Opening Day

Today's postcard

Today was Opening Day for the Cincinnati Reds. I watched part of the parade on tv - I hadn't realized it was such a big deal. Next year I'll go.

I thought about going downtown to Fountain Square to watch part of the game there - all the seats at the ball park were sold out and they were showing the game on the big screen above Macy's. It kept raining, though, sometimes pouring, on and off, and I couldn't decide whether to go.

Then I heard the jets fly overhead and decided things must be on. I caught the shuttle downtown. The crowd there was pretty small, probably because of the rain, but there was the game, on the big screen.

I walked to the ball park and saw that somebody really came in style. Is that classy or what, a long red limo to see the Reds.

Toyota is one of the sponsors this year, and that's a red Toyota Tundra on the platform.

At Steph and Mike's tonight, it was hard to imagine a happier spring face.

At home, my plaid is finished - now for some stripes.

Maysville Visit

Today's postcard

It was such fun to go to Maysville yesterday and have lunch with Kay and see her husband Jack for the first time in years. Yeah, you heard of Maysville last week because George Clooney and Renee Zellweger were there for the premier of their new movie Leatherheads. And Bill Clinton was there the next day.

Kay took me to lunch at the Lively Lady in Aberdeen. I love restaurants on the river and ate lots of banana pudding at this one. Thanks, Kay. The next lunch is on me.

Leah, this Maysville picture's for you. At the left on the riverfront is the Medical Arts Building, where we worked together for all those years all those years ago. Every day we'd head for the third floor.

Sarah, this one's for you. The gnome still lives. Without going into details, there was once a bicycle accident involving the gnome and the gnome wasn't riding the bike.

Back home today, I fixed my grow lights, which went out last week when I was trying to move them higher. Turns out that the plug had loosened. Duh. The tomatoes are looking good, despite a few days of just daylight - almost time to transplant them to containers. Really, it's more about growing something in March than ending up with tomato plants.

And my fabric project continues.

Today's postcard

I'm behind doing the homework for an online class, but today I did go from this

to this,

and it was lots of fun getting there. This is lesson one and lesson three, the last, was posted today. Hmmm. I'm hoping that getting that first lesson done was the hardest in terms of choosing fabric, shopping, and figuring things out. I have to admit that, having gone this far, I can see that some of the fabric I chose is totally not right and that some on my shelf will look good. And that, my quilting friends, is why we so treasure our fabric stashes. But you already knew that.

Not My Bumper Sticker

Today's postcard

This isn't my bumper sticker. I noticed it yesterday on a truck in Belluevue. I wish it was mine, though.

Like ever so many other people, I love Red River Gorge. I love the hiking and the arches and the views and the Nada Tunnel. The camping at Koomer Ridge. The pizza at Miguel's.

I'm old enough to remember Justice William O. Douglas hiking the gorge in a Sierra Club effort to prevent damming the river there. Long after that, the section of river in the gorge was declared part of the Wild and Scenic River System and there is no longer danger of a dam.

Ah, soon. The bath houses open April 1. I'll try to get one of the campsites with stairs going to the tent area. Last time I was there, I noticed that there was cell phone reception in the camp ground. I'm still trying to decide - like it or not?

You probably guessed that the reason I was in Bellevue was because I didn't have just the right beads to finish my challenge quilt.

This is a good-sized store and I always mean to take a picture showing that, but I always end up with pictures of the gorgeous beads instead.

See what I mean?

March Take It Further Challenge Finished

Today's postcard

March Take It Further challenge: Pay attention to the details. Sometimes the small things become emblematic for something larger.

My quilt is 8 x 12 inches and contains many circles. It is constructed on a multi-colored gauze background and has many little details that comprise the whole.

My original thoughts were to have lots of beading. While there are more beads than I usually use, there are fewer than I originally envisioned.

Thanks to Dena Crain, with her Darned Quilts class, for her influence. I didn't start out thinking about doing something similar here, but that's where I ended up. If you ever have a chance to take Dena's class, jump on it.

Touching Home

Today's postcard






What's the deal with the plaid postcards? I'm taking a Quilt University class that works with just this - weaving fabrics and adding more fabrics, ribbon, and trim to make a new fabric. The instructor warned us that it takes lots of fabric and time and I decided to go small first to experiment. I like this arrangement and like the colors, so tomorrow I'll start on my larger piece, which will be related to, but not just like this.

I got mail from Bluffton (home town in Ohio) which included a copy of last week's Bluffton News article about the dedication of a memorial honoring the Bluffton University baseball players who died in a bus crash a little over a year ago. My cousin Gregg Luginbuhl sculpted a bronze marker called "Touching Home," which has handprints and cleats. Gregg's work is wonderful as usual, but I really was touched by this paragraph from his dedication speech.

"Visually, I am asking all who visit this site to think of rounding the bases as a metaphor for our work, for our lives, and especially for our spiritual journeys. Through individual achievement, a hit or a walk, we get on base. We make judgments, decisions, take risks, maybe steal a base, but by and large we survive or progress with the help of our coaches and teammates. Sometimes we make it home, and celebrate the journey - know the joy of our contributions to the team. And then we try to get on base again."

Home run, Gregg.

Easter Blessings

Today's postcard

How wonderful to spend Easter at Steph and Mike's. Thanks, guys. Sarah, we missed you.

Nora decorating a bunny cake.

Grandma, Aunt Tina, and Nora.

Pap and happy Aaron.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, everyone.

Favorite Statue

Today's postcard

This is one of my all-time favorite statues, on the Ohio River in Covington. It's where Steph and Mike had their wedding pictures taken.

Unfortunately, someone wrote in his book. It's probably a continuing cleaning process, but . . .so rude.

Can You See The Shark?

Today's postcard


Just before noon I took the shuttle to Cincinnati for the Good Friday services. While I was waiting for the shuttle, I noticed this puddle with a reflection of a shark from the aquarium sign. Can you see him?

Here he is again, a little bigger.


The service started at Fountain Square, then moved down the street to the Freedom Center. Afterwards I joined friends from church for a walk across the river into Covington. We were on the John Roebling Bridge, which was a prototype for the longer Brooklyn Bridge.

Looking up -

And down. I find this bridge scary to drive on because it feels so slippery.

Yesterday the Kentucky House passed a bill to make the nearby I-75 bridge a toll bridge to help pay the huge cost of a replacement. It's part of the interstate system, but the feds are no help on this one. It's hard to imagine how to keep traffic flowing smoothly with a toll area, since this is a bottleneck area anyway.

Here's the newest addition to Covington's skyline. Some people really like it, some hate it. I think it's pretty cool.

High water (that's what the orange sign says) - the river is a foot below flood stage. Because of the high water and fast current, barge traffic in the city area is restricted to daylight hours. It's a difficult area to navigate with the bridges and bend in the river.

My friends walked back to Cincinnati and I took a different bridge to Newport. No use feeling virtuous about the walk, though - my path took me to my favorite bakery and a piece of cherry strudel.

Artist Trading Card Workshop

Today's postcard (three-dimensional bobbin work - it's better in person)

Happy spring, everyone.

Last month I was disappointed when snow cancelled the Artist Trading Card workshop at Crone Cottage in Bellevue, but tonight was worth the wait. There were all kinds of luscious things to play with -

and nice people to meet, too.

I'd never made an ATC before, and it was good times.

Here's a quick update on my March TIF challenge. Last week it just wasn't working, but I stitched down most of the bright pink twirled ribbons, and I'm happy now, ready to go forward.