Back to Quilting!

I spent New Years Day in a quilting class by Bonnie Hunter learning a mystery quilt that I am very excited to work on.  It has put me back at the machine and cleaning out the studio so that I have one less project going at a time.  I finished the quilt top that I have been working on irregularly for several years now.  Yay!!!  I still have two others cut out to finish piecing along with the new one.  Hopefully we will get this one on the frame soon and then I can switch between quilting and piecing.  Looking for a more productive 2013.

Annual Holiday Puzzle

Cass and Scott came over to do laundry and hang out for the day.  We had opened the annual puzzle the night before and had put the border together and a few other pieces.  They got into the spirit of things and before they went home late (much later than they thought, ha ha) all that was left was blue sky, blue on the large balloon, and the white clouds.

A week later Mister and I had struggled through the blue and finished it up.  We were so excited when we managed to get just one or two pieces in.  It doesn't look that hard, but ugh --- lots of blue and white everywhere.

2012 - Year in Review

This post wishes each of you a very Happy New Year and hopes that you look with anticipation at what lies ahead.  I know I do.

Taking a quick look at 2012 --- WOW!  We had such a fun year and just saying that does not do justice to it.  Here is a quick review and feel free to look up the blog entries to match most of these.

February took us to Wyoming to help out with grandkids while two of the girls had surgery.  We spent 4 days there with 5 grands and then went back to Dallas with 2 in tow for another 10 days.  What a treat.  I am ready for my annual time with Hyrum and Zyra again.

March delivered Cass to our house on her way to Orlando for training in her  new position with Jet Blue at DFW.  We were so excited to have them near us and have had great times together all year.

April brought us Scott for a week while he also interviewed for and started a new job.  It also found us traveling north two weekends in a row for birthday parties - one to Wyoming for Caleb and the other to Montana for Zyra.

May -- the very first weekend  (and so three in a row now) we were back in Montana for Elena's birthday and the birth of Malea.  She was my special birthday present.  Next stop was Peru and the incredible Machu Picchu.  What an amazing trip and month.

June led us to exotic Egypt where we discovered that it was not as exotic but incredibly rich with history.  While we were gone, our house emptied of guests as Cass and Scott moved out to Richland Hills to be closer to work and have their own home.

July gave me the chance to fly with my granddaughter down to Houston, put her on another flight north and return to Dallas all in the same morning.  Great one-on-one time.  This month also reminded me that I am human and I was given the choice opportunity of some time in the hospital.  Yay!!  Sad part was that I missed the flight to bring Bekah home from her trip north, giving the opportunity to her grandfather instead.

August is wedding month and so a week after surgery, we hit the skies again for my nieces wedding in Montana.  The weather was incredible and she was such a beautiful bride.  Returning from there, I collapsed, rested, and headed to Surfside Beach with all of my children and grandchildren for another week of rest and much wanted family time.  I loved every minute of it and wish I had the budget to do that annually.

September led us down to Temple and Austin for soccer time with grands and Cass time in Austin.  We do love Austin and take every opportunity to go down there that we possibly can.  Then, on a spur of the moment decision, we took off for San Francisco and the Napa Valley to watch the grape harvest and   tour SF to the hilt.  The harvest was amazing to me and I learned so much and will be looking for 2012 wines in the future.

October is our anniversary month and so we spent 10 days in New England being "leaf peepers" and had such a grand time.  We finished the month in Austin on Halloween for the Leonard Cohen concert.  It was incredible as always.

November started out with a rare treat for me.  Cass and I flew to San Francisco and the rest of her sisters soon joined us for 4 days together of bike riding, eating, touring, eating, shopping, and eating, lol.  What fun and I hope to have another chance to do this in 2013.

December marked a destination and wonder off of our bucket lists.  Our trip to Iceland with its amazing beauty and three nights of Northern Lights will be a treasured memory for both of us forever.  Prior to our flight there, we were blessed to spend 3 days in Wyoming with our grandsons and gave mom and dad a break.  We also got to play Santa while there so all in all a great time.

Whew --- what a year.  Add in our movies, dinners out, friends over, and just laxin' at home and I really can't complain even if I thought I should.  On to 2013 and all it holds for us.

Happy New Year all.

Mister and Lady

Christmas 2012 - A Week with Family

I had such a hard time finding the Christmas spirit ahead of time this year.  I finally found it in Iceland when I started shopping there and then the first week home, we had to finish shopping and get everything shipped.  Whew --- I cut back a ton this year -- not even any cookies.  What is up with that?





We did get the house decorated a few days before Christmas and we were actually ready for the day when it arrived along with our guests.  We had decided to add red to the mix on the tree this year and I love the way it turned out.



We spent the early afternoon at A Tuba Christmas at Thanksgiving Square in Downtown Dallas.  There were over 150 musicians.  The park was packed and the music was kept very spiritual.  Jingle Bells was the only secular song played.  It made for a very nice start to Christmas Eve and certainly set the tone for me.

Cass and Scott arrived in the afternoon for our Tomato Bisque ritual and I had made fresh bread for it earlier in the day.  Yummy.

They did a sleepover and so were here Christmas morning and guess what ---- It snowed again!!!  Woohoo.  That makes the second time it has snowed when they have been here. Too funny.

Christmas morning was fun and yes, Santa had arrived.  We were able to have a little fun together sharing gifts and stories.




We had our traditional Christmas dinner and Mister's prime rib was amazing as always.  Didn't the table look so pretty all in red and white?  I had great help from Cassie as you can tell.

We ended the day by the four of us going to a movie after which Cass and Mister found some time to play and then Scott and Cass headed home.








The day after Christmas Jen and family came up to spend a few fun-packed days with us.  Cass and Scott drove back over for the first day and we all had another Christmas  with  gifts, fun, and messes everywhere.  It was a great time and we made a ham dinner and relaxed for the evening.










The next day we spent the day at the new Perot Science Museum, but not without "surprising" the boys with a stop to get haircuts, what fun. I had to do a before/after of each one.

We were not sure if they were happy or sad to see the hair go.  Saw some frowns and some smiles -- best comment came from Jacob -- "My hair looks good no matter what."  LOVE IT!

We ate at Texas Land and Cattle for a late lunch/early dinner, and that evening we all went to Urban Air trampoline with the kids (and Mom) jumping until they were exhausted.



I had to work the next day and it was Mom Hayter's birthday, so we headed off and Jen and family went to freeze their little backsides off at Six Flags and then head home.  They are tough Texans!

Iceland - Day 7 and home - Blue Lagoon

It is a sad day for us because we are headed home today, but it is also a day that I have been looking forward to since we got here because we get to go to the Blue Lagoon today.  After a quick breakfast and time spent tidying up the house, we pack up early and start the drive that will complete our trip around the island by arriving back in Reykjavik.  We want to be at the Blue Lagoon shortly after it opens to spend as much time there as possible before having to go to the airport and also to hopefully avoid any crowds that may gather as the day progresses.  It is only about an hour or so down to Reykjavik and the landscape has once again changed.  It has flattened out and we are along the coast of a fjord with farms dotting the landscape on both sides of us.




We discover that the route we have taken has a toll tunnel that goes under the fjord and when we exit -- Reykjavik!  We are back on the road taken the first night to watch the Aurora.  What an incredible journey this has been.









Next stop --- the Blue Lagoon.  (Please google this and read all about it.)  I am so excited as I am definitely a hot water lover and want to just bask in it and relax my entire body before a 7 1/2 hour flight back to Boston.








Mister has read about it ahead of time and knows about the secret entrance where we don't have to run around barefoot on icy ground between the locker room and the lagoon like we are watching everyone else do.  Yay Mister!  We go through the little pool entrance and are instantly in a covered area with speakers telling the story of the lagoon.  Excellent.

We wander the whole lagoon finding the waterfalls of hot water, the silica pots for masks, direct inlets of incredibly hot water, etc.  We cover our faces with a silica mask and continue to wander for the 20 minutes it needs to set and then go back to the waterfalls to wash it all off.  Yes!  Oh so nice.  We spend a couple of hours there, just floating, walking, and visiting with others.  It is so worth the trip.  I know that Icelandair flies to Europe from the U.S. via a layover in Reykjavik --- do this!  The Lagoon is only 20 minutes from the airport and definitely a great way to kill a couple of hours.

After we are dressed, we find the platform overlooking the lagoon to take a few pictures.  What a great last day we have had.













It is now back to Keflavik to refuel and  return the car.  Mister has finally mastered their gas pumps.

Alas, we are back at the airport after being delivered by the Blue Car Rental guy.  It only takes a few minutes to get our boarding passes and clear security -- love it.









We enter the main shopping area at the airport and take the time to make sure we have not missed any little thing here.  We had heard about a donut/sweet treat called Kleina that we had not yet had and so found one, sat down, and savored it.  It reminded me of a donut type treat that my grandmother used to make called Grebel.





We still needed a meal before our flight and so as usual Iceland delivered first class.  Smoked salmon, wine, eggs, etc.  Real dishes!  Not once on this trip have we had paper products and we stumped a lady when we wanted a bottle of water.  "Why would we want that?  The water here is so pure."  Oh my.  We simply wanted it in the car.








With full tummies, we went to the gate, received our boarding passes, and left Iceland with a determination to return again.  What a magnificent country -- one that we fell in love with and would recommend absolutely everyone to go to at least once.  When we landed in Boston we were faced with and incredibly slow customs, a mad dash to a different terminal, check-in at a kiosk, security, and run to the gate.  I barely had time for a quick potty stop and we boarded Jet Blue back to Dallas.  Whew.

It is no wonder that this was number one on Mister's bucket list.  This was such a great Christmas gift!

Iceland - Day 6 - Western Fjords

We have scheduled breakfast for 7 a.m. as we have a very long drive today and wanted to get a good start.  When we leave the room and head to the dining area, this is what greats us:

Oh my goodness.  All this food for only two of us.  Since I know that we have a long day, I pack quite a bit of it into bags for lunch and to snack on in the car.  Mister has tried the smoked fish and loves it but is unable to place what wood is used to smoke it with.  With the wood shortage here, we decide that it  must be birch.  As we pack up to leave, we stop and visit with the woman who runs the place for a few minutes.  Mister asks about the fish and her response is forever etched into our brains.  She said, "oh what is the nice word for it?"  She thinks for a minute and then says, "sheep shit."  We laugh and tell her the nice word is manure and she repeats it several times to try and remember it for future use.  Way too funny.

As the guesthouse was up the west side of the lake, we have a little bit of a start on our way today and so continue up the west coast.  Not long after leaving Lake Myvatn, we cross a bridge and I look off to the side and up the river to spot a waterfall and tell Mister about it.  A few seconds later we see a sign for Gothafoss which triggers a memory for me again and so we backtrack and check it out.  Dawn is still heavy in the sky and so our lighting is not the best, but these waterfalls are amazing.  The blues, both frozen and flowing, are beautiful and we feel fortunate to have spotted this.  History tells us that these falls were once used  to dispose of the statues of pagan Norse gods in the year 1000 when Christianity was introduced.

Once again, endless roads in which we count the markers to see how far ahead we can see.  Everything is white.  We pass farms with their barns full of cows and sheep as they are not kept out in the winter.  Only the horses are outside.

From here, we traveled into Aukeyri, nicknamed "the capital of the north".  It is a great little city with a wonderful downtown area that I immediately fall in love with.  We find Akureyrarkirkja,  the huge church that overlooks everything here.  It has excellent stained glass windows and incredible lines that Mister gets out to photograph.  We wish that we could go inside for pics, but it is Sunday and they are in the middle of services.


 We stop downtown for a cup of coffee and find that the place I was looking for is not exactly what I had in mind.  As we are walking, I ask a local if he can direct me to a coffee shop using hand signs as he does not speak English.  He points across the circle and so we take off in that direction and find Kaffi Ilmur - a cool little shop that has used all the history of the building in it's remodel.  I enjoy a Swiss Mocha -- something I have truly come to love in Iceland.  So delicious.

 Leaving Akureyi and heading west, we head towards the fjords and pass over the mountain ranges in the process.  At the top of one of the passes Mister spots a picnic table and stops for me to take a picture out in the snow as I have joked about these tables all over the island.  I hop out and climb onto the bench for a quick shot as it is quite cold out.  The sun  is showing some amazing colors and we stop to truly appreciate what we are seeing each day.

I decide to take a little side trip without telling Mister where we are going.  He had mentioned to me that he really wanted to see some of the old turf houses and I had read about a place where they had kept several classic ones from 1750-1879.  As we reach Glaumbaer, there is a small church in front of the houses and we stop there first.  As I walk through the cemetery, Mister gets some really nice pictures of the outside of the church.





He then joins me at the turf houses and we examine them and talk about how dark and damp it must have been to live in them.  These houses have been fronted with imported lumber and so the family who lived here must have been fairly well to do.  Mister peeks in the windows and is able to get a glimpse of life indoors as well.  As we are leaving, I check the doors on the church and they are open so in I go.  What a cool little church and I am sure that it was used that very day.

 

It is still a long way to our destination for the night and so we are soon on the road again.  As we are driving along, a herd of horses are being moved on the highway and I try and get a few shots as we drive along -- very hard to do and as a result nothing really turned out well.  The best part of watching them was the little border collie doing its work at keeping them in line.  Awesome.

The scenery on this side of the island varies greatly and we are basking in the differences.

As we are driving we notice the sky out the window to the east and decide that we have never seen anything like it.  We were able to see the ground which was covered with snow, then a brilliant blue strip of sky, followed by a strip of bright pink, and topped with white clouds.  It was truly an aha moment and we had to stop and embed it in both our minds and the camera so that we could always remember this beauty.

As we drive through lava beds for what seems like hours, but is only about 30 minutes, we come to our farmhouse for the evening.  It is so very nice and we have it all to ourselves again.  It is a Sunday evening and so all the restaurants are closed, so after checking into the room, we go back into the small town nearby to find a small grocery store that is about to close so that we can add to our stash from this morning in order to put together some sort of dinner.  As we drive through the town, we are drawn to the church where the markers in the cemetery were all lit up and it was such a peaceful scene that we stopped to reflect and revel in the quiet.

Back at the house, Mister goes watch them milk the cows and I read for awhile.  He comes back with stories to share and then we get the hot tub ready for a dip under the stars in the crisp air.  It is so nice and feels so good.  It is a unique hot tub in that the water is constantly emptying and filling.  As it drains into a hole near the top of the tub, it fills from the center at the bottom with water direct from the ground.  Amazing -- and oh so warm and cozy.  What a great time!




Here are a few shots of our house.  Isn't it nice?



The floors are heated as well so your feet do not get cold.  Oh how I wish I had that at home in Texas.  Our hardwood floors can get icy cold in the winter and slippers are a must.
















We make our snack dinner and sit down to enjoy it when our hostess arrives with supplies for breakfast in the morning.  We have told her that we are leaving early and for her not to make a big breakfast.  Cereal and toast are great and so she is dropping off fresh bread and milk (straight from the cows).  She also mentions that there is a nice aurora out tonight and so we walk out onto the deck and spend our last night marveling at the wonder that is the Aurora Borealis.  We have been so blessed to have had three incredible nights to witness it and wish that opportunity was there for everyone.  It is a fantastic last night in Iceland and we are both sad that our time is coming to an end.

Is there truly anything more phenomenal than that?  The title of a hymn comes back to me -- "I Stand All Amazed".