Colossal Cave and Other Adventures

Collin at the entrance to Colossal Cave 

Yesterday, Collin, along with his mommy, daddy and grandpa, visited Colossal Cave outside of Tucson. Grammy and Ryan stayed home since, as Mommy Laura put it,        "A cave is no place for a screamy baby!"  Grammy was sure a cave was no place for a scaredy-cat grandmother, either.

Down into the cave -
This would have been far enough for me!

They took lots of pictures and told us all about it when they returned that afternoon. Grandpa impressed us with his wisdom on stalactites and stalagmites - "Stalactites stick 'tight' to the ceiling of the cave. Stalagmites 'might' grow all the way up to the ceiling." Isn't he amazing?? I never could remember which comes up from the bottom and which hangs from the top. Now I'll never forget! Collin is learning about nocturnal animals this month, so they were hoping to see bats or perhaps a ringtail, but only spotted one sleeping bat.

Looks so narrow!
I'm sure I would have
had to turn back at this
point, but then I would
have had a hard time
going in at all! 

What a gorgeous view

Another pretty scene

The Khatirs in the Cave

Ranger Sarah checks the mine
for danger (rattlesnakes?)

Two other recent adventures took place at Cave Creek Regional Park, which is not far from where we live.  The first was an after dark scorpion hunt and hike with Ranger Sarah in September.  Armed with a black light and an abundance of enthusiasm, Collin and Grandpa Tom had a blast hunting down scorpions.  Collin had a fabulous time.  Grandpa confessed later that he was a little freaked out about the whole adventure of running around in the desert at night with a little boy who says he "loves scorpions and is not afraid of them."   Yikes.

Tom & Ryan

The second adventure with Ranger Sarah at the park involved bats and a mine. Yikes (again) and time for Grandma Suzanne to stay at home (again). Ryan went along for this trip and Grandpa reported that he hiked along the trail to the abandoned clay mine like a trooper. Collin had lots of questions for Ranger Sarah, which she said were all great questions! I wonder what the next family adventure be..... and if scaredy-cat Grammy will be too afraid to go??

Hiking the desert with Grandpa

   

Friday School with Grammy

On Friday, Collin has been spending the morning at Grammy's while Mommy and brother Ryan head to story time at the library.  We usually do some homeschool related activities and always have fun.  Last week, the weather was so beautiful that we sat outside at the table on our front patio.  

We are at last beyond our "hotter than the hinges" season and the weather is heavenly. In fact, it was almost chilly.  We enjoyed a mug of hot cocoa as we read about Arizona history and did some coloring pages.  Collin is learning about the United States, as well and we had postcards to read from far away family members & friends.  He is eager to learn and it is great fun to help with his lessons.  Grammy learned something new, too!  Did you know that the copper star on the Arizona flag represents the copper mining in our state?  Or that the 13 sunburst rays are for the 13 original colonies?  I didn't, but I do now!          

Signs of Autumn

In the Midwest we had cooler weather and beautifully colored leaves to signal autumn's arrival.  Here in Arizona, we have cooler weather (yes, 95 degrees feels cool after weeks of 110+ temps), but no beautifully colored leaves.  Well, not in Phoenix, anyway.  Instead of pretty leaves we get......

BALLOONS!!!

The hot air balloons are back!  They don't fly in the hot, hot months of summer, so when we see those first balloons in September, we know autumn is right around the corner.  They launch near our home, so as they fly over us they are still quite low in the air.  Sometimes there is just one balloon.  Sometimes two or three together.  Sometimes we see as many as a dozen at the same time. The photo on the left was taken from under our patio roof.  Some Saturday mornings we wake to the sound of the burners as the balloons go over the house!  I always feel like a kid on Christmas morning when I wake to that sound....I jump out of bed so I can see them before they soar too high.  It's a gorgeous sight against the pure blue Arizona sky, and so welcome after the hot summer.  

  

25 Fat Quarters for 25 Years

At the end of June I celebrated a major anniversary - 25 years as a cancer survivor!  I wanted to do something fun & special to mark the day, so decided to go to my favorite Phoenix quilt shop and purchase one fat quarter of fabric for every year of survival. Twenty-five fat quarters = too much fun! When the appointed day arrived, reason and logic overcame my celebration spirit.  Realizing that at $2-$4 apiece my fat quarter extravaganza would take a fat chunk out of my wallet, I decided to think on it a day and come up with a more budget friendly way to celebrate life.

Flossie Featherweight with 25 Fat Quarters & 80 Hearts

What a nice surprise it was to open my email the next morning and find an offer from Keepsake Quilting - a lovely fabric shop in New Hampshire - for 25 fat quarters at $1 apiece!  It seems that they, too, were celebrating a 25 year anniversary and were offering customers 25 lovely chunks of premium quilting fabric for only $25.  The only downside was that they made the fabric choices. I thought about it for, oh, less than two minutes, then placed my order!  The package arrived Saturday; ALL the fabrics are gorgeous.  I also ordered a package of 80 die-cut heart shapes in 1930's vintage prints to sweeten my celebration.  All in all, a great deal and proof that "good things come to those who wait."  Happy 25th Anniversary to me and Keepsake Quilting!

Kickin' Up Some Dust

Road to Paducah

Kicked up some dust in the sewing room and found 4 more U.F.O.s!!!  Two are baby quilt  kits from Patchers at the Lakeshore from many years ago.  They will be quick to complete as they are already cut and the batting provided requires very little quilting.  Also found a quilt top for a sweet preemie baby who was born last year.  It's tiny, as she was, so will be a quick project, too.  And then, how could I have forgotten my Road to Paducah Quilt?? This is a favorite project and I can't believe I "forgot" about it.  I was working on it only a few weeks ago.  Could this be the end of the list??

There was a colossal dust storm here on Tuesday! I've always said this state has some serious dust, but this  dust bunny was thousands of feet high and about 100 feet wide.  If you search on Google for "Phoenix dust storm" you will find lots of links to incredible videos and photographs.  I tried to post a link, but can't get it to work so that you can just click through to the site. Check it out if you haven't already seen the news stories.  It's more amazing than my growing U.F.O. list.  Really!

A List of U.F.O. Sightings

Here's a list of recent U.F.O.s which have been spotted on sewing room shelves, discovered in drawers and found in fabric stashes. The list is fairly complete, but I wouldn't be surprised to find more!  It's
good to have them gathered in one place, as it squashes the ever-present desire to start a new project.  I need that!
Or perhaps you hadn't noticed??
"Little Quilts" Flag for Joan's new house
Ryan's Cradle Quilt
Peter's Kitty Quilt
Susan Wingett Quilt
Tami & Jeremy's Wedding Signature Quilt
JoAnn Fabs Block-of-the Month Star Sampler
Butterfly Baby Quilt 
Seven Stars for Seven Sisters (Good grief - I started this in 1996!)
Blue Folded Star  (Yikes - this one is from 1982!)
Thimbleberries Pine Tree Quilt
Desert Star Medallion Quilt 
2001 Christmas Row by Row Quilt
Christmas Round Robin Quilt - Blockhead Babes
Purple Sampler Blocks - 50th Birthday Quilt
1999 Pink/Green Row by Row  
Snowballs in the Garden
2009 Summer Mystery Quilt  
2010 Summer Mystery Quilt     
"Bull's Eye" Quilt
Apple Core Charm Quilt
Antique Dresden Plate - quilt blocks from Mom
Aunt Grace Pinwheels 
Teddy Bear Baby quilt 
Jackie Robinson Wildflowers Quilt
Charity baby quilts I & II (oh, dear..took these kits home from a guild meeting years ago!!!)
Road to Paducah Quilt
Daire's Baby Quilt
Mom's Sunbonnet Sue Quilt
2013 Summer Mystery Quilt

A No-Sew Week

Didn't sew a single stitch this week!  Sad, but true.  However, lots of other stuff has been going on.  Baby Ryan got his "cradle" quilt and really seemed to like it.  He also got his very first haircut this week!  This photo was taken while he still had his baby curls.  On Tuesday we took a trip to Prescott, AZ to celebrate Laura's birthday. Prescott is in the mountains about 85 miles north of Phoenix. After browsing the shops and having lunch at the Adirondack Cafe, we went to Goldwater Lake in the Prescott National Forest. The drive up was beautiful.  The town is historic and picturesque. The park was gorgeous and peaceful.  I hope you enjoy the pictures!  With any luck, there should be a newly completed U.F.O. to report after the holiday weekend.