. If you look through the window of the front door in this photo, you can see Isabel taking a photo inside the cabin!

This is a shelf in the pantry inside the cabin. I thought the shelf paper was kind of sweet. Although it is just newspaper- it covers the shelf with a bit of decorative flair. It reminds me of the "strips" of paper icicles my friend Janet decorates the edges of her book shelves with at christmas time.

This is the main museum building. This is the former Coconino County Hospital.

Ranching was a significant economic force in Flagstaff. One of the exhibits had two boards- this one and another- that illustrated ranch brands and to whom they belonged. This photo was taken on my iPhone, not my Nikon, so you cannot read the family names labeled under the brand. I liked seeing all the brands grouped together to compare them.

This, too, was part of the ranching exhibit. This board samples various barbed wires and how they changed over the years. The name of the type of wire is underneath the wire.

Sophia had a great time in the "School House" room, which was filled with period toys, dress ups, and school items. Sophia got her "western" on!

"Rootin' Tootin' son of a gun from Arizona..."!

Pioneer with her baby in the basket

an old school bell at the museum

We stayed until the museum closed. We had a couple of hours to kill so we went to the cinema to see "Mars Needs Moms". We thought that was a fitting movie for our astronomy themed weekend! We liked it okay. Although, we have each found ourselves saying "gribble-diculous" at one point or another.

Now, on to dinner! We took the girls to Black Barts Steakhouse & Musical Revue. It is named for Black Bart (believe it or not), an old west outlaw. This is a fun restaurant; all the waiters and waitresses get on stage at some point throughout the night to perform. Mostly singing. Sometimes a group sings together, and sometimes it's a solo number. The waiters/waitresses really get into it, too. It is fun to listen and watch them while eating a meal fit for an outlaw.

We went to check into our hotel room at Little America. I got an excellent price on priceline.com. Having never stayed there before, we weren't quite sure what to expect. I mean, I knew it would be decent because of its "star rating" on priceline. But, still... you never know! We were pleasantly surprised at our room. It was actually quite lovely. It was really spacious. Perhaps it seemed even more so after the teeny tiny hotel room Geoff and I stayed in during our visit to New York! Rooms are expensive and itty bitty small in NYC!

Well, the girls liked Black Barts so much that once we got settled in the hotel room, Geoff started a game of "Black Barts". Geoff stood up "on stage" (in front of the bureau and mirror), took the microphone (hairbrush) in hand and started singing "I Feel Pretty" from Westside Story. He did a dance step or two with a bit of a twirl as he sang. He did it sooo well, even turning to glance in the mirror above the bureau now and again! Then, we each took a turn on stage at the microphone to sing a special number. It was a laugh riot for all of us. The girls even started making up songs on their third and forth turns!

The next morning after breakfast we were on our way up Mars Hill to Lowell Observatory. Woo HOO! Sophia could hardly contain herself! A bit about Lowell:

"Founded in 1894, Lowell is an astronomical research facility that also features visitor programs. During the day explore the Observatory’s history and current research by joining guided tours. In the evening, view through a variety of telescopes and experience interactive live presentations in the mini-planetarium. Also featured at the facility are multi-media programs, an exhibit hall and gift shop." [source]

We spent all morning looking at the exhibit hall at the observatory. We toured the the dome that houses the first telescope Percival Lowell built at the observatory. This is the one he used when he charted the skies. Cool. We then toured the Rotunda Museum that has some of the astronomical tools and other great things that from the Percival Lowell era. We also got to see the telescope that discovered Pluto. At noon, we got to view the sun through their telescope with a special lens. Sophia loved it. We planned to star gaze that night through Percival's telescope and whatever others were set up. By this time, we had seen pretty much everything- well, not everything. But, it was lunch time, so we decided to go eat, then we'd come back as it got closer to dusk.

Percival Lowell's telescope. Sophia got to help adjust it to show how it moves easily even though it is enormous.

This is the first telescope at Lowell Observatory, built by Percival Lowell.

Each telescope is housed in its own domed building to protect it. The dome has an opening with shutters to open when using the telescope, but close to protect it the rest of the time. The dome rotates so that one can view different parts of the sky. The car tires are part of the whole contraption that moves it around. Lowell used this ladder and chair to sit and observe the skies. The platform can adjust up and down thereby allowing the person to change positions to suit the angle of the telescope and the location of the telescope eyepiece. This isn't used anymore, as it is old and doesn't bear weight well any longer. But, it has been there since the beginning- with Percival Lowell.

Isabel and Sophia in front of the telescope.

This is the light fixture in the Rotunda Museum. It's Saturn, in the case that wasn't evident. It is even more glorious in person.

The walk up to the Pluto telescope is a walk through the solar system. It shows the relative distance from the sun to each of the planets to scale. Each inch of the walk is one million miles (I think that is the ratio). It does a great job of illustrating how far "out there" the last planets are, especially Pluto. I don't know if you can see it, but in the sidewalk are little brass circles. Because the planetary orbits are elliptical, their distance from the sun varies depending upon where they are on there orbital path. So, there are two circles for each planet to represent the closest and farthest distance it gets in relation to the sun. At the end of the walk, just past Pluto, you arrive at the "Pluto Telescope".

The telescope that discovered Pluto. Lowell's greatest contribution to planetary studies came during the last decade of his life, which he devoted to the search for Planet X, a hypothetical planet beyond Neptune. Lowell believed that the planets Uranus and Neptune were displaced from their predicted positions by the gravity of the unseen Planet X. Unfortunately, it wasn't discovered until 14 years after his death. The name "Pluto" was chosen partially because of the initials PL, which are used for the planetary symbol:

Sophia pretending to gaze through the "pluto-scope".

Sophia sun gazing! They have a telescope with a special filter to allow observation of the sun. So- Don't try this at home! It requires special equipment.

Isabel's turn to see the sun. Well, of course she has seen it before, but not in it's full spherical glory; a flaming red ball from the vantage point that you can tell it is a ball, not just a "blob" of yellow in the sky that is too bright to look at.

We took a break from the observatory to cure our hungry bellies. Our paid admission to Lowell allowed us "come and go" privileges. For lunch we went to "The Black Bean", a place Geoff and I liked when we lived in Flagstaff. Well, I liked it until I had one when I was pregnant with Isabel... that ruined it for me for the rest of the time we lived there. Boo. Fortunately, I was over that aversion at this point. The girls each built their own burrito and loved them.

Isabel and Sophia chillin' in front of "The Black Bean"

As we walked to our car, we passed through Heritage Square. The girls loved the benches and tables that were made of old rusted railway and train parts. So, we hung out for a few while they investigated. We still had plenty of time before it would be time to head back to the observatory for the star gazing. It has to be dark for that, you know.

Sophia pretending to do some circus trick or another on a bench in Heritage Square. Have I mentioned she wants to be in the circus for her "summer jobs" while she is in college? I haven't? Well- yeah. That's her plan. She will go to school for astronomy, but during summer break perform in the circus.

Isabel liked the industrial style table and chair set-up. It was such a beautiful day out to be walking around exploring Flagstaff.

Next, we went to Riordan Mansion State Historic Park. This home was completed in 1904 in the Arts and Crafts style of architecture. The historic mansion is enormous. Granted, it was basically two housed joined by one very large (1,000 sf) common room, but still... It has more than 40 rooms and 13,000 square feet of living area and servants’ quarters. Servants quarters! The home is very well furnished with original furnishings. It is filled with original artifacts, Stickley furniture and many other personal possessions of the Riordan families. The home was way ahead of its time in terms of amenities and technology. For instance, it had hard wired electric light. Not common at all for residences at that time. I don't think it was even that common for businesses at the time.

"This park features the pseudo-duplex home of Timothy and Michael Riordan, lumber baron brothers who married sisters, Caroline and Elizabeth Metz. The brothers were members of an important Arizona Territorial family who played a role in the development of Flagstaff and northern Arizona and were involved in lumber, railroads, cattle, banking, and politics.

Cooperatively the Riordan brothers built their thirteen thousand square foot mansion in 1904 while Arizona was still a territory. The home consisted of two similar six thousand square foot wings for each family, connected by a large common room.^[1]

Charles Whittlesey was the architect for the Riordan homes. He also was the architect for the El Tovar Hotel at the Grand Canyon. Architectural similarities between the structures can be found in the massive stone arches at porch corners as well as exterior elements that reflect the surrounding landscape like log planks, wood shingles, and native stone." [source]

And, it is beautiful. You should go see it sometime. It is really quite interesting. I don't remember which side belonged to Tim and which belonged to Mike, so- I am calling them the "left side" and the "right side" of the house. K? K.

The only place with "come and go privileges" was the common room. You can see how each half of the house has slight variations that personalize it. But, they are similar and cohesive in the overall styling. For instance, they both have stained glass windows around the house with the same design, just different color schemes. The left half of the house is shown above.

The front gate to the courtyard in front of the home. This did not lead to the front door; each home had a front door on its "side" of the house.

The right side of the house, viewed from the back side. You can see how it has an "A" frame style to the home, whereas the other side was a traditional two story style.

The stained glass on the left-side house. The other side had the same flower pattern, only with a greenish colored background and a change in the flower color, etc.

Riordan Mansion is adjacent to NAU. We wanted to walk around campus with the girls for a little while, but we decided to drive around instead. I'm not sure why we did... maybe it was getting chilly? Not sure. Anyway, this is Old Main.

Old Main was the site of Northern Arizona Normal School, the precursor to Northern Arizona University. Old Main currently houses an art gallery, museum, and offices.

I always loved "Old Main". I think it is such a beautiful building. It is on the northwest corner of campus. The building itself hasn't changed much- from casual outside observation. However, there are a great deal of changes to the campus since Geoff and I went there in the late 90s. Geoff actually graduated from Northern Arizona University in it's centennial year- 1999.

I like this new (to me) sculpture or, maybe you would call it an art installation. As we drove slowly along the road, we had the windows down because it was such beautiful weather with a slight breeze. I heard a light "tinkle" of a chime and turned to see this along side one of the dormitories.

The little discs looked like spoons from a distance. Which I was thinking it was totally cool that they gathered and used old spoons to use for this. Alas, they were just metal tags- not unlike circular "dog tags". That's okay; I still like it. The sound they made in the light breeze was mesmerizing. I wished I had a hammock I could set up right next to it and just laze in the sun and the breeze and the little tinkling of the chimes.

Here is a useful tidbit of information: the mascot of NAU is a Lumberjack. This goes along with Flagstaff's logging and lumber history.

There is a restaurant near the university that used to be called "The Lumberjack Restaurant". My mom worked there when she was in college during her summer breaks. It "Louie the Lumberjack" out front. The restaurant is still there, but the name has changed. It is called Granny's Closet now, but still has the lumberjack.

Louie the Lumberjack Statue

Louie is a 10-foot-tall, 990-pound lumberjack statue, made of cedar, that has stood outside one of Flagstaff's oldest restaurants for decades. The wood is cracking and needs a new paint job. It is said that Louie was restored and returned to his rightful spot along Milton Ave in August 2009. The restorer, Wally Baird, also gave him a new axe.

Of course, we had to stop to get a photo taken by Louie. I have to admit, though- I think it looks like an entirely different Louie. But, what do I know?!

We had time to stop and play at the park just down the hill from the observatory. The weather was fantastic and the girls romped to their hearts' content. They burned off some excess energy and wiggles and crazy anticipation for the night observations at Lowell. In Sophia's infinite silliness, she squished herself into the front of this "rocking frog" playground equipment. To me, it looks as though the frog's mouth is wide open to take a chomp right out of her rump!

I love Sophia's facial expression. She has a knack for being very expressive through only her face. Funny girl!

Finally, it was time to head back up to the observatory! We waited in line at both telescopes- Percival's and another portable, yet still enormous, scope they had out. After viewing the Orion Nebula through Percival's telescope and the moon through the other, it was time to pack up and head home. It was about 9 pm by this time, so... we were all tired. It was all so much fun and Sophia's and Isabel's uncontainable excitement was delightful! It was a great trip.

Spring Break 2011: Phoenix Zoo, Steele Indian School Park & St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-20T14:08:00.001-07:00

Some years, we have gone out of town for Spring Break. In March 2008 we went to Los Angeles to the American Girl Store. Then, in March 2009, we went to Mexico and stayed in a condo on the beach near Puerto Peñasco. I still need to blog that one...

Then, in March 2010 we moved the girls from sharing a room into separate rooms and painted rooms and furniture. I need to blog that, too.

We considered going out of town this year, but we stayed for two reasons: 1) This is the time of year we relish being in Phoenix because the weather is so perfect. 2) Since Sophia's birthday trip to Lowell Observatory got ruined, we decided to use part of Spring Break to go to Lowell.

Spring Break started after school on March 11. The girls spent Saturday just chillin'. They went bike riding, played outside in the beautiful weather while I cleaned out the garage. Sunday, we went to church together and had a quiet day at home together. Exactly what "the doctor ordered".

Monday, March 14 I took the girls to the Phoenix Zoo. The zoo has Koalas until March 31. We want to see them before they go home.

At the zoo!

As we waited in line to see the Koalas, we spotted a "wild blue-eyed Sophia". She looks right at home getting ready to climb into a tangled web...

The wallabies! We got to watch them play and eat- they are right next to the Koala area.

The koalas were behind glass, so I was unable to get a very good photo. They were so still for so long, they looked like they were stuffed toys! Then, one slowly turned its head towards us. We read that koalas sleep around 20 to 22 hours a day. Their low calorie diet of eucalyptus barely fuels them with enough energy to eat & sleep! Crazy!

We also went to Sting Ray Bay and pet and fed the sting rays. The girls love this. We first saw and fed sting rays when we were in Denver. The girls love petting them- they feel so differently than I expected. They are almost suede-like. Then, when they eat, the sort of envelope your hand that holds the food. It doesn't hurt nor do you feel anything sharp like teeth. There is just a sort of pressure-suction feeling... I don't know exactly! Here are the girls at Sting Ray Bay.

We obviously saw many other animals, a few of interest were the Scarlet Ibis, an enormous tortoise, an iguana,

Scarlet Ibis. it was in the same area as the Black Stilts bird and Roseate Spoonbills.

Enormous Tortoise

Sophia's class has had a pet iguana since she entered the classroom 2 1/2 years ago. The iguana's name was Grendal. Grendal died just before the second semester started. As we watched the Iguana for a few minutes, Sophia said, "This makes me miss Grendal." Aw.

Then, it was time to head home from the zoo. The girls visited the frog on the way out.

The "frog with the bumping up back" as Sophia calls it! Until next time, zoo!

On Tuesday March 15, Isabel went to a movie with her friends so I took Sophia and her friend, Sukhleen, to the Arizona Science Center. We looked around the science center for a couple of hours then they were ready to go and get lunch and play outside. It was a fabulous day outside, after all. Sukhleen's parents are from India and she is Hindu. Therefore, she doesn't eat beef. I asked her before we decided where to eat if Subway would be good for lunch- if there is something there she likes to eat. She told me her family goes there sometimes. Ok, good. Subway it is!

Sophia ordered her usual Spicy Italian (Salami, Pepperoni and provolone) on Italian Herb bread with all the veggies- tomato, lettuce or spinach leaves, onion, banana peppers, green bell peppers, pickles and black olives. Well, all except jalapeños. She's not one for spicey food. Funny, since this sub is called "Spicy Italian"! She likes it dressed with honey mustard.

Next, Sukhleen ordered. She tells the sub maker behind the counter, "I'd like the italian bread with black olives." The sub maker asked what kind of sandwich, what meat, what cheese... none, none & none. Black olives on bread. What?!

We ate then headed for Steele Indian School Park. It is a beautiful park with a lot of features and scenery. Among other things, it has a great deal of sidewalk pathways on which one can ride their scooter, as Sophia loves to do.

The girls had some really cute photos taken there by my good friend, Kim Johnson, in September 2010. Here are a few:

Ok, back to our park visit with Sukhleen. Sophia especially loves to take her scooter to the top of the biggest hill in the park (which is quite big) and ride her scooter down that! She gets going quite fast; there is a part of me that is afraid she is going to hit a tree and break her neck! Sukhleen wasn't up for the big hill challenge, so they found a modest hill to scooter down.

At the top of the "modest sized hill"

Here they come!

Scootering around the circle.

Sukhleen & Sophia

The girls showed me all of their scooter tricks then we headed home so they could jump on the trampoline before Sukhleen's mom came to pick her up. It was a good day.

Wednesday March 16 we did our St Patrick's Day traditions because we had our trip to Flagstaff and Lowell Observatory planned for Thursday and Friday. I make corned beef with cabbage, potatoes and carrots and Irish Soda Bread every year. It is delish. I tried taking a photo of it... but, food photos so often make the food look repulsive. I fear this is the case here. Anyway, the leprechauns also bring their "lucky charms" and leave pots of gold for the girls.

Corned beer, cabbage, potatoes and carrots. It really does taste delish...

Irish Soda Bread. Yum.

The leprechauns left their "lucky charms" for the girls and...

the leprechauns left pots of gold for Geoff and the girls! Traditions are fun :)

Thursday and Friday we went to Flagstaff to see Lowell Observatory. I'll post that separately. Spring Break R-O-C-K-S.

The Changing of the Guards- erh, Headers

2011-03-05T23:52:00.000-08:00

I have been wanting to redo my blog layout for some time now. It was so narrow before that all the photos had to be pretty small or else they would get cut off. I finally took the time to do it. It is one of those things that just feels like such a waste of time because it takes so long, but doesn't really add to the gross output of productivity of the home.

I found a layout that has more room for the body of the blog and therefore fits larger photos. yeah! This made my previous header look ridiculous. The header in itself wasn't so bad, remember it?

It just was not wide enough. So, while I had to redo it anyway- I used new photos and updated the whole thing. Problem is, I don't have the same photo editing software on my compy now as I did when I did the previous banner. So, I couldn't get the same affect with the text. It'll have to do. Like I said, I only have so much time to devote to such things....

from left to right: Sophia August 2009 getting ready for Mary's wedding in NH; Isabel, Geoff & Sophia April 2010- Girl Scout Father Daughter dance; Isabel in June 2010-her 6th grade Graduation ceremony at Khalsa; Geoff & Mamie in February 2011 hiking Quartz Trail in Phoenix; Sophia in August 2010 on the first day of school doing.... well, just being hersself!; Isabel in June 2010 in Seattle WA

Khalsa Carnival

2011-03-05T15:12:00.000-08:00

Every school has fundraisers to raise money. Our schools are always underfunded. Sophia's elementary school does a carnival every spring. They do a pretty bang up job, too. There are bounce houses, rock climbing walls, a simulated bungee jumping thing, face painting, sack races, cake walk, "fishing" for prizes, "bowling", inflatable slide and on and on.

Sophia is not an early riser. I really have to coax her to get up in the mornings- school days and weekends alike! The carnival didn't start until 11:00 am, so we figured we all could have a bit of a lie in and then have a leisurely morning eating breakfast and then getting ready. At 7:00 AM, she sat bolt upright in bed (I know this because she had made her way to my bed during the night) and said, "We need to go to the carnival!" Obviously, Sophia was crawling out of her skin to get to the carnival!

We told her it was too early, it doesn't start until eleven o'clock. She said, "I know, but I want to get there early so I can play on the play ground at the park before the carnival starts!"

Geoff and I each tried to explain that we might get there a little early, but not 3 hours early! And, quite frankly, the play ground isn't going anywhere- so you will have time to do both, whether the carnival has started or not. Plus, the carnival goes five hours! I really don't think all 5 hours of carnival will be so jam packed that she needs an hour before to play!

Sophia: "Well, we need to get there at least an hour early so I don't waste any carnival time playing on the playground! I want to do both of them, but I don't want to waste any carnival time."

She was just so danged excited! It was cute and irritating all at the same time. Irritating because she is a persistent little cuss and hammers you over and over again with the "we need to go! I need to get there early! C'mon, I don't want to miss any carnival!" All the while, the carnival hasn't even started yet... So much for a leisurely, slow paced morning!

My favorite part about the carnival is the cake walk. The school headmaster emcees the cake walk, and he always wears particularly swanky ensemble...

…and coordinates his turban, of course.

Sophia and Geoff got home from the carnival at about 2:30 PM. Sophia walked in and immediately started telling me about her cool face paint; that she had so much fun and went in the bounce house "like 5 or 6 times" and she did the rope jumper thing so many times and the rock wall and... and..and! Then, she sat on the couch and called for Geoff to come read to her. Geoff said he would be over as soon as he got something to eat.

I went to the kitchen to see if I could help him. He said no, so I left to get my computer. As I walked past the couch, there was Sophia…

…all tuckered out.

She had a kiwi bird painted on her face. It is pretty cute. She has been enthusiastic about kiwi birds ever since Isabel's science project in January. I'll have to blog about that.

And, Isabel stayed longer with a gaggle of friends. Stayed by herself! {gasp!} This is her first time out with friends when Geoff or I wasn't somewhere in the vicinity. She is growing up way too fast. She is such a delightful, responsible, happy, loving young lady. I don't want her to grow up so quickly; that just means she is gonna leave home someday...

Sophia is such an energetic, excitable little thing. She fully immerses herself in the moment- in the fun; lives it to its fullest. I just love her to bits!

Sophia's Day Off

2011-03-04T15:43:00.000-08:00

Sophia was out of school today. It was teacher inservice. We went to Monterey park, also known as "the PE park" because her class walks there from school for Physical Education class every Monday. The weather has been perfect as of late; low to mid 70s. Sunny, breezy, aqua blue skies.

Sophia has always loved to swing. As we sat next to each other on the swings, Sophia reminisced about her preschool days. It was hilarious and adorable. She was talking as if these were bygone days of yore. "I loved going to preschool back in those days. Some days, I would lead all the kids around the playground in a parade. If I stepped up on the bench, each one would step up on the bench after me. If I went through the tunnel and around the swing set, everyone would follow me through all the things I did. But, most days, Nancy and I would spend the whole playtime swinging. Nancy and I just loved the swings. I still do love the swings. I wish my school playground now had swings. It only has tire swings- and that's just not the same. Mom, did you like swings when you were a kid?"

I showed Sophia how to do "spider" on the swings. She sat on my lap facing me with her legs hanging down behind me. I showed her how to approach the swing at a run and flop on her belly to do "superman". Then, I explained to her how to place the swing on her back, run forward and swing her legs up and wrap her feet around the chains. She didn't understand, and she wanted me to show her. Now, I haven't done that since grade school! And, I wasn't too keen on the idea of having my rump swinging through the air- sticking out in full view! But, she just couldn't understand what I was explaining, so I did a demonstration. {sigh} Then, she got it first try!

After swinging and playing for a while, we went around the corner to Mac Alpline Soda Fountain for lunch. Mac's first opened back in 1928. It is still there- a little soda fountain, restaurant and now... vintage store! The restaurant is in the middle, and then the two adjacent buildings are the vintage store with clothing, furniture, jewelry, lamps, dishes... Everything and Anything. The restaurant has an entry on each side so you can walk right into the vintage sections to go do some swanky shopping.

Street Sign; MacAlpine is at 7th Street and Oak in Phoenix

Along the sidewalk in front of the Soda Fountain. This faces 7th St.

The Fountain

MacAlpine seating

The vintage goods

We had a fun day. My girls are growing up so fast.

First Time: New York City

2011-02-22T15:56:00.000-08:00

View of Manhattan with Central Park in the center; a green space in the heart of a "valley".

Geoff and I returned from NYC at about 11:47 pm Monday, February 21st; Presidents Day. What were we doing in NY? Why were we there? Where were the girls? Hang on, there little tomato- I'm getting to all of that.

This is the NY trip to which I referred in the last of the dinosaurs post. Geoff had a conference in NYC February 16-18, 2011. When he planned on attending this conference months ago, he also made arrangements for me to fly out on Friday night so we could spend the long weekend together. This was a fantastic plan for several reasons, a few of which I will list here:

1. I have never been to NY

2. The company paid for his airline tickets, so we'd just have to pay for mine

3. Valentine's Day was the very same week- great way to celebrate with my Valentine

4. Geoff's Birthday is February 25- great early birthday celebration

It was also a complicated plan for several reasons, the main one being our offspring being attended to and cared for in our absence. Due to the fact that I am blessed with amazing friends, I was able to orchestrate a schedule in which three family friends would take turns watching the girls from friday afternoon through Monday night. We managed to get it all scheduled, so off we went. Well, Geoff was off first, then I followed 2 days later.

It is a 5 1/2 hour flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to JFK airport New York, did you know that? It is a long flight. At the same time, one can get from Phoenix to NYC in 5 and a half hours! Can you believe that?! It is astonishing, really. I arrived in NY after 10:30 pm. I took the airtrain at JFK to Jamaica Station, at which point I caught the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan to meet Geoff. From there, we took the Q train to 39th St station in Queens to our hotel. As we had never been to NYC before, we had no idea where to stay that was reasonably priced. (Of course, we know of the luxury hotels, but.... that wasn't in the budget!) So, we looked online and read reviews and found a hotel that was half the price of all the others (which means it was the price of an expensive hotel in most other cities!) and that was close to the subway and that got decent reviews. It was clean, close to the subway, and safe. We didn't spend much time there, anyway.

We dropped off our suitcases and went back into Penn Station. We were going to go up the Empire State building to see the city at night. You can buy the City Pass, which offers reduced priced tickets to 6 attractions, at any of the participating attractions. It includes:

1. Empire State Observatory
2. Museum of Modern Art
3. Museum of Natural History
4. Metropolitan Museum of Art
5. Top of The Rock OR The Guggenheim Museum

6. Circle Line Cruise OR Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island

This was our plan. After waiting in line for about an hour at the Empire State Building, it is our turn to buy our tickets- or City Pass. She rings us up, and Geoff hands her his debit card. "Oh, I'm sorry. Our credit card machine isn't working." In my opinion- if your credit card machine isn't working- you should have a sign posted somewhere very conspicuous before your customers have to wait in line for an hour! Such a waste of time! Grr! Ok, so that was a no-go. So, we walked around a little more- we went to see the Flatiron Building & the surrounding area (Flatiron District), Madison Square, Herald Square, Greeley Square... As it was night, and we didn't know much what we were doing, I don't know exactly what all we walked past. Oh, and we saw the outside of the Empire State Building, as well as the line to the ticket booth!

Saturday morning, we planned a little better. We took the subway in to Central Park to walk around.

Overview Map of Central Park

I didn't realize Central Park had so many large "rocks"- as in the bedrock that is exposed and juts out of the ground quite significantly. I mean, it isn't mountains or anything, but they would present a significant climbing experience to any kid, and probably many adults.

I love everything about Central Park. I admire the architecture of yore; the detail, carvings in stone and how it accentuates the landscape rather than detracts. I only had one lens for my Nikon, so I was a bit limited. Here are a couple of shots I took.

1 of the 36 bridges in Central Park

In the middle of a manmade valley of stone and steel is 843 acres designated to Central Park. That is 6% of Manhattan's total acreage. Central Park includes 150 acres in 7 bodies of water; 250 acres of lawns; 136 acres of woodlands. There are 21 playgrounds scattered throughout the park, 52 (I think) sculptures, monuments and fountains; 36 bridges & 7 miles of benches if they were placed end to end (over 9,000 benches). This photographs shows the "valley walls" (skyscrapers) in the background; lawn & trees in the foreground; and a small out cropping of bedrock on the left side.

This is a photo of the top of the staircase at Bethesda Terrace. I took it for Isabel because presently, she is quite fond of all things owls.

My photograph outside part of the Lower Passage under Bethesda Terrace.

A more thorough look inside the Lower Passage

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Early_morning_view_under_Bethesda_Terrace,_Central_Park,_NYC.jpg

everything about it is beautiful! The buildings in the background, the bridge and landscape in the middle and the stone fence in the foreground. I could spend at least a week at Central Park alone. Actually, at least a week in each of the four seasons of the year.

Enormous burl on a tree in Central Park. I like the look of burls and I don't even have to feel badly about it because the malignancy doesn't even cause the tree any pain. Burl wood, due to its abnormal grain, is highly prized for inlay, veneer, picture frames and other fine carpentry.

frozen pond (or lake?) not frozen enough to walk on- not that I would try!

My handsome, wonderful, considerate, hilarious, funny and entertaining lover boy husband Geoff on the edge of Central Park.

A view towards 57th from Central Park. I think.

It started to snow while we were out walking about, and the wind was blowing quite fiercely. Being from Phoenix, we don't really have proper winter clothes. No need for them. So, we headed over to Starbucks to get some Hot Cocoa before heading down to Lower Manhattan. We took the subway down to Bowling Green Station. We went to Battery Park. It was so chilly and windy, and we were so woefully under dressed, that we didn't not take the ferry out to Ellis Island or to the statue of liberty.

We only saw Lady Liberty from Battery Park. And, even from there it was c-c-c-cold.

We also saw the museum building and other buildings from across the harbor.

We walked by Ground Zero and saw the tribute to the firefighters of 9-11.

There is a large plaque on the side of the building that reads:

"Dedicated to those who fell

And to those who carry on

May we never forget"

I teared up. I have this crying problem...

After Battery Park and Ground Zero, we went back up toward the SoHo (SOuth of HOuston st) area. We had information that the New Museum was open until 8:00 pm. We planned to go there and then up to the top of the ESB. Well, we had bad info. Not only was the museum not in the location our book had said (it had moved), but it closed at 5:30- not 8 pm! So... We went for an early dinner at Katz Deli (of When Harry Met Sally fame). I had half of a pastrami rueben- it was so delicious- and a bowl of Matzo ball soup. For some reason, it really ticked the meat carver off at Katz when I told him I wanted a half sandwich, not a whole sandwich. Boy was he ma-aad at me for the rest of the time he prepared our order! Whew-eeee! What a grump. Katz has these signs up that say, "Send a salami to your boy in the army." I guess they decided to get PC (politically correct) because we say one sign of this variety:

"You oughta' send your daughta' a salami too!"

Saturday night, after eating at Katz, we went to the top of the Empire State Building- I guess they got their credit card machines working, because we were able to pay this time. I wish I would have had a tri-pod. The thing about NYC is- it is kind of a nuisance to carry things around with you. Most of the time, I didn't even take my camera around with me; so I definitely wasn't going to bring a tri-pod! Of course, when I didn't have my camera- I would get someplace and wish I would have brought it. But, then it was so much more convenient not having to carry things with me... such a dilemma.

From the top of the Empire State Building. This is a view of the clock tower- in the middle (the one with the clock face on it!). I believe it used to be the MetLife Building. Unfortunately, I forget the name of the building in the lower left- with the pyramidal top that is all a-glow. We stayed up there for a bit, then hit the subway and headed back to our Hotel.

Sunday, it was cold and wet snowy and windy all day, so spent the day indoors. We went to the NY Public library. Beautiful and amazing. There was an exhibit there called "Three Faiths" that we went through. It was about the three Abrahamic religions- Christianity, Judaism & Islam. I didn't get any outstanding photos of the library, but this is a fantastic site of photographs. After seeing that site, you won't care for my pitiful selection! But, here it is anyway.

one of the reading rooms. love the light fixtures and the fabulous- fabulous- carpentry. It epitomizes what a posh library should be. All wood paneling, the check-out counter at the far end is solid wood. So fantastic.

Geoff in front of a stairwell with beautiful barrel ceilings.

Geoff snuck a photo of me. Lovely؟.

Then, we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I loved the period rooms of early America. Unfortunately, I didn't get to thoroughly see the full exhibit, as they closed before I got to the last few rooms. However, we also saw a wonderful Korean exhibit that had several beautiful examples of Celadon pottery. We would have loved to have gone to more of the museums, there just wasn't time- as they all close so early. So, we went to Rockefeller Center and to "The Top of the Rock" because it is open late. After taking in the city view from there, we went to Times Square.

Times Square/ 42nd St Station near... can you guess? That's right- Times Square!

We walked around Times Square our last night there (Sunday night). It is much more impressive at night, as all the enormous, electronic screen adverts produce so much light, it practically looks like daylight. We walked past M&M world. That is a whole lotta m&m's!

Monday we had to catch our plane in the late afternoon. So, we went to the Lincoln Center subway stop and saw the LDS temple and Lincoln Center. From there, we had a little bit of time to spend at the Natural History Museum. Before heading to the museum, however, we had to get some bagels. We thought we would do a taste test between H&H Bagels (who announced it filed Chapter 11 while we were in NY) and Tal's bagels. We decided H&H are a little denser and chewier. Tal's are a bit more... puffy, slightly more bready, but still chewy. All in all, we liked H&H better. However, even Tal's "breadier" consistency is loads better than the bagels from the grocery store! We bought an extra half dozen at each bagel shop to take home to the girls so they could taste test, too! After having our bagels, we headed to the Natural History Museum. We barely had any time there at all, but- what we did see was great.

Lincoln Center at Columbus and 66th (I think) The trees were all dusted with snow. I love how the bare trees look dusted with snow. Or, better yet, coated in ice after an ice storm. Each individual twig is enrobed in ice- it looks like glass.

Manhattan, NYC Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at 125 Columbus Avenue

Here is another photo at a better angle than mine, on a blue-skied day.

The Manhattan Temple was dedicated and put into official use on 13 June, 2004

After the Natural History Museum, we headed to our hotel to pick up our bags and then off to JFK airport. Due to random train closures- we had quite an ordeal getting to the airport. It ended up being quite a long slog on the subway, as we had to take different trains and switch lines way more times than if the "E" train had been in service. All told, it took us 3 hours to get to the airport. We barely got there on time. We got through security and to our gate as the last 12 or 15 people were boarding!

We saw a few other places in our wanderings, of which I have no photos and I don't remember exactly when we saw them. I list them here.

• Grand Central Terminal- amazing. Gorgeous. I didn't have my camera. Boo :(

• Saw the ice skating pond in Central Park (from a distance)

• Walked down Museum Mile on 5th Avenue across from Central Park

• Flatiron Building and a bit of the surrounding district.

• Macy's- it is their first store. Ever.

• St Patrick's Cathedral

• NBC Studios

• Radio City Music Hall

• Walked past the Children's Museum and the Folk Art Museum (on two different days; the Folk Art Museum is right next to the Manhattan Temple)

• Spent a little time walking around the Upper East & Upper West Sides

I can't wait to go back and take the girls!

3/4/2011 Note: We walked past the enormous Macy's store in Herald Square, but did not go inside. After reading this article, I wish we had. I want to see the wooden escalator! And, eight floors of home, clothing & other fashions and goods?- That is a whole lotta shopping! I didn't even notice the little building on the 34th & Broadway corner! What a funny story! Let's go back :)

Here are a few photos from around cyberspace of the Macy's Building- then and now.

Where I have lived

2011-02-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

These are the flags of the states in which I have lived. Quick! Which ones do you know off the top of your head? No cheating!

Flag 1

Flag 2

Flag 3

Flag 4

Ok, so it is pretty easy- as 2 of the four have the state's name on it! And, one of them has debuted on my blog twice very recently. That leaves the fourth, which is easy to discover by process of elimination if you have read my recent post(s). Drat! I was hoping it was more challenging!

Arizona Day, Valentine's Day

2011-02-16T22:27:00.000-08:00

My previous post about Valentines Day and then using the Arizona state flag reminded me of something... Arizona became a state on February 14, 1912. So, Valentine's Day is also Arizona's birthday! (Incidentally, February 14 is also Oregon's birthday, but 53 years earlier.) This made me want to tell you out about the iconography of Arizona's flag.

The flag of Arizona does not contain a state seal but consists of 13 rays of red and gold (the conquistador colors and of the flag of Spain) on the top half, representing the original 13 counties of Arizona, as well as symbolizing Arizona's picturesque sunsets. There is a copper colored star in the center representing Arizona's copper-mining industry. The rest of the flag is colored blue, representing liberty. You can learn more about all of the symbols of Arizona here.

Arizona's economy in early history relied on the "5 C's". Can you guess any of them? The color of the star on the AZ flag is a clue for one of them... They are: cotton, cattle, citrus, copper, and climate (tourism). At one point Arizona was the largest producer of cotton in the country. Copper is still extensively mined from many expansive open-pit and underground mines, accounting for two-thirds of the nation's output.

I was born in Mesa, AZ at Mesa General Hospital. In 2006 it was reported to have 126 beds; not a very big hospital to be sure. It was probably even smaller when I was born. The hospital closed in 2008 (I think); it is no longer in operation. This is what you find when you go to their "home page":

I am totally off track now. Let me get back to the topic. 3 of the "5 C's" reminded me of growing up in Gilbert, AZ. Actually, we moved away just after I turned 6- so I didn't "grow up" there, but I do have many memories. I will share a few that the "five Cs" reminded me of.

We lived at 2 W Hackamore in Gilbert. The nearest major intersection was Gilbert and Elliot Roads.

Gilbert was considered quite rural at that time. It seemed like such a long drive to Grandma and Grandpa's houses. Both my dad's Parents- Jack & Betty Schultz, and my mother's parents- Clinton and Rose Burnham, lived in Mesa. Mesa was a very small town at the time, too. Jack & Betty Schultz lived near Mesa Drive and McKellips, and Clinton and Rose Burnham lived Near Broadway Road and 5th Avenue.

Sorry, went on a tangent again. Gilbert was rural- that's where I was. Our street of houses was kind of the last bit of developed neighborhood in that part of the town of Gilbert. Across the street was farmed fields. These were cotton fields. I loved to see the cotton blooming with the white cotton bursting from the... pods. Are they called pods?! I could feel the hard seed in the middle of the bursting cotton ball. 1 of the 5 Cs- cotton.

I had an uncle and aunt that lived in a farming neighborhood in Gilbert. They had... cows and stuff. Whenever we would drive to their home, I could smell the "delightful" cattle smell. Sarcasm, in the case you did not catch that; I hated the smell that emanated from the local dairy farms. They did not have a whole dairy farm, nor a large ranch of cattle. I think they just had a few cows, but it was still enough to get that distinctive stink-o smell! That would be "C" number 2 of the 5 Cs- cattle.

Whenever we drove between Gilbert and Mesa, or out to Chandler for swim lessons, or.... anywhere really in those days- there were groves and groves of citrus trees. Their trunks were always painted a bright white. Many groves were "U- Pick"; others had a "stand" at the front of the grove from which you could buy pre-picked citrus when it was in season.

Grandpa Burnham had citrus trees in his backyard, as well as grape vines, a garden with... all sorts of things. He kept bees (I hated that. I lived in fear of being stung by bees.). He had an enormous fig tree that had low hanging limbs. Those low limbs, covered in large fig leaves, made a fantastic shaded, hidden spot which my brother and I made our "secret hide out." We tried to ban the bees from our hideout, but bees don't take orders- or read "NO BEES ALLOWED" signs- very well.

Our house in Gilbert had a grapefruit tree in the front yard. I believe there was another sort of citrus tree in the front, too- but I don't remember which type as it did not produce fruit as plentifully as did the grapefruit. I always found this quite disappointing as a child, as grapefruit definitely was not my favorite
citrus fruit. Especially run of the mill white grapefruit. Why couldn't they be pink grapefruit? Or, even better- ruby red grapefruit?! No matter.

Point is, one of my citrus (number 3 of the 5 Cs) memories is sitting under that grapefruit tree playing with a doll my mother made me. It was a "paper doll" style doll, in that it was two dimensional and you could cut out clothes to put on it in the same fashion you do for paper dolls. The difference was this doll was much more durable than a paper doll. It was cut out of masonite(*1). It had velcro squares at the shoulders and waist, to which the clothes could be attached. I could cut shirts, skirts, shorts, dresses, pants etc. etc. out of fabric that would stay on with velcro to dress the doll. I am certain I defined the next season's fashion trends by the wardrobe I made for my doll under that grapefruit tree that day!

I can't really tell you much about copper, except that pennies used to be made from them(*2).

As a preschooler and kindergartener living in Gilbert, my best friend lived right around the corner. Well, nearly so. Within walking distance, to be sure. Let me show you:

Our house was on the North side of Hackamore, and our friend's house was on the North side of Rawhide.

This is a current satellite view of 2 West Hackamore, not a photo from when I was a child. Although, I should try and find one... This is point "A" on the map.

This is a current satellite view of West Rawhide; again- not a photo from when I was a child. This is point "B" on the map.

Front view of my friend's house on Rawhide (or, as front as I could get from google maps).

This is the sidewalk I would walk from my house to my friend's house. Just turn on that street at the far end of this photo.... That's her house! When I was a child and lived here, (it looked quite different, but that's not the point) there was a street sign (of some sort) along this road before you get to the ally behind our house. In the daytime, it cast a shadow. This is important, as you will see later on.

Actually, our whole families were "best friends". My mom (Linda) and my friend's mom (C) had been friends since high school and/or college (can't remember exactly). Each child in my family had a "match" in Chris's family. Her children were each about the same age as each of us. The only problem was C's oldest child was a girl, and Mom's oldest was a boy... sigh... So, it didn't turn out perfectly, but pretty close! My sister Meagan was right in between the oldest sister, S and the next girl, H. Britney had M (girl), I had L (girl) and Wendel had M (boy). My sister Bethaney wasn't born until we moved to NM, so it was all matchy-matchy while we lived in AZ. We were all the best of friends; we would play together everyday of the week- more often when possible!

I tell you this to tell you a funny story about walking betwixt these two houses. When I was a kid, we all liked to go around barefoot. By the end of the day, the bottoms of our feet were black as asphalt. No exaggeration; probably because the asphalt adhered to our feet... At any rate- filthy. We would walk from our house to our friends' house sans shoes on a very regular basis. It wasn't really an issue except for 3 pesky months of the year…

Arizona is known for its fantastic climate when the rest of the country (mostly) has rather terrible weather. But, there are these pesky 3 months of the year when our weather is not perfect. It is called Arizona Summertime. And, the sidewalks get hot, hot, hot! So, en route to a friend's house, I would look for any patch of green or shadow I could find to cool my feet off for a second before continuing on. Once, my sister Britney and I were walking to our best friend's house following the route indicated above. That street sign I told you about- the one that used to be there- cast a shadow that was instrumental to preventing burned feet on our way to our friend's house. Sometimes, between the fences around the houses and the sidewalk there would be a plant (weed) of some sort growing; perhaps a dandelion, or grass patch or... something green that would also provide cooling for our feet.

Well, I hopped onto the (minuscule) shadow cast by the street sign, and Britney jumped onto a green patch just ahead. As quickly as she hopped onto it, she hopped right back off with a yelp of "Owwww!" It was some sort of low-growing sticker weed! We then sat on that hot hot hot sidewalk to pick the stickers out of the bottom of her foot so we could finish our jaunt. Once we were there- in the cool house, or under the carport on shaded pavement- we finished the job properly! One thing I liked to play at their house was "Dairy Queen". They had the perfect front porch for it. That is a tale for another time, however. I have gone on long enough...!

As I mentioned before, we moved from Arizona about one month after I turned six. We moved to NM. That was the first of many moves. More tales for another time.

Entering Arizona from New Mexico, the next place I lived after Arizona. Original photo here.

(*1) Masonite® board is a composite wood product that is similar to hardboard or fiberboard. It is sold in sheets like plywood or particle board, but is constructed quite differently from these products. Masonite® board is made using shredded wood chips, which are heated and mixed to form fine wood fibers. These fibers are then pressed together under high levels of heat and pressure to form a solid sheet of material. Most Masonite® boards contain to glue or adhesives, though some may use resin to enhance strength and durability. Masonite was invented in 1924 in Laurel, Mississippi, by William H. Mason. Mass production started in 1929.

(*2) The Composition of the Cent

Following is a brief chronology of the metal composition of the cent coin (penny):

The composition was pure copper from 1793 to 1837.
From 1837 to 1857, the cent was made of bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc).
From 1857, the cent was 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel, giving the coin a whitish appearance.
The cent was again bronze (95 percent copper, and five percent tin and zinc) from 1864 to 1962.
(Note: In 1943, the coin's composition was changed to zinc-coated steel. This change was only for the year 1943 and was due to the critical use of copper for the war effort. However, a limited number of copper pennies were minted that year. You can read more about the rare, collectible 1943 copper penny in "What's So Special about the 1943 Copper Penny.")
In 1962, the cent's tin content, which was quite small, was removed. That made the metal composition of the cent 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc.
The alloy remained 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc until 1982, when the composition was changed to 97.5 percent zinc and 2.5 percent copper (copper-plated zinc). Cents of both compositions appeared in that year.

Fire Station Valentine Visit

2011-02-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

I made mini chocolate cupcakes with chocolate cream cheese frosting and pink sugar sprinkles.

I found some vintage style fireman valentines! I used them to make cupcake picks to decorate the cupcakes.

"Why?" you ask? I am the "Activity Day Leader" at church. This means that I plan weekday activities for the girls aged 8 to 11 years old. We do arts, crafts, scrapbooking, sewing. We do things to help them learn the scriptures and serve others. Anything is fair game so long as it helps them learn, grow spiritually and develop their talents & interests.

Ok, so- we meet 2 times every month. For our first meeting in February, we decided to take valentines and treats to the firemen at our local station to express our appreciation for their service to our community. This is the valentine I made for the firemen. All the girls signed it, but I forgot to take a photo after they did. Silly me :/

I used vintage pictures of firemen & vintage valentines with a "fireman" theme to decorate the valentine. The valentine is about 11" x 17" on a posterboard background. I also made the flower decoration on the right side of the heart. Here is a close up photo.

The rose is made of paper & painted for added texture and color. The "leaves" are gold foil to accent the "vintage style" theme. It was super cute, if I do say so myself!

The firemen were so gracious. They seemed pleased to receive the cupcakes and valentine. They invited us in for a tour of the station. Super cool! The girls loved it. One wall in their eating area was painted like the Arizona State flag. It looked really great. Of course, I am quite partial to the AZ state flag; I have always loved the way it looks. In case you are not familiar with the state flag, let me enlighten you:

Arizona State Flag

When we got to the garage, they let us take a photo with them in front of the support fire truck, as the fire engine was out on a call. Unfortunately, the reflector stripe on the side of the truck messed up the lighting for the photo- so, it is blurry! Waaah! I was so disappointed to see how crummy the photos turned out. Boo!

The fireman on the right tried to get us to stay a few more minutes, as the firemen and the regular fire engine were on their way back. I debated with myself... would have loved to... but, alas- the girls needed to get back to the church on time for their parents to pick them up. Plus, it was a school night and it was getting late.