Progress on our West Courtyard deck

Affectionately dubbed The West Courtyard, for over a year this area has taken a good-natured backseat to the work we have been doing inside the house, in backyard and in the East Courtyard.  It finally got some much-needed attention this last weekend.  Here’s what we started with, photos taken this past winter:

And here’s a progress pic:

Ken spent the ENTIRE day on Saturday sanding off the remnants of burgundy paint from the previous owners’ efforts. Then on Sunday, he planted trees in the backyard while I stained the deck. Here’s how it turned out:

We decided to use an Australian timber oil stain rather than opaque paint. It’s a blend of linseed oil, tung oil and alkyds. We’ll find out next year whether this was a good decision. Under the intense southern Arizona sun, who knows! The paint certainly didn’t last, so we figured it was worth a try. And even if we need to apply a fresh coat every year, I think the oil application process is quite a bit easier than painting.

We’re really happy with how it turned out. Once it is completely dry, we’ll be able to say for sure. We definitely love the more natural look the oil gives!  Can’t wait for some GREAT seating to turn up on Craig’s List!

Quote: What is possible from this life?

 

"When I am working with someone about his or her relationship to food, I am constantly struck with how little one's food obsession has to do with food. No matter how urgent the eating problem seems -- I've been bingeing for three straight weeks, I've gained thirty pounds in the last ten days, I have diabetes and can't stop eating sugar -- within five minutes of conversation, the issue is no longer about food and almost completely about what he or she believes is possible from this life they are living." 

-Geneen Roth
Author, “When Food is Love”

Harvest, by MechelleDesigns, Suwanee, Georgia

Quote: A sobering conclusion

 

"I have come to the sobering conclusion that I am the decisive element.  It is my personal approach that creates the climate.  It is my daily mood that makes the weather.  I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous.  I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration; I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. 

In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a drama is escalated or de-escalated."

-Goethe
circa 1800

Perfect Wave, by Carrie Tasman of Corvallis, Oregon.

Playing for Change

 

 

Oh joy! I came across this wonderful video on Robin’s blog.  An international musical sound mixing marvel, it’s “Stand by Me” performed by musicians all around the world.  I checked out their website, Playing for Change, and found more videos!  Here’s another! 

More Fabric Auditioning

Back to the quilt shop! Oh, darn. (NOT!)

I am working on a commission for my girlfriend, (see here) and we are in the the all-important fabric selection stage. Oh, and since she lives in Amsterdam, I can technically call this my first “international commission” -- cool!

The size she wants is 96” x 112” -- a bit larger than a California King. And she has requested dark blues and creams. I want to have 5 to 8 fabrics total.

The pattern we have chosen is Radiant Sunshine and Shadow, Helen Frost’s nine-patch variation of the classic Amish Sunshine and Shadow.  What gives the quilt its’ sparkle, or radiance, is the careful choice of fabrics in a gradated range.

Here is my first foray into using this pattern -– a wall-hanging I made for our house (size: 57” x 57”):

In this quilt, each square in the nine-patch blocks measures a mere 3/4” by 3/4”!  I know, I know!  Call me crazy, but the finished effect is so stunning, it’s worth it to work so small!

In the fabric selection, I am hoping to get a smooth value gradation, while not placing two busy prints right next to each other.

It seems I still have not hit on the range of values I am looking for... especially now that I see them in this photo (below). It looks like the fabric second from the left on the bottom is not the right transition between the two adjacent fabrics. Yet without a “blender”, or bridge fabric, I think the leaf print on the far left would fight with the turquoise coral motif print to the right of it. Any thoughts?

Her two favorite-est fabrics are the leaf-print on the lower far left, and the turquoise coral-print second from the left. I think the fabric on top, (the turquoise medallion print), will be a good choice for the backing fabric.

I have been to four quilt shops so far and here are the fabrics that did not pass the current audition (at least I can happily use them in another project!):

The good news is that there are two quilt shops here in town that I have yet to descend upon (for this project anyway).  And then there is always eQuilter.com.  Has anyone had experience with them? I wonder about how big the difference is between how a fabric would look on my monitor versus in my hand.

Quote: A progression of states

“Life is a process of becoming, a progression of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death."

-Anais Nin

 

Orion Nebula, by Kirby Benson of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Bob & Sandra’s Easter Delights

 
On our way back into town from a weekend in Las Cruces -- we were visiting Kirby and fellow quilter Judy -- we stopped by our friends’ Bob & Sandra’s for Easter dessert. Three kinds! Strawberry-rhubarb, cherry and coconut cream -- Yum!

I love driving up into the foothills of the Santa Catalina mountains to their gorgeous place overlooking the city.  In the photo above, you can see the Tucson Mountains in the distance to the south. Sandra is an avid gardener and has filled their front courtyard with a riot of color and texture. The northern exposure and the adobe courtyard walls creates a little micro-climate where these tender annuals can thrive in the desert heat.

Just outside the courtyard wall, much of the desert flora is bursting into spring color. Below is the first bloom on a prickly pear cactus.

The prickly pears in our yard are almost done blooming, but Bob and Sandra’s higher elevation mean theirs are just getting started.

Quote: Cry easily

"The rain-weeping and the sun-burning twine together to make you grow. Keep your intelligence white-hot and your grief glistening, so your life will stay fresh. Cry easily like a little child."

-Rumi

Art by Leeza Hernandez

An evening with friends under the grapefruit tree

We had a bunch of Ken’s co-workers from Hospice Family Care over tonight for a lovely potluck dinner… a year in the works to get 12 different schedules coordinated, but worth it. A gathering of hospice chaplains, counselors, social workers, volunteer coordinator, nurse and spouses, where all could put aside the usual focus on death and dying and talk about vacations and how best to get stains out of t-shirts. We had sweet spring weather – a still, crystal-clear night and 65 degrees.  Ken lit the firepit and I lit a million little tealights all over the yard. Much fun to prepare -- and to savor.

I'm with you, kid. Let's go!

"Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 'I'm with you kid. Let's go.'"

-Maya Angelou

Art by Frank Grisdale