Ancestral Puebloans

Today I visited Mesa Verde. Although I have been here twice before, I saw so much more than ever before by taking two different tours. In the morning I trekked down to Cliff Palace. And... what a trek it was!

First, we wound our way down steep, narrow steps:

Some of the steps were created by the CCC in the 1930's

The path wound around boulders and through crevices

Then, once we went down and around, we went back up!

The view was breathtaking.

It was amazing to think that hundreds of people lived 

in this "village" around 1270. 

Do you see the white plug on the underside of the timber?

That is a patch covering the area where a core

was taken to date the age of the timber used for framing.

The buildings were made over a period of 30 years.

Some used rough stones.

Others were more like bricks.

Some of the walls were smoothed after they were built,

and covered with a dirt "plaster".

The gaps were filled with a mud plaster,

and then chinked with small stones for

added stability.

Kivas are found in almost every dwelling area.

They are dug into the ground and have a slightly rounded

roof made of logs and dirt.

Many think the Kivas were ceremonial rooms.

Others think they were multipurpose rooms,

somewhat like family rooms of today.

Access to the kivas was usually by means of a ladder

placed in the central hole where smoke also escaped.

Fresh air came into the kiva from a hole placed near the fire.

The air was diverted around the fire pit, 

which caused the air to swirl around the room,

moving the smoke to the top.

Some kivas had tunnels leading to other rooms.

The Cliff Palace had more than 150 rooms.

Some of the rooms were decorated.

We were able to look up into a tower so that we could

see the painted walls of one room.

After viewing the cliff dwellings,

and hearing the story from the ranger,

we ascended to the top of the mesa.

We used stairs and ladders.

The Indians used hand and footholds carved into the rock.

The second tour was the "700 year" tour. The Ranger took us to different areas giving us a chronological look at the development of dwellings in the Mesa Verde area. The earliest homes were dug into the earth along the top of the mesa around 550 A.D. They had an earthen roof. Later developments included venting for circulation and smoke exhaust, similar to that of the kivas from later times. Eventually the homes became more like pueblo structures. They were built at ground level and some had several stories. Then, construction moved into the grottos found among the cliffs. The ancient Puebloans left the area around 1300 A.D. for unknown reasons. It is suspected that years of drought may have forced them to move to areas with more water for their agricultural needs. No one knows for certain.

In-Spire-Ing

I spent a few days at Bryce Canyon. We Dreamers had visited last spring... in the snow! This time we were with a caravan of RV's. The highlight of the trip was a ride down into the canyon. The rim-side stable had numerous horses and mules. I rode Casper. I was tickled by how responsive the horses and mules were to the wrangler's whistles... but not, so much, our efforts to have them pick up the pace!

Loved the "East-West" ears!

Louise gets a boost up on her mule.

We begin the trek down,

and quickly begin some switchbacks,

heading down,

And, down some more!

The spires, called "Hoodoos" are beautiful.

This one stood all alone.

It's beautiful in pictures,

magnificent in person.

We walk across the ridge of broken down sandstone.

The views are stunning.

We begin the trek back up to the rim.

Climbing amongst the hoodoos.

The Wrangler keeps his eye on us.

A-Maz-Ing

I had the opportunity to visit the Red Hills Desert Gardens, which overlook St. George, UT. The gardens have been open only a few months. They are truly amazing! What a pleasant way to spend a few hours!

Enjoy a walk in the garden with me....

I'm Not Done

....I'm finished! 

(In days of yore I enjoyed working with a fabulous English teacher who, among other things, taught her 6th Grade students (and me) that potatoes are done.  Work and projects are finished!)

so... here is my completed queen size quilt; my finished project!

I purchased a kit after seeing the finished quilt at the High Prairie Quilt Shop (Parker, CO) and falling in love with the colors. I knew this was just what we needed to replace the lovely, but bulky and heavy bed spread on the motorhome. The quilt was included in the Fall/Winter 2014 "Quilt Sampler" magazine published by Better Homes and Gardens. They publish this magazine quarterly. Each features 10 quilt shops in the US. In addition to information about the quilt shops, each one offers a quilt pattern and some of the shops offer kits. 

I began cutting and piecing the quilt at the end of June. Knowing we were heading out in the motorhome at the end of summer... I spent extended time in the dungeon basement sewing room, so we could enjoy the new quilt on our travels.

Oops, I was sewing fast and furiously and I made a mistake. Did you catch it? Luckily I did, and employed my seam ripper (yet again) to right my wrong!

I was ready to baste the quilt top, the batting and the backing by the 4th of July. When I laid it out in the living room, I realized just how large a queen-sized quilt can be (or conversely,  how small my living room is!) Wow! It barely fit, even after pushing the sofa and chairs back. 

I had to roll up the rug. I taped the backing to the floor and used spray basting to baste the batting to the backing. I pinned the top to all layers, and then basted it. Next time I will spray baste the top to the batting, too, and use pins for extra stability, eliminating the basting. The basting threads proved to be a royal pain when it was time to quilt the layers together. I had to stop frequently to snip a basting thread. Sometimes the threads pulled on the quilt so my stitches got bunched together, or I'd begin sewing "off course". 

I am pleased with the final result. Especially considering that this is only my 6th quilting project! However, it looks very different from the model I saw that inspired my purchase of the kit. It turns out the some of the colors that were used in the kit were quite different from the original quilt. Since I enjoy picking out fabrics for projects from all of the beautiful options available to me, I probably won't use a kit again. I also added a 6" border knowing that quilting the layers would make the quilt smaller, and knowing that I have a mattress that is just over 12" in height. 

Quilt: "Guided by the Stars"

Kit, in blue or brown, offered for sale by High Prairie Quilts, 18870 E. Plaza Dr, Parker, CO 30234

75 Days

It's amazing what a few days... and a lot of food can do!

The "Bony Pony" is making progress.

May 30, 2015

(Oh, how I wish this first picture had been in focus)

August 13, 2015

In the right lighting... he looks fabulous!

Eight Weeks

Our sweet granddaughter is 8 weeks old. This momentous occasion was not marked with much fanfare. No Birthday cake. No presents. Just us. I felt lucky to have the opportunity to visit the kids and hold their sweet little girl.

We ventured to San Francisco on Thursday, and spent the weekend tiling the kitchen backsplash. The kids will need to do the grouting, as the tile needed extra time to set. Awww, too bad. Gosh darn it... I love grouting......
(actually, I do!!)

The "Before" shot of the kitchen.

A "During" shot of the project, and a closeup of the not so fun to set tile.

Z tries her hand at putting mastic on the wall.
She's a whiz at it. It's in the genes.
Z's Grandfather and Great Grandfather were both masons!

The only way to get the tiles into the corner is...
 to get in the corner.
Our son is flexible enough to do this with ease!

Ta da!
The project is complete. (Well, almost!)
Let's have friends over for dinner!

In between setting tiles, and resetting those that decided not to stick, we had our share of time with sweet little baby. She is beginning to spend more awake time checking out her environment. She is just beginning to make some cooing sounds.

She waves her arms and legs, but hasn't quite figured out how to connect with or hold a toy.

And she spends some time fussing. OK, babies fuss. How else are they gonna tell us they are cold, or wet, or hot, or hungry, or just plain tired! Our little BaBa seems to kick up a fuss when she is trying oh, so, hard, not to fall asleep!

Going....

Going....

Gone!

One evening we even let her parents go out to dinner all by themselves! Our son provided us with detailed instructions....

Doesn't he get it? We were parents once upon a time!

We managed to take care of him just fine!

So....

We played with her.

And put her down to nap.

And picked her up when she cried.

And fed her.

 

We put her down to play.

We picked her up.

We bathed her.

And fed her again.

Mom and Dad walked in after having a nice meal, all by themselves.

All was quiet.

All was fine.

I'm not sure who enjoyed the evening more....