Things I learned from painting...

We are in the process of doing some, 'minor' remodeling in our kitchen, I thought I'd take some pictures since I am at a point I cannot go any further with painting. I also thought I'd share some 'life' lessons I learned from this project:

1. Always take a test drive, and don't be afraid to go for something different if you don't like it the first time (i.e this means buy a quart of the paint first, and try it out on a large portion of the wall).

2. Be prepared (have all the paint and supplies you will need).

3. You get what you pay for (your colors will match better, fade less and go on easier if you use good quality paint and supplies).

4. Dress in layers (use a base coat).

5. Life is short, enjoy it to it's fullest (which has nothing in common with my next thought, but it sounded good - use what ever color you want, you can always paint over it if you want to sell the house).

6. ALWAYS shut the ceiling fans off before you climb up on the ladder...

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Here are the pictures of Steve and Christina coming up to the finish line at the Big Horn Trail Run. We can tell Steve is finishing over 32 miles (50 k), but we think from the look on Christina's face, 18.6 miles (30k -hey, I got 17 from the internet), she needs to run the 50k next year!

Congratulations to both of you for finishing, everyone thinks that is a great race to finish.

Saturday, in the Park

Wow, did we see the ultimate in running yesterday! Jorge and I thought we'd go cheer Christina and Steve in from their looooonnnnggg "Big Horn Trail Run", www.bighorntrailrun.com . We were so optimistic, Christina, who was running a 30k (that is 17.4 miles), left at 10 am, and Steve was running the 50k, (over 34 miles), left at 8 am, and we were at the finish line waiting at 11:30 am!!! LOL, did we learn. We didn't bring chairs, water, or food (well, they sold lunch but at $10 a person, we went hungry). They came in right after each other somewhere after 2 pm, but we didn't mind being hungry, we figured they felt worse then we did.

How proud we were to see them finish and know how hard of a run it was. This is not just a 'run', it is through the mountains, and considered very difficult in some areas. There had rained recently, so every single person came through looking like they played in mud puddles.

Their runs were the shorter two runs, those who really want a challenge, ran in the 50 and 100 mile races. You should have seen some of them drag across the finish line! I don't know what it takes to psyche someone up to even begin training to go that far, I do know it is something I never had or desired.

Pictures will be posted later. But i just wanted to share their great accomplishment and let you know they completed the race. Christina says her new goal is a marathon, how brave she is.

Practicing

Okay, so I think this is an awful picture of myself, but Alexa makes up for what I lack. Alice calls this "Grandma in Training."

Some 'little' family members

Here are pictures of my grand neices: Alexa- Emma and Valerie with the cast of The Wizard of Oz, Rebbecca-Emma-Valerie-Alexa, and a beautiful quilt made by my sister Alice.

Quilt of Valor, Ohio Stars and Rails

Here is my first, Quilt of Valor (QOV). I say first because I hope to do many more. The pictures are of: The label, the whole quilt, the ladies from "Holy Thursday" and myself, and the quilting upclose. The pretty red, white and blue thread was donated by a friend, the owner of Big Sky Quilts, where we purchased The Beast.

SOUTH DAKOTA WEEKEND

Chistina's boyfriend Steve (yellow shirt) and his family (Kenny-brother, Bob-dad, Keith-brother, Steve, Jean-mom)

Last weekend we traveled to Deadwood, South Dakota to cheer for our daughter Christina as she ran her first 1/2 marathon. Linda and I took advantage of the proximity of Mount Rushmore and went to see this most impressive National Monument. We particularly enjoyed listening to the audio tour, and specifically to the Lakota indian who spoke of the inmense spiritual effect of such a place. Sunday it was off to the race. The full and half marathon take place on the Michelson Trail, a 100 mile natural trail that was built on top of the tracks of an old railroad. We cheered our beautiful daughter during the last 2 miles of the race and then snapped a few pictures at the finish line.

Magnolia Turning 20 Quilt (Jade's Quilt)

This is a quilt I just finished for the young lady, Jade, who watched our house for the last two years. She is heading off to college, so Jorge and I thought a great gift would be a quilt. It is a very simple pattern, but with 6 different fabrics, solids, stripes and flowers, it looks busy and much more difficult. The top one is the full quilt, then two close ups which display the colors better, the label, and the back of the quilt. I know it is a little 'old' for a high school grad, but hopefully she will have it a long time and learn to appreciate the fabric patterns.

MONTANA WILD FLOWERS

Our weekend in Montana over Memorial Day weekend was fabulous, despite many rainshowers. It starts with the view you've seen before, which we never get tired of. As we have worked on controlling our noxious weeds, we have seen a nice surge in the population of wild flowers. I also found some interesting flowering cactii growing very close to the ground.

GREAT BLUE HERONS

We got the word several blue herons were nesting a couple of miles south of Sheridan, so we went to enjoy them. There are thousands of them in the mountainous Northwest this time of year. They nest very high and constantly fly in and out of their nests, probably stocking up in preparation for the for the hungry young ones being born this time of year. Our zoom lens is not quite adequate to capture the details, but you it was good enough for us.

The day of the big race is finally here. Jorge at the top is taking some scenic pictures before the race, then Christina looking good at about 10.5 miles. The four people we knew in the race: Steve, Christina, Keith (Steve's brother), and their friend Bryce, with happy smiles after completing the race. The last one is of part of the Lipetzky family: Kenny, Dad - Bob, Keith, Steve, Mom - Jean. We all had a great week end, and Jorge and I look forward to cheering Christina on at races in the future.