181- Stargazer Lily

I sneak outside this afternoon before the wind started to howl and got shots of my beautiful stargazer lilies. Good thing!! Now their petals are strewn all over the backyard... sad, sad, sad... I think I'm in Palmdale again!



I bought these bulbs spring 2009 and put them in a pot with some petunias. I never saw them even sprout! So this spring when I hauled the pots out from under the deck I saw that they'd started to sprout.

I thought they would never bloom! Apparently they needed the hot weather (well, Springville hot = 90)in order to bloom. Now I can hope that the wind calms down so I can enjoy the rest of the blooms that are getting ready to pop.

180- The Flip-Flop Girl

Miss Camille, is one of the original flip-flop girls. She wears them in the winter and snow. So it is no surprise that she wants to wear flip-flops on her wedding day!

I got a nice pair of white sequiny-flops for her but she really had visions of lace covered and embellished ones. I started these babies yesterday before running away on the Nebo Loop tour.



I started out by gathering all of my needed materials:

• Dr Pepper in my week-old Sonic cup (I hoard those cups this time of year... they will keep my drink icy cold all day!)
• The UN-embellished flops
• My favorite pink scissors
• Needles and threads
• 18-year old lace leftover from Rebekah's wedding dress
• 18-year old beads and sequins leftover from Rebekah's wedding dress
• Sequins and beads from Camille's dress
  
• Eyeglasses- two pair of varying strengths
• Ah... and Johnny Depp! (Bet you weren't expecting HIM to help with this were you? He's such a pirate!)
  

First I trimmed the pieces of lace to fit the various areas of the flops, then I beaded these pieces. Can I just say once again... I am so grateful I didn't have bead a whole dress!!!



Now, change to a heavier needle and thread and attach all the pieces to the straps! So, so pretty!



I even let Camille try one of them on last night when she stopped by... but not until she's washed her feet first!! No footie marks on these flops for another 9.5 days!!!

OK so do you want to hear another funny footwear story?

Eight years ago I made Jandy's wedding dress. She came for several fittings. I told her she needed to wear the undergarments she'd be wearing at the wedding for the fittings. At each fitting we discussed what shoes she should wear. Her sister had worn ballet shoes because she danced. Jandy always appeared in her big black boots for these fittings. Finally I told her she just needed to get some of those fancy white laces, spit shine her boots and wear then... AND SHE DID! No one except Jandy, Jaquelle and I knew she had them on until it was time for the garter toss. What a hoot!

179- On a Summer Afternoon

This morning Gordon asked me if I'd like to try the Nebo Loop again since the last time we went (4 weeks ago) it was still closed with snow across the top. My first reply was that I was up to my eyebrows in wedding stuff. But after I'd worked for several hours on my latest project (more to come soon) I knew I needed a little break. So Pap, Pup and I took off for a big explore.

It was a perfect day, not too hot, everything a bright vibrant green and lots of things to take photos of.

Mt Nebo was so beautiful in all of his glorious green robes.



The Nebo Loop is one of these little narrow mountain road that winds its way around in the Uinta National Forest... where there is plenty of open range grazing. We came around a corner and smack-dab into this herd of cows... RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. And they were asking why we were disturbing their afternoon stroll.



I love the look of this little dun-colored calf with his fashion-statement #33 earring. He must have lost the set because he was wearing #10 in the other ear. Dapper little man!



Not too far from him was his little scaredy-calf cousin. He couldn't like us at all!



And here was the moogalette choir headed for higher ground.



But the funniest thing happened when my camera wasn't ready. There was a little feisty red calf down on the road. A motorcycle came roaring around the corner and feisty calf made a run at it... no scaredy calf there!

The one thing I wanted to do was take the hike around Payson Lakes. There is a very nice asphalted trail that meanders its way around Big East Lake. It is such a beautiful stroll. Harley and I (Pap waited in the car) took off on our explore. The first thing we saw were two naughty dogs (no, good dogs, naughty owners) running loose... but they were not photo worthy canines.

Then we came across this flotilla of ducks. Ms. Mama Duck and her 10 little ducklings were gliding along on the calm lake.



I was so fixed on this Mama that I almost missed Ms. Mama + 2! I wonder if the second Mama was sad that she only had two babies?



But this, THIS is the epitome of a summer afternoon activity... a young man fly fishing. I just stood there and watched his quiet rhythm. It made me want to go join him.



As we were leaving Payson Lakes (after inspecting all the campsites which were mostly reserved for the 4th weekend) we came upon this meadow skirted by aspens and billowing clouds in the cerulean sky.



We made several other stops to capture the sights of this lovely summer afternoon including Utah Lake stretching its way up the valley. What a gorgeous day!

178- Camille & Kevin's Wedding Quilt

Way back on Day 098 I blogged about starting Camille and Kevin's wedding quilt. Then on Day 107 I had a little rant because apparently in my diminished mental capacity I couldn't add 1 + 1+ 3 and come up with 5 in my little-girl-mind! In between those two date I had several other posts about shopping for the fabric, receiving it, cutting the fabric wrong... ordering more fabric and cutting it correctly.

I worked pretty consistently on the top getting all the blocks sewn into the rows until Auntie P arrived the around the beginning of May and I went into *crazy-woman-sewing-dresses-mode*. Then it waited patiently for me, as quilts always do, until I finally got back to it a couple of weeks ago.

And now, NOW, it is finished!



I'm pleased with the end results and hope that the happy couple will be as well. I made matching pillow cases to go along with it.



But here is the funny thing... for the last 3 months (well, 81 days to be exact) I've been pretty much obsessed with *SEW SOMETHING*! Today I walked into my workroom and looked at my quiet Sabbath sewing machine and thought, "Hmmm, what do I have to sew?" The answer is, NOTHING! YAY!

Ahh, but there is that quilt, you know the kind... the one that's been patiently waiting since spring of 2009 that is calling to me. Maybe I need some fabric therapy starting tomorrow!

BTW- If you would like to have the pattern for Camille and Kevin's Chang Quilt drop me a line and I will get you one.

177- All Bound Up

This phrase has a double meaning today: not only is the quilt all bound and finished, but I'm feeling all bound up with Camille's wedding less than 2 weeks away.

I often wish that binding up my feelings was as easy as binding a quilt, but alas, it isn't. I get too caught up in unmet expectations, disappointments and just sheer exhaustion.

The good news is that all of the sewing is finished! Now I just need to keep all the little duck lined up and ready for a wedding in 13 days!



As I finished binding the quilt yesterday I thought I would share my way of putting on binding. Some *purists* might not want to follow my method but that is ok... it works well for me.

Instead of the usual way of machine sewing the binding to the front of the quilt and then hand-stitching the binding on the back side (which makes my hands and wrists hurt so much!) I machine sew the binding to the back of the quilt and then turn the finished edge to the front.

Then, using the point of my seam ripper or stiletto to manipulate the fabric, I machine sew along the edge of the binding.



By careful feeling and alignment I make the stitches fall right in the *ditch* on the back side of the quilt. This isn't a particularly fast method, but it is easier, faster and more secure then the hand sewing method. Even if all of the stitched don't end up right in the ditch, once washed it doesn't show.



The front looks so nice, neat and precise. A hundred years ago quilters who'd hand pieced and quilted their quilts would sew their binding like this to show they owned a sewing machine.



So (sew), now all I need to do is work by careful feel and alignment through the next 13 days of wedding preparations remembering the words of the Psalmist- "Fret Not Thyself"!

176- At The Temple...

with my men!

What are the chances of getting to the Temple two days in a row with my loved ones? Tonight Gordon, Stuart and I went to the Mt Timpanogos Temple. What a blessing to have so many Temples so close.

175- At The Temple...

with my girls.



The Provo Temple is closed for 6 weeks for cleaning and some remodeling. I love to attend the Temple (and work there too) so today Camille, Desi and I went to the Temple. We started out for the Mt Timpanogos Temple but half way there changed our minds and went to the Draper Temple. Camille had never been to the Draper Temple.

It was a lovely session made that much better by being there with *my* girls. I'm so glad that they have each other AND that I have them. There is so much history and bonding, love and experiences that we share. What a blessing!

The grounds were decorated with all shades of purple... we took that as a good sign.

174- My Thoughts and Accomplishments

The first thing that I have to say tonight as I sit on my deck with laptop in lap is that I am so glad that I have my fun photo journal. I've enjoyed it so much. I can look back and see when things happen, peruse my good days and bad. I've never been this consistent before; I've been going strong for 19 months now. What a blessing.

I finished the last of the 10 (TEN) dresses today. Yay for little Joanie! I've been at it for 2 months. Lest you think me a very slow sewer (bwahahaha... sew-er, not sewer, pew!) I've taken time off for unnecessary things like yard work, moving Camille, working on wedding plans, piecing and quilting the *Bee-U-ti-full* wedding quilt and many more things that I can't even think of right now.



The first completed was my mob dress. I only sustained a 4 inch burn on the back of my left upper arm making that one (I backed into the hot iron! Ouchie!) After much angst and letting it hang around (hahahaha) I finally found a piece of beautiful lace in my stash to put at the neck which makes me happy.



Without a doubt the most fun to make of the bunch were the dresses for the little girls. The *polkie-dottie* dresses are for Kevin's little girls and the black and green is for little Emmalie Camille.



But the time I got to the last of these bridesmaid dresses I had the work-flow down pat. I finished the last one in just a few hours. And here they are... pretty maids all in a row. (See the white label? I wrote each girls' name on iron-on interfacing and pressed it on so I would know whose was whose!)



It is my hope that I will be able to eek out enough time in the next 2 weeks and 2 days to post a photo and some of my thoughts... but I'm not going to stress myself. I will remember the advise of the Psalmist, "Fret Not Thyself!"

173- Tall Grass Memories

Sunday evening I went for a walk around my neighborhood. The funny thing about my neighborhood is that I only have to walk a couple of houses north or south and I find *wilderness*. I think that is one of the reasons I love it here so much.

As I walked past a vacant lot I saw that the grass was as tall as I am (which, of course, isn't saying much!). It reminded me of years ago when I was a child. We had a pasture right behind our house which I loved to explore. There were a few years, when no horses were pastured there, that the grass would grow taller than I was. I loved to go out there and hide, play games or just lie down and look up past the tree-like grass at the blue sky above.



Yes, happy memories...

172- Lawn-Grammie

You've heard of the lawn boy? Yes, well, today I decided to give him a run for his money... yikes!

My lawn has finally calmed down and only wants mowing once a week nowadays and I'm not fertilizing again until after the wedding!!

Camille's lawn needed mowing this day as well. Normally I would have left that to her fiancee, Kevin, but poor Kevin was up most of the night with the stomach flu! Since her new home is about 15 miles away from our house I decided that the smart thing to do was borrow Doug's lawn mower (he lives just around the corner and they are in the same ward... how cool is that?) instead of figuring out how to get mine up there in the back of my little Beatrix!



Stinkin' Cow!! Was that ever a mistake! It didn't even occur to me that Doug's mower wouldn't be a self-propelled number! I've definitely forgotten how hard it is to mow a lawn with out the self-propulsion!

I won't be giving the lawn-boy any more competition!

171- C&K

What a beautiful couple! I am finally getting a chance to work on Camille and Kevin's engagement photos. Adabelle Carson did the photo shoot with her trusty assistant, Brittany Bown back on June 12th. Ada got some wonderful shots. I will post more on Facebook.

170- Allison's Wedding

Allison, my sweet *little* Allison, got married today! Oh, how I love this girl. I have a special bond with all of the Millers but Allison and I created an even firmer bond years ago when she would come to me for comfort. I frequently tell Allison that she is my hero!

We took a Utah-Palmdale road-trip together just after she returned from her mission in 2007. She told me that she grew up praying to be good and be happy. As you can see from her 1000 watt smile she has been granted those gifts.



Millers have a large family... they are our version of *My Big Fat Greek* family with "47 first-cousins alone!" These precious babies belong to Anna and Dan.



And here are several of the boy cousins getting their heads together over an iTouch. It was great entertainment for them all.



When we arrive later at the reception we found this pair fast asleep in the foyer... they are so much alike and you can see that familial love between these cousins.



Dallas and Nancy just celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this week. What a wonderful posterity they have. I am so glad that they have let us be part of their wonderful family.

169- Psalms 37

This week has been a little on the high-stress side. Last Sunday Sister Bressler spoke on prayer. One of the scriptures she references really resonated with me.

It is from Psalms 37-

Fret not thyself... Trust in the Lord, and do good.
Delight thyself in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself.



I've gone back to that scripture everyday for another healing draught of living water. I've felt it calm my soul and bring peace to my heart. I am so grateful for these beautiful, healing words.

168- Camille's New Home

Today Camille moved into her new house today! What a wonderful event!

Wonderful in so many ways:

• She's joined the ranks of home-ownership where one doesn't just keep paying rent out the window each month,
  
• She and Kevin will start their new lives together in their own house
• She gets to decorate the way she wants... no management group telling her she can't hang any pictures, use bed risers, etc,
  
• And, my personal favorite, she won't be moving every 6-12 months to a new apartment!!!!

Welcome home, Miss Camille! We are so proud of you.

167- Baby Rose

I blogged about this little rose bush last year. I just love how dainty and sweet her little blooms are. And they are pink to boot... what more can I say.

166- Barking Dogs!

The printers, Copies Plus Printing Inc, here in Springville did an awesome job with the announcements! I took the files on a zip drive yesterday, looked at a proof this morning and at 3 pm got a call telling me they were finished and ready to be picked up!! WOW!

So Gordon and I stuffed envelopes (addressed yesterday) and I set out to deliver the ones here in our ward... on foot! I got organized the invitations by street, put them into my funny little tote along with my Sonic cup full of ice water, my roll of Scotch Tape and was off! We have a long skinny ward so a walk up and down every street is about 3.5 miles (excluding the *way up the hill parts). I should have put on my tennie-runners instead of my Crocs. Boy my dogs are barking!



After walking the flat part of the ward I came back home and asked Gordon to drive me to the *way up the hill* portions parts. I just wasn't into that much exertion this day! Good thing too... just as I was delivering the last 3 houses we got a good thundershower!

165- Getting Closer!

I took the announcement to the printer today The little gal who took helped me asked me who'd designed the announcement, when I told her it was me she asked if I'd gone to school for that. What a nice compliment!

I picked up the envelopes while I was there. So I came home and printed all of the envelopes from our side of the family. I'll tell you what... it is quicker to hand-write them! First I had to figure out how to create the document, next I had printer problems and then I had to baby the printer because I could only put 10 or so envelopes at a time!



But now it is done and things are starting to come together.

164- Gerbera Glory

Earlier this week, on one of our sunny days, my neighbor saw me working with gloves on and asked me what I'd been planting. I told her Gerbera daisies. She glanced around and asked where? I replied, "In pots on my deck." She told me I needed to share...

So this is where I will share them... right here on my blog. I captured these shots between thunder showers. I just love the rich, saturated colors of Gerberas!



As I've said before... they are such happy flowers.


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163- Rainy Day

I just love rainy days! After living in Palmdale for 23 years I don't think I could ever get tired of rainy days. I call them my wonderful grey days!

I love the way the clouds hang in around the mountains here. I played with some of Jerry's new textures- doesn't this look like it came right out of an Indiana Jones movie?






The sun did come out for a little while this afternoon and the birds were singing their happy-little-birdie-songs. I love to hear it!

162- Last Day of School...

I've been enjoying memories this week. Yesterday was my 40th anniversary of HS graduation. Today Tadhg, our 13-year old grandson, graduates from 8th grade. As I was mulling all of this over in my mind I laughed right out loud remembering my funny boys!

June 6, 1996

Our *little kids* all went to Wildflower School (which, incidentally is closing its doors next Friday forever, so sad. Another CA budget-cut casualty). It was a wonderful K-8 school that had a year-round schedule. Since the student cycled in and out of class while the teacher taught for 11 months it was very important for the students to be responsible for their work. If they kept their homework, tests, and other assignments they could rectify a problem with assignments missing from the grade book.

I don't remember if this was the first year the boys started this ritual, but it continued, at the end of each year, until they'd graduated. They would turn each assignment into a missile, bring the large kitchen garbage can into the front room (which was normally kept sacrosanct) and lob all of their balled up papers into the can. It was so much fun they would often empty the can and do it all over again! (Note the pile to Stuart's right)

This is a scanned photo and you can see my little square-raised-dots showing the missiles in flight and reflected in the mirror.

Yes, good times and happy memories.

161- Forty Years Ago

Forty years ago today I graduated from High School. That just seems unreal to me! I can remember it like yesterday but the mirror confirms that, yes, 40 years have passed.





What happened to that fresh-faced little girl? I can honestly say that if I could go back... I WOULDN'T! I'm happy with who I am and where I am in my life.

160- Blackie & his Mom

When I was a little girl I had the cutiest little book about three horses: Blackie, Brownie and Whitie! Original names, huh? I loved the wonderful illustrations of them cavorting all over the pasture.

Tonight we went on a little drive up the Left Fork of Hobble Creek Canyon* and saw Blackie and his mommie, Whitie.



Black appears to be quite a young horse colt (male). I can still see his umbilical cord and, well, his boy parts. What a sweet baby!



** BTW if you live up there your address would be: 1118 North Left Fork Hobble Creek Canyon (if you live on the north side of the road and South if you live on the south side of the road... ) What a kick!