Alice and Yellowstone

Found this interesting blog with one of my favorite characters being associated with Yellowstone National Park. Love the artwork that was done in 1884 on this brochure. Check out the blog from the National Park Service here by clicking this link: National Park Service. I think it would make a beautiful poster for framing and wouldn't mind one on my wall.

Rainbows and Dragon Flies

A few weeks back I posted about seeing rainbows on my visit to Kalispell and Whitefish, Montana. They lifted my spirits as I had gone there to attend my uncle's funeral. Last weekend we had thunder and lightening storms hit us right before sun down. I wished this picture could have been more clear but it was very hazy with rain clouds around this rainbow. Something still beautiful about it so I had to share.

I have been working 48 hour schedule weeks back to back and was so glad to be getting off work on Friday at 7 p.m. Storm clouds were brewing again and I actually saw a double rainbow before heading out of Fort Benton but I didn't have a camera with me. Then as the sun was starting to set, I looked out my back window and another rainbow was visiting our little spot.

So now I have a record going on of seeing rainbows for the past three weekends. My family thinks I am nuts running inside to grab my old digital camera all the time. Here is my photo taken today. This beautiful creature flew over my head as I was starting to walk under a tree with my laundry basket in hand to retrieve my dried items on the clothes line. My 12 year old son, Avery Zefram, was flustered with me running back to the house to snap these photos. I do love dragon flies and this one was truly spectacular and ever so big!!

Making Someone Smile

I spent last weekend sewing buttons and buttons on a patchwork throw for a lady in the nursing home part of the hospital/personal care/nursing home where I work mainly overnights. Usually I walk with 3 of our resident ladies in personal care to the upstairs activity room to play Bingo. There is a younger lady who always tries to make conversation with me. It is so apparent that she is lonely. I did a little investigating and found that she had been a special education teacher, had no children of her own, and suffered some type of stroke a few years back leaving her in a wheel chair with some memory problems.

Also, birthdays are celebrated once a month at the facility for residents. Her birthday was last Wednesday. So this gave me the idea to spread a little joy and finish a project. My 14 year old son, Wynston and I strolled into her room on Friday and she was so pleasantly surprised. She kept asking my son, "Did she make this for real?" I saw her yesterday at Bingo and she was all smiles telling me that she slept with the quilt on her the night before. I told her I hoped she had pleasant dreams. Her reply, "Only the best kind." Don't know who is smiling more -- her or me.

Making Flowers

Thought I would post about some blocks I have just finished up. Two of them are the same pattern -- called Distelfink. I did some checking on what a Distelfink is and came up with this information: "A distelfink is a stylized goldfinch, probably based on the European variety. It frequently appears in Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. They represent happiness and good fortune and the Pennsylvania German nation, and they are a common theme in hex signs and in fraktur. The word 'distelfink' (literally 'thistle-finch') is the German name for the European goldfinch."

These two blocks were hand-stitched around the edges. Haven't done very much cross-stitch over the years but I did prefer it to a satin stitch I am using on a different piece. The satin stitch has me wondering if I will ever finish the block, but I am stubborn and can see the end in sight. That one will be posted once it is completed. See the flowers? -- tulips, and many different ones in the fabric pieces.

This next one I completed on the sewing machine on a hot lazy Sunday afternoon. It is called a Lancaster Rose pattern. I know many more of these are in my future as I like how fast it came together. I used to think sewing/quilting was something to do to stay inside when the snow was falling outside, but with the hot temperatures this early in the summer, it may be my year round pleasure for 2012.

Walking Around Pictures

Sometimes it just takes one step at a time to carry me outside. Then another few steps to run inside to grab the camera. The fun begins as I walk around usually accompanied by a child or my husband to talk about the beauty that surrounds us. Farm life has its pros and cons depending on how you look at things. Right now I am enjoying it!!