Visit to Dustins, Gina, and Bryce in LA

Paul and I took a short trip to Los Angeles to visit our 10th grandchild, Bryce Camden.

 

Dustin and Gina welcomed us to their home. We enjoyed dinner in their back yard.

 

 

Paul and I took a walk around the block and enjoyed the sights,  flowers, ...

 

...and palm trees of Tujunga.

 

 

 

Dustins live in what they call a "back house." It's cute and comfortable, just perfect for their needs.

 

Saturday they took us to Montrose for ...

 

... a treat of homemade ice cream at Paradis.

 

On Sunday we drove up to Lubec for church and lunch. Then we drove just a little further north on Interstate 5 through "the Grapevine" to where the mountains abruptly stop and the San Joaquin Valley begins.

 

We pulled off at Pyramid Lake ...

 

 

...and learned more about the water resources of California.

 

This little munchkins was sleeping soundly when we got back.

Life and “Amazing Grace”

Life …

We had our family all together when Dustin & Gina arrived from Los Angeles. Here are all my girls with an antique meat fork or pie crust cutter. I’m trying to pass out some of the things I have accumulated over the years.

The boys each got an awl that I had purchased at my folks sale. Father turned the handles on the lathe to his liking.

We gave the grandchildren each a puzzle or game.

… as a Quilter

I finished a challenge to use this symbol in an art quilt.

It reminded me of the sol in shaped note music. So, I took a picture of a song...

...and printed it out on fabric and layered it with the batting and backing.

Then I machine quilted it +/- 1/8” apart over the whole surface.

I machine stitched over all the music and lettering. I’m calling it “Amazing Grace.” It measures 8”X10” and is finished with a narrow binding and ready to hang.

And now I have started on my second Magnolia which is to be 36” square. You can see my first Magnolia here.

~~~ Parting Shot ~~~

Dustin and Gina Visit, Georgi’s Birthday, and “Another Glimpse”

The long awaited day finally arrived. I picked up Dustin and Gina at Key Field in Meridian. Dustin enjoyed telling us about some history of the airport while we waited for luggage.

Georgi had her 5th birthday last week.

She had a hard time blowing out her candles. They kept reigniting, so Andy helped her blow.

Joel enclosed and finished out a cubby hole in their loft just a little bigger than a twin size mattress for a new place for the girls to sleep since they are boarding our kindergarten teacher, Claudia. Claudia is Sheila’s sister.

I’m stitching the cattails down on my quilt, “Another Glimpse.”

Since Dustin and Gina came home for a visit …

… we invited some of the cousins in for an evening of fellowship.

Teryn

We had a special lunch at Mi Ranchitos.

Phil and Amanda with Emily and Colton came for a night to visit with Dustins.

Flying to See Dustin & Gina and Dana Makes a Quilt

Life …

I made a fast flying trip with Paul and Joel to NY. Paul had a CAM Rapid Response meeting in PA. Joel planned to visit Dustin & Gina in NY after dropping Paul off in PA. There were 2 extra seats in the plane so I got to hop aboard to go along.

Dustin took Joel to some airplane museum close by and Gina took me to a few little fabric shops around Penn Yan.

In his back yard, Dustin chopped and broke scrap slats for a bonfire.

This is the back side of the house where Dustin & Gina live.

They invited her family in for supper -- meat, potatoes, carrots and onions wrapped in tin foil and then smoked on the grill.

Joel roasted his marshmallows to perfection.

Gina fixed us a wonderful breakfast including homemade grape juice. Mmmmm good!

I enjoyed my short stay with Dustin & Gina so very much. It just didn’t last long enough.

On the way back to the airport Joel bought us a treat at Seneca Farms. I chose “peach” ice cream, the flavor of the week, . And that was mmmmmm good too!

And then it was time to fly back home.

… as a Quilter

Dana came over one day and became interested in making a small quilt. She’s a good fast learner …

… and got a good start on her improvisational quilt. She’s making it similar to the quilt that Gina made here.

We stopped for fuel at a small airport in Knoxville, TN. Seeing the Sunsphere reminded me of the AQS Quilt Show we had attended there earlier.

Family, Claire Bleu Quilts, Gina’s Quilt

Talya and Clyde

When a stray cat showed up at our house, Gabriel befriended it and named it Homey. Later when Homey came around she was much thinner. So Gabriel searched and found where she had her kittens. And when he kept watching he was sure one of them was a possum latching on to  her belly.

Then he became the possums friend too and made a nice box and home for the mother cat and her little ones. Unfortunately Homey moved her litter and somehow, Pogo the possum didn’t make it. I like it when boys are kind to animals. It tells me something about their character!

Gabriel’s sister Claire Bleu came to visit one weekend.

She brought along her “en plien air” quilting picture that she had started a few weeks back, and wanted to finish it.

I was amazed at all the different colors of thread she pulled out to stitch onto the fused fabric pieces.

I encouraged her to make a small sample piece to practice on and get the thread tension correct. When I saw what she made, I thought it was way too nice to use for practice.

And then later she made a second one to go with the first one. She left these 2 pieces here for me to quilt and finish.

Here’s her finished “Graber Farms” quilt. She is planning to add a green border and fold it around a stretcher board.

And it really does resemble our farm! Great job!

Cousins with Ashton and Gina

Gina and Tina

Gina finished her quilt and I quilted it but didn’t get the binding on before they left.

She made a huge gigantic block for the back.

I could tell she was right pleased with herself and amazed her mom and friends!