Parcheesi

Last night was our neighborhood “girls’ night out” at McGrath’s Fish House. We’re hoping to make this a monthly affair, but this was the first time we’ve ever tried it. We “girls” are all well over 50. Some of us are working and some retired. Some of us have celebrated silver wedding anniversaries and some have never been married. Some need the fingers of both hands to count all our grandchildren. We had clam chowder and sourdough bread, pear-walnut salad, butterfly shrimp, fish and chips and key lime pie – Dutch treat. We talked about everything from being asked to speak in church to sprinkler system repair. We laughed…a lot. And for a full ninety minutes none of us checked our cell phones for voice mail or text messages. Which is, I guess, a sign of a successful evening. I do hope we manage to do this again next month.

Counterpane

The Land of Counterpane

When I was sick and lay a-bed,

I had two pillows at my head,

And all my toys beside me lay,

To keep me happy all the day.

And sometimes for an hour or so

I watched my leaden soldiers go,

With different uniforms and drills,

Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;

And sometimes sent my ships in fleets

All up and down among the sheets;

Or brought my trees and houses out,

And planted cities all about.

I was the giant great and still

That sits upon the pillow-hill,

And sees before him, dale and plain,

The pleasant land of counterpane. - Robert Louis Stevenson

Bird's Nest

The 24^th annual St. George Parade of Homes is in progress; 28 lovely homes ranging from $349,000 to well over a million. We spent the weekend exploring nearly all of them and found several common themes. They all seem designed with energy efficiency in mind. Most are decorated in muted earth tones. At the heart of each home is a great room so that cooking, dining and lounging happen in one space. Many have “casitas” –small exterior suites we initially mistook for mother-in-law apartments. We eventually decided they’re for houseguests. Most master suites have garden tubs and doorless showers. Bigger closets and smaller bedrooms seem to be in fashion. Who needs space near the bed for a dresser if all your clothes are in the walk-in? I love the mudrooms, marble floors, glass tile and outdoor living spaces. The best part? Several homes have a clever passage between the laundry and the back of the master closet. Pure genius!

Summer Nights

As we were unpacking our bags from our most recent holiday, I decided to ask my daughter which vacation destination was her favorite. Because she has Down syndrome this sort of question tends to confuse her. Expecting this, I made the question as clear as I could. “Heather,” I said, “we’ve been to Monterey and San Diego, to Bear Lake, Park City, Midway and St. George, to Mexico and the Channel Islands and the Caribbean and the Baltic.” I saved my personal favorites for last, “And Disneyland and Walt Disney World and Disneyland Paris.” I had her undivided attention now. “Which trip do you like best?” She gave the matter serious thought before she answered, “New York!” Down syndrome or no, she is definitely her mother’s daughter. She knows the very best trip is ALWAYS the one you haven’t taken yet.

Dixie Tea

Fourteen states have a St. George, including Georgia (which seems redundant). Utah’s St. George is the only one named after George Albert Smith (1817-1875).  Brigham Young founded a cotton mission here in 1861. He knew the war would make many commodities – including cotton – hard to find. So at October General Conference he called about 300 families and gave them a month’s time to prepare to head south and settle “Utah’s Dixie.” Brother Brigham, who suffered from arthritis, maintained a winter home in St. George where the average low in January is 31 degrees Fahrenheit. St. George is home to the third oldest LDS temple (after Kirtland and Nauvoo); the oldest one still in operation. Dixie State University is here, and so is the Tuacahn Center for the Arts. The proximity to Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument and Bryce Canyon National Park make St. George a popular stop for vacationers.

Time in a Bottle

My mother mailed me the 2012 challenge fabric because we were living in England. When it arrived I had no clue what to do with it. I was still puzzling six months later when we moved back into our Utah home. An idea finally struck as I was unpacking scraps leftover from previous state fair challenge quilts. They were in the same box as Lori Holt’s State Fair quilt pattern, which features home canned goods competing for a blue ribbon. I couldn’t use her pattern, because the rules insist each quilt be the work of one person, and because her 58x62” design far exceeds the 24x36” limit. I made six little jam jars using the challenge fabric and scraps from the five previous years. I added six more jars with fruit prints and printed clever labels for each jar. I quilted a butterfly over each jar in silver. The blue bottle ring background and twisted ribbon border were meant to inspire first place. But I’ll settle for second.