Misadventures with Rangers

Charity Quilting Time

2012-02-15T15:41:00.001-05:00

I posted a while ago about the Ebay auction for Ranger Margaret Anderson's children. I did get my quilt done, and the auction is now up and running. They had a few glitches with travel certificates, apparently Ebay staff wants a bigger piece of that action or something, but all is good now.

And, since we're such good friends and all, and since I've just gotta tell somebody else, my Madison Junction Tree quilt is now up to $51.00. I prayed and prayed it would go for at least that, and if it didn't I would buy it back for at least $50. Whew. But here's the news that brought me to tears last night. My arrowhead quilt is up to $200. I was in my crafty corner in the basement when I saw that, and couldn't catch my breath. There's no way in hell it's worth that, so I'm making a pillow and some mug rugs to go with it. Sorry for the hubris here, but holyshit. Just thinking about it makes me weepy in an odd way. Happy weepy that so much money is going to the Trust Fund, and also happy weepy that well, just because. Also sad weepy that we have to be involved in such an activity. I would much rather have made something for a birthday or anniversary or something.

Now back to the real world.

Anybody get engaged for Valentine's Day? Need a minister? Call me! I'm all good to go. Even bought a nice new, dressy black suit. For me to spend any quality time in a department store is a Big Deal. Not a shopper. . . . but I like how it looks. Anywho, it's been interesting having discussions about marriage and weddings. I'm a believer in it myself. Marriage, that is. Damn hardest job I've ever had, and also the most rewarding.

What the hell was I thinking when I bought iron on quilt batting? Yuck. Sadly, I have 2 queen size (I think) rolls of it. I'll use it up for mug rugs and stuff, but blah. Back to Warm and Natural for me!

Next up, the invites for All Things Danny Day are out. It'll be Sunday March 11. And of course, YOU are invited! Oddly, he didn't want to invite any of the kids from his class. He's all about grown-ups. I think he's figured out that most of them have the skills to figure out what he's talking about, whereas kids, especially other kids with special needs, don't get him. More about this later, speaking of rites of passage.....

We finally got some snow--including a whole one and a half inches for Winterfest! We only had half as many participants this year, but it was also a whopping 15-20 degrees with 10 to 20 mph winds. I wasn't able to get any pics, but when I do, I'll share them.

Last up for random stuff, I'm boldly going where I've never gone before. Sorta. I'm going to put colored, yes colored paint on the dining room walls! When we built the house, we had everything done in an nice white. Crisp and clean. And that meant we could put crap all over in various colors and it all worked. So now I'm trying something new. Actually, we painted FTD's room in 2 shades of green, and the master bath has 2 pale shades of yellow, green, and blue all blended in. But the yellow we picked for the dining room is bold and warm. Sheesh. And we're gunna pay to have it done. None of that being on 17 foot tall scaffolding for us anymore. DH didn't even argue the point. Well, he did, but only because he's programed to say it. I just looked at him and grinned. Silly old man.

Ranger Auction Begins Today!

2012-02-14T09:15:00.000-05:00

Get your PayPal ready! Today is the first day of the auction to benefit the children of Ranger Margaret Anderson who was killed in the line of duty on January 1, 2012.

There's lots of cool stuff so check it all out. And most importantly, remember that all the proceeds from the auction will go to the trust fun that has been established by the National Park Foundation to help support Ranger Eric and Margaret's two beautiful little girls.

http://stores.ebay.com/rangeranderson

So why are you still reading this? Go!!

Turning 21 and Other Life Passages

2012-02-09T13:03:00.000-05:00

My baby, my special delivery, turned 21 this week. He ordered himself a video game. He asked to go to Friendly's for supper. He asked me to make him cake and get ice cream.

That's all of his wants. At least that's all that I can tell he has, or that he can verbalize.

The kids at school all told him happy birthday. His FB friends and family wished him well.

FTD sitting on the shore of Lake Eire, enjoying the solitude.

That's all he needs to be content.

It seems too little somehow. While I'm glad he didn't get tanked on his 21st, I'm saddened that he has no friends with whom he just hangs out. He still has 2 good buddies from his academic high school, but they are both in, or trying to earn the money to be in, college. They still come over and play Pokemon and Zelda and something else. They still engage in "parallel play," like toddlers do. I want so much more for him, yet if he's content, what should I be wanting for him?

We've also discussed the concept of leaving him here this summer (but haven't even made a peep about this to DD, who will blow a cork), instead of dragging him to which ever park I land in. DH and I discussed the pros and cons, and simply put, there are many more pros to him staying here. My nephew will live here again, and with a certified waiver option provider hanging with him a couple of days a week, he'll be fine.

But will I?

All moms know that their kids are going to leave the nest some day. Okay, we're leaving him in the nest while we boogey, but still. He doesn't get home from school until 4:30 and by 2:30 or so, I'm really missing him. How will I manage for 4 months?

I will be coming home for my BFF's daughter's wedding in mid-July, so FTD and I will have at least a couple of days together. And DH will likely stay until Memorial Day, since DD says he wants to hang around until the end of school this year, since it's his "Senior" year and last at the academic HS. He'll attend the vocational HS where FTD currently attends next year, as will FTD, who'll only be there for the first semester, as he will age out next February. So if this plan goes, I'll be driving to my park, and living alone for nearly a month. Good news, bad news that.

DH was making squawky noises about how since we leave all summer he doesn't get anything done around here. Um, he doesn't get much done when we are here, so that's a moot point. I also cannot imagine ever again spending a summer in the heat and humidity and mosquitoes and ticks of NW Ohio. When I'm too old and decrepit to stand for the 8 hours my job requires, I'll come home and sit in the air conditioning and look out my windows, but until that day, I'm outta here in the summers. Folks around here who have never been able to escape in the summers don't realize that there's nice weather to be had in other places.

Speaking of which, one of the other parks at which I applied isn't hiring any new staff this year. It's a perfect location for a summer gig (even tho they have black flies). I'm going to screw up my courage and call the other park to see if I've got any chance up there, too. The calls are hard to make because I don't want to appear to be pushy, but I really need to know sooner rather than later. And of course, my back up position is Yellowstone. How blessed am I that that is the case.

If we do in fact leave FTD here, it opens the potential for a move to Old Faithful, if if if the one and apparently only 2 bedroom apartment is available. I haven't been in it, but I hear it's smaller than our Madison apartment. But being at OF means DD can actually get a paying job. And DH can volunteer pretty much when ever he feels like it. He's not so interested in committing to a schedule, and um, well this is embarrassing, but even tho it's a volunteer job, some volunteers get free or reduced housing out of the deal. We did in North Dakota and it was fabulous! He was the Campground Host, so we got to live in the little cabin in return for him working at least 32 hours a week, which was a breeze and he loved it. (We'd so do that again, if the cabin were available.)

Boy Scout Troop from Toledo raising the Flag at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Medora, North Dakota. Our camp tender's cabin.

Our YNP apartment on a beautiful May day.

The housing situation for volunteers in YNP has been interpreted differently, so it seems that his working wouldn't be compensated. Yeah, we know it's volunteering but the fact that some volunteers 'get paid' and some don't is kinda tricky.

Well, it's after 1 p.m.. Time to make those phone calls.....

Ranger Margaret Anderson Ebay Auction for Children (New pics 2/9/1

2012-02-04T20:14:00.003-05:00

As you know, Ranger Margaret Anderson was fatally shot and killed in the line of duty on New Years Day, 2012. Her friends, her Church, the National Park Foundation, and others have created a trust fund for the care of her two darling daughters, ages 2 and 4.

Next weekend, these same folks are sponsoring an Ebay auction site to help to continue to raise funds. I'll be donating a couple of small quilts.

Here's the link at ebay:

http://stores.ebay.com/ranger-anderson?_rdc=1

Items will go up on February 14 and remain up until the 23rd of February.

You can also look at the FB page/event to show your support.

So I'll donate one of these:

The top quilt, as you may recall, is the motif that is on the Madison Historic Trailside Museum at Yellowstone National Park, now the Junior Ranger Station and Information Station. It's an exact size copy of this:

Isn't is just the cutest thing? I usually only make these for the super-coolest folks who have served at Madison Junction, but for Ranger Eric and his little girls, I'll donate one.

And here's the new one:

Arrowhead Quilted Wall Hanging

The inspiration.

So mark your calendar and get your PayPal ready! I've also seen a few of the other items that are being auctioned.... the really, really cool stuff!

Certified Waiver Option Providers

2012-01-30T12:52:00.001-05:00

That's a whole lotta government speak.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that we would soon be interviewing folks to serve as our sons' certified waiver option providers. Here's the back story.

About 10 or 12 years ago, a friend asked if our kids were on The List. I said I have no idea, what's The List? This, said she, is The List your kids with special needs must be on in order to get care (a place to live) when they become adults. It was her understanding that in order to get services you had to be at the top of The List (TL). So. I said how do we get on TL? She said call your case manager at the County Department, which in our case is now called the Lucas County Development Disabilities Board (LDD.) I remembered that long before that, we had contact with LDD, because our kids are adopted through another county agency and they connected us. At least I think that's how we met, but it might have been through the county's special ed pre-school program. Quite honestly, those days are a blur now. There's no learning curve for this.

I spoke with caseworker Susan, who said that TL is indeed the roster of folks who need various support services, either as children or adults. Our kids lived at home so for the time being that aspect of their lives was okay. But what if? we keel over and die? we are medically incapacitated? we just plain get too old to care for the boys? Then what do we do? Enter Certified Waiver Option Providers.


Lucas County Children's Home

In the long ago past, children with special needs were shipped off to homes, usually before they entered school. Parents were told that it would be best for the child and best for the rest of your family. This was the norm, and was considered the Best Practice of its day. But its day came and went. Many brave parents took a stand and said, "We know how to best care for our children, and that means they should stay at home with us." A radical concept 50 years ago. Children with special needs were 'out of sight, out of mind.' My very best friend had an older brother in this situation, and we were BFFs for 4 or 5 years before she told me about him. How unimaginable today. The other part of that story was you had to disown your kids when they turned 21 in order for them to receive any services and they had to go to a Home. Talk about adding insult to injury.

But then how to care for your children at home presented its own set of problems. Lots of problems. Every thing from school to babysitters to diet to medical supplies to diapers to transportation, you name it, it was a problem to over come. I thank God everyday that other brave parents fought those battles and came up with creative solutions. And if not solutions, then at least systems to work out the problems.

For us the problems that remained were school and transportation. (The alleged director of special ed in our district was known as Cruella deBeck. It's the perfect mental image of the witch.) Our school battles were legendary. Our battles have helped some of the kids who are coming up now, although since every child is different, there's no "one good solution". We still hear from families who are struggling, trying to squeeze out every bit, every minute of good stuff for their kids, while they can. I could write for days about our school struggles, which continue to a lesser extent these days. Lesser because we're getting tired of fighting the system. Sad and true.

Transportation is our other problem. While there are services available, we live 30 minutes from anywhere. So that's a minimum of an hour in the car, with two screaming kids with autism. It simply wasn't worth it to put up with that, in order to see someone for a 15 or 30 minute appointment. The payback just wasn't there. And to do any of that after school was totally out of the question, because our kids used up every molecule of 'good' that they had at school. By the time they got home, their 'good' supply was completely depleted and they were running on fumes. Add to that, our kids were always the first kids on the bus and the last ones off. Not a good situation for anyone. Even now, FTD gets on the bus at 6:35 a.m., and home at 4:15 p.m.. How many able-bodied and minded adults can stand that kind of day?

Back to our story. When I spoke with caseworker Susan those 10 years ago, she said yes, both boys are on The List. I said so what now? She explained that all of the folks who might need services, who are known by the LDD, are placed on the list, taking into consideration the child's age, severity of need, and parent's ages. So our kids are lower on the severity side of things, but DH and I are way up on the age side. As I was talking to Susan, she said, "Some of the parents of our clients still have their adult children living at home and the parents are in their 60s!" I said, "Um, DH is now 61 and I'm 47, and the boys are 10 and 12." She said, "Oh, honey, you just shot right to the top of The List." Whew, the safety net was out.

And now here we are, ten years later. The boys made it to the top of the list. (Bittersweet, because it means someone who was receiving services has passed away.) And given that our current alleged governor is trying to get rid of Big Government, he's eying the services for people with special needs. Jerk. Our new caseworker Bill is pushing us to get lined up with services, in case Gov. Asshole gets his way. We're hoping that folks currently receiving services won't have those services cut, which Gov. A-hole also suggested. Jerk.

So now we have to make some decisions. None of these are binding for all time, but if we can get a good fit now, it will give the boys long term stability. We worked with Bill to create profiles and current needs of the boys to give to providers. Several have responded to our inquiries, and we've interviewed a couple.

So to make a short story long, we're hoping to find 'friends' for the boys at this stage of the game. More on that later. Gotta go pick one up from school now, he says he's sick. Tired and weary is more like it, I imagine.

(P.S. I'm not using the real names of caseworkers and providers.)

Little Birds and Big Fabric

2012-01-24T19:15:00.003-05:00

The past couple of days I've been messing with the little birds, primarily pine siskins, and big fabric. I also spent hours on the phone and found out that I do in fact have a little unemployment compensation coming, which translates to a trip to the long arm quilter (LAQ). Yea!

Sneaking up on the siskins out my bedroom door.

Just a few of 'em.

A little chicka dee dee dee stops in to visit, but he was kinda camera shy.

And a Tufted Titmouse, posing for Bird Butz Bob and Loopy Dave.

See, he does have eyes. Love the black black black eyes of titmooses.


In honor of this week's Squirrel Appreciation Day, here's one of ours. Damn pesky squirrels.

The Pine Siskins are a Big Deal for some folks. Around here, they're just another winter visitor. They breed up north, and come down south here for the winter. Lots of folks get all excited about the 3 siskins at the Window on Wildlife or at their feeders. We had 65 of the buggers on our CBC count day! We haven't seen numbers like that since that day, but we do run 20 to 30 anytime there's thistle seed out. And dang those buggers can eat a lot of thistle. And given that they show up right outside my bedroom windows, I can retain my title of World's Laziest Birder.

Since I got the word that I'd have a small infusion of cash, I've been busting my hump to get some backings lined up for UFOs. I'm not really fond of working with big stuff, which is why FTD's log cabin quilt is still over there on the sofa, not on his bed. Arg.

So sit back, get a cuppa and enjoy my little tour of current/UFO projects and other stuff.

This is the fabric I'm using for DD's bed skirt. He wanted plain black, but I wasn't up for that. Late late late one night I remember that I bought this at a shop hop, not knowing what I'd use it for. Ta daaaa!! But, as you have figured out, I didn't have enough. A frantic web search turned up 2 vendors with some in the shop. I chose the cheaper one, and of course, she didn't have quite enough either, but I said send what you've got. I also picked up some Lionel train fabric, a bison panel, and the most adorkable Moda Christmas panel. Check out NUTS AND BOLTS Fabric shop in Edgemont, South Dakota!! I ended up piecing some pieces for the bedskirt, and cut and sewed the muslin for the part that goes between the mattresses. Got it done late tonight, and DD is sleeping on it even as I type. I hate sewing big stuff.

Random pic out my window. No snow. Sigh.

The ages old Badlands Quilt in front, FTD's log cabin quilt in the back. I got the backing cut for BL quilt and will take that over to the LAQ as soon as the check clears. I have no idea how to have this one quilted...... I'm leaning towards over all stippling. Whatdoyathink? Honestly, I need your opinion! I hate cutting big fabric.

Lessee... these are for which project? ...oh, yeah, the stripy quilt. That will to to the LAQ, also. That will get what ever stitch is cheapest done for the quilting. I hate ironing big fabric.

And now for a cute surprise!!

BadAmy and I hit the antique shop a few weeks ago, because I needed a small table for FTD's room, so I could move the one from his room to DD's. BadAmy was looking for..... I don't even remember what. But look what jumped into my basket!!

It's so freakin' cute!!!! Seriously, it's called Thread-a-matic!

And it works! So if Mr. Ritis (you know, Arther?) ever deems my old hands worthy of hand sewing again, at least I'll be able to thread the needles. And it was sooooo cheap! Score! I did find a table and also scored a hat box from the store where DH used to work. I have a few hat boxes, all from stores in the Toledo area.

What is this for? Dang, I can't remember a thing lately. . . I'm sure it's for something big, and I hate sewing big bindings. Oh, yeah, FTD's quilt. At least I finally picked out the fabric and got it cut and sewed.

Next, I love the bags bird seed comes in, and wanna make grocery bags from them. Any idea what type of needle and thread I should use? They're so purty. I've seen them on etsy, but really have no clue what to use. I did think about colored duct tape....

So there's my life this week. I wish it were really this simple, but in fact we have a couple of extended family things we're working on. The good news, I have a wonderful extended family. The bad news, we all suffer from illness, bad fortunes, and general malaise that comes under the heading "Shit Happens." The good news, we have birds that sing and warm, wonderful quilts to snuggle up in. Life is good.

Random Catching Up II

2012-01-19T18:40:00.003-05:00

More randomness . . . and wondering why my pic on the side bar grew 4 sizes when I changed it the last time. That's totally over kill. . .

1. I'll be starting physical therapy to see if I can get my left Achilles tendon back to normal. Apparently I messed it up sometime either late last summer or early in the fall. . . but when I went to the otho-surgeon in early November to see if some miraculous procedure has been developed to fix tarsal coalitions (no) he mentioned that it looked like there was long term damage to my AT. Crap.

I went for a little walk in the snow today, across from our house, feeling the need to test out my ankle again. Not a great snow, but at least it's snow. We got maybe an inch, with maybe 3 more expected over the weekend. We need to get some, so folks get excited about Whitehouse Winterfest on Feb. 11. We have several entries for the Snowy Night Light Parade, but no sleds yet. Drat. Maybe this bit 'o' snow will help.

3. Remember this mess? I made these strips from a batik jelly roll that I won at a retreat. I'm not much of a batik kinda girl, and I thought these were just so-so, but hey, they were free! I used the stash from the Three Bears Quilt to add enough material for a single size quilt. I took the strips to YNP with me, thinking that if I needed a break from Parkadise, I could just idly sew the strips together. I had interesting projects to sew, so I ended up bringing the strips back. Yesterday, I sewed them all up in no time flat (I mean really, really quickly!) and now it's ready for the long arm quilter (LAQ) over in town. I had planned on using a sheet for the backing, but have since found out that sheets are made quite differently from sewing fabric and it boogers up long arm machines. Okie dokie. Anywho, this might end up being a charity quilt, since the only cost I'll have in it are plain muslin backing, batting, and thread, and of course the quilting. I spend a ridiculous huge amount of time deciding which strip should go where last spring. Then I stacked the strips and rolled them up. When I sewed them together I just sort of when willy nilly... sheesh. Anywho, it looks okay.

4. More from the crafting-kids corner. FTD's class made these for presents at school--how cute is that? He said he hand sewed the tubes closed, and I'm guessing he helped stuff the them. I'll have to do some dissecting to see how long the tubes are.... talk about cute and simple.

5. But here's the real goodie! I've had this old chenille bed spread since one of our Mom's passed away, so it's been quite a while. Every now and then I get an idea of how to use it, but don't have the time or energy to pull something off. Yesterday, it all came together in the cutest dang pillow ever! The design is the part that would be on top of the bed pillow, so there's only one of these motifs. The other motifs are bigger, and will need more finessing to fit a standard pillow. I might just cut it down and sew a new back to the chunk that's left, to make a mini-quilty thing. We'll see.

6. Lessee, today (well, last night as I couldn't sleep due to a mini-head cold) I remembered that I have some black train fabric, which I will use to make a bed skirt for DD's new bed. He wanted straight black, but I wasn't quite ready to go there, even tho I did get him black sheets (and grey flannel ones). I don't have enough of the fabric of course, so I spent a good while trying to find some online. It's on the way, but there might not be enough, since the shop I found was nearly out. Crap. I did find one other shop with some, but it's $2/yard more. Drat. I hope this doesn't end up being a really long term project. I want to get it done before March 11~~All Things DD Day!

7. I also finally picked out and cut fabric for the binding on FTD's quilt. Tomorrow is FNSI, and I'm hoping my niece can come over and help me shove it thru my machine. If not, another girl friend can come over next week sometime. Yea.

8. Other project yesterday and today was putting the holiday stuff away in the basement, knowing that All Things DD Day is only 6 weeks away. Most of the party will be in the basement, so a-cleaning we will go. Since the Man Cave isn't done, or even close to it, there's all sorts of construction crap all over the place. Maybe DH will get a wild hair and do some more work on it . . . . and if there's a miracle, he'll clean up the mess he makes, too. If that actually happens, be on the lookout. . . .

Random Catching Up

2012-01-18T14:11:00.000-05:00

Time for one of those rambling posts covering all sorts of stuff you aren't interested in....

1. Still waiting to hear from my boss about work next summer. As with the past several years, I'm also curious about a couple of parks that are within a day's drive from here, because....

2. We will be interviewing 'certified waiver option providers' for the boys next week. Letting go is hard. It will be a good thing, since DH and I will get more free time, but handing the boys over to strangers is still scary. Wish the fam and friends would get certified....

3. Trying to get some sewing time in. I'm doing a free quilt-along block of the month (heretofore referred to as either the QAL or the BoM for you non-quilty types). The BoM is a free class from Craftsy. My first blocks are done, and I'm quite pleased. The plan is to do 2 new blocks each month, and ending up with a lap quilt in December. I'm using up Christmas stash, and am making 2 blocks of each type. Depending on my mood next December, I'll either make one giant quilt or two smaller ones. If I do that I'll keep one and donate one to the Whitehouse Library for a fund-raiser.

Anybody else doing this one? Nice instructor, easy directions, cute project. And FREE! (Thanks to several of you who suggested links for me.)

I also signed up for a mini-quilt swap this morning, thru The Quilting Gallery. I've never done this before, but I've seen what so many of you are doing with swaps, that I thought I'd try it. This is a one shot deal, so if I don't like it, I'm done, and if I don't have time this summer, no one will be disappointed. Any body doing that one?

January block 2

January Block 1

New organizing idea. Each quilt or project is now in a zippered bag from which linens come. This is the Christmas stuff. Since I had to buy all new linens for the boys, given that we upgraded them from twin beds to fulls, I had lots of bags. I've also been stashing them, knowing they were too good to pitch, but having no idea what I'd do with 'em. Now I know. Win.

4. I dug thru my patterns looking for the new doggie coat one I just bought. You'd think it would be on the top of a heap since it's brand new and with several other patterns (yeah, 99 cent patterns at HoAnnes a couple of weeks ago), but noooo, I can't find the damn thing for the life of me. By the time I do, my neighbor's doggies won't need the coats. I did find a table runner pattern, one of a yearly series. I decided to do the February one, and set to work.

Lemme tell ya, the directions sucked. I'm so glad I didn't pay full price for the pattern. Good thing I knew what to do, otherwise I'd have a huge mess on my hands. I did get one finished. Now I'm curious to find the couple of other patterns in the series that I own and see what kind of mess those will be. I'll post a pic soon. It's okay.

5. I made a mess of mug rugs that I'll give away at Girl Scout Service Unit Meetings. Why, do you ask, would I do that? I got suckered into being the Training Consultant (a volunteer) for my local Service Unit--the Little Turtle unit of the Maumee Valley Region of the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio. I'm the training nazi now. My job is mainly to be sure as many our our volunteers get trained as possible. Turns out in our SU it's pretty easy. Yeah.

Part of the reason I'm doing this is. . .

6. My word of the year is Mentor. As in "to mentor" and "be mentored." I have talents I can share, and things I want to learn. So there ya go.

7. Found a couple of other random pics I wanted to share. This is one is the sum total of wrapping trash we generated at home this year. I make super-simple bags out of Christmas material, and in the past 15 years or so, I've amassed quite a collection. So much beautiful fabric, so few places to use it. The bags satisfy my love of new fabric, and solve a ton of other problems. The best thing, and one that I didn't anticipate is that they are sooooo quiet! Easy to wrap without having to be quiet and thus detected by the snoopers, and so quiet to open. Since FTD has big time noise issues, it's also a bonus. In the past, I've given away bags for fun. Lots of folks have asked me to sell them, but I'd have to charge so much it'd be silly. And then it would be work, not fun. By the way, the bag shown here is only about half full. There is cardboard, but that all goes into the recycle bin. Win-win.

The other pic is of a really cute thingie DD made at school. I've seen this before, but never got around to making one.

How's that for random?

The Little Man

2012-01-11T12:49:00.001-05:00

I was looking through my Ranger Brain yesterday (a small notebook I carry all summer, loaded with Important Info, like phone numbers and geyser heights) and found some notes I made to myself. One page said, "Things to write about." In the summer, computer access is severely limited and was worse last summer than the previous ones. But there are lots of stories to tell. This is one of them.

About half of my time at work in Yellowstone is spent at the West Yellowstone Visitor Information Center, aka WYVIC. I call this my AAA duty--we dispense wonderful travel info to folks and dispense maps like crazy. (BTW, if you're coming to YNP, turn your GPS off when you hit the gate or you'll be so confused you won't know which way is up.) We also see a huge percentage of international visitors. Most of the time, language isn't too much of a problem, as someone in the group usually speaks English. The Park Service does subscribe to a translation service, but I've never had to use it--until last summer.

A small, shabbily dressed, older Asian man stood in the Visitor Center. He just stood, looking around, and looking at a small scrap of paper in his hand. After a while, he approached the Chamber of Commerce desk, at the opposite end of the room from the Public Lands desk, my end. Since we essentially give out the same information at both desks, I knew he was in good hands. I continued with other visitors. A bit later, he was back in the center of the room, looking more and more anxious, and still clutching the paper in his hand. When I had a break in the action, I looked down at the Chamber staff member and gave them a look that said, "What's up with this gentleman?" She came over and said that she couldn't make heads or tails of what the man wanted or needed. I said I'd have a go.

This tiny wisp of a man, wearing the thickest, oldest glasses I've ever seen (and I used to wear specs that needed a 10.5 diopter lens myself) spoke about 10 words of English. He obviously hadn't washed or changed clothes for a couple of days. He was clearly scared and agitated and frightened and exhausted. Not a good combination. It also appeared that he was traveling alone. We usually have families or young adults from Asia, and most of them are well dressed, and have conversational English skills. Not so with this gentleman.

Eventually, I figured out that he was saying he came in on the Greyhound Bus from Salt Lake City, and when did it go back? Now I start to see... Greyhound doesn't actually come to West, but there are a couple of smaller bus lines. One piece of the puzzle.

As with so many, many of our visitors, he thought he'd see Old Faithful right there. Old Faithful is a full hour away from West. Yeah, folks, an hour over there and an hour back, along with however long it takes for the thing to erupt--so at the least, you'll be over there for two and a half hours, and on the longer end of the scale, it could be four hours, if the interval between eruptions goes long. And that's assuming there are no bison, elk, moose, wolf, coyote, eagle, or bear jams. And since my gentleman had no transportation, he'd have to wait until the next day to catch a tour bus. (We are experimenting with a new 'commuter' type bus line, but it had stopped running for the season.)

My friend realized that the bus tour would cost money and he produced a bright, shiny credit card that said his name was Mr. Chen. Another piece of the puzzle.

Clearly, Mr. Chen was dismayed that he would have to spend the night here, too. And clearly, he was really not following most of what I was trying to impart. I realized that I would need to use the language service. A colleague covered the desk for me, and Mr. Chen and I went to the Back County office to use the phone. It took several tries to make it all happen, and thank goodness for the speaker phone, but eventually we connected with a wonderful operator who spoke Mandarin Chinese. I had made a list of things I needed to ask~~where are you staying tonight, when do you need to leave West Yell, what do you want to see while you are here, and so on. I asked the interpreter to clearly explain to Mr. Chen how much the tour cost, how much the entry fee cost, and the amount of time they would take. I asked her to ask him if he spoke or read any English at all and she said no. Wow, what guts.....

We spoke with the interpreter for quite a while, as I wanted to squeeze every bit of info that I could out of this conversation. We found out that his wife was traveling with him, and that the Chamber folks had set them up in a room in the hostel. More pieces of the puzzle. I thanked the interpreter, and hung up, thinking we had things under control. If only...

I had called one of the tour bus companies to see if they had room for Mr. Chen the next day. Yep, just have him meet us at the hostel at 8 a.m. the next morning. While talking to the interpreter, I wrote up an itinerary that Mr. Chen could hand to drivers, wait staff, etc., to help him along, including the prices for the entry fee, tour, hostel, lunch, etc..

I rang up his entry pass for the park, and noted that on his itinerary. Then I walked with him the 3 or 4 blocks to the bus company to pick up his tickets. When they asked for his credit card, he really became frightened and confused--really, really confused. In desperation, I called the local Chinese restaurant and asked if someone there spoke Mandarin, and could you help me calm Mr. Chen? They tried and we finally got Mr. Chen's tickets. The bus tour folks promised that they'd take good care of him for me.

The hostel is on the way back from the bus company, and I left a rattled Mr. Chen there, now clutching a map, entry pass, bus tickets, and a note.

I never did find out if he made the bus tour, or if he got back to Salt Lake City. I still wonder to this day how he got to West.

I make jokes all the time about how is it that folks get here from all over the world, and then get lost on our 'one' park road. It's as if they use up all their brain power to complete the first task, and have nothing left after they arrive. I know that people are excited, scared, tired, excited, and thrilled to make it to Yellowstone. They stand in anticipation of getting the scoop from their Ranger at the desk, their Ranger who has all the answers. It's always my pleasure and honor to help them navigate and hopefully love the park, and I recognize that it is a huge responsibility. As my boss once noted, we are often the only ranger some folks talk to along their way. Wow.

Gosh, I hope Mr. Chen got to see bison and Old Faithful. What a journey.

And We Go On

2012-01-09T16:07:00.000-05:00

Services for Ranger Margaret Anderson will be tomorrow afternoon. I've had a weird sense of euni since her murder, partly because I'm so far away there's nothing I can do, partly because I've been re-winding all the times that DH or our family were in some type of real or perceived danger, and partly because life goes on for the whole rest of the world, while it screeched to a halt for the Anderson family. After my Mom died, I was pissed/annoyed/dismayed that the rest of the world didn't come to a halt. The whole rest of the world remained the same for those folks. Seeing people do normal everyday things irritated me.

And yet, here I am, doing the normal, everyday things of our life. Very unsettling place to be emotionally.

So the normal stuff I've been doing includes a sort of clean out--the Living room is almost back to it's wonderful serene state, and most of the Christmas things are being put away. I have a bunch of winter stuff that I leave out.... snowmen, cardinals, several sets of lights in funny places. Okay, not so funny, but still up for us to enjoy until we start enjoying those longer days of spring.

And for many, many folks in our neck of the woods, the total lack of winter so far has left everyone off kilter. We're all waiting for winter. We're currently in a stretch of 50, yep 50 degree days. It should be 25 or something.... yuck. I must say the only time I didn't complain about it--in fact appreciated it, was yesterday, when we took down the train layout at the Toledo Zoo. My son, DD the Younger, is a rabid rail fanner (even now, he's watching train cams, and plotting which model train engine he should buy ~~read Mom buys~~for him. ("Mom," says he, "it's a limited edition!")

So here are some pics of train layouts and displays from this winter.


The magic starts here, at the WPA built Museum of Science at the Toledo Zoo. As well as the Great Hall, where we set up the trains, there's a balcony meeting space, and a fantastic auditorium. It's a marvelous building.

Entrez vous

Part of my section (on the top) that I call "Silent Night, Holy Night." The Star-on-a-Stick is new this year. I really like it.

Three of my 6 churches I used this year.

My little Polar Bear family.


Da bears.

These are some of the folks who make up the O gauge division of the Swanton Train Club. Dan C., Kurt B, Larry W, the O gauge 'suprintendent', Jerry, and DD the Younger.

A view from the balcony.


Bird's eye view. We run 6 tracks on this layout. I think it's 12 by 26 this year. We'd like to make it 8 feet longer!


Behind the scenes.... time to put stuff away...... it takes 5 people 5 days at 6 or 7 hours a day to set it up. A day and a half to take down....

You should see all the wires underneath. In addition to the wiring needed to run the trains, nearly each building on the layout has it's own plug.

Heavy duty transformers, called ZW's run the tracks. We use one for each of the 6 tracks.

The skeleton of the section I help decorate.


Ron M. is the Chief Electrician and Bottle Washer on the crew.

And now, I'm just sitting and enjoying our tree with just the lights on it. The sun is shining brightly in the windows surrounding it, so it rather glows all by itself. We'll take it down... soon... and put it on the back deck for the birds to use for cover, as they hoover up the seed we put out for them.

So if I neglected to tell you before, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Ranger Margaret Anderson

2012-01-07T11:19:00.000-05:00

I've been able to fight back tears, until I read this:

By Bruce Barcott from the Seattle Times:

Guest columnist Bruce Barcott writes about his gratitude for Mount Rainier National Park Ranger Margaret Anderson, who was murdered on the mountain on New Year's Day. She was protecting the mountain and possibly averted a more serious tragedy.

"The Ranger Who Protected Mount Rainier from Greater Tragedy

I didn't know Margaret Anderson, the Mount Rainier National Park ranger shot and killed on New Year's Day. But I know what she died protecting. And I wish I could thank her for saving the mountain.

For many of us in the Pacific Northwest, Mount Rainier isn't just a national park. It's sacred public space. We go there to play and we go there to pray. Young mountaineers test their mettle on the Emmons Glacier. Elderly women stand and lay their hands on Rainier's old-growth cedars near Kautz Creek. Young couples hike into the backcountry at Indian Bar. Mothers take daughters snow camping at Reflection Lakes.

Memory is Rainier's most powerful attribute. We live in a place where family history is often thin on the ground. Here in the West there aren't many ancestral estates. Our family migration stories aren't traced to the Mayflower, they're traced to last week. Amid all that transience the mountain offers a place to connect with permanence, to create the personal back stories that bind us to the land. Every day hike at Sunrise, every car-camping weekend at Ohanapecosh, every Paradise snowball fight forms a tendon that ties us to our chosen home, and to each other. On a busy day in Seattle, when the clouds part and Rainier reveals itself, the mountain doesn't just come out. It opens the memory album of the mind.

There's no irony in the name Paradise. Rainier's most popular visitor destination sits at 5,400 feet, more than a mile above Puget Sound. Virinda Longmire named it in 1885 after witnessing the breathtaking wildflower bloom of its subalpine meadows. But the place lives up to its name not by flowers alone. Because it's accessible by car, Paradise draws a comically diverse mix of people in the parking lot: World-class climbers gear up next to flip-flop-clad Aussies and Sri Lankan immigrants who have driven up to touch snow for the first time in their lives. It's Paradise for everyone, open every day.

This is the mountain that Margaret Anderson was protecting.

The weather has been gray and depressing for weeks around here, so when blue sky and sunshine showed up last Sunday, New Year's Day, a lot of folks piled into the car and headed for Paradise.

One of those people didn't have snow play in mind.

When trouble finds people, sometimes they go to the mountain. As a young man, I often hiked into the backcountry to try to sort out my life. It did me a lot of good.

Others are not so fortunate. An old friend of mine, a former ranger at Mount Rainier, once told me that one of the toughest parts of his job was finding suicides in the Park. "People come up here for a lot of different reasons," he told me. "Sometimes they want it to be the last place they see."

When Anderson responded to a traffic call on New Year's morning, she had no idea what kind of trouble was coming up the road. A blue Pontiac had just blown past the tire-chain checkpoint at Longmire. She set up a roadblock about a mile away from Paradise.

We have no way of knowing Benjamin Colton Barnes' intent. But the evidence suggests. This was a troubled 24 year-old Iraq war veteran, possibly suffering from untreated post-traumatic stress disorder, a gun collector, with a history of suicidal thoughts and erratic tendencies. He'd allegedly shot four people at a party a few hours earlier. In his car was an arsenal of weapons and body armor.

Barnes might have gone to the mountain to think things over. That's a generous reading. Some have speculated that he planned to flee into the woods. But the road from Longmire to Paradise is a 12-mile dead end in winter. And 5,400 feet up Rainier in January is no place for criminal flight.

Once Barnes reached the parking lot at the Jackson Visitors Center, there would be nowhere for him to go. But there would be an estimated 200 innocent visitors and park employees around him.

Maybe he'd have taken his own life quietly. Maybe he'd have forced a suicide-by-cop situation. But in this post-Columbine age, it's hard not to imagine the darkest possibility. Though she couldn't have known it, I believe that Margaret Anderson positioned herself between Benjamin Barnes and a possible mass murder at Paradise.

The story's tragic denouement has been well documented by Craig Welch, Steve Miletich and other Times reporters this past week. At Anderson's roadblock, Barnes stopped the Pontiac, drew a shotgun, and pulled the trigger. Rescuers were unable to reach her for an hour and a half, because Barnes unloaded on anyone who came near. Then he fled on foot into the snowdrifts and mountain streams that would ultimately claim his life.

Spree killers murder more than people. They desecrate a geographic space. They rub dirt on our memories. Last year's mass murders changed Norway's Utoya Island from an idyllic retreat to a place of haunting sorrow. Nearly 50 years after the fact, it's impossible to pass under the University of Texas Tower in Austin and not recall, if just for an instant, Charles Whitman and the day he turned it into a sniper's nest.

That's why I wish I could thank Anderson. By responding to a common traffic stop, and laying down her life, she diverted a killer and allowed Paradise to remain paradise.

On clear days, when the mountain comes out, none of us has to look at Mount Rainier and be reminded of mass murder. We can look and see beauty, adventure and a symbol of our connection to this place. We can look and think of Margaret Anderson. And say a little thanks."

Bruce Barcott is the author of "The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier." He lives on Bainbridge Island.

It Just Keeps Getting Worse

2012-01-05T07:31:00.001-05:00

2012 is 5 days old. And three Peace Officers have been killed in the line of duty so far. What is wrong with us?

	Sergeant Abimael Castro-Berrocales Puerto Rico Police Department, PR EOW: Sunday, January 1, 2012 Cause of Death: Gunfire
	Park Ranger Margaret Anderson United States Department of the Interior - National Park Service, US EOW: Sunday, January 1, 2012 Cause of Death: Gunfire

And now an officer from the Ogden UT force has been gunned down.

In 2011, 164 officers were killed in the line of duty.

Taken from the Officer Down Memorial page at: http://www.odmp.org/search/year/2012#ixzz1iaPASoDH

When DH was working he was an Ohio Certified Peace Officer. That means he had police powers in all state and local law enforcement operations. He could have been called in on a federal case under the mutual agreements that exist between agencies.

He wore a loaded side arm to work every single day, whether he was patrolling from the vehicle, on foot, on horseback, or if he was doing more mundane tasks like mowing or re-building a bridge. He had to certify at the firing range 4 times each year, which he did with flying colors. (Only one other person in Lucas County scored higher at the range and he was also a ranger.)

One of my dearest friends once said to me, "Well, it's not like he was a real cop."

What part of real gun, with real bullets made him "not a real cop?"

January Clean Out Days

2012-01-03T22:08:00.002-05:00

It's something that affects so many of us. When I was a kid, I remember my Mom waiting for the January White Sales. Nobody in our house got new linens or towels except in January. For me, I wait for the plastic tub sales. I've got my 'out-west' stuff in the good tubs, and even left them in the cargo trailer this year, instead of lugging them to the basement. I supposed I should go check for mice....

Every time I pack it, I take pics hoping to find the perfect arrangement. I'm getting closer....

This year, we have to get the paperwork under control. I've been saying that for years, but can't convince you-know-who that he is a full-fledged paper hoarder. We do need to keep lots, since both boys have IEPs, MFEs, SSI, all sorts of crap. And just as soon as I say we need 'that' piece of paper, it's the one I finally just got rid of. I'm beginning to start scanning those papers, but I still can't bring myself to get rid of them. (Which reminds me, time to back up the computer.......) (Also, anybody using one of those ScanDesk things from TV? But wait there's more.....)

I have mostly selfish reasons for wanting to get the paperwork under control. I want our living room back. It's a fabulous room. Big, grand, filled with light. It should look like this:

But since I got home in October, it's looked like this:


No, the tornado was a year earlier... but thanks for asking.

Leave my DH home for just a few days and he can make more heaps of crap than I can ever imagine.
I miss the peace and quiet and tranquility of the living room, so I started looking for another place for the paperwork. Well, duh. How about the "office"? It's actually the "laundry room/office" but with the boys doing their laundry at the laundromat these days, and my sewing stuff downstairs, lemme see what we can do with this:

I moved out a darling little drop leaf table and ta-daa the table from the LR fits exactly!

I've got several problem areas--problems because no one else who lives here is apparently capable of putting anything where it belongs when they are done. You'd think they'd get tired of looking for their stuff, but no. Anywho, I keep trying to find ways to make it easier and easier.

Problems like HANG YOUR COAT UP!! Oh, sorry for yelling... that's apparently the only way anyone here hears me on the subject of coats. When we designed and built the house we added this cute little coat nook.

Hat collection is kinda 1980s.... it will be changing, but I haven't figured out how....

But with 4 adult sized people, it isn't quite big enough. We moved from a house with a closet, yep a closet, so we made sure we had lots here. The biggest one is full of cool, old clothes

Really old, vintage family clothes, re-enacter clothes, ball gown, prom dresses, and a Santa suit. That's the way we roll.

Aren't closet doors just the grandest things? Instant tidiness.

and a few things we need. But now I realize that all that cool, old stuff has to live somewhere else. I priced archival quality boxes and that ain't gunna happen. I'll have to settle for archival quality tissue paper to wrap the clothes before I put them in plastic boxes. Some of it will go to the local museum. Anywho, I'll put DH and my coats in the good closet and assign half of the nook to each boy. Whaddoyathink?

Oh, and if you're casing my house, as BadAmy believes, you're going to be disappointed. We can't even give most of our junque away! More on my progress after I actually make some!

B-O-M Club

2012-01-02T17:13:00.001-05:00

I'm looking for a BOM club that is 1) free, and 2) for intermediate quilter. Where are some places I should look? When I google BOM all the clubs cost... I'd rather pick my own fabric and all.

Thanks ahead of time!

::Edited Later that evening:: 

And so quickly Kelly of IHAN had a couple of links for me!  Viola!  So I'm going to try a free, yes free BOM at Craftsy.  I'm going to try using my wonderful Christmas stash.  I think I'll have to decide if I'm going to use the more traditional fabrics or the more modern ones.  I don't yet have an eye for mixing and matching, so I'll be back to y'all begging for help.    And you BIRDER types can chime in on selection~~so many of you have a great eye for color and design and pattern.

Rainier National Park Ranger Shot and Killed. Mother of 2, 34 Years Old.

2012-01-01T18:05:00.004-05:00

Edited 1/2/2012
From NPS Digest today:

Ranger Margaret Anderson, 34, was shot and killed on the road to Paradise at Mount Rainier National Park on Sunday morning. As of this time (early on Monday), the assailant is still at large and a manhunt is underway.

The incident began when a car failed to stop at a required tire chain checkpoint. A ranger tried to pull the car over, and, when it failed to stop, Anderson established a road block with her vehicle. The assailant jumped from his car and opened fire with a shotgun, fatally wounding her. He then fled on foot into the woods. Rangers and law enforcement officers from various agencies responded. The Pierce County SWAT team arrived on scene and they, too, were fired upon while rendering aid to Anderson.

Law enforcement officers closed the park road, evacuated park visitors from Longmire, and locked down Paradise, with all visitors in the area taking refuge in the Jackson Visitor Center. There were 125 park visitors and 17 park staff in the visitor center as of late on Sunday. The visitor center has a restaurant to provide food, restrooms and water, and law enforcement officers are on hand to provide protection.

The search for the murderer continued into the night, with fixed wing aircraft using forward looking infrared to scan the ground. There are a more than 100 officers from a variety of agencies assisting with the manhunt for the shooter, including National Park Service, Pierce County Sheriff, FBI, Washington State Patrol, US Forest Service, City of Enumclaw, and Lewis County Sheriff.
Mount Rainier National Park will remain closed today.

Anderson served at Mount Rainier for four years. She is survived by her husband, also a park ranger at Mount Rainier, and by two young children.

Director Jarvis issued this statement early today:
“Yesterday morning, Park Ranger Margaret Anderson was shot and killed while making a traffic stop at Mount Rainier National Park. As I write this late Sunday night, the murderer is still at large in the park, which has been closed. We are working closely with the FBI and local law enforcement to protect visitors and staff and to track down Margaret’s killer and bring him to justice.
“This is a heartbreaking, senseless tragedy. Margaret was just 34 years old. She and her husband Eric, who is also a park ranger at Mount Rainier, have two young children. Margaret was killed while doing her job – protecting the visiting public on one of the park’s busiest days of the year.

“Last week, we mourned the death of U.S. Park Police Officer Mike Boehm, who suffered a heart attack while responding to a serious incident in Washington, DC. Mike left behind a wife and a son.
“Our hearts go out to both families, and I ask you to keep them in your thoughts and prayers in the hard days ahead.

“As updates from Rainier are available we will share them with all employees through InsideNPS. These losses are painful reminders of the risks faced by National Park Service employees every day. Please be careful out there and watch out for each other.”

Contact Information Name: Lee Taylor, Chief of Interpretation and Education

Edited info from 1/2/2012: from the Seattle Times
Updated at 6:22 p.m. MT

From Staff Reporters Craig Welch, Steve Miletich and Carol Pucci
Seattle Times staff reporters
A 34-year-old park ranger was fatally shot Sunday morning in Mount Rainier National Park after a routine traffic stop led to a chase up the road near Paradise. The gunman remained at large, triggering a massive manhunt.

The killing appears to be related to an early morning shooting in Skyway in which a man and woman were critically injured and two other men wounded during a house party, said Cindi West, spokeswoman for the King County Sheriff’s Department.

Park Ranger Margaret Anderson, a mother of two who was married to another park ranger, was shot about 10:30 a.m. after setting up a roadblock to stop the fleeing suspect.

“Margaret is just a wonderful, wonderful young lady,” her mother-in-law, Cynthia Anderson, of Hanson, Mass., said in a telephone interview Sunday.

The gunman escaped on foot and was carrying a long rifle. Authorities said it took 90 minutes for backup to reach Anderson because the assailant continued shooting at law enforcement as they arrived. KOMO-TV reported that a man named Benjamin Colton Barnes, 24, was being sought as a person of interest in the shooting. KOMO displayed what appeared to be a law-enforcement mug shot of a young white man. The station did not say how police had identified Barnes or why he was thought to have information about the shooting.

About 86 park visitors and 20 or so employees were still locked down at the Jackson Visitors Center at Paradise as of about 4:45 p.m., but visitors below at Longmire had been allowed to leave.
“It’s really not safe right now,” said park spokeswoman Lee Taylor. “We’ve got a guy on the loose with a gun and he’s obviously willing to use it.”

The incident started about 10:15 a.m., Taylor said, when park rangers attempted to pull over a vehicle on the road just above Longmire. The car kept going.

When officers radioed that the suspect failed to stop, Anderson, in another vehicle, set up a roadblock by pulling her car across the road a mile or so south of Paradise at a pull out known as Barns Flat.
“He just jumped out and shot her,” Taylor said.

A maintenance worker and his colleague had been driving up the road toward Paradise when they heard on the park’s radio system that rangers were chasing what appeared to be a blue Pontiac the same direction. They pulled over and let the car and law-enforcement officer pass them, the worker said.
“As soon as they went by, we pulled out and started to follow,” said Steve Young, who was in the passenger seat. “At that point we heard they had an officer who was coming down who was going to try and stop the vehicle from above.”

Young said the ranger’s vehicle was around a corner about 100 yards ahead of them, when he heard at least five shots. Suddenly, the ranger’s vehicle he’d been following started backing down.
“His windows were shot out and he started backing down the road,” Young said by phone from Longmire.

Lisa Pyle, from Auburn, said she and her husband Derek Pyle were on their way up because their daughter had been camping at Paradise, but a ranger turned them away. They saw a ranger’s car near the visitors center with three bullet holes through the windshield. Their daughter and other guests were locked down inside the park.

“We have a ton of police here,” said a volunteer Park Service guide in Longmire. “They’re everywhere. A lot of people are camping in the backcountry. What happened here happened pretty quickly.”
Ed Troyer, a Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman, told The Associated Press that his department received a report around 11:30 a.m. of shots fired. When authorities arrived, he said, they also encountered gunfire, but no one else was hit.

The Park Service was asking people to stay away from the park because officers are actively looking for the suspect. The Washington State Patrol and Pierce County Sheriff’s Office are involved in the investigation.

In Skyway, King County sheriff’s deputies received a 911 call reporting the shooting around 3 a.m., according to West. Deputies arrived at the home and found that three men and a woman had been shot. All four were taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Witnesses told the deputies that a man had been at a party at the home earlier in the evening and was asked to leave after an argument. The man returned, and began firing a gun at people in the home.
At least one person at the party appeared to have returned fire, West said.

Children were in the home at the time but none were injured, West said. West said all of the victims were in the 20s, and the victims knew the shooter.

Mount Rainier has never had an officer shot and killed in the line of duty, said Lee Snook, a public information officer with the Park Service.

Anderson and her husband, Eric Anderson, both worked at Rainier for about four years. Their two children were described by federal authorities as ages 4 and 1.

Margaret Anderson’s mother-in-law, said the oldest, Anna, was born on Feb. 14, 2008, making her 3. The youngest, Katie, will turn 2 in May.

Eric Anderson has been left “devastated” by his wife’s slaying, said Cynthia Anderson in the telephone interview.The couple, who lived in Eatonville, met when both worked as park rangers at Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, Anderson said, her voice choking with emotion.

They then moved to Harpers Ferry, W. Va., where they worked nearby in different parks, Anderson said. The couple became engaged in December 2004, according to a wedding announcement in The Westfield Leader and The Scotch Plains – Fanwood Times of New Jersey. About four years ago, they got the opportunity to work in the same park at Mount Rainier, Anderson said.

“That is why they decided to go out there,” Anderson said. “It’s beautiful out there.” Their dream was to work together and raise a family, Anderson said,

“They’re both very outdoorsy,” Anderson said. “Andvery religious, too,” Anderson said, explaining that both are Lutherans and that Margaret Anderson is the daughter of a Lutheran minister. A woman who answered the phone at the home of Margaret Anderson’s parents, the Rev. Paul and Dorothy Kritsch of Scotch Plains, N.J., said Sunday the family was too distraught to talk.

Anderson said the her son and daughter-in-law were “thrilled” about their life. “They have a home, two beautiful girls,” Anderson said.

The couple’s next-door neighbor, Adam Norton, said the Anderson family had only lived in Eatonville for about a year, but said he regularly saw Margaret walking with her little girls. “You could tell they really adore those kids,” Norton said. “Margaret was always outside with the girls pushing the youngest around in the stroller while the other girl was on her bike.”

Rangers have one of the most widely varying jobs at Mount Rainier. As the park’s front line law-enforcement officers, they drive lonely rural roads by themselves and do everything from issue speeding tickets to respond to car accidents to arrest lawbreakers. But they also hike trails, respond to fires and are some of the first called out to search for lost or injured visitors. During winter, rangers may even help set up signs and prepare recreation spots for snowshoers.

The park has about 15 law-enforcement officers at this time of year, said Snook.

Say your prayers and hug your loved ones tonight.

Our hearts go out to Ranger Margaret's family... husband and children.

Happy Cyber New Year!

2012-01-01T15:18:00.001-05:00

When Gaelyn said, "I'm having a cyber masquerade ball for the new year, I signed up. But as usual, life gets in the way of a great party! But wait! Tomorrow's a state holiday, so we'll party tonight!

I already had dibs on the National Building Museum in Washington DC. For a girl who lives in the Big Woods, I must say I love cities--in small doses. So here we go:

The Venue: The National Building Museum in DC. (I've actually been there, for the 50th Anniversary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation Gala and workshops. Wow. Really, really wow.)

Stealing a photo makes it blurry. But that might be champagne induced...

The official Presidential Inaugural Balls are held here. So I should throw a party, too.

The Dress:

I've searched long and hard for the dress I want.... saw it years ago in a catalog~~gorgeous red polar fleece with white trim, worn of course with Sorrel boots. Okay, I've got the boots.....

Add a little bling to this one....

Make a grown up version of this.....

or a nice vintage dress from etsy.... I'm an old fashioned kind of girl

The Guest List: First and foremost and most importantly... All of YOU!!! We'll invite some lesser folks, too...


My Queen peep... in red of course. Probably called 'claret' in her case.

Eye Candy. Still.


Still the best eye candy around. Whew. And you all know what every good Scotsman wears under his kilt? Shoes.

A funny guy from the Midwest....

Favoritest author... and NPS peep, Nevada Barr.


Okay, President Lincoln probably can't make it, but my Boss could.

President Roosevelt and Mr. Muir. Wouldn't that be just bully?

Sir Paul teamed up with.....

Tom Paxton, the greatest singer/songwriter evah.

And the Divine Miss M!!!!!!! Let the games begin!!!! Woot!

The Dinner: Hey, deal with it, it's my fantasy!

Ginger Bread Martinis. You haven't tried one? Silly you.

Start with French Onion Soup... or even Italian Onion Soup.

Filet Mignon .... be still my cholesterol choked heart.

The taste of summer.... corn on the cob from Ryan's Farm in Whitehouse Ohio. None better.

Dutch Apple Pie... my recipe of course.

Wilcoxson's Montana made Moose Tracks. Many have tried to make this, but it ain't the same.

Madison Salmon Fly Rye. Good beer.

Whew. I'm whipped. But it was a fun party. Or at least that's what they tell me..... maybe a few too many Gingerbread martinis......

Thanks for the invite, Ranger G!

Winter Break

2011-12-29T20:17:00.001-05:00

I couldn't bear the thought of spending 10 days home with the boys, and having them spend all day telling me they wanted to be somewhere~~anywhere~~else. That comes under the heading "the grass is always greener....." So I surprised them with a mini-vacation to.... wait for it..... Columbus Ohio.

Yeah, that's basically pretty pathetic, but it was very do-able so we did.

Columbus is the capital of Ohio, and the kids have done drive-bys of about a dozen other state capitals, but not ours. My bad. They did attend the 200th celebration of Ohio's statehood by attending events in the first capital, Chillicothe. That was a fun year, 2003. Except for going to our lake in Jackson, Michigan, all of our travels that year were in Ohio. But we still managed to miss Columbus. Frankly, it ain't that great of a town. For a hundred years the only things that were there were state government related stuff and The Ohio State University. Big whoop. (Sorry to all you OSU types.)

The Columbus Zoo, of Jack Hanna fame, is there. I've heard lots about it, but had never been there. I gotta tell ya, I'm not that impressed. Like so many zoos now, you can walk from stem to stern and never see an animal. Weird. There was also a lot of 'built environment' compared to the number of animals, which of course includes the ubiquitous snack shacks of every imaginable kind. (They even have beer!) Zoo pics are pretty hard to get right, but I managed a few.

Huge fake moose.


Real moose-let.


Those are some bigass feets. I like the reflection of DH's hat, too.


Which is scarier?

Hat hair.


Best pic of the day. Zoo pics are hard to take.

DD, the younger.

FTD, the elder.

So now we've been there. We started our trip with the guided tour of the Capital building. The boys put up with it. Every time the guide said, "Does any one have any questions?", FTD went into Rainman mode and told her some totally unrelated Ohio factoid he has stored in his weirdly wired data bank. That's my boy all right.

Best part of the trip was dinner with our 'old' neighbors. They were our closest neighbors for 18 years, and since The Dad got a super-duper promotion (can you say General?), it meant a move to Columbus. We've known it's been in the works, but this summer they all moved down there. I told The Mom that I was kinda glad I wasn't here for the actual moving day, because I would have been bawling my eyes out. In addition to being great neighbors (mind you now, their house was a half mile from us), their son was in Scouts with FTD and a good friend, and their younger daughter is one of my honorary grand-daughters. What a sweetie. I made her this little quilt last spring.

Since I fussy cut the material, I have quite a bit left so I made her a relax pack with it, along with one for her Mom and Big Sis. I do so miss them.

I've got lots more completely useless info to write about, but I'll call it quits for now. It's time to get ready for tomorrow's Audubon Christmas Bird Count after all! And then it'll be time for Gaelyn's cyber New Year's Masquerade Ball. Did I mention that I have dibs on the Building History Museum in DC?

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T19:51:00.001-05:00

On this, the holiest night of the year, I hope you find love and joy. From our home to yours,

My Daddy, Brother, me, Lil Sis. 1962.

DH, FTD, me, DD, 2005.

Merry Christmas.

Elfing Time Again!

2011-12-21T21:55:00.000-05:00

Oh, goodie goodie! One of my nieces came over today to elf for a while. We made 5 pairs of jammie bottoms in various matching combos and another surprise, which I can't blab about now, on the bizarre chance that a recipient will read this (not likely but ya never know.)

It was sorta like we got to do our Friday Night Sew In on Wednesday! Today was her last day at work until after New Years, so it felt like Friday anywho.

I'm going to suck it up and go to a mall tomorrow with BadAmy. I used to go at least once around the holidays to do some people watching, but since I people watch all summer, it's not as much fun as it used to be. There's a slim chance that we'll drive up to Ann Arbor, in which case we'll hit the Genius Bar at the Apple Store and hope someone can find where the hell my Powerpoint stuff went. I know where I had it last...... and that was about 3 hours before an Evening Program. So that day I had to find a back up copy (Thank you baby Jesus for the new portable back up hard drive), transfer it to the office PC laptop, reformat it, and look like I wasn't stressed out. Yeah, I rocked it. But still, I need it to magically reappear. So cross your fingers for an A2 trip tomorrow!

Can you spill the beans about your elfing adventures?

I Now Pronounce You . . .

2011-12-19T17:19:00.001-05:00

. . . legally licensed to perform weddings in the State of Ohio. Yep, I sure am.

Deciding to do this was a long, thoughtful process, And I'm content with my decision. As a life long Presbyterian who was ordained as an Elder at the tender age of 17, it's been an odd journey from every Sunday in the pews to my current spiritual state. I'm extremely thankful that I attended churches where it was not necessary to leave our brains at the door. I see so many alleged Christians today who even violently believe that their way is the only way that it scares the daylights out of me. To see an alleged Christian governor pay for a political ad where he blasts so many good people is reprehensible.

I also know now that the pews aren't for everyone. For my children, for example. Autism and church didn't go well together, and was exacerbated by the fact that my kids didn't go to school with the kids at church. (In actuality very few of the kids at our church went to school together. We were sort of a regional church.) I made the tough decision to stay at home on Sunday mornings, knowing that my kids wouldn't be under any extra stress. I still don't often go anywhere on Sunday mornings, and I truly miss hand bell choir, but there it is. Lots of church friends said well, I should come anyway, but if my children weren't welcome, was I? I felt not.

Anywho, when our daughter married, she and her husband chose a friend to officiate. Dig this, he owns a really cool bar in town. When we first heard about their plans, DH and I just stood there looking stupid. But the alternative would have been a judge, with no family or friends in attendance. The ritual of standing before friends and family to say you'll be good to one another is powerful. And it was indeed a beautiful ceremony and many years later, they are still the happy couple.

I've been thinking a lot since their wedding day, about what constitutes a wedding and a marriage. And I feel strongly that I can help folks start their lives together, with dignity and ritual. I've followed all the legal steps needed and now can perform services. Awesome.

So if you're in NW Ohio, and are looking for a happy, cheery officiant for your wedding, give me a call. I've set up blog, to wrap my thoughts around the whole deal. Check out Kirk o' the Pines.

I'm also working on finding out how I can perform weddings in Wyoming. At first blush, it seems that the officiant need only be ordained, not licensed by the state. I'll keep looking.

Gaelyn's Cyber Masquerade Ball

2011-12-19T16:23:00.000-05:00

So Ranger Gaelyn is having a New Year's Masquerade Ball! It's going to be a cyber-ball, so you needn't even stay up on New Year's Eve! Go visit Gaelyn to check up on the details.... then dream up your fancy schmancy ball! I've got my location picked out all ready~~dibs on the Washington DC Building Museum. Awesome! Details later!

9000 and Counting

2011-12-18T11:32:00.000-05:00

I feel so humbled--I hit 9000 page views on this here blog. For a long time, it was just me reading my own diary, but somewhere along the line, you all joined me on the journey. I thank you for that. I also look forward to seeing what's happening in your neck of the woods. Since my interests vary widely, the blogs I read do, too.

I'll try to come up with something more profound later this week, but for now

Thanks.

Why I Don't Chase Birds*

2011-12-14T21:57:00.000-05:00

* Yeah, please note that there may be exceptions to the following story. For example, if a California Condor showed up and was able to be reliably seen in an hour or so drive, yeah, I'd chase it. Or maybe a Harpy Eagle, or a flamingo in Ohio . . . but otherwise:

Chasing birds is a waste of time, talent, and treasure.

There. I said it out loud. My objections to chasing can also be applied to Nascar fans, sports nuts, rail-fanners, wolf watchers, and anyone else who is obsessed with something. And yeah, I am equating bird chasers to Nascar fans.

Yep. That's a Mountain Bluebird, right here in Ohio. Third state record.


Did I mention..Ohio Yard Bird? No chasing needed.

This topic comes up all the time in birding circles. And I'm in the no-chase camp. Some folks call this listing, but I'm going with chasing. I do keep a life list. Right there in my very first 'grown up' bird book, Roger Tory Peterson's Field Guide to the Birds of North America.

I pencil check birds I've seen that I'd never be able to re-identify without a lot of help, and I mark with ink those birds that I really know. I usually don't date the find, although my Lil' Sis writes the dates on the bird's page in her Peterson's. Wish I'da thought of that years ago. I don't keep a yearly list or monthly or weekly. Or a state list, although living in two very different states would make for interesting lists. So if I check off Great Grey Owl, I can be pretty sure it wasn't in Ohio. But whodathunk I'd ever see a Mountain Bluebird here in the Oaks?? We sorta keep a yard bird list. I'm pretty sure I could name most of the stuff we see/hear here. I have lots and lots of other field guides, but my list in in my Peterson's.

So let's address my three objections to chasing: Time, Talent, Treasures.

Time. I don't have 3 hours to spend driving to see a bird that may or may not be see-able when I get to the location, and then drive 3 hours back. I have a real life. Laundry to be done, meals to prepare, yard to tend, family care, you know, mundane stuff like that. Now if I were driving 3 hours to see an entirely new ecosystem (especially one with geysers) or museum or city and can multi-task along the way, it bears some merit. I do plan trips like that. We, in fact, are trying to plan a trip to our state Capitol, since the boys have never been there. (Been to capitols of a dozen or so other states, but not our own. Sheesh.) Along the way, we'll find something of interest to all of us--trains for DD, caves or something like that for FTD, quilt shops for me (I wish), and friends to visit. It will be a Big Deal, not a lark to see one single thing, hoping for a glimpse and then turning around to come home.

Chasers who don't have family responsibilities or jobs or whatever would better serve the planet by spending those three hours teaching a child to read, taking an elderly friend out for a walk in the park, working at the local animal shelter or re-hab center, or feeding the homeless. With all my heart, I believe chasing is a waste of precious time. All that, to make a checkmark in a book? I think not.

Um, that would be Talent, OR.

Talent. This lines up with my concerns about wasting time. Again, chasers would better serve the planet by teaching children about the wonders of our local environment in those 3 hours, by using their own love of birds (and hopefully) nature to share their knowledge. And it doesn't count to say, "But I do all those things, too." It's like playing the carbon offset game. See below.

Treasure. This is the biggie. Talk about a waste of fossil fuel. And even if gas were cheap, you're still wasting it. I could see maybe loading the car full of chasers, but then you're back to wasting all that time and talent in multiple numbers. And even if you "offset" your carbon foot print, we ain't gunna get that fuel back. The whole offset issue has issues of it's own. It's like paying at church to light a candle for someone. And that is a waste of treasure, too. (Light a candle at home for free and say your prayers.) (Better yet, walk to your local park and say your prayers--candle optional.) I won't go to the grocery store (nearest from Ohio home is 4 miles, nearest from Wyoming home is 14 miles) unless there's a whole slew of stuff on the list. I just can't see using the fuel for extra trips. If I have say, a doctor's appointment coming up, I'll plan shopping/visiting/etc. around that. Yeah, sure, a good chunk of the reason I do it this way is that I'm cheap. But now that we're also on a fixed income it's even more important. But even if I had all the money in the world, it still wastes fuel. It's fuel we won't get back in my life time or my kid's or ......

I write this knowing how many bird chaser friends I have. But you could replace the words bird chaser with Nascar fan and my same objections hold. (Yeah, DH did take DD to see time trials at MIS once. And yeah, Nascar is a super-duper waste of fuel, and time, talents, and treasures. Big Time.)

And yep, I'm a hypocrite. I have chased animals. I turned around and drove back a hundred yards to get a good look at the Great Grey Owl this fall. And yep, I've driven miles to try to see wolves and bears. And I drove 3 miles to see the Ohio Mountain Bluebird, and three miles to see a Pine Grosbeak. And of course the 3 miles back home. But would I drive all day just to see one bird? No, not really.

I'm not nearly as adamant as many of my more 'science research' based birder friends. I know one woman that comes totally unglued every time you mention chasers and listers--and I mean really unglued. I'm more of a roll the eyes sort of objector. To each his own and all that.

And after all this ranting, I might just go chase a snowy owl in Wood County tomorrow. My Mom and Dad are buried in a cemetery near where a snowy has been seen. I like to go down and leave some greenery every year, and I don't have anything else on the schedule for tomorrow. 'Course I'd rather go down on a nice snowy day, but maybe it will turn out to be a nice snowy owl day instead.

And Probably the Last

2011-12-03T22:46:00.000-05:00

Hmmm, two posts in one day. What's up with that?

Oh, yeah, the sale is over, and I spent more on the other vendors items than I made. The upside is that my gifts for my SILs and nieces is done for Christmas..... I did get to share space with a young lady from town that proved to be very interesting. I'll also get a pic of the cool 'yard art' I purchased. I'll give you a hint~~I pretty much decorate the whole house with sticks and twigs....

So it's pretty safe to say, my vendor days are over..... whew. Try everything once.... Thanks for the encouraging words and good vibes, but it's not really my thing, and now I know.

A First

2011-12-03T11:19:00.000-05:00

Today's the day I'm going to see if anyone wants to buy anything.... a very, very weird place for me to be. BadAmy has been encouraging me to sell some of my little goodies, and I've been thinking I'd tag along on one of her sales. She sets a terrific table, if you know what I mean. When she puts things out for sale, they look so cute and cool, and the lighting and staging are perfect~~the whole package. I have plenty of strengths but showcasing my stuff ain't one of them. First and foremost, I have super concerns about if my stuff is worthy. On the last post, I showed most of the goodies I'm going to try to sell. I'm also adding live, fresh cut holly and ivy. Get it?

The event today is the first attempt by the Village of Whitehouse's Arts Advisory Board to do a show and sale. I think when they came up with the concept, they thought they'd get a couple dozen proven vendors, like BadAmy. They also want it to be more of a fine arts show and sale.... not the more crafty crap I can handle. But several weeks ago, they didn't have many vendors, so I figure I can at least take up some table space. I also hoped BadAmy would have stuff--as in her fine fiber arts--but alas, she had a Cyber Monday sale and sold every cotton pickin' thing she had to sell. Sheesh. And there was no time to do more, since she has another club batch to do--that's nearly 100 skeins of hand-dyed yarn to prepare in less than 2 weeks. Yeah. (P.S. Did I mention that BadAmy's stuff sold out in 7 minutes after she posted it? The discussion thread on Raverly ran over 900 comments and growing......)

So I'm going to lug my junk over to Village Hall and see what happens. I'm praying they put me in a back corner somewhere..... arg...... I'm the first to admit that I'm the Queen of Hubris, especially when it comes to my programming abilities. But I'm also the first to admit that this isn't really my thing, and I'm nearly sick to death over it. Yikes.

The upside is that DH will don his Santa suit--the one I made for my Dad, and will charm the kiddies. Or scare them silly! Since we've all been involved in one way or another for this deal, I'm calling us
Big Woods Designs~~Inspired by Nature, Created by hand.

Hmm, What To Do Today?

2011-11-25T10:36:00.000-05:00

It's Black Friday. I'm not much of a shopper, but I make jokes about going to the mall to get away from it all~~all being 4000 acres of nature preserve. We get maybe a hundred cars on our road each day, and if it weren't for the airport that's only 4 miles from here, it would be really, really quiet and wonderful all the time. Sometimes, I do have to get away from it all.

Today might be the day.

There's a locally owned department type store near here~~The Anderson's . Several members of the family are good friends of ours, and every single one of them are super-duper folks. Naturalists, artists, gear heads, all sorts of great and talented people. And people of faith, too. They run their businesses they way they run their families, with love, guidance, compassion, and with a terrific work ethic. So I shop there with no guilt about supporting a huge multi-national conglomerate.

I do think I'll get away from it all for a while. Good thing they don't have a quilt shop....... but you should see their everything-else!

Tomorrow is Small Business Saturday~~a really great idea..... with a kicker. The kicker is that American Express, one of those huge Wall Street multinational conglomerates is sort of behind it. So if you're going out tomorrow to support your local small business, take cash. Way better for the small business!

A Week of Threadbanger Heaven!

2011-11-22T16:18:00.003-05:00

DD found my upload cord, right where it should have been, and right where we looked for days and days. So here's a whole mess of stuff from the past week. I also cut the first of the shrunk-felted sweaters. It's tough on my rotary cutters--time to see if BadAmy can order me some from her wholesale distributor.

Upload cord~~found.

What you get after a week of fun in the crafty corner. Even the scraps are cute~

Top: Quilt my Grandmother made for me (1960ish) and bottom is one I'll be giving to a Great-niece for Christmas.

The one I'll give to the Great-niece.

Some of these quilts will go to a charity and some will go to the arts show I'm doing with BadAmy.

Fun to do girly stuff for a change.

This one has a real binding. Bad idea. I self-bound the others, sooooooo much better!

Backs of a couple.

And the fronts. The McColls pattern fabric is from JoAnnes.

4Patches4Hope blocks. Gotta get them in the mail soon.

Pine cone bags for FTD's sale.

The unglamorous part of the relaxer packs. I used rice for the base. Some will have lavender, chamomile, peppermint in various combinations. Some will be plain. If you are a female member of my family, pretend you don't see these.

Outsides of relaxer packs. Some are in Manly Man colors. I'm working on all sorts of ties.

Pre-printed placemats for the sale. 6 of 'em.

Pre-printed mug rugs. They're supposed to be used as gift tags, but I went with mug rugs.

And some dolly fleece blankets for sale and charity.

Friday Night Sew In!

2011-11-17T22:38:00.000-05:00

Heidi, of Handmade by fame is again hosting the Friday Night Sew In, and she picked my birthday to have it. Well, okay it's always the 3rd Friday of the month. I've been able to join in the fun several times, and tomorrow . . . I'll be busy but I've been sewing several evenings this week, so I'm counting myself in. My birthday present to me.

So. I've signed up for my first 'craft' sale. Our little village is having an Arts Show and I'm going to take a few things over and BadAmy is providing some of her good stuff. Her stock is a little on the low side this year, since she's been so busy with her sock clubs. I'm working on some mellow relaxer packs, and have the inner packs done and now am working on the outer bags. The pattern I found needs some tweaking, so a-tweaking I will go. I want to give them a quilted feel, hence the tweaking.

I did get lots of little dolly quilts and fleece blankies made this week. My virtual friend, the Impera Magna, found a quilter who was working with some wood workers who are working on dolly cradles, which need little quilts. My little quilts will go to Church for the ChristChild boxes we make for kids. And since my camera upload cord is still hiding somewhere I can't post the pics. Sheesh. When I find the dang thing I'll do a post of just pics. One of the little quilts turned out really nicely--just the look I was looking for, because of its similarity to a doll quilt my Grandmother made for me, 6 nine patches set in sashing and self-bound. I'll be giving this to one of my little great-nieces for Christmas this year.

I also dug all of my Christmas stash out and drooled all over it again. I found a pattern I like for a couch size quilt, but naturally I was 4 fabrics short. No problem, I had a huge fist full of coupons, so off I went to HoAnne's. Didn't pay more than 60% on the full price of anything. Dang, I'm good. In my stash, I also found some pre-printed stocking and tags fabric that I got for free last year on quilt shop hop. I've got the tags nearly done as mug rugs and the stockings cut out. The reason it was free was that candle wax dripped all over into a basket of fabric during the shop hop--too many crazed women crammed into a small space, ya know. Somebody knocked it in the basket. Rather than try to salvage it themselves, the owners just put it out and said if you want it, take it. I spent a long time going thru the basket and picked up some winning fabric. Sweet.

So for the daytime/night time sew in, I'll be finishing some snowman pre-printed placemats I found last winter, and the stockings, and the relaxer dealies. That will keep me busy. Then next week, I need to finish up the Green Hats pink pajama bottoms, so they'll be ready for our party.

But the big news is that I've decided to have FTD's log cabin quilt bound by someone else. I think I can get the binding machine sewed on, but I want it hand bound. No can do, so I'll see if the LAQ in Whitehouse can do it for me. It deserves to be done properly.

Whew. Lots to do. And that doesn't include DD's train club activities. More on that later.

1930 Grandmother's Garden Hexie Quilt Top for Sale

2011-11-16T23:47:00.001-05:00

Just a quick post. BadAmy found this quilt top for sale over on Ravelry. If you aren't a member, just sign up, it's a cool and free site for our sista fiber-nistas. If you can't see the top, it's about 90 x 90, in greens, pinks, and whites Grandmother's Garden Hexie quilt. currently going for about $175 or so. Just thought you'd like to know.

Lights, Threadbanger, Action!

2011-11-09T22:45:00.003-05:00

Pics will follow someday----after I find the camera upload cord which has gone walkabout. Sheesh.

Yea! DH got the lights up in the Crafty Corner, helped me up the 'ceiling' back up, sorta put his tools away, and I re-organized the sewing crafty crap and Viola! I actually got to sew tonight.

I think I might also be in hyper-drive. Which I will regret tomorrow.

I took a good look at my Crafty Corner, trying to figure out what wasn't quite right about it. My sewing area is fine, even though it took me a while to remember where all the stuff goes--between moving it all to put the lights up, and putting stuff away that I took out west, I really had to put my puny grey cells to work. Arg.

And then it dawned on me. My Crafty Table, a great find at the Habitat Re-Store was way over there, not over here. So I conned DD (who was home sick today, after being off for conferences for 5, count 'em, 5 days) into helping me move the old oak Sunday School table that-a-way, and then the chairs and love seat from hell with it, followed by moving the Crafty Table closer to the sewing area. Wow. Makes a whole heck of a lot more sense.

One of the local libraries is having 2 fund-raisers this weekend, which involves folks from the community each decorating a dinner table for 8. I'm calling mine "My Yellowstone Cabin." Very funny since we don't have a cabin, and never in a million years would I be able to set the table nicely. Anywho. I had already made napkins out of red ticking, but only had 6.... I need 8. So back to the store I go for fabric, and now I have 8 in one size and 6 in the other. Cute. (My Mom hated ticking. Only the poor people had to use ticking.) I just made squares, then fringed the edges. So lazy am I that I even used the selvages for one side.

Then I made 6 more bags for DD's trains. I found (dirt cheap) really cool pre-quilted train fabric. I used black store bought bias tape around the top edges and then just folded them over for the bags. Way too easy. And really helpful when we're moving trains from place to place.

Hmmm, then I made patches for a project I heard about from the Impera Magna Herself. It's called 4Patches4Hope. Easy breezy 4 patches. I got a fat quarters of red, white, and blue, and presto-bingo 49 patches done. Okay, that took a couple of hours, but still, pretty darn quick.

Next week's project~~another cool thing that the Impera Magna found--quilty doll quilts for charity. So cute! I won't get back to the threadbanger until next week likely, but I can start plotting the doll quilts now. Then I'll be settled into my groove, and will get serious and finish up some other special projects--especially B&L's quilt.

And since we're having nutty wacky warm weather, I worked on putting lights outside so I can see the boys standing outside at 6:dark:30 waiting for the bus. I use Christmas lights and checked them before sticking them up. They hate me. A section in the middle is now out. Crap.

I'm whipped, but in a good way. Yea!

Ranger in Her Own Land

2011-11-06T21:23:00.001-05:00

I've said it before and I'll say it again.

When I'm home in Ohio, I get no respect.

For some reason, when I'm here, I'm not a ranger/naturalist. When DH was working we went through this all the time.

I have a baccalaureate degree from a really tough liberal arts college, Alma College in Alma, Michigan. Yeah, doesn't sound too tough, but you try to get through 4 years.... I have a group major in Natural Science, which means I had to take 2 more courses than a regular major. I have a major in Elementary Education. I have a minor in Sociology and a minor in Secondary Education. I took classes in the summer, and an extra spring intensive term to get all of that in during my four years. I did independent studies in Field Ecology from my mentor, Dr. Ron Kapp (one of the scientists who figured out where and why Kirtland's Warblers nest where they do.)

Stunning, er Dunning Memorial Chapel, Alma College

DH has a BA from the University of Toledo, which took him 4.5 years, since they suggested one semester that he should take a "break" and decide if he was really college material or not. When he was 30, he went to Michigan Technological University (another really tough school) to get his BS in Forestry, which he was able to do in 2 years since he transferred 2 years of UT credits up there.

And yet, when someone calls the house to ask a science question, they ask for him. HEY! I wants to yell into the phone, ask ME!! I'm every bit as smart or likely smarter than he is. Sheesh.

When we were working on establishing the Wabash Cannonball Trail here in Ohio, I had a hard time getting folks to take lil' ol' me seriously. I really was surprised by how many men couldn't accept that women could carry on intelligent conversations about things like rail road rights-of-ways. Seriously, boys, I'm not just another pretty face. (Maybe if I was that would help.....)

I couldn't work at the same park district where DH worked, due to a nepotism rule. Drat. And there's no other parkie game in the area, so I went back to teaching elementary school, a very fine job. I kept up my personal studies in Nat Sci all the while. When we adopted the boys, I chose to stay home with them, another very fine job. Again, I was keeping up with what was happening on the Nat Sci front, and digging deeply into local history research.

By the time I was in my early 50s I was really sick of being "just" the housefrau or "just" The Ranger's Wife, so I decided to get my masters degree. I ended up earning two masters in two years from Bowling Green State University. Raise your hand if you've done that. I thought not.

For many years, we had talked about volunteering with the National Park Service when we retired. A dear friend of ours who has been with NPS in Big Positions for 25 years said, "Why volunteer? You should work for pay. " Wow, what a concept and the fire was lit.

I've now completed 6 summer seasons with the National Park Service. I've learned so much with so much more to go. DH loves that I'm the ranger now, and he's the volunteer. He's been so supportive. Waaaay supportive. Who else would go through the crap we do to get to a new place, live in a crappy, tiny apartment, work for a few months, then turn around and come back, when he could just stay home and play golf?

But for some reason, when I'm here . . . DH is the ranger again . . . and I'm . . . well, sort of thought of as a camp counselor or something. It's as if being a seasonal for NPS is just a whim or a fluke or something. And yes, there's no way my summer experiences will ever match up to his 30 years of service. But seriously, if you need a question answered, I'm available. I can prepare programs on just about any topic on natural science or local history. I'm no dummy. World's Laziest Birder perhaps, but no dummy. But, the skeptics ask me, if I'm such a good naturalist, why did I have to go 1700 miles to find a job? (1. See nepotism. 2. See Yellowstone National Park. Duh.)

The corollary to this rant, er discussion, is a pretty deep and abiding um, dissing of NPS staff by naturalists who are not NPS staff. Yeah, lots of us are know-it-all blow-hards who only got our jobs because we're the Congressman's nephew. Okay, none of us are Congressmen's nephews, while there are a few of us who are K-I-A B-Hs. Every organization has those. Quite honestly, and with great humility, I have to say there's a streak of jealousy out there among my cohorts in other paid park positions. And often it's downright resentment. I've heard this time and time again from folks who are members of the National Association of Interpreters, from folks in other park districts, and from lots and lots of folks in academia who think we're all a bunch of block heads. Somehow or other, they're all smarter than we are. Many of them are. But dammit, we're the ones who got the NPS jobs, so get over it. Deal with it. Yeah, we really are the Big Boys. So get off the porch and come play with us!

World Bird Wednesday!

2011-11-02T12:00:00.001-04:00

And I finally have a new pic to post on World Bird Wednesday, and I'm now Piliated Obsessed again. The last time the birds were in the yard there was no way to get the camera. We did this time, and it was pouring down rain.

They were back yesterday, and I did get what I hope will be a good sound recording of two birds calling back and forth--I haven't had time to upload stuff from yesterday yet. Sheesh. And it was sunny and pleasant yesterday, so of course I couldn't get close enough to the birds to get any photos.

Anywho, if you aren't familiar with World Bird Wednesday over at Springman's blog, click here or just find it the old fashioned way... Cut'n'paste. Back to the woods for me!

By the by, I attended Alma College which is on the Pine River of Pine River Review fame. One summer I also worked for the Youth Conservation Corps as a Team Leader, and worked on the Tittabawassee River mostly at Imerman Park. A fantastic summer, where I learned so much about where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do when I grew up.....

http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

More Yard Birds of the Piliated Kind

2011-10-31T22:00:00.002-04:00

When I got up (the second time) this morning (it's way pitch black when I get the kids up) I looked out my bedroom window to see a bright, blue wonderful Blue Jay sitting right outside. He was enjoying, or at least tolerating, the company of a Red Bellied Woodpecker. For the past 2 days, I've had birds on my mind. I filled several of the feeders, only to have the damn raacccoons empty several of them on the very first night, and have been continually amazed at how fast the critters, welcomed and not welcomed, find the feeders. This winter I'm going to make a concerted effort to feed my bird friends from my hands. They'll land on hats-on-heads that are covered with seeds, but bare hand feeding will be new for us.

Anywho, I figured it was a loverly way to start my day. Blue jays are one of those birds that lots of folks around here consider as dirt birds. They're big, they're noisy, and they hog lots of space at the feeders. But they're so cool looking! And what's not to love about Red bellied Woodpeckers? Even though their bellies aren't all that red.

It rained a good part of the night, and this morning it was just one of those dreary, sloppy rains. (Did I mention the thunder-snow-lighting thing that happened on Saturday? Very weird.) Just plain yucky this morning.

I was in the kitchen standing on my tippie toes watching the titmice and chickadees that found the front feeders. They zoom in from the trees across the yard and pull up just in time at the feeders. DH was sitting in the family room, doing his crossword puzzle, talking to his bro on the phone, when he starts yelling, "Right in front of you! Right in front of you! Piliated! Piliated!" I looked out the window and in a couple of seconds I saw it! PILIATED Woodpecker! WOOT! We see them briefly in the yard once or twice a year, but this one was just pounding away, right in plain sight.

DH's view from the crossword puzzle chair......


Where the hell is it???


THERE IT IS!!!!

Think think think..... where's the camera? Which lens is on it? Do I bother to put shoes on? (hell no)
Take pics, take pics, take pics! Document that it's really our front yard! Oh crap the card is full! Where's the phd cameras--swap cards!

Now it's over by the swing set! Yeah right in our front yard!

I had the feeling that there was more than one bird, but it was only an inking, that funny little feeling birders get sometime. But there was only one. In the front yard.

Flap flap flap swoop--it's gone! Flew over the house to the back yard. Run to the bedroom and out on to the deck. Dang, rain gushing out of our very expensive gutters. . .

Yeah, let all that cold damp air in.

Dang. Which tree?

Wait a minute.......


There's TWO of them!!!!

Quilting in West Yell

2011-10-29T00:37:00.001-04:00

Last summer, I asked my peep and colleague Dr. D if he knew if any of the ladies at his Church were quilters. He's a member of the LDS Ward~~Morman Church to you eastern folks~~which is the biggest Church in West Yell. Some other time I'll delve into the mysteries of Churches and the stories that go around about most of them, but for now it's quiltin' time.

So anywho, Dr. D called his lovely bride and she said Mrs. L is the go-to gal for the quilters. And I gotta tell ya, I love Mrs. L.. She's been hand quilting for something like 60 of her 80+ years. Never in a gazillion years would I have tagged her at over 72ish. Seriously, what a sweetie! When she and her hubby built their house, I think in the 60s, he told her that he'd be sure there was quilting space. And there is. The basement is finished so she can set up 2 king sized quilts down there. Her quilting frame is the darn simplest thing ever--soooo wish I had taken pictures, but I didn't want to invade her world. She doesn't own a computer and doesn't want to, but her daughter does have an etsy shop called Sweaterheads--ya gotta check it out!

After I finally got around to making the calls she said she'd be more than happy to get some of the girls together and work on FTD's log cabin quilt. And did they ever. DH and I went over and helped her put the quilt on the frame, since it involves shoving thumb tacks into pine boards, which is something my arthritic thumbs can't do. Now mind you, I totally understand the hows and whys of quilting, but I've only just started machine quilting. I've pieced a lot of tops, have tied-off comforters, and sent stuff to the long arm quilter, but real hand quilting is a whole new ballgame for me.

The sheer simplicity of it is my favorite thing about it. Mrs. L would just pick up 5 or 6 stitches and pull them through. Since FTD's quilt is the log cabin quilt, Mrs. L said the best way to quilt it was to just stitch in the ditches. Said she, "It's quick and easy. Anyone can do it." Anyone but me.....


Corner details on FTD's Log Cabin Quilt.Yeah, I know you're sick of looking at these pictures.

Mrs. L suggested I start by quilting along an edge of the quilt. I realize now that the stuff I did likely won't show after I bind it (or in my case, screw up the binding). I watched and watched how Mrs. L picked up the stitches, itty bitty stitches I must say, and just keep right on going. I tried it. I gave up. I could get maybe 2 stitches on the needle to her 5 or even 6. I tried the up-with-one-hand, down-with the-other-hand system. Also sucked at that. But Mrs. L kept chuckling and saying over and over, "But remember, I've been doing this for a long time--you'll get it after you keep at it." Such a beautiful optimist. One of the reasons I'm crazy about her.

I managed to get over to her house a couple of times while she and the girls were working on it. It's really nice when you work seasonally to get away from work. Seasonal NPS work is very, very intense so any chance to get my head 'out' of the park was refreshing. And being in a real home of a real person was super nice. Having friends in the community where you work who are not fellow employees gives the summer gig a more permanent feel somehow. Hard to explain, too.

After maybe 10 days or so, Mrs. L called and said it was done. She had been worried that it would take a long time and that she'd have to mail it to me when they finished. Holy cow!! Done! Just like that! It takes months to get something back from the LAQ and here she's done in just over a week!

I had discussed with Dr. D the fact that I was worried that she wouldn't take any money so we worked out a game plan. But alas, there's already a plan in place for this group of quilters. They keep track of the hours, then charge what amounts to about $3/hour and then say, "But that's so much. So how about this much amount instead, if that's okay"~~which ends up being about $2/hour. The money though goes to a charity, usually one of the Ward's interests. I knew the BS Troop in town is chartered by the Ward, so I was going to suggest that they take a bunch of my money and give it to them. But Mrs. L beat me to the punch, because a young man from the congregation had just been diagnosed with cancer and was beginning treatments, and would it be okay if they gave my money to that cause....? Would it be okay?!? Of course it's okay!!!!! I also gave them what amounted to just under $4/hour, which is way cheaper than the LAQ. I think they were also going to give a bit of it to the Troop. Win win win, win win win. In case you're wondering, they spent a total of 78 woman hours on it.

That's a lot of woman power.

Crafty Corner, Before

2011-10-26T23:24:00.001-04:00

I took these pics a long time ago--last winter sometime--and never got around to posting them. Now I'm going to call them my 'before' pictures, because sometime soonish (here read, sometime in the next month...??) I'm going to have lights installed in the Crafty Corner. Ooooh, ahhhh.....

DH can't come to grips with what kind of ceiling to put in the basement. We don't want to use traditional suspended tile, cuz that's so pedestrian and expected. But our other options suck. DH also really can't come to grips with the price of said ceiling. (This story might explain why it's so damn expensive.....)

I finally got tired of hearing about what we were going to do, and just stapled up the green ticking fabric that I got for a buck a yard. And I like it. A lot. So much so that I told DH not to wreck it when he puts up the new lights. (My first choice is corrugated sheet metal. Yep, you heard me.)

So here's the before pics:

The whole enchilada.

Over to the left. My temporary design wall is over there, too. It's currently being held up with giant woodworking clamps. Got the desk from the Goodwill. I'll show you a pic of the pictures over there sometime.

Over to the right. That pendant lamp is a work light that's just looped over the I-beams and hooked up with scary extension cords. The new one will be similar, but properly wired in.

The Pfaff in all it's glory. Love love love my sewing table. Nice cutting table behind it. What a freakin' luxury to be able to keep it up all the time. Potentially working treadle machine on the left. BadAmy found it for me on Craig's List. A mom and step-daughter bought it, got it stripped down, but gave up, so all I needed to do was varnish it. We liked the symmetry of 2 mom-step daughter teams working on it.

Treadle base with ironing pad. DH made a nice top for it, to match the ironing pad I got super cheap.


More from the right. That's a white sorta canvas piece of material to cover the shelves when I'm gone.

This is a portable closet that I got for half price ($50). I added two bamboo shoe organizers for fat quarters. The boxes hold all sorts of crap like paints, ribbons, and glitter. I love glitter. I hang larger pieces of fabric using skirt and slacks hangers. Got that great idea from Nancy Zieman. Love her.

My window. The curtains are Debbie Mumm fabric, the 'garlands' are old tape measures and some pretty holly cut-out ribbon. The signs were my MILs and they glow all by themselves in the light. And even when I get new lights, I'm going to keep my Christmas lights up. They're in off-white tulle, which we used for BadAmy's wedding. Very girlie, and since I'm out-numbered here, I need a few girlie things.

My Young Men

2011-10-25T00:12:00.001-04:00

One day it just seems to happen. My baby boys are young men. I tried and tried to keep it from happening, but it happened anyway. Okay, it didn't happen the same way as it did for most folks but they are adult size afterall.

So I dropped a bundle on full size mattress sets for each of them. They've been using twin beds all this time, and if they were in college they'd still be cramming themselves into twin beds, but since they both sleep like the flying Wallendas, full size beds it is.

The mattresses arrived today. We had already purchased a very nice log bed frame for FTD about a year ago, and repainted and carpeted his room. DD, however, is pickier and changes his mind minute by minute so coming up with something new for his room that doesn't make me wanna puke is going to be tricky.

Currently, it's painted in Amtrak colors--grey on the bottom with a RWB stripe. The carpet is the original heavy duty very flat industrial strength stuff we put in his room when we built the house. It's blue with specks, and still looks fine. It's not traditional BR carpeting though, but it can take a beating. Since it's flat they could run all their little matchbox cars and other toys all over it.

Train stuff going on here.

Book cases for valuable treasures.


Desk made by Uncle D for computer and games. It's now shiny black.

DD's old, old bed. He jumped on this and broke the frame and box springs, so he got FTD's old bed and FTD got a nice new one. Old bed, the one that left today, is painted black to match the game desk. DD's into black.

Since I bought the mattress sets, there's no money for new carpeting, so he'll just have to deal with it. Buying new mattresses also meant getting new sheets and pads, so I got them each one flannel set and one regular cotton. I caved and got DD black sheets . . . we'll see how this works out. For FTD, I got dark brown sheets.

At the moment, DD's new set is on the floor, while we search for the perfect and indestructible frame for him. And he's had this store bought quilt for several years, and until I get his Hobo quilt done, this will do nicely.

And I'm still wondering when my little boys got big enough for grown up beds. Sigh.

Quadruple Dose of Autism

2011-10-12T15:50:00.003-04:00

Whoa. Just when I think it's safe to go back.... I've had enough time to cruise my blogroll (which I don't in the summer) and found a couple of interesting articles. Well, the first is from FB...one of my grand-nephews has autism, along with a co-morbid thing called PANDAS. Holy crap. My niece is sick and her son's symptoms worsened at the same time. Been there done that, doing that today. Fortunately, my son can take care of himself with his demon-o'-the-day, but I had to pick him up early from school. So since we've been back he's managed to go to school for one whole day and 2 half days. Sheesh.

The other was an article from a fun crafty blogger (how can you not love a blog called "Crap I've Made"?) One of her sons has Aspergers, which is one of the forms of autism. She noted that getting family pictures is a challenge. I've been able to get pictures, which is a blessing. The weird thing in our house is that neither of the boys will look in a mirror. Scares the hell outta me, too, but for entirely different reasons. At least I have reasons (Okay, it's those crows feet. Or as I prefer to call them, laugh lines. I must laugh a lot.....)

So here are some of my fav's of the boys: (And Char, you'll get pics like this, too--hang in there!)

FTD at the zoo. I managed to get him to uncover his ears. Still does this today. Oh, and FTD is the one in the shirt, even tho he's hairier than the sloth bear behind of him.

FTD the First Class Scout. I used this pic to make postage stamps for his Eagle Scout Ceremony invites.

DD the baker. He used to watch Bobby Flay all the time. He still tries to cook, but the reading crap gets in the way.

DD's "Senior" Picture. Unbelievable on so many levels. First of all, he dressed up for Geezer Day during Spirit Week. Second, that he went through with it. Third, that he let someone take his picture. Fourth, he was really thrilled that they put this in the year book. Holy photos, Batman!

And Now a Word from Your Editor

2011-10-12T07:51:00.000-04:00


DD, reading a book. Sorta.

Ack. This blogging stuff shows how important it is to have some one edit one's work. Or at least spell check it. I was checking some links on old posts and found a ton of boo-boos, mostly spelling errors, but a few things that didn't make any sense at all, too. Did I mention that the writing usually happens late at night when the boys are alseep?


Editor-in-Chief. Actually doesn't even know I have a blog, much less reads it.

My point here is that I thanks you kindly for not pointing out my ridiculous errors. I'd also like to say again that when I format pictures into the post, I try really hard to give them a nice, smooth look. Sadly, blogspot re-arranges almost all of the pics, making the text hard to read in several places. Ah, well, the price is more than right for this little adventure, so again thanks for keeping your thoughts to yourself about how crappy the posts look sometimes. I be appreciating that.

More Rangery Stuff!

2011-10-10T20:51:00.001-04:00

This came up from FB today, also. It's a total classic!

Rangers Then and Now

2011-10-09T20:02:00.005-04:00

I've written about this before, but an FB post from a retired NPS ranger has put a bug in my ear again.

I pulled this from a post by Bruce Bytnar, who found it on youtube. He isn't in this film, which was written and produced in 1986. Since this time, we now have Ranger Divisions. More on that later. And the guy in the picture~~an undercover LER from YOSE. (That means Law Enforcement Ranger from Yosemite, for you non-parkie types.)

I'm a Ranger/Interpreter for the National Park Service.

It's that simple.

Sorta.

What that means is I tell the stories of our world. Sometimes the world is this park or that park, sometimes it's the story of a single animal or a single event. It might be the story of us, rangers. In the early years of rangering, the guy (and I do mean guy) did what ever it took to keep people, resources, and visitors all safe. No problem. Until people began to love parks to death.

Here in Oak Openings, the ranger/manager before DH was Estel Waggoner. He lived in the park and raised his family here, over at Mallard Lake in the 4 room plank house. He got 8 hours a week off. Read that again~~8 hours a week off. That's when he could actually leave the park for a full 8 hours. He still managed to get to Church, run to the hardware store, and other daily living stuff, but when he did those things, he was on duty. He had to chose what weapons to carry, and was largely self-taught. I think of him as the Harry Yount of Oak Openings.

When DH became Manager/Ranger, he attended the Cleveland Metroparks Ranger Academy. He had earned a second bachelor's degee, this one in Forestry from Michigan Tech University. At the time, 1972 or so, CRA was one of the few, and the premier, ranger academies in the country. But it was mostly a law enforcement academy. DH was a Certified Peace Officer in the State of Ohio, the same as any other cop or highway patrolman here. The difference, I must point out, is that Rangers consistently scored higher in all aspects of police work. The same holds true today. When DH was working, the sheriff's deputies always hoped a Metropark Ranger would be there for back up, because the deputies knew the rangers were the best shots on the firing range. Bar none.

And all the while DH was working as the park manager, a superintendent in NPS language, he was also the chief cook and bottle washer. He was in charge of the maintenance and patrolling of the park. All of his rangers were Ranger/Servicepersons. They, too, did it all. They'd mow with a side arm strapped on. They patrolled in their Class B work uniforms (except on Sunday, it was Class A's all the way then. Shine that brass. Polish those boots.) They assisted visitors, gave impromptu nature talks, cleaned the outhouses, planned the new stuff like roads and trails, cleaned the outhouses again, raked the leaves, cut the firewood, you name it they did it. The folks who worked in the office considered themselves support staff for the field rangers and naturalists. And the system worked really well. But during the 80s, things changed.

USPP Officer in 1904.

Ranger Naturalists were the backbone of the National Park Service. Like Estel, they were were jacks of all trades in the park, but mostly, they told the stories, like I do today. Some of the story tellers were historians, though, not really so much naturalists. Enter Ranger Historians, and so on. But still no people who were fully trained as police types. Okay, you say, not so fast . . . what about the USPP~~United States Park Police. Yep, they began in 1791 but with a different twist--they were the law in all federal lands in Washington DC. They moved into other cities with strong federal presence. When federal lands started to include memorials and monuments as well as Capitols and President's homes, their role increased. They are now also NPS employees. And in DC you might work with USPP or with Ranger. Cool.

So back to our story.

Ah, yes, the Ranger Naturalist program. Their primary function was "tell the stories." If you could tell the story and protect the resource at the same time, and that was easier if you were armed, then so be it. It worked well for many, many, many years. Until it stopped working so well.

In the larger parks, it became increasingly clear that changes had to be made. The riots at Yosemite in the 70s pretty much blew things apart. It was clear that at least a few folks in every park needed to specialize in Law Enforcement. That would be their primary duty, and for some, their only duty. That idea morphed into divisions~~Law Enforcement, Interpretation, Resource Protection, Administration, blah blah blah. That's where we are today in the big parks. Smaller parks still have the jacks and jills of all trades on their staff. And it works for them.

So what are my duties? Well, lest I bore you with a repeat post, check this out. And this, too.

PS: and there will be brownie points for the person who figures out the uniform change from the movie above and now. Can't promise a quilty thing, but I will say nice things about you. Ranger Emeritus Bruce, you don't get to play on this one..... :)

Messing Around with Online Quilty Stuff.... again

2011-10-09T00:55:00.000-04:00

I'm trying this again. I do so love this quilt, so I thought I'd totally embarrass myself by putting it in the contest. I don't know if I put this one up before or not.... don't care either. So if you're bored, click on over to the quilt site and vote for me. Actually, there are a couple of quilts I like better than mine! Arg!!!!

http://quiltinggallery.com/2011/10/07/fall-splendour-quilts/

Heading Home

2011-09-28T14:09:00.000-04:00

Well, it's official... I'm unemployed again. Sigh. DH and FTD arrived safe home last Monday, and DD and I will head east on Saturday, with a stop in North Platte, NE for him, and a stop at NPS Midwest Regional office in Omaha for me. I'm going to be a parent advocate for people with special needs. That's on Tuesday, so after the meeting we'll put a few more miles on the car and with luck, DD and I will be home late on Wednesday.... maybe.

I know you just can't wait to hear all my summer stories.... Riiiiight.

So back to packing the gear and trailer today and tomorrow, finishing the laundry and trying to get a fishing trip to Hebgen in too.... maybe.

Soft September Days

2011-09-10T19:01:00.002-04:00

Not really. Not yet at least. The first 10 days of September have been really nutty. Our crew went from 8 to 5, in addition to losing 3 volunteers. So that made for hectic days, during the time when we were gradually switching from summer to fall schedules. It would be nice if we could just change the whole mess at one time, but that would be oh-too-easy.

The other thing is the nutty questions we've been getting, and the incredibly needy visitors who have appeared. There' always some one, once in a while, who you actually worry about sending into the park on their own. These are typically either foreign and/or elderly visitors. They are so overwhelmed by the work it takes to get here, that they are whipped and totally stressed out when they finally make it. We try to help lessen their loads by offering extra help, but there are times when even that doesn't help.

And last week, for 4 solid hours, I had the neediest visitors I've ever had in my six summers of this fun. Sheesh. Everything from, "What do you mean all the campsites and hotels are filled?" to "Well, we're going to take the short cut to the Mt. Rushmore through Cody." (Look at a topo map, folks. That ain't no short cut.) Oy. Every single person who stood before me that afternoon was lost. And I do mean lost. I hope each and every one of them found a place to lay their heads and rest for a while. Sheesh.

On the home front, it looks like we'll be changing our "coming home" plans. DH is hoping to attend a national Trails conference in Ft. Wayne on Sept 3-4-5. And I've been asked to serve on a panel of advocates for folks with special needs at the NPS Midwest Regional Office on Sept. 4. We're both passionate about both subjects, so it looks like we'll do the divide and conquer thing. DH will likely head home a week before I do, but we haven't decided who will take which kid. Maybe we'll just flip a quarter.

I have managed to get a little sewing done. I've made a couple of small wall hangings like this one:

The tree is the motif found on the Madison Junior Ranger Station facia boards.

I made a top for our wonderful MIS volunteers, B&L, who say after 10 years of RV life, they're going to move back into a house with a foundation. I got the top put together, but didn't have enough fabric for the backing, so I'll finish it when I get home, and mail it to them. I thought I had a pic of it, but I guess not.

But the big sewing news is that a bunch of ladies from the local LDS Church here in West have hand quilted FTD's log cabin quilt. They showed me how, so I did part of one row. You can tell it's mine, because the stitches are about 3 times longer than theirs. I also quilted 4 little hearts on the centers of the center blocks. Very cute. When they got to the center blocks to work, Lois, my new hero, suggested that maybe since my stitches aren't so good yet, that maybe I wouldn't want to work on the center where the stitches really matter. I was happy to watch them work, and to pick up a little gossip.

Remember this one? It's being hand quilted!! Awesome!

And Lois's daughter has an etsy shop called Sweater Heads. Really cute stuff! And this winter when I have more time, I'll share some of Lois's story. What a dear.

So it's off to the grocery store to get something for dinner. Hmm, pork chops, anyone?

More Late Summer Fun

2011-08-20T17:44:00.001-04:00

First, I'll post a raft of pics from this summer. It's hard to do on Blogspot, and since I'm on a public wifi system, it's also slow. But here's a sampling.


This is my summer "sewing" room. Okay, it's the dining room table and our 'foyer' and recycling center.

"Sewing room" from the other direction, so you can see the entire kitchen. Little bit smaller than at home....

Some of the Mad Crew at Thanksgiving Dinner.

More Mad Crew (hey, that's me!) at Thanksgiving Dinner. BW must be kinda upset with DH there.....

More from Thanksgiving. That's Ranger Carol imparting wisdom and funny stories. Miss ya, Carol!

More Thanksgiving fun! And a great pic of the Divine Ms. K.

Tom's buddy from U of Toledo, now from Lost Wages, Jim B and his wife Sandy were here for a couple of days. Since President O. had his pic taken in the Lower Hamilton Store at OF, we had our pic taken, too.

That's all of us at the Lower Ham. FTD, DH, me, DD, Jim and Sandy B.

The obligatory Bison bull in rut picture. The Hayden Valley in August is the coolest place on the planet.

Yeah. I'm lookin' at you. And I'm not likin' what I see.


This bull was actually licking this car. Must have had some very tasty bugs on it.

So that's all for now. I actually have to go earn some money. What a great job.

Mid-Season Bits and Pieces

2011-08-11T19:19:00.000-04:00

We're halfway through our summer season here at YNP. To say we're in the 'same old, same old' place is not really true, but there are some things that come under that heading. The younger rangers are looking for winter gigs, we old rangers are starting to think about things we'll work on when we get home. Visitor numbers will start to drop, especially since kids have to be back in school so disgustedly early now. Numbers will hopefully stay steady in September, when the Baby Boomers arrive~~each one thinking that s/he is the only person smart enough to plan a trip to YNP in September. Um, no.

We're also going to have at least one change in leadership in my division. How all of that shakes out will be interesting to watch over the winter. Let the job-juggling begin.

DH has been in Ohio for the past week, working on our water well issues, and power issues at the Lake, and a grass-mowing issue on the Cannonball Trail. Sheesh. Every time I called home, he was in a restaurant and he sounded like he was relaxed and enjoying the vacation at home. Hmmmm... It did put the kabash on our plans for a few days in the Denver area, so the boys and I didn't get to do a mini-trip this summer. Rats. But we are planning to go home through the UP this October, with stops in Houghton, Ontanogan, and Pictured Rocks.

I've been working on some mini-quilting projects, too! Hooray for lieu days! I'm hoping to get FTD's log cabin quilt to the ladies of the LDS church here in West Yellowstone, and maybe even my Badland's quilt.

I'm in the West VC right now and there are two tiny tykes running full tilt back and forth through the building.... arg, my head......

Keep those cards and letters coming in!

Summer has Reached the Mountains~~Big Time

2011-07-19T15:39:00.001-04:00

Whew! It was actually hot yesterday! As in over 75 degrees in the shade. Wowza. I put the outdoor thermometer on the front of the apartment this year and it regularly shows over 100 degrees in the sun. Most of the time it's under 75 in the shade. Yesterday, it topped out at 107. I actually could tell it was hot--needed a good serious slug of Gatorade when I got home from Roving with the one and only awesome Wildlife Ranger Doug. It was so hot out that even the coyotes were taking an afternoon siesta. We finally found the eagles and pulled out the scope and visited with 30 or 40 fun folks.

Yesterday morning, I led the new Harlequin Lake hike. We've been griping for years about being stuck in the buildings and not getting to lead hikes. This year my wizard of a supervisor figured out and found funding for us to be able to do a hike once a week. The first time I did the hike, I had 36 visitors, and yesterday there were 40 good folks. Yikes! That's a lot for a trail with no area for talking to a large group. Tricky to manage, but still fun and do-able. We were able to see a cormorant (..... yeah....) and a single loon. The beaver put in appearance at the very end, and only about 6 folks got to see it. Cool.

Two days earlier a badger put in an appearance at the Junior Ranger Station. FTD was able to get over and get a couple of great pics. I'll edit and post those pics when I have a little more time.

It's crazy busy in the park this week.... way crazy. It's that time of year. I'm always amazed that folks can find their way here, but not around the one road in the park. Seriously.

On a fun note, we're going to celebrate Thanksgiving next week. A couple of years ago, I realized that in addition to my real family, I also miss my parkie family in the winter. So we decided to have a T-day dinner with all the trimmings. We were shooting for the 4th Thursday in July, but with several of us working on Thursday nights this year, we're having dinner on Summer-Thanksgiving-Eve.

More on that when I have time to edit posts--so check back soon!

The Wild Summer

2011-07-12T14:26:00.000-04:00

Things are settling down to what I call the Summer Doldrums. The weeks leading up to the 4th of July are full with new programs, new procedures, new staff. After the 4th, things are busy, but the sense of excitement of new jobs and new faces has sort of worn off. All of us experience a type of adrenaline drop. Mistakes are more numerous, and dumber, and we tend to be a bit shorter with each other--and I'm not talking about my impressive 5'2" frame here.

I'm pleased with all but one of my programs, and it's still a work in progress. I've had it go really well several times, but doing it consistantly well just ain't happening yet. Soon..... It's also a program I only do in the afternoons at the Junior Ranger Station, when we have smaller groups. I planned it that way, so I'm still working on it. Several of my other programs are so "old" now that I have to be sure to inject that enthusasim to be sure that the kids think I'm really doing it just for them. Part of being a good ranger is making that individual connection in a group setting. Gotta have the 'jizz' working for you. But sometimes 'jizz' is the hardest part of July.

The family is good. Boys are bored, and we really do have to do something differently for them next summer. If you know any good Certified Waiver Providers, let me know. There's so little for them to do at Madison Junction, that it looks like they'll be home next summer. But then again, who knows where I'll be next summer.....

Haven't had much time at the sewing machine, but I did get some simple curtains made for Ranger Kate's trailer. She was so happy to take the newspapers off her windows. Felt good to have a super simple project that was so appreciated. I'm still hoping to get FTD's log cabin quilt over to the quilting ladies at the local LDS Church here in town. Gotta put that on the to do list.

My Ohio family is awaiting the arrival of the newest kid, my niece's new son. The plan is for him to make his appearance tomorrow. The bummer part is that they are in Lousianna, not at home. So send good thoughts to them, and to my sister and bro-in-law, the grands.

Not much time on the computer where I have an internet connection, but keeps those cards and letters coming in!

Back in the Swing of Things

2011-06-04T18:23:00.000-04:00

I'm back to work. Fingerprints have finally been adjudicated, which is a whole ridiculous situation in its own.

We have 5 new staff members here in Mad, one of whom isn't here yet, because the background check hasn't cleared yet. Homeland Security needs a new system for checking these. Seriously. Anywho, things are really different with so many new rangers. This will be interesting.

The weather has been the number one topic of discussion. The first two weeks were were here were sunny and warm, then two weeks of freezing, crappy, cold snowy yuck. And of course, those weeks were when we were outside training or working at the un-heated Junior Ranger Station. Not as cold as the "freezeway" at Norris, but still cold. Really cold. I've had so many layers on that I felt like a little kid in a snowsuit. Arg. I'm so tired of being cold, and I can't imagine how the natives here must feel.

FTD's great company, when we get to spend time together. But I'm gone so much that he's pretty blue much of the time. He so missed Dad and Bro. And so do I.

Other news is that one of our retired rangers visited last week. We had a wonderful dinner in the apartment for the whole gang, and the next night they and FTD and I played Quirkle and had a very pleasant evening. I will miss them this summer for sure.

As I've said before, computer time is really limited this year, because all 7 of us are living in Mad Junction and need access to our one crappy computer. When I can get into town, I'll be able to check in.

Training Time

2011-05-20T14:11:00.000-04:00

My connections to the web are worse than ever. Yikes. Posts will be few and far between. I know that breaks your heart.... not.

Anywho, it's training time around here. I can go to training, but of course, I still can't touch money, at least not as of this very minute, but there's still hope that this afternoon the call will come in with the good news. I can dream, can't I?

New staff is arriving--slowly. There are something like 250 of our summer seasonals whose homeland security background checks haven't cleared in YNP alone. Of our five new Mad Interps, 3 are now cleared, and two are here. Making progress...... My background check is good, it's just the dang finger prints. Sheesh.


Click on pic for better view.

I've used this time to get a couple of sewing projects in. The one I was frantically working on is for the West Yellowstone Whack-a-doodles Relay for Life team. They're having a silent auction tonight. The day before I left home, I bought some awesomely cute panels with tents and trailers on it. And the best part is the fabric with the green background with marshmallow roasting sticks on it! I used that for one of the borders. Way too cute. Each finished wall hanging is about 2x3. I'm supposed to come up with a value, and I have no clue. I think I have about $10 in fabric and batting, etc.. I have no idea how to assign a value for them. I suppose I could try to find something similar on Etsy. (If you read this before 2 pm MDT, call my cell and let me know!)

On the home fronts, FTD is sick again. I really don't know what all this is about. He just had blood work done and there was only one thing a little out of whack, but I don't think it is related.....

DD is still home with DH, and he calls me several times a day to 'check me up.' Bless his little heart. I do miss them. As soon as they get here, I'll be sick of all of them. And so it goes.

The back yard. Check my FB page to get in on the 'pool' to see when the snow finally melts. Winner gets something from me and the sewing machine. :)

Weather has been great here, and awful at home. Now it's yucky here, and nice at home. Go figure.

Home Sweet Apartment

2011-05-11T11:11:00.000-04:00

FTD and I arrived safely, but not without enduring 2 days of the poor soul being sick. Very tough beginning to our trip. I tried to convince him that we could leave later, but he said he was fine. He wasn't. He's such a good kid.

Anywho, we're back in Madison Junction, back to work, though still not cleared to touch the cash. Sheesh. The apartment is almost all put pack together, and we're only missing a few oddball things (where did I put the curtain rod hooks?)

The weather has been pretty good, all things considered. The piles of snow have melted to the tune of over a foot since we got here. I'll take some pics today, and try to get them uploaded. Computer work in the summer is a juggling act, since we don't have access in the apartment. We have to drive to town, 14 miles away, to get a signal. I have some limited access from the office, but not much.

I'll be catching up when I can.

Leaving

2011-05-02T08:37:00.000-04:00

I had intended to write a little more last night, but the news of Bin Laden's death completely changed that for me.

I must say first, that I have never felt joy at the death of another human. Ever. But this time I did. He and his henchmen stole my children's innocence on 9/11. They witnessed the most atrocious attack on Americans that day. They saw it live. How could I explain to them that it was not a movie?

I'll pick up this theme later.

For now, FTD and I are hitting the road. He doesn't feel great, but he says he's up for traveling. What a trooper.

Back at ya soon.
Ranger Anna

Off We Go. Probably.

2011-05-01T22:50:00.000-04:00

Almost everything is packed. Still need to do the last minute odds and ends~~and I do mean odds. After the essential stuff is packed, I get to start putting in funny, oddball stuff. Tomorrow it just might be my cross-country skiis... maybe. I could also rent skiis for a day out there, too, which might be a more practical idea.

I've been watching the weather charts till it feels like my eyeballs will pop out. As much as I prefer taking I-94 through beautiful North Dakota, the weather this year is forcing me to the south. If I wasn't pulling the little cargo trailer, we'd like go north, but I just can't risk it this time. Precious cargo in the form of a 20 year old navigator. I don't really know where we'll end up staying, but we don't worry about that, since it's the two of us. My navigator is a true map geek. Even though he doesn't drive, we bought him garmen deal. He's quick with it. Awesome.

STOP.

Whoa, US news outlets are reporting that Bin Laden is dead. There are only a few, very very few times, when I can say good riddance. If there is a hell, the population is up one now. Good riddance. Here's hoping that the Taliban disappears, and that something worse doesn't take its place.

Sunday, May 1, 2011, 10:50 EDT.

T-2 and Sick of Packing Boxes!

2011-04-30T12:49:00.001-04:00

I really, really, really shouldn't be messing around on the computer. After all, I don't have most of the computer gear packed away, and I should by now. Crap.

So what I did last night when the boys were all asleep was to really learn how to use my scanner. I installed a new program (thank you kind tech at Canon) and decided to do some of my wedding pics.

It was such juxtaposition to see the London wedding and the tornado damage on the split screen, that I realized I have a lot of pics that I don't want to lose. So here's a little trip down memory lane to August 13, 1983.

First Presbyterian Church of Maumee, Ohio

Me and DH

Hey Kate and Will~~this is how it's supposed to be done.

Bad Amy & DH, Me and my Daddy

Bad Amy and her Daddy. Now you know why I fell in love with the two of them.

My Mom and Dad. Bless their souls.

Some day, I'll write about our wedding. Not your normal stuff for us, no way.

And I got a cute surprise from Nanc today! I love my bloggy friends. It's so sweet! Thanks, Lady.

And last but not least,

Dear FBI,
These are my fingers. Honest, I have fingers. You just can't see the little lines, but I promise they exist. Please adjudicate me asap.
Love, Ranger Anna

T-6 and Counting

2011-04-26T16:55:00.001-04:00

I've been cleared to move into the apartment, but not to handle money. Pretty ridiculous that, since I've done it for the Park Service for 5 years. Sheesh. The plan is that FTD and I will head out on Monday, arrive in YNP later in the week, and I'll start on Sunday. We'll just hope that my fingerprints are adjudicated between now and then. I know our HR dept. is working on it. What a ridiculous, annual ritual.

So my blogging time is winding down. I have several more pics to post, and I have a couple of half written posts, too, but not much time to work on them. I usually have everything packed and ready to go into the trailer by this time, but this year I'm taking a different tack. I was pretty careful about the linens, kitchen, and office supplies last fall, so those are pretty much ready to go. Last year I also carted out all our our food except for the refrigerated stuff, which we purchased in Livingston, right before heading to the apt.. I was able to get lots, if not all, of the stuff on sale. But this year, with the price of gas off the charts, I'm traveling light. We'll go to Bozeman and stock up right before heading to the apt. this year. I'm taking an "empty" cooler and all of the our shopping bags, and will leave plenty of easily accessible room for that stuff. We'll cram it in, and chug into the park~~

~~in the snow. Did I mention that they got between 9 and 12 more inches today? But my trekking poles are packed, and the ice/snow scraper is right where I can reach it. I'm wondering if I should take my fluffy snow boots.... unless something dramatic happens pretty soon, I'm thinking the boots will be nice and snug.

Blessings During This Season of Renewal

2011-04-23T14:29:00.000-04:00

Regardless of your religious and spiritual beliefs, it is the season of renewal. May you and yours enjoy its blessings.

And I'm in a panic. Should I pack or sew? Where's my "Who Wants to Be a Wolf Watcher?" stuff so I can fix the numbers for this year? How much fabric should I take? I'm not going to take our groceries this year, so what do I need? How do I leave room in the cargo trailer for the groceries we pick up when we get to Bozeman? Which route will be safer/saner this year?

WHEN WILL I HEAR ABOUT MY FINGERPRINTS!!!!!!!

Sewing Blitz

2011-04-19T00:40:00.001-04:00

I am counting the days now. It's sort of a wasted effort until my fingerprints clear, which they won't. But I'll be adjudicated yet again, so let's hurry up and do that, eh?

Sally Seam Rip-Her, #5/8, and her proud Mama

Knowing that I'll have to close up the crafty corner soon, I sewed like a mad woman over the week end. And then BadAmy and Sally Seam Rip-Her made me go to the fabric shop with our stash of coupons. I'll need to have fabric when I get home, doncha know.

First off, FTD's teeth came out okay. He went back to school today, even though last night his eyes turned black and green and he looked like he'd been in a bar fight. But he got through the day with some tylenol.

Sleepin' and droolin' like a baby. Thank goodness for iPods.

Next up, Bad Amy got her second yarn club shipment out, to rave reviews once again. This one is called La Violeta Stripe. Want some? Too bad, it's a club exclusive. So unless you're on Ravelry and can sweet talk someone out of a skein, ya ain't gunna git any.

Now to the sewing extravaganza. I finished the log cabin squares for pillows. Each one is quilted differently, as I'm trying to find ways to machine quilt without A) spending hours doing that and B) falling asleep at the wheel. BadAmy hates the color. She says the yellow is burn your eyes out yellow. Hrumph. See if she gets a pillow present any time soon....

The next project was a bunny. It's a panel print by Benartex called Montana Modern. I just added batting and backing, stitched around each block and in a couple other places, put on a binding and done. I'm going to hang this at the office in our never ending attempts to class the place up.

Lessee, then there are the ones that I have to get done and quilted and bound before we leave. This is how the pillow thing got started. Making the strips for log cabin blocks is like eating chips and dip. Sometimes you run out of chips first and need more dip. Then you have left over dip, so you need more chips. Okay, so I had a few left over strips. Then I didn't quite have enough.. . and on and on. I also couldn't decide on which icons for the border.....these are for my retiring ranger peeps remember. I was talking with my niece "Sally" and suddenly had the idea. Then I needed just the right fabric. Then we spent a couple hours at the store. Then I didn't even use the fabric I picked out. So there you have the creative process. These are 'heat-n-bonded' on, and I was hoping they wouldn't need to be appliqued but yes they sure do. That's tomorrow's project. Did I mention that there are two of these?

Last but not least is a new batch of Kind Hearted Lady Lives Here mug rugs. I found this calico and fell in love with the soft, girly colors. You know the Calico Cat...

I made five variations of this for five fabulous friends. I'm also on a stripey binding kick.

Bestest Ever Friend Ginny and her hubby stopped by this evening for a precious hour on their way home from Arizona to Michigan. We try to get more time together, but this is all we could squeak out this year. Sigh. Ginny now has her Calico kitty. They should be pulling in the drive way right about now.

The Duel

THE gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat;
'Twas half-past twelve, and (what do you think!)
Nor one nor t'other had slept a wink!: The old Dutch clock and the Chinese plate; Appeared to know as sure as fate
There was going to be a terrible spat.: (I wasn't there; I simply state; What was told to me by the Chinese plate!)
The gingham dog went "bow-wow-wow!"
And the calico cat replied "mee-ow!"
The air was littered, an hour or so,
With bits of gingham and calico,: While the old Dutch clock in the chimney-place; Up with its hands before its face,
For it always dreaded a family row!: (Never mind: I'm only telling you; What the old Dutch clock declares is true!)
The Chinese plate looked very blue,
And wailed, "Oh, dear! what shall we do!"
But the gingham dog and calico cat
Wallowed this way and tumbled that,: Employing every tooth and claw; In the awfullest way you ever saw-
And, oh! how the gingham and calico flew!: (Don't fancy I exaggerate-; I got my news from the Chinese plate!)
Next morning where the two had sat
They found no trace of the dog or cat;
And some folks think unto this day
That burglars stole that pair away!: But the truth about the cat and pup; Is this: they ate each other up!
Now what do you really think of that!: (The old Dutch clock it told me so,; And that is how I came to know.); Eugene Field; http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/field01.html

Evening Programs and Campfires

2011-04-14T22:11:00.000-04:00

Madison Amphitheater

Most national parks have evening campfire programs. These are considered by some folks to be the crown jewel of ranger programs. They certainly can be. Especially when they are out under the starry skies, with the campfire blazing. The Mad Crew does our evening program indoors, in a community with dozens of other evening options, not the least of which are several bars. Getting folks to attend these programs has been an issue for us.


Visitors at Madison, up close and personal.

There are some programs that are intended to be up close and personal. Longer hikes for example. Just you, your ranger, and a few other folks. These can be absolutely wonderful experiences. But when designing an evening program, especially in a huge park, we tend to go for broader stokes--more of a performance. And now that high quality nature and history programs are on the tube and the interweb 24/7, creating an EP that really connects with visitors is work.

And I love it.

Seriously?

At my three national parks, and for many, many occasions here in Ohio, I do first person programs. And I'm a big time stickler for accuracy. No being in and out of character, no clothing gaffs, my characters must always be about the same age I am (yeah, I'm still talking about you, Civil War Guys....), lots and lots of extra stuff goes into a good first person program.


Cottonwood Campground at Theodore Roosevelt NP

The info has to be correct, up to date (as in, you know 1794, or 1887, or 1944, or 1959) with no language boo-boos. For example, your character doesn't say, "Golly gee, that was swell!" in 1794. One of the programs I do is my own Grandmother when my Mom was in the Army. Dialect really helps make this program. As did my Norwegian Woman at TR. I had so many compliments on that one--tusen takk.

Me, as Charlotte, Matron of the Wood County Ohio Infirmary, 1878

Don't even get me started on clothing...... Zippers in 1794? No way. Velcro in 1944? You've got to be kidding. I must say however, that I'm not nuts enough to hand sew my own corset for the 1794 program, but you should see my stockings for my Grandmother's program...

Aunt Mary and Uncle George's home in Bozeman, MT.

So at YNP, I portray DH's Aunt Mary. Her hubby, Uncle George was DH's idol growing up. Worshipped the ground upon which he hiked. DH became a ranger, so he could be like Uncle George. Our family stories abound with the antics of Uncle Geo. Geo was the Supervisor of the Gallatin National Forest, which is the northwestern boundary of YNP. He was there when the 1959 earthquake struck, killing 28 people. So I become Aunt Mary as she relays the efforts of George and the other search and rescue teams. Since Aunt Mary was a Red Cross disaster volunteer, as am I, she was with the first RC folks to reach West Yell from Bozeman. Telling the story from that point of view is very emotional for me. I put so much research into this program, including contacting many folks who were there or whose families were affected. I also begin the program the day's current earthquake data, which means I am doing the numbers right up until the time I begin the program. It's the most intense program I've ever done. I move into the character, and then back out. Talk about schizophrenic.

However.

Presenting this program in a small group setting, as our EPs in West are, doesn't work very well. So this year, I'll put this program on the shelf until September, when the Mad Crew does the campfire programs at the Madison Campground. It's so much more powerful outside. (Yeah, in June, July, August, the OF crew comes to Madison, and we go to West. Go figure.)

WYVIC Meeting Room

So for my EP this summer, I'm going to expand my old afternoon talk, called the Bison Top Ten List. Since we only have 30 minutes for that program, my first quip is that we only have time for 8 things. This way, I can do all ten things and really, really talk bison. I love love love bison. Keeping this to 45 minutes will be tough..... Since the groups are smaller, I'll be able to pass bison parts around, answer more questions, and have a better give and take thing going on.

So come on out to Yellowstone this summer. Crowds will be smaller than the past two years, I'm sure, given the price of gas. We can get you in for free, given that YNP is a hardship, duty station. Yeah, you heard me, hardship duty. :)

Autism Sucks, Dental Work Not Far Behind.

2011-04-12T18:30:00.001-04:00

There I've said it. Again.

There are days when we live relatively comfortably with autism. Not many, but some. But no matter how hard we try to ignore it, it's there. Damn.

Some days are better. No fighting, which in our case is more brother related than autism related, no hassles, just a family doing family stuff.

Then there are the todays.

FTD had his wisdom teeth pulled. I realize that for many it's a right of passage type thing. How many of us had our third molars pulled in our college years? I sure did. DH, too. But last October when FTD first complained of a toothache, the whole wisdom tooth thing didn't even occur to me.

FTD never complains about physical pain, unless it's way beyond what you or I could bear. Last year when he had the flu, it wasn't until I found him lying on the cool tiles of the bathroom floor did I realize how rotten he felt. He never let on.

I didn't know about the teeth until last October, when we were at the Scout Council Camporee celebrating the 100th anniversary of the BS. We were getting ready to head to the Big ToDo, and he suddenly went into near panic mode. We stayed behind, although in hind sight, we maybe should have packed up and headed home then. But he said he wanted to stay and would take a couple of Tylenol instead. (As an aside, it was announced that night FTD's beloved troop leader was selected to represent the Erie Shores Council in the BS Hall of Leadership, one of about 300 selectees nationwide. Unbeknownst to me, someone had clued the powers-that-be in to the video I did of our Parent's Statement on his Eagle Application. That letter was then used as the nomination letter for his leader. Wow. Mark was presented with his award that night, and we missed it. Damn. Aside #2, a mom of another boy with autism saw the same video. Her son's leaders/District/Council were telling her that he couldn't really earn Eagle. His COH is in May. I wish FTD and I could be there....)

Back the the tooth saga. In the past, we've used a dentist, Dr. T., who is not among our insurance providers. He's a great guy, good friend, terrific dentist, but also not cheap. At all. We decided it was time to find someone within our insurance, and with any luck at all s/he would also be a Medicaid provider, so when the boys are booted off our insurance they could continue care and not have to go through the trauma of a new doctor in their lives.

Lo and behold, one of the two dentists in our other town is a provider. She, Dr. N., took one look and said, "Well, that tooth needs a root canal, and as jumpy as he is, you'll need sedation therapy to get it done. And I don't do sedation therapy." Okie dokie. So now I have to find a dentist, Dr. B. who is a provider and does S-IVs. That took another month of phone calling and web-searching. By then it was Christmas, and the good doctor was off playing golf (I'm quite sure) but we got FTD an appointment in January. This appointment involved the anesthesiologist who specializes in dental IV stuff. She also gets paid in cash on the day of the treatment.

The weather couldn't have been much worse the day of the appointment but we made it. (By the way, the doctor hilariously calls his office the dental spa. Seriously? Is that why it's so expensive?) They started working on him, in an attempt to fill 'several' cavities in the back teeth. But they couldn't goof him up enough to get in there. "What's that instrument called? What does it do? Where did you get it? Why are you doing that? When will this be done" and on and on. The doc gave up. There goes my $325 for S-IV that didn't work. And he still needs a root canal. But the doc has a new idea. After all, since his wisdom teeth are coming in sideways, you could have them pulled by Dr. S, along with the rotten tooth. Then while he's still under from that, I'll fill the cavities. Sounds like a plan.

We call Dr. S. He's booked until March. Surprise, surprise. We meet with him. He says that the wisdom teeth and rotten tooth pulling will be covered by our insurance and Medicaid. The cavity work, called dental restorations, mind you, would also be covered by our insurance. The only thing we might have to pay out of pocket was the cost of the dental suite, so Dr. B. could do his thing. Okie dokie, I'm thinking this will run us another $300.

Who knew I could be so wrong. The cost for that would have been $2600.00. What. The. F.

Cancel Dr. B. Go back to Dr. T. and just get the damn thing fixed once and for all. Dr. T. says, yeah, pulling the rotten tooth is a good idea. But says he, he can come in 'after work' at 1 p.m. and get the three cavities in his front teeth filled. Front teeth? What about the "several" cavities in his back teeth that Dr. B said needed to be filled, I thought but didn't say out loud. Dr. T said he could do it with laughing gas and a Valium. For FTD, not me. We did that last week. Pretty dang easy. $300, please.

So finally, the wisdom teeth came out today, along with the rotten tooth. Only took us 6 months. And now, FTD is goofed up on vicadin or something, swelling up, drooling blood and slobber, and trying to listen to my iPod with an ice pack next to his face. There's nothing I can do for him for now, except to keep the ice cream and pudding coming.

And hold his hand. It's what Mom's do.

An Alleged Birding Trip & a Pillow Party

2011-04-10T23:18:00.004-04:00

We drove over the the Lake Erie Marshes today-- the Magee Sportsmans Migratory Bird Center and the Magee Marsh Bird Trail and beach. It's too early for the warbly's~~mostly, although Loopy says he saw his first yellow rump of the year (sounds like a personal problem to me). I did see a robin.* Wowza.

And my first butterfly of the year. I tried looking it up online, but that was a bust. I have a butterfly book here somewhere, but it might still be packed up from last summer. Anybody know what this is?

(Not my pic)

Also saw three ginormous dragon flies. I was telling FTD about how my friend Rick N. takes pics of DFs and Damsel flies by catching them, cooling them in a cooler, taking their pic, and then they warm up and fly away. Whadoyaknow, up walks Rick N. right at that moment. I told him I saw the whoppers and he said he'd been looking but didn't see any. I saw three! I believe he said they were Green Darners--the big boys. They are migratory and just arriving here.

The last time all four of us were in a good pic together. At Acadia, 2005.

This was the last chance all four of us will get to do something fun together. It's not all that much fun when DH is complaining that he could be out splitting wood (like that woulda happened), FTD spends all of his time searching the car for a power cord for his DS, and DD spends all his time saying he's hungry then smacking FTD for no reason. Yeah, we know how to have fun family trips. They like it when we're there~~sorta~~but it's a pain to pull this off. We did have a nice supper at Blackberry Corners, a local tavern frequented by birders, fisher and hunter persons. Danny's favorite thing for the day were the dead birds on the beach.

Since I'm leaving early this year, I'll miss the Biggest Week In American Birding, as well as the waves of cool stuff that goes through here. (Past posts about the BWAB here.)

*Okay, we also saw loads of mud hens, goosi, a couple of egrets, GBH, buzzards, a wren, and three birders who had all the answers. I just didn't ask them any questions. They did talk about the white Wagtail that folks are chasing up in Monroe Co. Mich. If it weren't for the 6 mile hike I'd go up there for the hellofit. It can usually only be seen in coastal Alaska or the Bering region of Russia. Cool. This is the third MI report. One of these day's I'm going to figure out my life list. Yeah, sure, I'll get right on that.

I did see no fewer than 4 kestrels driving home from camp on Saturday. We also had 2 hawks, probably coops, screaming at us in camp.

Crafty Time, Too.

I also got a little bit of sewing in before running away to Girl Scout Camp Libbey Friday and Saturday. I love the way this turned out. I'm making bigger wall hanging versions of this for retired ranger friends. I had tons of strips left of some of the fabric so I made several extra blocks. I bought some pillows when they were on super-sale, not having any clue what I'd do with them, and this worked out. I'm thinking Christmas presents already. I went ahead and quilted the top--batting, backing the works, then sewed that to the back piece. Worked out perfectly. Even DH really likes it.

Hey, I just read about the Pillow Party! And looky here, my first pillow in ages. I can't say much more because the aforementioned retiring rangers might be sneaking a peak!

And my friend Barb is the winner of the "When will the snow finally melt in the Duv's yard Contest." Sometime Friday while I was at camp it all went bye-bye. We'll get some more April snow, but it will melt quickly. Then when we get to Madison Junction, we'll have to shovel our way to the laundry room. Oh, well. Today's hot, muggy weather reminds us why we go through the hassle of packing up and moving twice a year.

P.S. I'll also be happier when I can actually put pictures and text where I want them in the blog. I'm sorta picky about this kind of stuff, and it's frustrating to be so close and yet so far to getting the look I want. Like it matters in the Big Scheme of Things.

West Yellowstone Visitor Information Center~~WYVIC

2011-04-07T16:47:00.001-04:00

Working at WYVIC my first summer was, well, work. The hard part is the full-service cash register. We do it all at WYVIC--every kind of pass you can imagine (there are at least 6 entrance fee categories), seasonal, annual, senior, and access passes, fishing permits (4 kinds), non-motorized boat permits (2 kinds), Junior Ranger booklets (2 kinds), and a couple of other odd ball goodies. Most YNP VCs take money for fish and seasonal type permits and Junior Ranger booklets. Their cash registers are set up to accept only those items so there are just a few buttons, and most also can't take plastic. One day, my uber-supervisor stopped in between appointments and decided to help at the desk. She took her first payment, looked at the register, and said, "Whoa, what are all these buttons for?" It was pretty cute, and in that instant, the Mad crew picked up a little more respect.

My second summer, I learned to enjoy WYVIC. I got the register stuff under control and was very comfortable handling any questions visitors could throw at me. And boy, do they come up with some doozies! We take it all in stride. Some folks want to know why they have to pay $25 just to drive thru the park ("We just want to go over to Cody for a while") and other folks are so confused about our one road that it's nothing short of a miracle that they got to the park at all. Seriously, how can some one travel from Europe or Asia and not know what's in the park? How can someone from Toledo not have any clue about the road? Not having an understanding of the incredible flora/fauna/geology is one thing, but for crying out loud, there's just one road! Maybe folks are so 'mapped out' by the time they get here that they don't want to look at another map.

See? One long road, five ways in and out. That's it. Simple.

In terms of programs in West, we do a map talk in the morning called Explore Yellowstone. We literally hand out the 'tear off' maps, (which are so very, very kindly donated to the park by the Yellowstone Association), pencils, and park newspapers, then conduct class. "Now students, put your finger on West Yellowstone, that's where we are now......" Not really, but close. In the past we've only had one ranger on the desk, so while we were doing the program, the line inside grew steadily. It looks like we'll have 2 rangers on the morning shift this year--yahooooooo!

In the afternoon, we've done one program either at the West Yell Historical Center across the street, or at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, just down the block. Rarely have there been more than 8 or 9 folks at the Museum, and about 20 or 25 folks at the Griz/Wolf Center. Part of the problem has been that it was at one or the other. Rumor has it that we will do a program at each one this year--again, yahoo! If we consistently have programs available, things will pick up. Yea! I haven't decided what to do for my afternoon talk, since I'm going to expand the Bison Top Ten List for my new evening program. I love thinking up new programs.

Next post? Rangers Just Wanna Have Fu-un.

Or maybe Evening Programs. Or maybe a quilty thing again.

Kids Outside and the Importance Thereof

2011-04-07T16:33:00.000-04:00

A fellow blogger, retired NPS Ranger Bruce W. Byntar hits the nail on the head with this one. Check out his post on the (ill) effects of standardized testing here.

Metroparks of the Toledo Area Julie Streb at at 'owl' release in Oak Openings Metropark, Whitehouse Ohio


Kids of all ages watching bison at the Madison Junior Ranger Station in Yellowstone National Park.


Girl Scouts studying their plot at Secor Metropark, Sylvania Ohio.

My nephew, the Lil Ripper, enjoying Oak Openings Metropark the fun way.

Quick Thanks

2011-04-06T23:21:00.001-04:00

Just a quick post to say thanks to all of you who have left such kind remarks over the past couple of days. Even though I think of this blog as a diary, it's nice that some of you find it fun to read.

My friends at the US Marshal's office used their new fancy machine to take my fingerprints electronically today, since my latest paper set was once again rejected. It took about 5 tries to get even any impression of my fingers at all today. The young man who did them had never seen any thing like this before. My fingers literally didn't even show up as shadows on the computer. DH mailed them priority today in the hopes that the YNP HR guy can get them out to the Fibbies in West-by-God before the wheels of government screech to a halt. I don't really have much hope of this happening. I can't work or move into the apt until the prints clear or I am adjudicated. I start 31 days from today in theory. If the gov stops, chances of me starting on the 8th are pretty slim.

I did pack my summer clothes today. I don't need much since I'm in uniform 40 hours a week, and asleep the rest. Okay, not quite, but we don't go out much since "out" is at least 30 minutes away. We don't need a lot of summer clothes since it doesn't usually go above 80, on a hot day, at Madison. We do have to take our 'almost winter' clothes, though and they take up a lot more space.

Maybe I'll check out the kitchen boxes tomorrow. Naw, I've got a couple of quilts calling my name.

Winding with BadAmy

2011-04-04T09:51:00.005-04:00

Wanna have some fun? Spend quality time with BadAmy in her fiber arts studio!

I've been winding yarn for her. Miles and miles and miles of it. This year she ~~was coaxed/~~decided to do a stripe-y sock club. The gist of it is that folks sign up and send in money for three skeins of yarn that are delivered over a 6 month period. So 75 folks sent her some serious scratch for sock yarn which they then have to knit into socks! Go figure.

As the Assistant Second Team Winding Lackey, I actually help unwind the yarn. It comes in undyed hanks that are in loops about 40 inches in diameter. We have to get them into loops that are nearly 30 feet in diameter. Lemme tell ya, this ain't no easy trick. So you need a swift, a warping board, and books on tape to get you though.

This gizmo is an umbrella swift. This is not how you want your yarn to look. Oops.

This is a warping board. You determine how long you want your loops to be, then find a pattern of pegs that will do that for you. And you wind and wind and wind and wind. I can do a skein in about 20 minutes, if the knot gremlins stay away. Yeah, that will work.

From the warping board the loops go to the tried and true back of the chairs for tying for dying, and washing and soaking.

Then the magic happens! BadAmy dyes the yarn. As with her ceramic glazes, the exact colors and combos are a tightly held company secret. I have utterly no idea how she does this. I do know that she must think in color. I can look at a blue and a green and say, "Wow, nice blue and green." She looks at the same colors and says, "This one has yellow tones, and this one has magenta tones, but if I change this to that....." and voila! An incredible new colorway. Awesome to watch her work.

To make self-striping yarn, you have to calculate 1) how big an average sock is and 2) how big you want the stripes to be. Then you have to figure how much yarn gets color A and how much gets color B and so on. Amy makes special colorway maps to keep track of her designs.

See how the this yarn, called Kopoho Stripe is black on one end and varigated on the other? When you knit it up, it makes stripes! I'm surprised every time it happens!! Isn't that just freakin' amazing? This pattern is an exclusive color for BadAmy's current sock club.

These socks were knit by club and Ravelry member Shannonstitches. Thanks!

After applying the dye, the yarn gets cooked, which can be done in several ways, but I'm not going to divulge BadAmy's secret to super-lustrous color. Then the yarn air drys, which is where our basement with the radiant in-floor heat comes in perfectly. Then it has to be wound ::again::, this time back into the 40 inch loops. BadAmy then packages it and ships it out.

Amy has several other colorways--there are a bunch of Harry Potter things~~something about House colors, but since BadAmy says I'm a Muggle, I don't get it. There's a Caf-pow, Dr. Seuss, a Halloween Kit series, and much more, but to check all of those out, go to BadAmyKnits on Etsy and find the sold products.

So I hear she needs some Nyphadora or Sytherien or something, so I'd better get back to the winding.

Junior Ranger Programs

2011-04-03T23:31:00.001-04:00

Note: I'm using the new and allegedly improved blog writer for this post. It does things of it's own volition, like changing font sizes and styles. The spellchecker has a mind of its own, and it ain't always pretty. Pictures go where they darn well want to. So here, goes, with my apologies up front for the any non-intentional weirdness.

I'm an interpretive ranger. Short version, I tell stories. I don't get to carry a gun. I can, however, wag my finger at people being naughty, and I have radio and I know how to use it for those trickier situations.

NPS interps, lovingly called intwerps by all the other rangers-- you know the real ones with guns like DH carried ::eye roll:: --get to chose the topics of our programs. And if not the topic, then the flow of the program. The current program buzzword is connections. We strive to make our visitors see how they connect to the resource. Lots of folks don't see themselves as a part of Yellowstone, yet they are. Our favorite ranger mantra is that people must care about the parks in order to care for the parks.

How do rangers do that? See my header? The quote by Mr. Roosevelt? That's how we do it.

I can still list every program I've ever done. Yeah, I know it's weird but there it is. I'll just bore you with my YNP stash o' Junior Ranger programs:

Bison Jeopardy. I tried this out at TRNP and it bombed. It was too esoteric and random then. Now that I do this with kids, I have them do the 'answers' in order, instead of randomly, and I have a fun way of making that happen. It also has more concrete info for kids to digest. We go from easy stuff to the "hard" stuff and woo hoo, the kids can earn Bully Bison Bucks, complete with TR's pic.

Here are the answers: a flyswatter, a spoon, a sleeping bag, 40 lbs, 1000 lbs, 2000 lbs, 3000 bison, 250,000 bison, 25 bison. Make up your own questions. And if my group is "smart" enough for final jeopardy, the answer is BISON. (If anybody is bored enough to do this, send me your questions. I'll send ya something, but God only knows what it will be......)

Who Wants to be a Wolf Watcher? This is based on the TV show Millionaire. Kids never see it, since it's on during the day, but it's a pretty straight forward multiple guess game with three lifelines. And what program isn't good that ends with the question "Which pack was named for the Father of Conservation"? Since I hand out Wolf Gang Bucks for right answers, and there's a pic and name of Mr. Leopold on it, this question ends up being tons of fun. "... the green fire...."

Be a Better Birder (B3) I have pics of 8 to 10 fairly common YNP birds that the kids might actually be able to see, and we figure out wingspans using rope, food sources, blah blah blah. This is highly interactive and at least once or twice a summer, our resident ospreys put in an appearance right on schedule!

Leave No Trace. Good old fashioned LNT overview, then we dress a kid for a hike. I start with back pack full of crapola and they decide what they should actually take on a hike with them. I did this my first two years and tabled it last year to try some new things. Always a good lesson.

Yellowstone Rocks! I had planned this program my first 2 summers, but couldn't make it gel the way I wanted--then Eyjafjallajökull blew. And I learned to pronounce it.

I love this, but it needs to be split into 2 shorter programs, so I'll work on that this spring. One section of it will be a 'rock lab' where each kid gets a bag with 5 rocks in it and we give them the geologist test (the rocks, not the kids). And what kid doesn't like playing with rocks?

I Was Here! This was an afternoon program that I used with smaller groups of kids. We talked about how people throughout history have recorded their own stories. Then I break out my rubber stamps and ink and we make story robes about their YNP trip on brown paper. I also shelved this one last summer but may do it sometimes this summer for fun. I wish I could do this one in West... hhhmmmmmm.....

CSI: Madison. This program has been rolling around in my head for 3 years. The history of Madison is storied and ever-changing. My thought is to have the kids look around the building for clues--the place on the back porch where a tree used to grow, the carved pine trees in the fascia, the plaques out front, old pictures I would supply, etc.. Since I'm a stickler for making programs grow in a logical and meaningfully ordered manner, I'm still working this one around. One of these days......

Next post (maybe): my programs at West--and the changes I'm planning for this year.

Rangering

2011-04-02T15:59:00.002-04:00

When I'm at Yellowstone, I spend 8 hours per day, 5 days per week talking about Yellowstone. Blogging about it becomes work.

So here's a heads up on what I'll be doing this summer~~long before it seems like work.

First, this will be my 6th season with the National Park Service. I served my first summer in Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora, North Dakota. Loved, loved, loved it and would go back in a heart beat if there was housing available--which there isn't for families. Drat.

My second season was at Acadia National Park in Maine. We lived in Southwest Harbor on the quiet side of the island. I was a GS-7 there, which at ACAD meant I did hikes and programs, with only a couple hours a week behind the desk.

I had to skip NPS work for two summers as there were no positions open where there was also family housing open. Yeah, housing is a huge issue for NPs.

Since starting at YNP in 2008, my duty station has been the Madison Information Station. Our crew also covers the Public Lands Desk at the West Yellowstone Visitor Information Center.

My duties at Madison include researching, preparing, and presenting 30 minute programs when we 'change' the name of the Madison Information Station (MIS) to the Madison Junior Ranger Station in June, July, and August. On those days, 2 rangers alternate programs, each presenting 5 programs a day. We can pick any topic related to YNP, and do whatever programs we want in whatever order we choose. I have some programs that I call all day programs, and some are afternoon programs, when we have fewer kids~~usually. We have been lucky for the past 2 years to have super terrific volunteers at Madison to keep things moving while programs are going on.

At WYVIC, we work the desk. The building was remolded during my first summer and is a really nice facility which is actually owned by the WY Chamber of Commerce, I think. We 'borrow' space from them with arrangements that involve the village, the Chamber, the State of Montana, and the Federal government. I have no clue how it really works. As we say, it's way above my pay grade. Thank goodness.

While at West, I mostly tell people where to go. "The restrooms are outside and to the left." Yep, 6 years of college and that's the most important thing I say all day. After that, they come back in and I get to tell them where to go again, but this time it involves how to see YNP. Some folks are just 'driving through' and others want me to plan their every minute in the park for a week. We do a daily program at 9:30 call "Explore Yellowstone" which I have dubbed "Yellowstone in 30 Minutes or Less." At ACAD, this was called the map talk. We do afternoon talks each day at 2:00 either at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center or at the WY Historical Center.

The downside of this position is having to work an entrance cash register, which comes under the Law Enforcement Ranger division. Most VCs have a register of some sort so they can sell Jr. Ranger papers, annual passes, Senior passes, fishing permits, etc., but at West we do it all. Big time, and getting bigger. Businesses in town have really starting promoting the VC and our visitation numbers have really grown, so much so that we are getting 2 more rangers on our staff this year. We will do more programs in West, and finally, we will get to do a hike to Harlequin Lake! I was getting really, really tired of being in buildings all day. I actually looked into transferring to the Old Faithful District, as some family housing was to open up, and with my years in now, I would be 'eligible' for it (that's not quite how the housing thing works, but that's the gist of it). But I so love doing the Junior Ranger programs that I've chosen to return to Madison, at least for another year.

So that's it in a nutshell. Before I go, I'll write up more about my programs.

Obsesssion

2011-04-01T12:47:00.003-04:00

Seriously. I'm obsessed. Since I don't get to sew for 4 months of the year, it's like I'm trying to make up for lost time now. (I have decided to take the long strips out west for when I need fabric therapy. No thinking required, just a zillion strips to stick together.)

So instead of posting about how autism sucks--we got a full 'dose' of it this week, what with dentist appointments and all (all being taking both boys to the family doc and the eye doctor~~my nephew David, that is) or about the programs I'm thinking up for next summer, or of the ideas we've got for our GS Council's 100th Anniversary Celebrations, I'll just post these.

Table runner done~~quilted and bound. Yea. The quilt from this material is at a long arm quilter here in my hometown. She's been doing this for 3 years, but I just heard about her. I hope I like her work on the big ol' Gammil.

Loopy's bird butt mug rug is ready for the mail--thanks to another wonderful little bird who flew in with his address. He's been kinda blue lately what with all the crap that's going on with our state and federal elected officials acting like 7 year olds. Naw, that gives 7 year olds a bad rap...

So with all these done, I got some beautiful yellow and blue log cabin squares cut and sewed for presents for certain retired rangers. And there's lots of material left in strips so who knows what will happen with that.

A Month to Go

2011-03-30T10:22:00.003-04:00

It's that time again. I will officially let myself start thinking about packing this weekend. I'm still lobbying for a larger trailer. DH hates the idea, but I'm still stuck on it. He says we can't afford it--either to purchase, much less to pull half way across the continent--but then I go downstairs and stare at the sauna we've owned for two years, which we only used to hide Christmas presents in and wonder why we own that..... (That was a terrible sentence, sorry.) Anywho.....

I'm going to try something new this year. I'm going to not put anything new in the trailer until 1 week before we go. Yeah, right, that'll happen. Or conversely, I'll put a box in as soon as it's packed, which means I have at least half the boxes ready to go.

I'm also trying to figure out what kind of stuff I can take out to make the apt feel more like home. I made curtains for LR and our room and need to make some for the boys room. Since weight in the trailer is an issue, I need to think of things that are pretty and fun and still don't weigh much and are not breakable. Yeah, I hear ya~~quilts. But which ones???