You can tell a book is real...

Denim Quilt I Helped Make

So this is actually something my mother, sisters, my kids, and I finished about two years ago but I wanted to put it on my Pinterest so I'm sticking it on my blog.  Ah, the wonders of technology.

It's actually a King size quilt which was a great present for my husband as he's a big guy but it can pretty much squash a small child with the weight.  We won't make one this large ever again.  The kids and the grown-ups each pieced together a square or two so it's got lots of individual touches.  It came out really well  The back we made from cheap flannel blankets we found on sale.  There is no batting or filling.  We used my mother's Bernina sewing machine and the denim foot attachment to put it all together.

To get uniform shapes we used a few pieces of cereal boxes cut into a square, a triangle, a rectangle, and a long rectangle, all measured to fit each other and leave a seam allowance.  Then we traced those onto old jeans of various sizes and colors and cut them out.  We messed around with the design a lot and had a great time voting on what squares were "artistic/creative" enough to add to the quilt (submitters ranged in age from two to senior discount so there was a lot of variety).

It turned out out so well we started on another SMALLER quilt and have plans to make one that is sort of a chess board with pockets for some kind of stuffed or beanbag chessmen or just checkers...  Check back in a few years to see if we finish that project.

Park-Bark Beetles

Last week when we went to the Orem Rec Center Park near our home, to play on the playground, we found dozens of these beetles.

Jared grossing out the kids.

This picture is oriented the right way on my computer...

Anyway, Jessica and Andrew holding the beetles they caught.

The paper cup method was a lot safer than picking them up as they could both cling and pinch.

April with the cup-o-bugs.

I held it but it was not a pleasant experience.  They have sharp little clingy feet and avoiding the pincers was not easy. 

Fathers Day Craft with my Cub Scouts

Saw something like this on Pinterest and decided to give it a try.

Not too many materials required; brown paper lunch bag, scissors, patterned paper (scrapbook paper), plain white handkerchief, needle, thread or embroidery thread, glue, some kind of filler like candy or treats.  Optional - iron on little patches, iron, ironing board, fabric to keep the patch from scorching

Found a good pattern for the tie and some "tie-ish" looking bits of paper in my scrapbook stuff.

Picked up the iron on patches (about an inch in size, the balls were the size of a quarter)

Gave the cubs a quick lesson in using a needle and thread.  You can see how big these handkerchiefs are, I picked them up at the craft store but next time I would look for them at kmart or something because these were more bandanna size but they worked.

The cubs did a great job putting the monogram on the handkerchief and we stuffed the "shirts" with little candy bars.  I drew the letter on the handkerchief for them lightly in pencil and then they did a simple running stitch to trace it.

Before opening the bag cut into it an inch and a half on both sides about an inch and a half from the top.  Make a careful slit in the front of the bag where the "pocket" will be for the handkerchief to stick out.  Glue the tie on where it looks good.  Put in the treats, arrange the handkerchief, carefully pull the flaps in and glue them down.  Great project for the cubs and mine got a kick out of doing the monogram.

My mom strikes again.

My sister, Lynn, posted this on her facebook.  So amusing, must share.

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My mother, the "misspelled-words-on-public-signs Nazi," strikes again. You can view her most recent work at the Macey's. Lynda Bauman

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Back when we were in school she would correct and return notes, fliers, and other information sent home by our teachers.  As she's gotten older she has apparently progressed to the alteration of private property in public places.  I hope the grocery store people appreciate her work.

Last Day of School

April and Kylie in front of Orem Elementary

Mrs. Baumgarten and April

Ms. Anderson and Kylie

Not just ducklings, BYU ducklings.

Every Spring we go looking for the ducklings at the pond at BYU.  The pond, if you haven't found it, is on 800 North at about 430 East.  The pond is home to turtles, fish, ducks, and other critters.  We love to visit on our way to or from the Provo Library.  My sister, Lois, lives much closer to campus than we do and keeps us informed about developments at the pond.  She told us there were ducklings and sure enough we found them.

There's also a great duck pond at Nielson's Grove Park in Orem.

My dad's birthday

Here's my dad.  He was born in 1949 so you can do the math if you want to.  He's a former government employee and is concerned about what "they" might find out about him on the internet or through "their" sources.  "They" showed up a couple of times during my childhood to check up on him so I know the MIB really do exist but I don't remember "them" having the flashy thingys, then again, that's no certain indicator that "they" don't.  Either way, I'll respect his wish (birthday or otherwise) and not divulge any more personal information on him.

Dad.

Dad and my little one and the cake.

The cake.

My little one and the packaging from a gift.

Party games.  I think Lynn set up Don't Break The Ice a dozen or so times before they gave up on it.

Andrew's Collection

Andrew is at the age where he likes to collect little things he finds out in the yard or out in the world.  He seems to have a real fondness for bits of wood and sticks.  I told him he could keep his collection in a little pile next to the front door.  Here's a picture of his current finds.  The brick is a doorstop for the garage side door and not part of the collection.

Stuffed Mushrooms - A work in progress

This is one of my favorite appetizers to order when we go out to dinner.  I've been trying to put together a good recipe.  So far we have determined that the recipes that list mayonnaise as one of the ingredients are not a good way to go.  Most of the family prefers a little bit of sausage or something in the mix, corned beef chopped up really fine worked very well.
Things I think should be included:

Minced sauteed onions
minced sauteed stems from the mushrooms
bacon/sausage/corned beef (something with a good flavor and a bit salty)
cream cheese

a creamy kind of something else sort of like cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup.  The soup my mom makes from scratch worked really well, my next experiments will involve a few different campbells varieties to see what I come up with

cheese for the top, so far mozzarella works about the best but not perfectly

Still searching for a recipe that really wows us.

So if you have a great recipe for these, please, share.

Thanks D.

The other night I had one of those dreams where I was late for a class I couldn't find and I was supposed to take the final that day and I couldn't remember ever having gone to the class let alone anything on the final.  I was so upset and frustrated and guilt ridden over it.
Then, as I'm walking across this campus I see Derek Hoerler from high school and he just smiles and says "I'll go with you." and it's such a relief.
So the dream really stuck with me.

Life is messy and we're all dealing with things but sometimes someone is nice enough just to walk with you a little ways and the burden is so much lighter.

Anyway, haven't seen Derek in more than a decade but I want to say thanks.  It was nice of you to show up in my dream and help me out.
Yup, I know that's weird, I have never claimed to be normal.

Link to a site with deep thoughts.

I found this website, http://sun-gazing.com/ and also a facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/sungazing1   full of pictures, quotes, thoughts, etc.  I can't say I agree with all of it but it was amazing how much it made me think and how many things were just kind of cool.  Here's the picture that caught my interest at first

then I went looking for sources on it and found the website.  I just really liked it.

I Resemble That Remark