Things I Learned at 8th Grade Graduation

• People come in all shapes and sizes
• Black people and Hispanics tend to dress way better than white people
• They really did put air conditioning in the school
• Red hair still rules!
  
• When you have nothing else to do make a list of unusual names on the program;

1. Unusual first names: Precious, Niccolo, Pichest, Caelynne, Richelle, Sierrastorm, Whisper, Tessa, Chase, Lavada, Tekeya, Athene, Cordy, Nowell, Sha'dae, Montago, Amethyst, Diamond (these came right after one another on the roster I kid you not), Osvaldo, Kindra, Takira, Dontae, Joyhia, Deja, Raeanna, Mercedes, Cierra, Nila, Zhakira, Dolma, Nabil (f), Kalil, Rindi, Valeria
   
2. Biblical names: Hannah, Sarah, Rebecca, Anna, Peter, Leah, Michael, Jonathan, Joshua, Joseph, Jacob, John, Mary, James, Noah, Matthew, Jessie, Daniel, David, Benjamin, Abigail, Mark, Samuel, Aaron, Elijah
3. Traditional names: Katie, Kelly, Tristan, Christian, Madeline, Chelsea, Mitchel, Derrick, Kyle, Connor, Kevin, Tony, Courtney, Bonnie, Ryan, Heather, Bobby, Sean, Audrey, Maria.....hey there's no JACK on the list ANYWHERE hmmmmmmmmmmm
   

Well those Thunderbirds just went by. I waited and waited and yep...I got to see them (and hear them they are so loud they almost rattle windows) so I'm off to do whatever....I need to fix some more tins with sedums then figure something out for supper. Talk to you later.

Thunderbirds not Blue Angels

Leslie pointed out that the Air Force jet team was the Thunderbirds not the Blue Angels. I have held that misconception for years because this picture is from 2006 and I named it Blue Angels... whoops my bad.

Jack and I made a library run yesterday afternoon and we stopped at Drifters on Garden of the Gods Rd for lunch. We could see the jets plainly from there and we sat and watched for about 1/2 hour.

Oh goody, I get to go to Dakota's 8th Grade graduation today and be in the vicinity of Mommy Kim, Grandma Paaaaattttttttttty and Darling Marena. I haven't blogged much about them here but you can scroll through my old Myspace blogsomeday if you need a good laugh and to feel really good about your own disfunctiuonal families.

Http://blog.myspace.com/danceswithpitbulls

At Last...the FINISHED QUILTS!

It was a long and winding the road, the trip to finish these damn quilts. Oops did I say that out loud? I didn't mean it...it just seemed to take forever and a day. Well, not Sharie's quilt. I actually whipped that puppy out quite quick. It's just that I told her I'd make it way over a year ago that made it seems so long. I will embroider the baby's name and birth date once she gets here.

Anyways, I think the effort was worth it. They are both gorgeous and I'll be proud to hand them over along with the Mother's Quilts and Joseph's Quilt.

The canvases are the ones I decoupaged for my nephew, Dustin. My sister cross stitched the little panels but couldn't understand how to glue them on artists' canvas...lol she sent duck canvas but hey that's OK! You know I don't do Halloween, but I think they turned out pretty good.

It's cloudy and raining. Jack is home because the job site was a mud pit. I can hear the AFA Blue Angels circling overhead in preparation for Graduation wednesday but I can't see them. I hope it dries up soon.

A few more Pictures

Rain Rain go away, come back when I go to Illinois please. I imagine that the poor people at Territory Days are soaked again :(

Here are a few more pics from Saturday. Can you guess who the dragonfly glitter tattoo belongs to?

I have spent today working on Deanna's quilt and Sharie's Grandma quilt. Pics of those tomorrow then I'll pack them up and mail them.

Being Silly atTerritory Days

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What's Territory Days without some good photo ops? Unforetunately the rain cut our visit short so I didn't get any pics of the re-enactors this year. If we go tomorrow I will. PS that's Mike snoozing there by Cheryl. Can you tell he was less than enthused to be there? LOL!

Secure Yourself (Indigo Girls Cover)

Sunday in the Mountains

We went up to Woodland Park Sunday afternoon. That means I have been in the mountains more this year already than I got to go all last year. Although we found some good spots the weather doesn't look like it will cooperate so I promised Jack we'd go when I get back from Illinois.

We did get to go to the Rampart Reservoir, my absolute favorite place in the world to be! The tree Deanna and Brian carved their initials in got gnawed on by a beaver :| (see video below)

My favorite pic of the day was the butt-crack rock lol! So I'm easily amused...SUE ME!

After a break at Sonic we cruised to Deckers. The Hayman fire was sooooooooooo damaging. You really have to see the whole picture to appreciate the destruction. Here's a link to Wikipedia on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayman_Fire

Scouting for Campsites

We went up towards Cripple Creek looking at campsites yesterday. Some had too much snow and some were too public but we did see a couple of possibilities. I even had Jack stop so I could go ask some campers about their setup. We're going back to Woodland Park this afternoon to check out a couple of more.

PS The deer aren't like the ones back in Illinois. This young buck and his mother didn't even flinch when we drove by and were still grazing in the same spot when we came back. (Oh if only the ones I had hit had remained in the ditch!)

Dead Bushes and Boys Actually Working

I deleted a couple of songs so I could show the bush project. Once the rocks are sifted (another major undertaking) I'll plant flowers like I did last year. It was spectacular and several have reseeded for this season YAY!

Things That Make You go HUH?

In filling up my memory cards with songs I have no room for pictures. I went through my May folder and found this strange sign from the dog walk at Bear Creek Park.

I took the bus downtown yesterday, my first trip on public transportation since Jack got laid off way back.... They changed the route. I actually prefer it this way. If I need to go to Walgreens or Kmart I can just catch the 6 instead of transferring to the 20 or the 9.

No school today. Dakota had a friend spend he night and Dalton showed up at 8 AM. They are busy taking out the dead hedges in front. I had to RAISE MY VOICE to make them understand that I WAS BOSS OF THIS PROJECT!!! So far so good. Although we promised no monetary gain from this job (Dakota wanted a "work out" and Jack suggested this) I may throw them $20 to go to McDonalds later.

Using my Mom's MP3 Player

As I was digging around for some paper clips earlier today I found the MP3 player my aunt Karen brought out from Chicago with some of my mom's other stuff. I had asked her where the compter chord was, got no answer and packed it away. Today I noticed a slot for an SD card just like the one my camera uses. Hmmmmmmmmm wonder if that would actually work? It did and here's a short sample of the play list I built

1. Jethro Tull- Skating Away (on the thin ice of a new day)
2. James McMurtry- Lights of Cheyenne
3. Chris Cagle- Country by the Grace of God
4. Clutch- Spacegrass
5. Elton John- I Guess That's Why They Call it the Blues
6. Evenesence- My Immortal
7. Greenwheel- I Don't Believe
8. Lynyrd Skynyrd- Gimme Back My Bullets
9. Pearl Jam -Yellow Ledbetter
10. Sister Hazel- Your Winter (acoustic)
11. Stillwater- Mindbender
12. War- Slipping Into Darkness

This will come in handy on the train! I ordered a 2 Gig card from walmart.com for $10.54 with shipping included. Not too shabby eh?

Attack of the Plants

It's Springtime and an old woman's heart turns to thoughts of gardening. Only here in Colorado I have no real place to garden. Hmmmmmmmm. Guess I'll have to improvise!

I bought a bunch of tins at Goodwill Saturday and am filling them with sedums and semperviviums. As luck would have it Grandma and Grandpa up the street are having some yard work done and called me to come get some funky little hens and chicks that would otherwise be destroyed. Glad to help out!

The box Jack built me last year has onions and spinach growing in it and we have three tomato plants ready to be planted. I drug home a big pink pot Jack spotted in the alley for his yellow cherry tomato plant.

Now if the plants will be continue to be watered while I am in Illinois I will be happy. Jack did real good taking care of everything last year when I left all three times so I ain't really all that worried about it!

My Pregnant Daughter

My daughter, Deanna, is having her first baby in early June. I actually thought maybe she wouldn't have children but I'm glad she took the plunge. My daughter-in-law, Emmy Lou Combs, threw a baby shower for her last weekend. I finally got to see what Deanna looks like pregnant!

Up to Pam's Cabin

Pam invited me to go see her cabin. How could I refuse!?! Great weather, sports car, free lunch...well wouldn't you go too? At Divide go right instead of left to Cripple Creek. Beautiful scenery there and back. The only bad thing is I got absolutely no work done today besides a load of laundry and a shower. I need to get busy and go water plants. ( o0O I wish we had seen a bear)

NEWS UPDATE!!! IT SEEMS THERE IS A WILD FIRE BURNING NEAR PAM'S CABIN. i SWEAR TO GOD I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!!

Lilacs, Moons and a Memorial for Mary

I thought maybe there would be a good sunset last night. There wasn't. So as I wondered around looking for other photo ops I saw the pile of stones on the railroad tie out front that I had placed there one evening when my mother and I were watching traffic go by. She got a kick out it. At that point when she had only two weeks to live she was easily amused by almost everything I did. Now I can't bring myself to move them and I thought maybe a photo would be a good idea in case Dakota and his friends think it would be fun to chuck them at cars some day.

The moon was pretty awesome last night too. The lilacs SUCK because the late snows fried most of the buds.

Another Crazy Week Ahead

I have a busy week ahead of me again. I am almost done with the batik autumn blocks from the fabrics Leslie gave me. Now I need to find a border fabric. Since I will only have one kit to sell it can be something exquisite and maybe somewhat pricey from Mill Outlet. When I get the sample blocks sewed together I will take the piece with me and preview borders on site.

Besides that I will be working on brown and pink blocks for my upcoming grand baby. I leave May 28 to go visit them for two weeks. I am looking forward to a long slow train ride reading, sewing, knitting and making new friends.

If I have any time left at all this week I'll be working on these oriental themed blocks which were also inspired by Leslie's stash she graciously threw my way. Thanks again!!!

Union Printer's Home Colorado Springs

My friend Pam's mother lives at The Union Printer's Home on Union Blvd in Colorado Springs. I have driven by it many times and always wanted to go in an take some pictures. Pam invited me to go with her to visit Miss Jean last Thursday so I jumped on the chance and snapped away! There is a wealth of history in the halls downstairs. If you ever get the chance to stop you really should. The residents love visits. You can even bring your pets!