some new skirts on etsy

I've been working my little tail off, mostly trying to get my house clean, decluttered and ready to sell, but- I've also been making a few new skirts. I've just put them up on Etsy, and when we get back from Lake Powell next week (after one final salute to summer), I'll be adding my new super, darling wrap-around skirts that I've just started making. Stayed tuned. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend.

sport or silliness?

Last night when we should have been heading off to bed, Steve O and I were instead looking at the Newsweek website with all of their amazing still pictures of the Olympics. Scrolling through the images I disappointedly realized I completely missed the syncronized swimming section of the recently concluded 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Thankfully, I was able to get my fill of this intriguing sport at the NBC Olympic website.
I'm not sure why I find syncronized swimming so magical. I think it's because it's one of those sports where fashion and sport collide, kind of like ballroom dancing and figure skating. Sure you have to be a great athlete and be able to hold your breath for a really, really long time but just as crucial when going for the gold- are your outfit, hair and makeup, even your smile in the face of difficulty (like lots of water up your nose).
Steve O thinks it's 100% silly.
Go ahead and give some of the synchronized moved a try the next time you are at the pool with your friends... I dare you.

my attempt to quilt without a pattern

My mother-in-law Jan made the original quilt. She can't find the pattern, so I am attempting to remake it for my Mom and her bed and breakfast, Slot Canyons Inn- without the pattern. This is my first finished square. I like the way this little indian maiden turned out, and the turn under applique method went faster than I thought it would. Now I just need to add some beads to the bottom of her skirt... and make 8 more squares. It a good thing I like hand sewing, ever since I can remember hand stitching has a relaxing and calming effect to me. It's like my little treat. Kind of weird huh?
Here is the whole darn quilt. It's kind of tiny, about 2 1/2' by 3 1/2'. I have seen it hanging at my in-laws for years and always loved it. It's kind of fun to be trying to recreate it.

real estate in Springville Utah

After 10 years in our fabulous home and couldn't-ask-for-a-better neighborhood, we are looking to find something just a bit roomier. So, if you are looking for a house in south Utah County that is chocked full of funky upgrades and is so dang cute in Springville Utah -look no further. mls #826072


Just one of the many bonus features... a Cassandra Barney painted metal fence in the backyard by the garden. The garden in full to the brim this year. All of our hard work weeding, watering and waiting has finally paid off. I love having to only go as far as the backyard for a snack-a-licious handful of grape tomatoes or to harvest up some green beans or spaghetti squash for dinner.

back to school

School officially started today, at least for 2 of my kids- but not the Jr high, they started yesterday (7th) but not today (8th and 9th), I think they all go tomorrow, but start at two completely different times, and we have an early out day in our district now, I think that will be on Wednesdays...
I wish I had cute, clean fresh-scrubbed-faces and brand-new-shoes pictures of the kids this morning. But to tell you the truth- I don't even know if they ate breakfast. I got back from my swim/run just in time to throw together some lunches, sign some paperwork and watch them run out the door. The triathlon training is going to have to take a back seat, either that or I get up at 5. Luckily, the Yuba tri is just a few weeks away, Sept 6th and then I can throw all fitness endeavors to the wind.

So, now the over-scheduled, back to school children don't have time to get crazy with the camcorder- (maybe I will?! doubtful). Take a deep breath and sit back and enjoy our new favorite music video. Drew Danburry (in yellow), congrats on getting married and thanks for entertaining us with your triple threat dance moves and other shenanigans.

a new bag

...been doin' a little bit of sewing. This purse is actually for a friend- custom made as a diaper bag. I hope she likes it.
It was fun to get back into the sewing room and do some design work.
It seems nearly impossible to get anything sewn during the summer- just keeping the house and yard tidy seems to be all consuming.
A few weeks ago I was dreading the end of summer; the end of unscheduled days, freedom and all of that. Now, I can't wait for my little cherubs to go back to school. I think they sense the end of summer days- they are getting restless and making me crazy.

yesterday evening

wildlife

We have just been to Escalante and Torrey for the past week or so visiting grandparents. The big themes of the trip... wildlife and water. It is always fun and educational for all to have some critter encounters from time to time.
This is Chub-Chub the frog. He came out every night to the porch light to get his fill of bugs. Every night we caught him and played with him. Here is Q about to find out if he is really a handsome prince under a spell.


This moth was a big as a hummingbird. My Mom and I finally got it to stop flying around long enough to snap a few pictures. Bugs shouldn't be able to get that big.





I walked right past this baby rattlesnake, it was my 4 year old who pointed it out. We ended up killing it (not me, I was too freaked out) it had made his house under the steps at my parents house.






My folks have 29 chickens now. They are very cute in their little coop my brother Adam built. The kids loved feeding them, and when they realized they could... catching them.



I don't know the official name for this breed of chicken. We just called them "the fro-bros" even though they are ladies. (gotta love the Chicklet teeth)

water

We have been in Southern Utah this past week or so- hanging with the grandma's and grandpa's in Torrey then Escalante. The other theme of the trip- water. It's too stinkin' hot this time of year and to be in the desert without water -to drink or play in. So we went from one watering hole to the next and had lots of fun. Here is C with a found fishing pole at the Waterfall- just off the highway in Capital Reef National Park.


The Waterfall, I don't think there is an official name for this hot spot. The kids jumped from various points, about 50 times each, all day long. They had fun showing off to all the nervous tourists who, on occasion, got up the courage to jump too. Actually being cautious wasn't a bad idea, the water is only about 6 feet deep. As luck would have it- no injuries. (What kind of mother am I?)





We hiked Sulfur Creek in Capital Reef National Park with the Hulme family. Building butt dams along the way became very popular. It was amazing how much water could be stopped with a row of butts.


One of the waterfalls along the trail. About a 5 mile hike through Capital Reef, ending at the Visitor Center. The perfect summertime hike, especially for kids. More photos here.

a beautiful moment

First of all, there is nothing like a bike ride around town on a hot summer night.
This particular night was the Fourth of July, a few weeks back. A pack of us, friends and family were all on bikes on our way to watch the fireworks. The mood was festive, everyone in good spirits, then we came across this guy- putting a smile on everyone's face and capping off the happy silliness.
He rode with us for bit- Steve O shot this clip from the bike, I only wish it was a little longer.
I want a boom box on the front of my cruiser too.

what the world needs now

Nobody knows more about bicycles than Brent Hulme.
Lucky for all of us, after something like 20 years of working tirelessly in the cycling industry (for Gary Fisher and Trek) and dreaming about a shop of his own, Brent has finally done it. Salt Lake City Bicycles is located downtown in a beautiful old building on the corner of 200 East and 200 South, Salt Lake.
Brent knows all that is good and lovely, sparkly and fantastic about bicycles and it shows. I was so happy to see Swobo goods and bikes on the floor- a few of my favorite wool jerseys from over the years are Swobo. I know, I know wool sound pretty crazy in the middle of the summer but come fall you may change your mind and cozy right up.
Whatever your cycling interests may be- Salt Lake City Bicycles has got it covered. Get back in shape, save some gas money, or just toodle around the neighborhood... get out and ride your bike, you'll be a happier, not to mention healthier person because of it.
And what does our world needs now, I mean really need right now??... more bicycles!

Don't miss the grand opening party September 13th. Stay tuned to http://slcb.blogspot.com for more info.

the danish poet

This short film will make you smile, it's a great story with wonderful animation.

a special gift

Thank you so much to my friend Kanani for this box of patterns. It may seem like an unlikely or boring gift to most people out there, but I couldn't be more excited. There are some fabulous possibilities in this box. I haven't made very many items of clothing for myself in the last few years so maybe it's time to try.


Here are a few of my favorite patterns from the box. I love these dresses. But then I wonder if the reason I love them so much is because they look so "Barbie" with their 13 inch waists. Would these dresses really look as cute on me?


I think, with the right fabric this scalloped neck dress could be darling. Maybe I'll make it in the Fall- when I'm more motivated to actually get something done. It's summertime and I'm all about relaxing... while I can.

Happy Birthday

My oldest turned 12 on Friday- can she really be that old? Because that means... lots of things, including- but not limited to- me being really old too. Her party was super fun. We barbecued, made t-shirts, played night games and ate too much cake.
As a host and a parent of the guest I get so tired of the useless party take home gift that gets tossed aside or thrown away as soon as the partygoer gets home. I like t-shirts as a take home gift, it's nice to send friends home with something that can actually be put to good use after the party is over.
I have been working on this idea of jazzing up plain t-shirts. The cheapest shirt I could find were at Walmart, white or in various of other colors. I was thinking: a little paint, some iron-on applique, then machine stitching over the top, maybe even a few jewels to top it all off. Well, when it came right down to it-I couldn't find my roll of two-sided interfacing (I think I ran out last winter and forgot to pick up a new roll- or it's just lost in my messy sewing room) and then the though of lots of little girls using my sewing machine made me a little nervous, so we simplified the project down to just spray painting the shirts, using handmade stencils.


The shirts turned out really good. Steve O was getting all kinds of crazy making stencils and lots of guests got personalized stencils, special request pictures or their names made up. We washed the shirts in with some crappy towels first just to make sure the spray paint didn't bleed onto other clothes in the same load- but the paint stayed put and washed up just fine. We mostly just used whatever spray paint we had laying around the garage, some just household, others enamel- all kinds worked just fine. The metallic paints looked really good adding a subtle sparkle to the design.

Ohh the cake... this is what happens when you don't really have a plan going into the decorating- you throw all caution to the wind and just go for it. I think it's a flower that looks a little like a sun. In any case it was a bugger to frost with all the pointy bits, but tasted delicious with the thick layer of buttercream frosting trying so hard to cover the whole cake with all it's nooks and cranies.

stroke improvement

Here is a great video of very fast man, an excellent visual tool for all of you triathletes out there training your guts out for this summer's line up of races. All of the announcing is in French making it just a little bit more fun to watch.

holiday fun

The day in pictures- Happy Independence Day

shock + waterproof

The Olympus Stylus 790 SW- our new camera. I think Steve O had been dying to get his hands on one of these. My old camera was falling apart after too many days spent being knocked around in the bottom of my purse. It was fixable but I got this special present anyway.


It's a good thing the camera is digital because you find yourself snapping shot after shot trying to get it just right... you can always delete later. The picture of the little lady friends cracks me up. Adding a whole new level of silliness to summer fun.


We took little camera to the workout in the morning and 150 pictures later- ended up not getting much of a workout. Quite a tool for stroke improvement (as you can see I need here) it can take underwater videos as well.

Underwater pictures are so funny. I don't generally think about our kids in terms of "Oh, she looks just like her Dad..." or "He has your nose..." But looking through all of the pictures of underwater Steve O underwater and I can see family resemblances. What does that say? I'm not quite sure.

in the jardin

Here is how the garden is looking just over a month after planting. We've been mandating weeding time from the kids each morning and so this is probably the most successfully tended/weeded garden we've ever had. It's in a tucked away corner of the yard, easy to forget about if you want to- but we're on top of it this year. We didn't plant a garden last summer (2 months in Europe) so I think we're all extra excited to get our hands dirty and have some fresh veggies in time.
Morning weeding after working out is one of my favorite times of the day (thanks in part to the umbrella), it's a good time to get a little personal chit-chat time with the kids too- they usually wander out after a bowl of cereal, generally willing to help out and get their hands dirty.
I have vivid memories weeding as a child- mostly positive. Except the one time I came face to face with a big fat tomato worm at very close range... I think that might be one of the reasons I despised tomatoes for so long.

Ahhh... the basil, (and dill and cilantro behind that, then the onions, peppers and bush beans in the back...). I've been babying these plants because there is nothing in the world better than fresh basil when it comes to summer cooking. Pesto is perhaps my kids favorite food flavor. They get very upset when I try to pass off store bought pesto in the winter. Every fall- forced by the impending frost, I spend a day in the kitchen using every last sprig of basil I can find from my garden and madly make batch after batch of pesto. I freeze it in ice cube trays, so handy to pop out 3 or 4 cubes at a time, for delicious fresh summer flavor all winter. As well as a pasta sauce, pesto is so delicious as a rub for salmon or mahi mahi (any fish or chicken really) on the BBQ.

Pesto Sauce:
1 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
2 cloves garlic
Coarse or rock salt
2 tablespoons pine nuts (get a giant bag at Costco)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino cheese, or 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Place basil, garlic, salt and pine nuts in a blender or food processor. Whirl until finely chopped.
With motor running, add oil in a thin stream. Scrape down sides to make sure all solids are well mixed. Continue to blend until you attain a smooth sauce.
Add cheeses and give the machine one short burst to blend ingredients well.
Makes about 2 cups.



We were so happy to find this tiny praying mantis wandering about the garden this morning, it was about an inch long and doing all the funny little praying mantis moves- the head tilt, boxing hands, and praying, of course. I wish I could have gotten a perfectly focused shot but I was too impatient and the subject wasn't really very cooperative.


Flowers in one of the pots on my front porch, I couldn't help but snap off a bunch of close up flower shots this morning. This is one of my favorite pics. I love the dark pink flowers, I can't remember what the are called, some kind of verbena perhaps?

Lake Powell wonderful

We had a grand time at Lake Powell this last week. For the first time we brought kayaks and the kids were so happy paddling around nonstop. We all were so happy when we found this super shady camp site in Crystal Canyon (only 1 hr. 30 min. of direct sunlight each day) after our Ez-Up shade tent got ripped apart by the wind in Hansen Creek Canyon and we were left frying in the blazing hot sun. This camp spot was surrounded on 3 sides by red cliff walls nearly 500 feet high- amazingly picturesque.
We all did some elbow, knee and butt rock climbing moves getting up this crack at the very end of Crystal Canyon. This was the view when you looked up. I'm so glad this rock didn't shift and trap one of us, it would have really put a damper on the trip if we had to team up to chew off a trapped limb.
Up under the cliff walls was the most amazing sand, we played in it for hours. It was like a spa treatment laying there, eyes closed, getting cool trickles of sand poured over your limbs by the children. We were all throughly coated every time we set foot in the stuff because you just couldn't help rolling in it or burying yourself every time you touched it.
Looking up from where we slept under the cliff walls. The night sky framed by the red rocks was breathtaking. To see more pictures of the week look here.

somethin' to blog about

The yard sale went well and wow does it feel good to get rid of a few things. I was rewarded at the end of the very hot day with a mountain bike ride with a few good friends on the top of the Alpine loop, Ridge trail. Here is the view of the Mount Timpanogos cirque, it was gorgeous and refreshingly cool in the mountains, and it felt so good to get on my mountain bike.
Wild delphinium and blue bells along the trail.

After taking the afternoon off to ride my bike (while my lovely spouse recovered from having his wisdom teeth taken out AND held down the fort- thank you dear) I paid dearly for my time off by having to pack for camping at Lake Powell until 3 o'clock in the morning. So, the adventure continues- off we go to Lake Powell, maybe I can catch up on some sleep.

recap

I'm in summer mode, which means some things fall through the cracks while I scramble to party/entertain/motivate the children while keeping things clean/organized/weeded around here. Here is a photo recap of the last week of our lives.
Father's Day brunch on the back porch.

A Father's Day walk to our neighbor's pond.

What is happening when I am out doing some triathlon training- the kids are getting into the Halloween costumes, jazzing up the little brother cop up the Sharpie mustache and patch of chest hair. He wore the hairy embellishments until they wore off in the pool a few days later. What can I say, it's summertime.

Self portrait, is there anything better than 8 year old chiclet teeth?

I slaved all week cleaning out every closet, the crawl space and the garage in preparation for yard sale Saturday. Here is one of the treasures I came across- a photo collage of out 11 year old as a chubby little baby. I love this series of pictures. (click on the picture to see a bigger version)

scared straight or... how to get in shape for summer

OK, I did it. I paid my money and everything. I am all signed up for the Yuba triathlon September 6th. That should get me out of my boring workout rut and get my butt moving.
I have never done an Olympic distance triathlon only a couple Sprint distance triathlons two summers ago. Here is the breakdown for Olympic: swim 1500 m, bike 24.9 miles, run 6.2 miles. It's going to take some work to get ready, but that's what I'm really after anyway. I'm nervous, but finally crossing that finish line is such a fabulous feeling.
This should make me think twice before I eat an entire giant scone (nearly the size of a small pizza) all by myself at the Art City Days carnival or any other summertime festival that sells tempting things like scones and deep-fried Twinkies.