quite possibly my favorite of the Aloha Album blocks

I thought when I did it, that the Mokes would be my favorite quilt block, because I dreamed it up and because that was our favorite beach the three years we were on O'ahu. But now that I have finished the Aloha block, my favor falls on it and for many reasons too. First, I love all the color! Second I love the symbolism. Each floral motif represents the different islands in the State, but more than that, they remind me of special things. Each one attached to a different memory of our time in Hawaii. While choosing the fabrics for this block I refered to a book on Lei that I got while living there and I was reminded of how amazing the floral arts are in Hawaii. I love the way people in Hawaii look for reasons to give one another lei, and the pagentry of the Hula Halaus and Pa'u riders decked out in all their floral finery. I love how they festoon party halls with palms and ginger, the extravagance of it all an everyday thing for them, but for me a child of the desert southwest, it was a sight to behold, and one I love going back to in my memory. so this block brings all that back to mind for me. To look at this block I am reminded of all the lei I wore while there, the smell of flowers in the air, the wind showing me the silvery backs of the kukui tree leaves on the mountain sides. The brilliant red of the Ohia blossoms against a bright blue sky on the big island, and ilima growing alongside a hiking trail on O'ahu...yep, this block is officially my favorite.

Diamondhead

I always knew about Diamondhead the way I always knew about the Empire State building. Its so imbedded into our American story that I can't remember a time when I did not know what it was, and like seeing the empire state building for the first time and recognizing it instantly, I recognized Diamondhead the moment I laid eyes on it from Waikiki Beach. There is a weird thrill when you see a place you know but have never been to. It happend in New York, Paris, London, and especially in Hawaii. Living on an island you get to know the lay of the land pretty well. The landmarks become very familiar and your eye automatically searches for them when you are in their proximity. Diamondhead is the big Kahuna of landmarks. The local people don't give directions by saying east, west, north and south, they say Diamondhead, Ewa, Mauka and Makai. It really makes sense once you get the hang of it. I even managed to hike up Diamondhead a few times while we were there and I am glad I did the views were worth the climb.

Life with the Wachters

When Zach came for his last visit we had enough time and good enough weather to make the trip to New Jersey for the weekend. It was important to Steve because he wants Zach to know all of his family, not just the New Mexico half. Zach had only met his Jersey cousins 4 times before this last visit and the first two times he was really too young for it to be meaningful. So this trip back changed all that because it meant Zach would finally be old enough to get to know his cousins and uncles in a way that he never had before. He new his aunts well enough because they both came to Germany and Hawaii, but his uncles were another matter. He made up for lost time on this trip hanging out in the Man cave with them and taking his share of "Chop busting" that comes with daring to join the uncles as they sit around with beers and cigars. He learned what it was like to be in a house filled to capacity and be related to every soul in there, and I hope he experienced the sureal weirdness of feeling perfectly at home in a room full of strangers that are your blood kin.

As for me, I got to finally participate in a Wachter Christmas traditon that I have longed for over the years, to be in on Bonnie's Christmas party goofy hat shenanigans. Now all I have to do is make it to an Angel Sunday and my life will be complete!

me and my pud

Don't ask me to explain why I call Winslow Pud, maybe its an almagamation of Puppy and Buddy...or not. Who knows, he just seemed like a Pud to me, so thats what I call him as often as not. I took the picture with the photobooth app on our computer about a month and a half ago. He has gotten slightly bigger but other than that, nothing else has changed. In fact he sleeps curled in my lap even as I type this. He loves laps. He also loves heat. When there is a sunbeam to sleep in he'll find it. Here lately he has discovered the joys of tunneling into a load of laundry fresh from the dryer. So much so that when he hears the dryer running he hangs out near by so as not to miss his opportunity. At night when I tuck him in, I throw the towels that he sleeps with in the dryer for a quick spin to warm them up. He is very good to go to his crate when we tell him its bedtime, but last night he did not go straight to his crate...he went to the dryer instead...What a pud!

Hey Ho, Lets go!

My son Zach and I share a lot of things in common, one of which is a love for Punk music. I like to take credit for planting that seed...I remember well the year I got Green Day's Nimrod album from Steve for Christmas and played it in our little black Ford Contour as I drove me and Zach hither and yon amongst the Nebraska cornfields. We spent a lot of time trolling the antique malls. We had hardly any money so we spent far more time looking than buying, but we both enjoy the hunt as much as the score, so we usually left happy whether we spent anything or not. So when Zach came for his visit these past few weeks one of the activities that featured prominently was antiquing. We hopped in the mini, plugged in a Ramones CD that Zach made me for my birthday and went in search of some mid century modern treasures for Zach to feather his nest. So with the Ramones thumping in the background we hit on the idea to take a family photo reminiscent of an iconic Ramones album. I think it turned out really well and we ought to try it again the next time Zach is here. Maybe that time we will do our version of a Green Day album!

poor, poor Rosa lee

Over the years a lot of people have said I should be a writer, enough have mentioned it to me that I have toyed with the idea from time to time; but I never knew what I should write about. Well now I know. If I ever did write a book it would be about poor, poor Rosa Lee. She is my great Grandmother, and her life seems to have been one tragedy after another . Just when I think it cannot get any worse, my cousin Pat who shares my fascination with Rosa Lee unearths another sad secret. Rosa lost her father when she was a girl, he died in an insane asylum. Though her mother was alive Rosa was declared an orphan was sent to live with the people on the neighboring farm and they eventually got legal custody of her. She married James William Furney and according to medical records had 8 children, though only 5 survived to adult hood. One child we learned died tragically. While being tossed playfully in the air by its father, it hit its head on the door jamb and died. Not long after that Rosa herself was institutionalized and she died a few months later at the young age of 37. Her redacted medical records pile on more tragedy where it is stated that her family described her as "always being more or less stupid" Well, where do you go with that? I am left wondering just what really happened in Rosa's life. Was she really stupid, or just unloved by the people who describe her that way. Who is the family that said this of her, her husband and children, or the ersatz family that took her in, or her own mother who seems to have abandoned her...Did her baby really die in a tragic accident, or was it abused and she knew it and that is what drove her insane? The Doctor also mentioned that her fragile condition was compounded by overwork and lack of stimulation. What was her home life like? Was she surrounded by loving people who watched helplessly as she unraveled right before their eyes, or where they cruel and unmoved, maybe even complicit in her deterioration. So many questions, so few answers, but wouldn't her story make a compelling novel? I want to think the best of these people in such a horrible situation, after all they are my own family, but something in Rosa's story conjures up dark undertones that makes me question what really happened. Maybe its just my over active imagination.

Just now I am tempted to say that it is a story I will never write, but I have learned enough to know that I do not know where life will take me and one day I may very well put pen to paper, or rather fingers to keyboard... so until then I will keep Rosa Lee and her story filed away in the back of my mind, and maybe one day if I ever think I am up to the task I will try my hand at writing a story about poor, poor Rosa Lee.

Me and Murray Earl

Have you ever stopped for a moment and taken stock of where you are and what you are doing and come away utterly astonished at what life had in store for you? Its happened to me several times and almost always because of Steve's long and successful career in the Air Force. The picture captures just such a moment. We had the good fortune to spend a Sunday with a visiting dignitary from Australia, Air Commodore Murray Earl. He is the Australian equivalent to our Chief of Chaplains. Never once while I was growing up in Clovis NM did I think for even a second that I would have an Air Commodore over for lunch and feed him fried okra. Even after I knew he was coming I did not imagine that we would hit it off so well. As it turns out, Murray and I have a lot in common chief among them is a love for Hereford cattle. Not only is he a chaplain, but he is a rancher as well, and having both grown up in cattle country we had a broad base to build on. I proudly showed him my growing collection of ceramic herefords, and he told me about his farm...I had a good time that day and I guess he did too because a few months later I received a package in the mail. It was an Australian book on quilting that he had sent to me in lieu of a hereford for my collection. I doubt we will ever see each other again, but life is full of surprises!