Wyoming Breezes

My knitting has slowed to a snail's pace the last two weeks. Normally, these socks would have been finished in a week, but the color doesn't appeal to me, so progress stalled. I love the yarn (Austerman Step); however, in my opinion, the colorway ( Eggplant ) leaves a lot to be desired. The second sock is ready for its toe. The socks are knit on size 2 needles for my size 10 feet. I often put my yarn in a zip-top baggie to keep it clean. Before casting on, I snip a little off of the bag's bottom corner and feed the yarn through the hole. The yarn feeds smoothly through the hole and doesn't snag on other things in my knitting bag.

Continental Divide Togwotee Pass May 5, 2011 Remember this post ? Well, one month later, the snow pack is still impressive. In many places, the snow towered over the road and nearly formed a tunnel. My neighbor is about 5' 6" and the snowbank along the road clearly is nearly twice as tall. Note that she is not standing at ground level but about a foot higher. It's obvious the snow hasn't melted much in a month, and some of it will undoubtedly still be on the ground well into June. Since most of the snow was on the eastern side of the Continental Divide , the farmers in my area will not have to worry about sufficient water for their crops this year. On the news last night, the weather man predicted an overnight storm would drop an additional 6 - 12 inches of snow in this area. The snowplow drivers are definitely earning their wages this year.

Grand Teton Range Jackson Hole, Wyoming May 5, 2011 No matter how many times I see them, the Tetons' beauty fills me with awe. The mountains parallel the road and are huge, giving the illusion that they are close enough to touch. It will be some time before the snow melts and the wild flowers are able to bloom, but even in covered in snow, the landscape is beautiful. I had to trudge through about 20 inches of snow to even get some of the photos from the roadside vantage points. Those sidewalks are not shoveled and only part of the parking lot is cleared. Since it is the off-season for tourists, the trip was very pleasant with only light traffic: no over-sized motor homes or campers creeping up the steep grades and no construction delays because of deep snow.  It was such a pleasant trip that I made a mental note to make the trip again next year before tourist season. On the drive, I spotted elk, mule deer, bison, moose, mountain sheep, antelope, bald eagles, ...

Ikebana Competition   Heika  style display Misawa, Japan Fall 1980 Ikebana, Japanese flower arranging, has many styles : upright, slanting, and cascading. These low, spreading Ikebana arrangements are in the Moribana style. I purchased the supplies/accessories to create Moribana style Ikebana, but I never came close to creating a true ikebana arrangement.

I stumbled on a Fat Quarter sale ($1.25 each) at the quilt shop on Thursday when I picked up the missing fabric for the Quilter's Neighborhood Block of the Month. These FQs decided to come home with me.

Carol's Fall House April Block The Quilter's Neighborhood Carol's Fall House gave me fits on Thursday and Friday. The kit did not have enough fabric for the house and part of the quilt block. I was able to obtain some additional fabric for the house from the quilt shop, but I improvised the missing quilt block pieces from my scraps. I love the sky fabric in this block, as it looks just like an Autumn sunset. Quilter's Neighborhood Houses January - Mary's Winter House February - Anna's Spring House March - Susie's Summer House April - Carol's Fall House  Next month's kit will begin the trees of the four seasons.

Size 5 -6 fits Cheryl (no blog) (prize has been claimed) Size 7 - 8 fits Chris (prize has been claimed) Size 8 - 9 fits Merideth (prize has been claimed) Ladies, please send your mailing address to  pinnut3200@yahoo.com  before May 6th. If I don't hear from the winners before May 6th, a new name will be drawn. Thank you to everyone who entered the "If the Sock Fits" drawing.

On-base housing Bachelor Officer Quarters (BOQ) April 1980 My BOQ was directly across from base headquarters and the base flag poles. The flags are at half-staff to honor the service men killed during Operation Eagle Claw . Throughout the year, flags were lowered daily at 4 PM. During the ceremony, the national anthems of Japan and the United States were played over the public address system and could be heard all over the base. Everything, and I mean everything, on base stopped during that time: vehicles pulled over to the side of the road and pedestrians stopped in their tracks and faced the flag poles even if they were blocks away and the flags were not visible. I always got goose bumps when I heard the anthems. The Star-Spangled Banner was also played before movies in base theaters, and everyone in the theater stood at attention. One time the recording stopped abruptly, and without hesitation everyone began singing where it left off. I left Japan with more respect for my...

Find more great strips on Rhymes with Orange .

Not much happened at my house right now, so I will share a quilt that was on display at the Winter Quilt Show in February. I was drawn to the vibrant colors and the way they appeared to be woven. It didn't surprise me to see that it was not for sale: who could part with such a beautiful quilt?

United Notions and Moda Fabrics are collecting blocks of medium red or blue stars with cream backgrounds for the Just One Star program. The directions for the stars can be found here and a tutorial can be found here . The collected blocks will be made into quilts for the men and women who bravely serve in the Armed Forces. They hope to collect 1,800 star blocks to make 100 quilts, but I am sure they will be able to make many more quilts since it is just as easy to make two or more blocks. Please consider making Just One Star, and don't forget to sign your blocks. Mailing instructions are on the pattern, but note the deadline is May 1, 2011 . You still have time. Won't you please make Just One Star.

He is Risen, indeed! Alleluia! May you and your family have a Blessed Easter

Hanami party under the Sakura April 1980 The custom of picnicking under the blooming cherry trees is ancient and still practiced in Japan. Sake (rice wine), food, friends, and music are the main ingredients of a good party. The audio of Sakura Sakura can be found here . It is a haunting, beautiful song. DOD teachers gather  for a Hanami under the cherry trees Misawa AF base April 1980

Sheila asked me last week if I wanted to walk a prairie labyrinth with her before my up-coming surgery, and yesterday was the day we selected for our outing. I had no idea my community even had a labyrinth and had never been to one, so this was a unique opportunity. Labyrinths can be located by using this online tool . Several years ago, Sheila's husband helped a friend plan and create the labyrinth, using natural elements, and it is open to the public. At first glance, it appears to be just another rock-strewn hillside, but once on the path, the pattern is clearly seen. It contained four distinct sections with the path outlined with white, red, black, and brown rocks in those areas. Native plants dotted the paths: some tiny like this cluster of flowers, the blooms smaller than a pencil eraser and others imposing yuccas with last year's seed pods attached to dried stalks. Many of the sandstone rocks had lichen in interesting shapes and several colors. The view surround...