Musical Monday

So, you've left the twelve-year-old in charge for a couple of hours.  When you come home, the ten-year-old rushes up and says, "We found something awesome on YouTube!"

What do you feel?  Fear?  Trepidation?  An impulse to throw away the wireless router and ban the twelve-year-old from babysitting?

Not me.  Not for long, anyway.  Rollo's not one to keep you in suspense.  And I know my boys.  This is what he'd found:



The Piano Guys' version of "Nearer, My God, to Thee."

Awesome.

Visiting the Mormon Battalion

After winding our way down from Big Bear Lake and fighting our way through Los Angeles-area traffic, we finally arrived in San Diego.  We went to the Old Town and found the Mormon Battalion Historic Site.  At least three of my direct ancestors, and some other members of the family tree, marched from Iowa to California as part of the Army of the West in 1846. 

The engaging multimedia presentation tells about the recruitment, trials on the journey, and the ways the Battalion members contributed to the development of southern California and Utah.  It was very interesting.

Among those contributions, some Battalion members helped build a certain mill where gold was discovered.  So there's a gold panning station outside where visitors can try their hand.

In a sluice stocked with pyrite and other pretty pebbles, there's something for everyone to discover.

Big Bear Lake

After the festivities in Utah, we headed for southern California.  On the way, we stopped at Big Bear Lake.

We spent the night in this cool cabin.

In the morning we took a steep little hike,

where we met some lizards,

 and a log that looked like a rhino.

It was a beautiful place,

and it would have been fun to stay longer,

but we had other plans...

LaBeq's Big Day

My sister LaBeq got married last month,

 

 for time and all eternity, in the Salt Lake Temple.

 I got to make some ties,

 but she made her own lace.

Her heart on her sleeve.  Isn't it gorgeous?

 The reception was in a lovely garden center,

and featured waffles

 and a cake that tasted even better than it looked.

 Mom and Dad were pleased parents,

 and Vae and I were supportive sisters.

May they live happily ever after!

Featured on MMB

We've just returned from a hot, sunny vacation to the comforting gray blanket of the Pacific Northwest.  I'm catching up with laundry before catching up on blogging, but I did notice something in my queue that I'd like to pass along.  I recently joined the contributing writers at MMB, and my first article was published today!  MMB features value-centered prose, designed to uplift and entertain.  Check it out!

Musical Monday

School is out, finally, and the boys' piano lessons are also over for the summer.  But the older boys have already chosen their pieces for the Halloween recital.  Scoot is working on the theme from "The Phantom of the Opera."  He has been trying to master those tough minor chords, and his brothers have been working on them, too.  So we've been hearing a lot of that spooky music. 

But that is not all.  We've been enjoying the Piano Guys' music ever since Christmas time.  In one of the boys' favorites, the Guys are joined by an energetic young violinist.  She's caught the Caterpillar's eye, and ear, so he's been playing her videos pretty often lately, too. 

So, this piece seems like a natural combination of recent hits in the family:

Lindsey Stirling plays songs from "Phantom."  I love her costumes, and the music sets a high standard of performance for our Scoot.  Practice hard!

Feeling Blue

After finishing my big crochet project, I was ready for some sewing.  I did some shopping, and assembled my supplies, and realized my projects all had something in common: 

they were blue.  Dark blue, even.  I hadn't planned it that way.

My ironing board cover was looking pretty sad.  It was getting ripped and stained.  And it had always been boring.  I've replaced the cover a couple of times before, but this time I decided to make a new cover myself.  I wanted a cute print, and found one that I really liked, with just a bit of blue accent.  Of course, there was not sufficient fabric left on the bolt.  Nor was there enough of my second choice.  This happy blue print caught my attention, so I picked it up.

I mostly followed Bleuview's instructions, though I folded my fabric in half to save on cutting, and doubled the fleece layer. 

The old cover did have some advantages, like a pair of velcroed straps underneath.  So they came out of the old, and into the new.

When he saw it, Dandelionslayer asked me if I was excited to do some ironing.  And, you know what?  I almost was.

I wanted to sew a skirt to go with this:

a lovely blouse my parents bought me in Hungary, or one of its neighbors.  I considered various colors, but the dark blue suiting seemed to match the best.  

Sorry to blind you.  It's hard to take pictures on a cloudy-bright day.

The third piece is a continuation of a project I began some time ago.  At least eighteen years ago, possibly more, my dad gave me this lovely book:

Modern Sashiko Collection, by Eiko Yoshida.  Sashiko is a Japanese style of stitchery that was traditionally done in white thread on indigo fabric.  This collection of modern projects includes various color combinations, but I decided to start with the standard.  I did the embroidery for four placemats, some time ago, and still had fabric for more.  So this spring I pulled it out and stitched this:

The pattern is called "Blue Sea Waves," though the boys thought it looked more like fish scales.  The stitching went surprisingly quickly, but I'll go more into that another time.

So, as you see, the blueness of my projects cannot be traced to my state of mind at any particular time.  Except, of course, that I do really like blue.  So, here are a couple of parting shots of my boys in blue.

D2 pounces on second base

Scoot leaps for the ball

Go, blue!