The Photo Untaken

Last week, we saw a car broken down on the side of the highway It wouldn't have drawn my notice except for the words "Just Married" soaped on the back window of the car. Were they in their wedding clothes when they broke down? Were they on their honeymoon? Who rescued them? What a story that couple would have to tell. As we passed, I was wishing I had my camera, even while I realized that in the middle of a major highway, there was no way I could take that photo.
It's one I have to just let go............

Recycling has been on my mind a lot lately. My son and I are getting rid of old VHS tapes, old monitors, computers and printers, and figuring out what to do with old TVs that Goodwill won't even take. Where do I put all this stuff? And how on earth can I be responsible about it when I don't know where to take it? How do I know that the company I give my old computers to is disposing of them properly? How do I make sure that my old information is totally gone from my computer? And why do companies who trash all these things with alarming regularity not seem to feel the least bit guilty about it? What happened to the good old days, when people would actually take your old stuff and fix it to resell at their store? Too many questions with no answers.

Read more...

Firefly, Firefly Burning Bright

You might recall a few weeks ago, I mentioned how much fun it was catching lightning bugs as a kid. Today, I'd only touch them under duress, but my sister and I signed up with the Museum of Science to observe fireflies this summer. Apparently the firefly population is decreasing and they don't know why. If you go to their website, you can learn more about the species and sign up to watch them in your backyard. It's only once a week for 10 minutes. What I learned (that I didn't know before) is that there are three different lights - yellow green, green, and orange. Females are the ones who are usually stationary and males are the ones flying around. Most of the time they are doing a mating ritual, except when an impostor firefly imitates the mating light of another one and eats the males who answer her call. All kinds of things enter into how many fireflies you see (I've always called them lightning bugs) - grass, surrounding light, cloudiness, and temperature. You can get more info at the Museum of Science website, www.mos.org/fireflywatch. I plan on trying to take some photos next Sunday. That ought to be interesting.

Read more...

How does your Garden Grow?

My garden is growing amazingly well. This raised bed garden is the best I've ever had (knock on wood) so far, I'm really impressed. My tomato plants actually have tomatoes on the stems already (that doesn't usually happen until August for me), and my Early Girl tomato plants might really be early. I fed the plants yesterday, so hopefully it'll give them a little boost in production. I always overdo it - planting too many plants for the space they are in. I did thin them out a little (I just hate pulling out healthy plants), but everything seems to be flourishing, even if it is a bit crowded. Don't they look awesome?

After my lilacs stopped blooming, the scent carried inside on the evening breeze is from my honeysuckle plant. It's a gorgeous smell and it seems to have continuous blooms. The only thing I don't know how to do is control it - you're supposed to wrap it around a trellis (which I do have), but I'm not sure if you do that at the beginning of the year, or at the end. Lovely, lovely flower, and it's supposed to attract hummingbirds, although I haven't seen any yet.






Here's what I'm working on in the sewing room. Right now this is in three segments that need to be sewn together. In addition, I'm working on my oldest son's graduation quilt (yes he graduated in 1999). I'm slightly behind on that one, but would like to finish it before he moves out at the end of the month, into his new home.

Enjoy your day!!

Read more...

Stanley Cup Champions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, what an incredible game the Pittsburgh Penguins played on Friday night! It was a nail-biter until the very last second, but it was soooo worth it! Watching Sidney Crosby hoist the Stanley Cup was so exciting and exhilarating. He works so hard and is such a mature, responsible young kid. I'm so happy for him and the whole team. I enjoyed seeing Mario Lemieux getting a third chance to hoist the cup and then hand it over to Sid. The entire team took the cup to the Pirates game yesterday so they could "share" the excitement. Today, there is a parade downtown at noon. I hope the turnout is huge.My sisters and I went on a Rivers of Steel tour Saturday called "Babushkas and Hard Hats." It was fun. We checked out the Clinton Furnace at Station Square, drove to Sweetwater Cooking School and mixed up some poppyseed bread, talked about the Pittsburgh Cookie Table, visited the Bost Building that holds the Rivers of Steel Heritage Center and went to a Pump House where they obtained water for the mills. I did learn something interesting. The Hot Metal Bridges (of which Pittsburgh had three) actually carried molten iron to the mill (get it - hot metal...). Then we picked up our cooked poppyseed bread and headed back to Station Square for lunch. After that we stopped to buy some Penguins gear at Hometowne Sports. We also drove to the Strip District to compare prices, and check out what shirts they had there. These photos are from Station Square.

Read more...

Three Rivers Arts Festival - Quilts

For those of you who live in Pittsburgh, you might be interested to know that there is an event going on this weekend at the Three Rivers Arts Festival about Quilts. They are showcasing examples of quilts and demonstrating quilting techniques. I wish there were more details about who the actual quilters are, but this is all the info there is. Click the Arts Festival link for a beautiful photo of a quilt and for more info about the events happening this week.

Artists in Action: Quilting

Friday, June 12, 2009 | 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Saturday, June 13, 2009 | 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Sunday, June 14, 2009 | 12:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Point State Park

What a fantastic win for the Pens last night! We still need to win in Detroit on Friday to win the Cup, but I believe in this team wholeheartedly. Plus I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed.

Read more...

An Ant Solution, at last

We had our dishwasher replaced this week, and as usual, nothing ever goes smoothly. When the installer looked underneath, the entire floor was moist and rotted, and had to be replaced. We realized that the dishwasher pump was leaking all this time. Guess where all those tiny ants were coming from that I wrote about last September? I had managed to limit them to the dishwasher itself, but couldn't figure out how to get rid of them. Knowing they are attracted to moisture, I would leave the door open and that made them temporarily disappear. Note to self, if you see ants in the dishwasher, check for a leak.

I planted a garden this year in raised beds (a first for me). I have two 4 x 4 boxes, one with tomatoes, the other with assorted veggies. I'm so excited because my tomatoes are growing like crazy and already have some flowers. The funniest part is that the bunnies walk right past the boxes as though they're invisible. It's so cool. My poor husband hates tomatoes and helps me with this garden every year, knowing there's nothing in it he'll enjoy. That's why I opted for the second box with lettuce and zucchini and beans and snap peas so he can enjoy it too. I had one great season of tomatoes about 14 years ago, and have been trying to replicate it ever since. Maybe this is my year. My little sign says "Welcome to My Garden."


LET'S GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read more...

Quilting Pantographs

I own a Hinterberg quilting machine and I mentioned before that I am a master at the loop de loop and the curly-q designs on quilts. I decided recently that I might be ready to move on to the next level and try a pantograph on my machine. For those of you who don't know, a pantograph is a line drawing (either on paper or on a board ) of a quilting design that you can follow with a laser pointer or stylus to make the same design on your quilt.

Once in awhile, I get a lead on a cool website with a new product I'm interested in trying. In this case, I am paid for my time and my professional opinion. That's how I found the Urban Elementz website. There are over 100 pantographs designed for long arm and mid arm machines. They are based on elements of nature and and include several leaf and vine designs as well as flowers and ferns and feathers. I really like the layout and design of the site. It's easy to navigate and you can rollover the designs to see them enlarged. There are downloads of the panto brochure and a sample of a starburst pantograph. The pantos are sold on a design board or on paper.

Patricia Ritter of Urban Elementz also offers quilting services, t shirt quilts, and custom quilts. There are instructions on lining up a panto and on making a quilt sandwich. The gallery includes photos of the pantograph designs on real quilts. I find that extremely helpful in choosing a design. Urban Elementz offers a subscription service called Essential Elementz where you can enjoy discounts on pantographs and regularly receive new pantographs in the mail. Designs are available as digital downloads also. I'd like to see photos in their Helpful Hints section showing how a pantograph or design board is lined up on a machine.

My life is kind of consumed at the moment with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tonight is Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals and I'm confident we'll win, but I'm still nervous. I don't have any poignant observations about life today - I can only concentrate on cheering on the Pens!!

LET'S GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Read more...