Idle Thoughts of a '49er'

Yes, I'm finally
A forty-niner!
But daughter's not a Clementine
She's got a gold feller,
Though he's not yeller,
Air Force chap
And mighty fine...
(Walk2Write's own verse sung to the tune of "Clementine.")


I can't say "nifty, nifty, look who's fifty" just yet. The verse above the first picture is the best I can do for now. No, 09/09/09 is not my 49th birthday. I wouldn't be that lucky. But I did celebrate sometime last week by walking with SAM at Arcadia Mill. We weren't sure if the non-boardwalk part of the trail would be passable with as much rain as we've had lately. Fortunately, we managed to stay reasonably dry, didn't endure too many insect bites, and managed to find some beautiful plants along the way. As far as I can tell from looking at various sites, the berries are the fruit of a Brazilian Peppertree, Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi. If I'm right, it's probably not something the forestry people like to see because it's considered extremely invasive.

The walk last week at the old mill site must have whetted my appetite for even more treasure, and I didn't have long to wait before it was satisfied. My sister, the supreme fabric genius of the family, and my mom ensured that this 49er could celebrate in style.

Sis calls her creation "If Fishes were Stars." It's quite an intricate design using the Stack n' Whack technique. Sis even thought to provide care instructions on the back as a quilt block: "Machine wash only when soiled, mild detergent, gentle cycle, no bleach. Dry flat. Avoid direct sunlight." Guess that means no hanging it outside on the clothesline? So far, I've managed to avoid soiling it because I remove it at night before bedtime. I haven't reached the point where I need adult diapers yet, but Daughter keeps reminding me that it won't be long....

We took the Gold Feller--Mr. T--and Daughter to the National Naval Aviation Museum on Labor Day. He's in the Air Force Reserves--active duty right now--and lived in this area before but had never been to the museum. I think he was pleasantly surprised by the displays, sheer size of it all, and historical significance of the place located in Pensacola NAS, the Cradle of Naval Aviation. He and Daughter have a history of their own. They've been friends for five years, keeping in touch by telephone (Daughter doesn't use e-mail very often). When Mr. T found out that Daughter had split with her latest beau, he wasted no time in getting back to town and making his move. Pity da fool!

He isn't a fool, really. I think he fits right in with the rest of this clan.

I'm happy to say that Mr. T is quite welcome here, and I hope he likes it better than he used to (he hates hot weather). Let's not be in any rush to have Daughter movin' out west, especially way up to Alaska, young Gold Feller!

Threads of Thought

Certain threads of my thoughts seem to be cropping up in unexpected places and are causing me some embarrassment. Yesterday I posted about signs and faces, and after posting I navigated over to Carol's site where I found she had posted on Monday about seeing a face in a stepping stone. Yikes! I felt my face redden as I thought that anyone reading my post after having read hers would think I am an idea thief! Then I went to Sarah Laurence's blog and saw her post which included unusual signs. No way! What is going on here? I took the photos Sunday on our hike and pieced an idea together in my head, but, unfortunately, I didn't fully assemble the idea and post it until Thursday. Procrastination has gotten me into trouble before, but it usually just involved burning the midnight oil to finish a term paper, a problem for my eyes only (and maybe the teacher's), as their redness gave evidence of my "sin" the next morning in class.


Now, my procrastination has leaped into cyberspace and exposed me as a possible idea thief! Wait a minute, now. My sister Ellen and I were discussing something along these lines on Tuesday when I had a visit with her and my mom for an early Mother's Day lunch. After eating lunch at Hunan's in Carbondale, we went to Ellen's house for dessert and tea, and she let me have a peek at the gift she is assembling for me. Isn't it gorgeous? She says it is a stack-n-whack quilt.


Sounds intriguing, doesn't it? Apparently, all of the blocks in the quilt are pieced together in kaleidoscope fashion from one piece of fabric. I asked her if the idea was hers, but she said she found it in a pattern book.


Aren't patterns kind of like recipes, I wondered out loud? The woman who published the pattern book "cooked" up what looks like a novel idea, but she probably just drew on years of experience with various styles of quilting to put a new twist on what had come before, adding a bit of her own creative flair to the mix. We would all like to think we have a truly original idea sometimes, but then something comes along to show us that, no, our thoughts are merely tied to some bigger, more elaborate, and deliberate pattern.