Ghost Birds

My brother, David, has written a book called Chasing the Ghost Birds, Saving Swans and Cranes from Extinction.

From the Barnes and Noble website:
"Part environmental essay and part adventure story," Chasing the Ghost Birds takes readers to the front lines of three of the most important and innovative wildlife conservation projects of our time:
* Returning the trumpeter swan to the Midwest Flyway after an absence of 120 years
* International efforts to save the last of Russia's Siberian cranes
* Saving North America's whooping cranes from the brink of extinction

The book offers up details about the birds' biology, behavior, and habitats, and of the meticulous fieldwork required, without losing the sense of drama and excitement inherent in these efforts. Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes funny, Chasing the Ghost Birds ultimately gives us hope that "with enough brains, resources, determination, and hard work," we humans can preserve and protect the wild world around us.

No other book, no other source, covers any of these three projects in as much depth and breadth as Chasing the Ghost Birds. Yet it remains a very engaging and readable book. George Archibald, co-founder of the International Crane Foundation, calls it, "a remarkable chronicle," told with "balance, accuracy, and lucid detail."

Since he is my brother, I may be biased (I doubt it) but I have to tell you, the book is really a good read. I even thought it might be dull until I picked it up and couldn't put it down. Read more about the book, and then go here to buy a copy.

Last year I decided to make a quilt for him and asked what he'd like. He said earth tones and if it had a crane on it, he wouldn't mind. So here is the result.

This was a quilt that didn't want to be made. I found the crane fabric and cut wedges - each block needed 6 identical wedges. I sewed them together by hand because it's more accurate. Then I found the blue-green fabric and decided the blocks needed that for sashing. Turns out the only way to attach sashing to a hexagon is to undo part of each seam, sew the sashing and then resew the seam.

I finally got it together and took it to my friend Marge's house so I could quilt it on her longarm. It sat there for months. Finally I loaded it on the frame and started to quilt the border using dark redish brown thread. I wasn't totally sold on it and was afraid that if I started quilting the center I'd really mess it up. So it sat on the frame for a month and I very carefully avoided quilting.

Finally she asked if I would mind if she quilted it. No! Of course I wouldn't mind! Thank you!!!! So she used metallic thread and outlined every feather. It turned out gorgeous. Then I had to take it back and pick out all the quilting I had done so that part of the border could be requilted with the metallic.

I gave it to him last summer (a late, or early, birthday, Christmas, Easter, valentine's, fourth of July present). It was supposed to be for his office, but he said it's going in his living room so he needs another quilt for his office. I'm working on it.

This is the back.

Bathroom Remodeling

We had some cracked tiles in the master bath floor. Decided to fix the tile. You know how that goes. We discovered we only had 4 spare tiles, and then discovered that the toilet had been leaking and the whole floor had to come up. So, I'd always wanted to tear out the cheap plastic tub/shower surround and build a shower. I didn't necessarily want to do this right NOW, but since we had to replace the tile, it was now or never. Too bad I forgot to take a before photo of the bathroom. Here's right after we ripped out the surround. That's part of a curious cat in the lower right corner.
Here it is in progress. In this photo the shower walls were tiled, and the other walls painted but the floor wasn't done.
While we were doing everything else, decided why not make an even bigger mess, and scrape the popcorn texture off the ceiling and make it smooth.
A word of caution... Large tiles look good on shower walls, but they are a pain to install. They are too heavy for the mastic. We would glue a couple of them, hold them for what we thought was long enough, let go and the tiles would come crashing down. We finally had to put nails beneath each tile to hold it. But that wasn't easy either, because that isn't sheetrock, it's cement board. We would pound one nail in and two would fall out, then pound those in and another would come out. Aaaagghhh!

And here it is finished!!



I made a stencil and painted little "tiles" around the back splash to match the little insets in the tile walls and floor.
And I got a roller shade, took it apart and made this shade for the window.
We're on a roll - now we're working on the upstairs bathrooms!

2009 Guild Challenge

Our Uncommon Threads Quilt Guild Challenge was "Opposites Attract" - to take a color and its opposite on the color wheel and make a quilt using only those two colors. Last night was the deadline and we had seven great quilts. Unfortunately, in order to enter American Quilter's Society's Ultimate Guild Challenge contest in Knoxville, we needed eight quilts, so we won't be going this year. Too bad because we had great quilts, and we have been accepted into the show every year but one. Oh, well, there's always next year, and anyway we first and foremost make quilts because we love to. Congratulations to everyone. And thanks to Marilyn L. for chairing the challenge and for the great little gift each participant received.

Marge N. - "Dancing in Circles"

Carolyn J.

Marilyn L.

Mine - "There's One in Every Crowd"

Linda L.

Nysha N. aka "Tall Guy"

Kathy S. - "Halloween Night"

New Years 2009

For the first time since New Years 1996, we were in the
United States for New Years Eve. We kinda hated to
break our record, but the economy limited our travel.
So we spent New Years in Westfield Wisconsin at
Mary's and Rick's cottage with them and my brother
David and his wife Christal.

Rick, Mary and Armando

David & Christal

Then we went to Chicago for a couple of days. Here
is Lake Michigan next to Navy Pier.

And then we stopped in Shipshewana, Indiana for
a couple of days, just because.

My Beautiful Grandchildren

I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. Our grandchildren (and their parents) came for Christmas this year. Here are some photos taken at the Peabody Hotel. Click on them to make them larger.

Sandra (15), Ben (12) and Maritsa (18)

My Unexpected Journey

This is the quilt I made during my cancer treatments. I designed it one night in my head at 3:00 a.m. when I couldn't sleep. Had to get up the next day and draw it before I forgot what I'd thought up. It's meant to be a happy, hopeful, uplifting quilt, documenting my unexpected journey last spring. Making the quilt was part of the healing process for me. When it was finished, I decided it should go where it might help others, so it is being donated to the Methodist Breast Center where some of the most wonderful, loving, caring angels work.

Race for the Cure

The Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure
October 25, 2008
Germantown, TN

On Saturday morning I joined 14,216 other people and walked in the Race for the Cure to raise money and awareness about breast cancer. What an experience! I knew it was a big event but didn't have any idea how big. I arrived about 7:00 a.m. for the survivors' breakfast, provided by Kroger. A sea of pink hats and t-shirts.

Ron Olson from FM-100 provided some entertainment.

Many of the teams wore matching outfits, and there were many women with fancy hats, boas and all sorts of other crazy costumes. A lot of men - husbands, fathers, sons, boyfriends - walked too, and many of them wore pink as well. I was on the Jazzercise team. They had a team t-shirt, but I wore my pink survivor shirt and cap. The Jazzercise team was the third high money-raising team, raising around $9700. Total raised was over $800,000!

Along the parade route, many people had decorated their yards. Many were out cheering us along. One man was playing the theme from Rocky from speakers in his driveway. The high school cheerleaders were out with their pompoms. It was just amazing. I had no idea people went all out like that. It just blew me away - we were in the back third and when we would go up or down a hill you could see the crowd in front of us that just stretched out as far as you could see. That's Elvis on the roof.

Kiss was there in one yard.....

....and Elvis again.

This one said "Camping for a Cure"

Those are pink plastic poodles.

This was my favorite decorated house with the pink pumpkins, and "Save the Boooobs".

After the race, we had our photo taken by the pink horse. That's Arlene, Marge and me.

The Bouffants sang "I Will Survive" and had a bunch of survivors on stage with them singing and cheering. I tried to get up there, but by the time I got to the stage, the fire marshall said no more people up there. Next year I'll have to get closer.

And Elvis came down off the roof to have his picture taken. He was having too much fun!

It was such an outpouring of love and support. Memphis can get so bogged down in stupid politics, and racial stuff, and this long drawn out election season has gotten so ugly ( if you don't support my candidate I hate you) it was so refreshing to get together with so many people where no one cared what age, race, sex, political affiliation or religion anyone else was. We were all out there supporting a common cause - most had either had the disease themselves or were walking in celebration or in memory of someone who did. Wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if somehow we could work together like that all the time?

If you have never participated in this before, consider doing it next year. You will get lots of smiles and hugs and make some new friends. I will definitely be there again next year, in fact I am considering volunteering to help organize it.

Before the race started, they took a photo of the survivors. I am way in the back on the left somewhere.