Mount Charleston photo collage

We took a trip to Mount Charleston a few weeks ago.  Took a turn onto a dirt bike trail.  Ended up on the top of a hill, overlooking a large expanse of desert. 

The thing about living in such a flat, dry environment is that you can see so far.  You can easily see sixty miles or more. 

There is a calm, spiritual feeling about the desert.  I spent several quiet moments just looking around me as the wind whipped my hair and clothes.

I would like to drive up there one evening for star watching.  There are no artificial lights; I bet you could even see the milky way.

New York beauty quilt; Madame Butterfly; Pics from a car

This week I've been working on an original sewing pattern.  It's a cute little pouch with a lot of potential, but I'm having a hard time getting it just right.  This evening I've started my fourth prototype, but I think I need a break!

Besides working on the pattern, I've been listening to the aria from Madame Butterfly on a loop... that should tell you pretty clearly where I'm at mood wise!

Last week I started a paper pieced new york beauty block.  I have admired this quilt pattern for years; there is a fabulous example in one of my fav quilt books, America's Beautiful Quilts, by Zaro Weil.

New York Beauty, circa 1920
I love the scalloped border!

When I saw that Jeni (author of one of my favorite blogs) participated in a new york beauty quilt along this past spring, I knew I wanted to make one like hers! 

I'd never tried paper piecing, which was remarkably painless.  I couldn't find the fabric I wanted to finish this block up, so for now it's in four pieces. 



Now for pics from my vacation to the bay area, all shot from the car.

Been a long time since I've been on a road where the trees touch overhead

High above the bay, an alpine ravine

This place was one of my favorites, there was a great peace about it



All of a sudden a lake



Getting back into desert



This was an amazing sight
See the railroad track goes into the hillside, just like in a cartoon!

The golden color of the grass was fantastic, it reminded me of a Van Gogh palette

This looks like an old picture in my Nanny's photo album

Sunrise; Gecko; Miniquilt; Movies

Summer sunrise, Las Vegas

I've been cleaning this morning-- and it's way overdue.  Been home from my vacation for a week and haven't done much but the dishes. 

With a full and heavy trash bag in hand I flung open the garage door, heading for the trash can.  Now...

I don't like bugs.. and I spend a lot of time unconsciously scanning my surroundings for anything that moves.  I'm pretty good at spotting a bug-- I can see an earwig crawling up the wall at 50 feet-- and I'm really nearsighted.  So when I saw a little movement at my feet as I flung open the garage door, I stopped cold.

This little guy was blending in with the floor so well that it took me a moment to see him.

Mediterranean house gecko

I was pleased to find only a little lizard; since I was a girl I have loved reptiles. 

After some maneuvering and coaxing I managed to catch the little guy-- and he was little!  No more than an inch and a half long, including tail! 

Yes, he's in a candle.  There's always one handy around the house, and the lids make an escape proof catcher.

I let the little guy go in my back yard, and after some Internet research, I found that I had a little house gecko-- cute!!  And they eat bugs, so I hope he sticks around.

House Gecko; his big ole eyes are so cute!

On a whim I started a mini quilt yesterday, and it has come together pretty quick.  I have the top pieced and have also done a little hand embroidery embellishment.  I plan to baste and straight line quilt it tomorrow. 

The little squares are all from a single piece of fabric I've had for years.  It's an eclectic print, and I love how the designs are so small (each block is about an inch and a half).  I cut the fabric apart and then gave each little square a little room to breath. 

This mini will get a more thorough post after I have quilted it. 


I've been hitting the Netflix hard over here this week.  Is it possible to watch too many movies?  Netflix is just too good!  As a lover of bad movies, B movies, old movies, foreign movies, I always find something obscure and/or entertaining.

Just a few recent screenings:
Resevoir Dogs-- for the first in over ten years, it's still good
Thor- surprisingly good, though lots of green screen
Alice's Restaurant- this is the third time, love that movie
Submarine- surprisingly good quirky, indie type
Anna Karenina- (2000 masterpiece version) I've seen other versions.. this was well done (of course, it's PBS) and the story is timeless
Leadbelly- dramatization of his life...once something awful happened to me when listening to a Leadbelly record, wont' go in to it
A league of their own- had this on VHS growing up, watched it a hundred times "batter up.."
The Red Violin- this was hard to watch but so good...an emotionally tense film and one that sticks with you
His Girl Friday- seen this at least three times, a great classic film!  Cary Grant is too good
The Fifth Element- though this one is silly, it's still entertaining!

Pescadero Beach

My husband and I took a trip to the ocean, as I hadn't seen it in 10 years or more.  It was an overcast day, but the sun peaked through a little and the temperature was mild.
  
Inventory: deli sandwiches and donuts; a few beach towels; binoculars; a couple of kites

We found ourselves on hwy 1, which hugs California's pacific coastline and links a string of state beaches.    The views were beautiful and I shouted "oooh!" with my nose pressed against the car window.

We soon reached the small Pescadero state beach... and then immediately left it again to find an ATM, because my husband had absolutely no cash for parking. 

But this gave us the opportunity to visit the small beach town of Pescadero, which was super quaint and looked like it had been used as a film location. 





Maybe a romantic comedy... a sensitive Hugh Grant type moves there to try his hand in the bakery business...

and falls for the beautiful but guarded lepidopterist who's renting a house in town for the summer to find some rare butterfly;

he watches her ride her bicycle down main street a lot and his new group of quirky local friends tell him to go for it because they would be perfect for each other.

We made it back to the beach, which had a disappointing amount of seashells (none) and very large, colorful grains of sand.

And we flew our kites...

Old trusty; handles like a double decker bus

New box kite; handles like a cadillac
(Note the man in red shorts below the kite, he wandered into the shot and settled in for a good tanning, even though it was
completely overcast)

and we admired the moody and impressive power of the pacific ocean.

Back from vacation; Las Vegas sky

For the past two weeks, I've been on vacation!  My husband and I have been enjoying the lovely bay area (mostly San Jose area).  We had lots of good food, took in some sites, dipped our toes in the ocean, and admired some beautiful alpine vistas.

It was nice to take a break from the responsibilities of life (like bills) and odd to take a break from my favorite things (like catching up on my fav blogs).

I had a blast, but I guess it had to end.  This week I'll be posting photos of our trip.  And though I only did a little crocheting the past few weeks, I'm ready to get back into craft mode.  I plan on finishing up some projects, and doing some show and tell.



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Las Vegas is having a rare spell of wet weather.  I took the following photos this evening at about 8pm. 

I know it doesn't look like it, but these are different parts of the sky at the same time!

It was quite a show!

Good morning, Mojave!

Las Vegas dawn; palm tree and moon

It's a beautiful morning here in Las Vegas, which means one thing: the afternoon is going to be a scorcher!  It's supposed to reach 102 degrees, which is actually not too bad.  What's bad is 115 degrees, but that's something to look forward to next month..

The birds are especially active in the mornings here, probably because once the sun comes up everyone and everything hides out until it goes down again. 

But right now it's 70 degrees and slightly breezy.  Half a dozen birds belt out their sing song; bees and hummingbirds flit about.  I open up my back door to listen while I fold a load of laundry.  This was a nice morning.

Blooming Back Yard

All the plants in my back yard are blooming.  I know things are flowering all over the country, but I have serious respect for any plant that can live in this desert.  It is brutal here! 

Somehow, you give these guys a few drizzles of water a day and they thrive.

Low bush with tiny white flowers all over

This mini palm tree has a bouquet of hanging cream flowers

Baja Fairy Duster; I can't make this stuff up

Hummingbirds like these

Red Yucca
These flowering stalks are about 6 feet tall! 

 

"&Stitches" stitch a header

The authors of an e-zine and blog that I often visit, &Stitches, recently asked readers to stitch up letters for their header.  These would then be assembled ransom note style to spell "&stitches"- with what I am sure will be eclectic results! 

I submitted a letter "C", which I think turned out nice.  The "C" is composed of french knots, and inside is a gnarly spring tree that is ready to bud.  I hope my "C" is chosen to be a part of the header for this cute blog!

You might be wondering what use a woman named Jasmine would have for an embroidered letter "C".  I think I will make it into a needle book for my mom, who is a super crafty lady whose name just happens to start with "C"!

Valley of Fire

A huge rock defying the laws of physics

Yesterday my husband and I took a picnic to the Valley of Fire.  Though only about an hour and a half outside of town, we had never visited this beautiful state park.  The day was slightly overcast and breezy, the air was fresh, the rocks made everything a little cooler, and the views were truly breathtaking.  If this wasn't enough, the entire area is decorated with petroglyphs that are thousands of years old!

I took over 200 photos (hah), and it was difficult narrowing it down to a few.  I may post more later in the week, but here is a sampling.  Of course, they don't do justice to the real thing..

Can you spot the petroglyphs?

Here they are up close in the top right corner

Here are some petroglyphs on a different rock

and here are some more..

So scenic!  And the roads were very curvy!

My man was in awe of the petroglyphs; he's a mystic at heart

Can you spot the bighorn sheep?

All the rocks in the park are sandstone (created from prehistoric sand dunes)  The wind shapes
them into amazing formations..



Good for the soul