Picture for Today

Yellowstone back in the day

Ancestry

A month or so ago my friend gave a talk in church about family history and after church this guy came up told her nice talk, and it almost made him want to think family history wasn't boring. Personally I have always found it fascinating. I remember being at a summer camp when I was 12 and we played a get-to-know-you skittles game and one of the questions was "What is your favorite holiday?". I didn't get that question but I thought about it very seriously for some reason because I didn't have an answer. The obvious ones were Christmas and Easter because people liked getting candy and presents. While I like Christmas and Easter it seemed shallow to pick either of them as my favorite for that reason, and also because it didn't seem to fit. After some deliberation I decided that if asked I would say my favorite holiday was Memorial Day. Growing up I always loved going to the cemetery and putting flowers on the graves. I loved the ritual, I loved hearing the stories about all the people and would remind my mom if she forgot any that I'd heard before. I've always felt that my ancestors are a part of who I am and I have always found that personal tie with history fascinating--such a tangible link with history, and a reminder of that contradiction of how things are so different, but in other ways as humans we are the same.

My mom and I have been trying to buy a digital voice recorder for ages we finally got one and we went and talked to her Father (pictured with Whitney above) today about his parents and grandparents. Previously I don't remember hearing as many stories about that side of the family. I learned so much and I was filled with such a love for these people. I was so impressed with what hard workers they were and I am proud to be their descendant. I am very excited to talk more with both of my Grandpas and my Grandma.

The world at 4am

In case you're wondering what the world looks like at 4am now you know. (At least the parts of the world that matter at 4am...the microwave from whence comes hot chocolate and the traffic on Sunnyside/Foothill that impacts the time taken away from sleeping to get to work.) I could also tell you what it looks like at 5:50, but suffice it to say foothill more busy.

Easter Egg Lab

Easter eggs galore done by a team of as you will soon be able to tell, almost near professionals. Methods used included Paals Standard Method, Paals & Sharpie Cross Method, Sole Sharpie Method, and Ukrainian Dye & Wax Method. This post has been delayed due to an unfortunate interruption in the poster's sleeping patterns (aka a 4am day at work and general sleepiness). Two team members and their contributions are not pictured as they left the site before the camera crew arrived. The team had a productive night and produced just under 5dozen eggs.

THE TEAM

Various Eggs done by Whitney and 1 by Elen using the Paals & Sharpie Cross and Sole Sharpie Methods

Steven's intricate Pirate Egg : Paals & Sharpie Cross Method

Egg replica of Bear Grills : Paals & Sharpie Cross + Elmer's additive

Eggs by various team members : Paals Standard; Paals & Sharpie Cross; and Ukrainian Dye & Wax Methods

Eggs by Kylee (top two) and Elen : Ukrainian Dye & Wax Method
(involves putting melted wax design on eggs, dying, repeated for various colors and then melting wax off to reveal colors covered by wax)
The picture is experiencing technical difficutlies...it is horizantal but will only upload vertically.

One of my favorite eggs by Anne : Paals & Sharpie Cross Method

Morale Booster Egg by Anne : Paals & Sharpie Cross Method

Arctic Egg by Whitney-People's Choice Award : Paals & Sharpie Cross Method

Various Eggs by team members Anne, Kylee, and Elen

Close-up of portion of above (This picture is also experienceing technical difficulties)

Eggs Retained for Show at the Wallace Residence by crew members Whitney, Elen, Kylee, and Lydia.

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Mountains

My favorite view of the mountains is when they look blue and purple, which usually entails snow too. I was walking home from work today and Mt. Olympus just melted in my mouth. Gorgeous.

Latest Finds

Me and my Mom have been on a big DI spree (I will confess that I have the bug worse than she does). We first started going looking for some wool sweaters to felt and make a couple of purses out of. We then expanded to glassware (our favorite) and now are starting to add specific kitchen utensils (like the non-bulky cheese graters that no one buys any more. Saturday I found fourteen silver-plated forks and a butter knife with a silver plated handle (abt $3.00) after a couple of polishes (they could use one or two more) I am pleased as punch with my new forks...and they are being laid by for such a time as I will need my own forks. (Yeah, am starting to run into storage problems) :) So, viva la DI.




Aren't they cute!?
I learned from my Mom when I got home (which many of you probably already know) is that on the back of the spoon it should say if it's stainless steel/whatever, this says Harmony House Plate AA+.

Some dishes.
This is a purse I made for a friend from a sweater.