Wyoming Breezes

Remembering Bert Quilt of Valor #236 April 2023  This Quilt of Valor is in memory of my good friend, Bert O. Bert taught Physical Education, and we worked together for many years. We served as class sponsors and supervised class trips. Bert gave me a motorcycle ride down Main Street at my 50th birthday party with an entourage following with honking horns. Bert and I were born on the same day but not the same year: we were birthday buddies.  Bert, his wife Sue, and I have been close friends for forty years. In recent years, I accompanied them on several poker runs where Bert rode his bike, and Sue and I followed in a vehicle.  Sadly Bert left this earth in 2022 after years of dealing with health issues. Bert and Sue donated this panel and several others for QOVs, so it is fitting that this quilt is named after my friend and birthday buddy.  Update : July 2025 - Remembering Bert was awarded to a veteran in Idaho

Our hostess, Sue welcomes everyone to the Noon Year’s Eve celebration  Sue discovered Noon Year’s Eve during the early days of the pandemic, and this year she and her husband hosted the celebration in their apartment for ten people. They provided party hats, noise makers, sparkling cider, and a light lunch of soup and sandwiches.  We sang Auld Lang Syne and toasted the new year and friendships. We even celebrated a special birthday - Marilyn, seated to Sue’s right and played a game once the dishes were washed.  Sue’s invitation  I’d never heard of Noon Year’s Eve, but a quick online search revealed it is popular, especially as a way for children to join in the holiday festivities. I’ll admit it was a fun way to usher in the new year. 

two bowl cozies  December 2022 Two friends came over on Monday, and we worked on a puzzle for a few hours. Pat commented on the bowl cozies I have next to the microwave and said she bought two at a recent holiday bazaar. Sue said, “I wish I had some.” I decided to make a set for Sue and her husband. It didn’t take long yesterday to sew the cozies, and I’ll give them to her this afternoon at dominoes.  Once in a while, wishes should come true! 

Saturday afternoon the sky opened up, and it rained, and rained, and rained. The stormed seemed to park on top of Laramie and dumped nearly 3 inches in less than an hour. It was reminiscent of the typhoon rains I experienced in Japan.  I grabbed my phone to take photos but decided a video was needed to capture the unusual sight. I didn't think of turning my phone to take horizontal video.  This scene is from my patio: it shows the sidewalk between buildings J and K and then the street to the west.  Here's the view out of my kitchen window.  Bunny and Sue patiently wait for me to stop filming the flooded street and play While it was raining, Bunny (a neighbor) and Sue (a friend from Riverton who was visiting) and I played Five Crowns. Between the heavy rain and the enjoyable card game with friends, the afternoon passed quickly but will be forever memorable.  a drift of hail from the storm August 13, 2022 Sunday afternoon, the drift of hail beside my patio hadn't ...

Mexican Train Domino players (bottom photo) photo from Eppson Center April newsletter (Gayle, Kathleen, Tania, Nancy, Bunny, Darlene, Marilyn, Paula) November 2021 Every week, you will find me at the Eppson Center playing Mexican Train Dominos with a fun group. We've been playing together since 2018 with some time off when the Center was closed during the pandemic. Before the pandemic, we always had a full table (eight players), and some weeks we had enough players for two full tables. We enjoy playing so much that we don't even keep score.  Last week the Center was closed for the installation of new carpeting, but the group decided to play at another location. We went to O'Dwyer's Restaurant/Pub and had a great time playing and enjoying a delicious meal afterward. playing at O'Dwyer's  (Pat, Bunny, Tania, Marilyn, Linda, Gary, Kathleen) March 2022 The Eppson Center still requires masks, but masks are no longer required around town. We felt safe meeting without ...

four printed panels and matching yardage from Connie H. in MN February 2022 Connie H. ( Far Side of Fifty ) sent me a surprise package last week. Inside was a patriotic panel, yardage, a crochet scrubby, and a beautiful card that she made. When I first opened the package, I thought it was a single panel, but it’s actually four smaller printed panels - the perfect size for center medallions. I’ll be able to make four Quilts of Valor with this panel.  Connie and I have been online friends for many years. I’d love to meet her and Far Guy in person one day.  Connie, thank you for your friendship, and for this donation for Quilt of Valor! 

Sunday’s supper Bierock/Runza/Kraut Burger January 2022 A week ago, a woman on the Next Door app was taking orders for Bierocks: the Moose Lodge was having a fund-raiser. Some people on the app didn’t know what the group was selling, but Bierocks (aka runzas or kraut burgers or cabbage rolls) were a popular meal that Ferne and Rosie prepared in the school cafeteria nearly 40 years ago. One of my coworkers even wore a loose dress when cabbage rolls were on the lunch menu so she could enjoy seconds. My friend Sue occasionally made a batch of cabbage rolls and shared some with me. Thanks, Sue I ordered a dozen (they freeze well) from the Moose and picked them up yesterday afternoon. The building smelled amazing, and all I had to do was follow my nose!  It seems odd to have a German meal with a Mexican beer, but favorites tend to go together. 😉 Do you have a favorite dish that you rarely prepare? 

panel for project bag #6 January/February  2022 Since I finished project bag #3 ( Stars Abound ), I pulled the project bag for February out of the UFO queue.  I received this large panel (34 x 43 inches) from Sue and Bert O. last April . The pattern in the project bag uses a panel that is a similar size, so I’ll only need to make minimal adjustments. 

Pat C. and Kathleen B. add the final pieces to the puzzle January 2022 I invited some friends over on Saturday afternoon to assemble a puzzle, and the three of us visited and worked on the difficult puzzle all afternoon.  Pat and Kathleen also play Mexican Train Dominoes at my apartment and at the Eppson Center. In the three and a half years I’ve lived in Laramie, I’ve been fortunate to find individuals who enjoy many of the same activities that I do and to build friendships with them. 

squishy surprise package August 2021 Imagine my surprise when I found an unexpected package in my mailbox that was practically bursting at the seams. I was even more surprised when I carefully opened the package a treasure trove of luscious yarn from Kathryn E. in Lander Look at all this wonderful yarn! Kathryn is downsizing and sent me a beautiful array of fiber goodies - some scraps and some full skeins. If this doesn’t jump start my knitting mojo, I don’t know what will.  Thank you, Kathryn! 

stopping at WYCOLO  August 2021 Sue and Bert (friends from Riverton) invited me to accompany them on a Poker Run (a fundraiser for Alzheimer’s research) hosted by the Laramie Eagles Aerie. We followed the group in a vehicle and had a lot of time to visit.  Along the way, we stopped at the WYCOLO lodge, Riverside (for a picnic lunch), and Centennial before returning to Laramie. It was a full day, as we left Laramie at 10 AM and returned around 4PM.  The group raised $1,250 from the poker run and raffles, and the Laramie Aerie pitched in a $1,000 and the Auxiliary $300; thus making the total donation $1,550 for Alzheimer’s research.  Many good things happen in our communities every day, and we seldom hear about them. 

seven patriotic panels and yardage April 2021 Sue and Bert, good friends from Riverton, came to visit on Thursday and Friday. It was such a treat to give them a big hug, visit not stop, share a meal, and play Mexican Train an entire afternoon. Time flew by and our visit ended much too quickly. They gave me a generous donation of seven patriotic panels and yardage to make more Quilts of Valor. Several of the panels are new designs and two are quite large. It will be fun to turn them into quilts in the coming weeks/months. Thank you Sue and Bert for helping me create QOV to honor seven veterans. I appreciate your generosity and your continuing friendship. 

hand-carved sunflower March 2021 I received a surprise package in my mailbox last week: some Minnesota sunshine in the form of a wooden sunflower, carved by FarGuy (Gene H.) , and painted by both FarGuy and FarSide (Connie H.)  Connie and I have been blog friends for several years. Both Connie and Gene are carvers and create over 100 hand-carved Christmas ornaments for their family and friends every year. Sometimes, she will host a contest with one of the ornaments being the prize.  In 2018, I won a contest Connie hosted on her blog, and my prize was a tiny house she had carved. It's a treasure as is this gorgeous sunflower Gene and she created.   Thank you Gene and Connie for this special gift and for your online friendship.

women's size 4 1/2  February 2021 Julie ( JulieKQuilts ) and I have read each other's blogs for years. She is a scrappy quilter, a compassionate nurse, and an online friend. She told me recently that she tried to knit a pair of socks and quit in frustration. Julie wanted to send the yarn to me, and I told her I would gladly knit her a pair of socks from the yarn. Julie has teeny tiny feet and knitting the socks didn't take any time at all. I just wish that I had completed them before the cold snap hit Texas because Julie didn't have any heat in her house. To keep warm, she wrapped herself and her poodle (Rosie) in some of the beautiful quilts she makes. 

challenging metallic puzzle December 2020 One of my friends called on Saturday afternoon and mentioned she had a puzzle that she was unable to assemble and asked if I wanted to try. She brought it over on Sunday morning.  I have never worked on a metallic puzzle before, and it was indeed a challenge. I could only work on it in natural daylight because of the reflective pieces. It was difficult to see much without getting right up next to the pieces.  After assembling the border, I found an area that was distinct (the teal section in front of the elephant) and then the elephant outline. From there, I focused on the rest of the elephant which you can see by the unused pieces is mostly pink.  This puzzle provided me with a challenge even though it is only 500 pieces.  I discovered it was easier to work with natural light coming at an angle rather than overhead lighting that caused the pieces to shine and reflect the light.  It's a beautiful and unusual puzzle - one...

ten, knit dishcloths August 2020 I know that it seems crazy to knit a pile of dishcloths from a simple pattern, but the repetition helps keep my mind focused when I have no desire to do anything.   Who knows what I will do with the dishcloths, but I'm sure they will be useful to someone in the future. 

fabric and yarn from Sue July 2020 I received an unexpected package of goodies from Sue, a friend and former coworker. Inside the box, I found pillow panels, yardage, dryer balls, and three cakes of yarn. I'll use the panels to make some community quilts either for hospice or for the Prayers and Squares group.  In the enclosed letter, Sue said that she has worked hard to eliminate her yarn stash or acrylic, cotton and wool. She made 11 wheelchair; shoulder shawls with the acrylic and made hot pads with the cotton yarn. The three green yarn cakes in the photo were the end of her wool stash. Sue said the wool was too thin for her to crochet, and she didn't want to double it. I've got some ideas percolating for the yarn, but I'll probably wait until Fall before I settle on a project.  Thanks for the goodies, Sue, but most of all thanks for the newsy letter that was also in the box. 

celebrating 94 years February 2020 Every month, I invite a group of ladies in the apartment complex to play Mexican Train dominos. Since we have become friends in the past year, we celebrated the 94th birthday of one of the ladies at our last gathering. The party was a group effort - a cake, ice cream, flowers, cards. The birthday gal was thrilled, and everyone enjoyed making her day special.

a surprise from Sue February 2020 Last week, I received a surprise package in the mail from my friend Sue - lots of white fabric (some already cut into 2.5 inch strips), a much needed rotary cutter and replacement blades, and some fun fabrics and scraps. Thanks, Sue for thinking of me and for sending this wonderful surprise.

Surprise package from Connie H. January 2020 Connie ( Far Side of Fifty ) has been going through her " stuff " and deciding what can stay and what must go. I was the lucky recipient of a package of fabric panels and some white yardage. She even sent a crocheted scrubby. It's fun when someone's "stuff" becomes your treasure. Thanks, Connie for sending this unexpected, yet welcome package.