colorful quilt for our little girl

Well, I finished it! Thanks to Renee's gift certificate to Fabric Depot, Mom suggesting an actual pattern, Brian's patience as this took up several evenings (though mostly while he was out of town), and Owen's enthuiasm for his little sister's quilt! It's perhaps a little bright. I took the advice of a salesperson at the fabric store, and found one fabric with colors I liked and matched others to it. I really do love the fabrics, so much fun. I also must credit Montevilla for finding the gouged "hook" on my sewing machine that was making me curse for breaking my thread every three feet and suggesting a walking foot purchase... Both of which totally saved my sanity.... I like my machine again :)
The pattern was called Fantastic-O Fat Fun from Afternoon Delights. At first I wasn't sure the pattern was worth the 9 bucks... looked pretty strait foreward, but they show you how to cut the fat quarters up in stacks to make the stripes, and they all fit together perfectly, so much easier than agonizing about sizes and seam allowances etc... totally worth it. Took the equivalent of 20 fat quarters (I used 10 half yards) for the top. The only other alteration I made was to round off the corners with a big plate... awesome! No corners, had to cut the binding on the bias, but it worked out so nicely, smooth round corners, no funky mitered corners (I can typically get most of them, but there is always one of the four that looks weird.... yay curved corners and how about that cute mermaid fabric.... love it.

The pattern is so efficient that it took almost all of my left-over fabric to make a little blankie to match... totally different pattern, sort of a log-cabin thing, and I was out of the floral flannel and the binding fabric, so it's just a turn and topstich sort of blankie, but cute still!
Owen has taken to this blanket and is thrilled to roll up in "little sister's blanket"; I keep folding it up, and he keeps "getting cuddly" inside.Okay, two more kiddie quilts, they will be much smaller, but I have to think about them still... and get them done before Bambina arrives.

Name game: So far we have Madeline, Gwen(da), Eliza, Grace, Marina, Mei, Mary... I still like Jade and Celia, but think those have been nixed by B.

19.25lbs of blueberries

(about four buckets filled)
= 10 bags of double-blueberry muffin batches (2 pts each)+ 9 blueberry - lime popsicles
+ 2 quarts frozen just for fun (for smoothies, snacking, whatever...)
+ 2 pints for the neighbors
+ one big big bowl of fresh'uns for eatin... good thing too since the young'uns (ours and the Lamberts, oh and misc. visitors, and me :)

deeply missed

An excellent Uncle, full of love, generous spirit... he loved life, lived it fully... with gusto, and is gone too soon, too early. He traveled the world, tasted, appreciated, felt each moment with intelligence and enthuiasm. Uncle Dudley always knew what was the best way to prepare something, where to find the best restaurant, and eager to share his loves. Uncle Dudley was also an inherent teacher. I implicate him in many of what have become my own favorites, and received an education with nearly every visit:

How to be a suprub host
Laver with bamboo salt
garlic noodles
Ribs!
It's nice to have a handful of blueberries from your own yard for breakfast
discerning chinese tea
and wines... wonderful wines: williams seylem, the best places in Napa to taste and learn
source for chinese wisdom, translations, etc...

I had a dream last night, when he passed away. I saw him, looking as I remember, healthy, in a lovely well-lit room, though in a hospital bed. I said good-bye and gave him a kiss, and he smiled... the rest of the dream was a little weird, but the basic feeling of gratitude and love remained. It didn't feel as sad as I feel today.

Visiting their house, I can still hear Uncle Dudley's voice... his laugh either a chuckle or a guffaw. I see the way he sits back in his chair at the dinner table and crosses his arms when he is going to tell a good story or leans in when he is telling something new, some insider secret. He was so expressive with hands and the way he says "oh no" by wiping his hand over his face. When we came to visit he would always find a special bottle of wine and we are expected to know or learn some new subtley of flavor or variety... so many things he would share with us would have a great story, a history, or something facinating about it. Uncle Dudley lived to do what he loved, to share, to eat, to play. He taught us to have a true interest, curiosity, and enthuiasm ... and to share with others, smile laugh, be a good person and to love.

here is his obituary

Dudley Cheu Dudley Cheu, Assistant Professor at UOP's Dugoni School of Dentistry and dedicated son, husband, father, and grandfather, died July 3rd, 2009. He was 68. Dudley was born on March 25, 1941 in Canton, China before moving to the United States in 1951. He did his undergraduate work at Pacific Union College, UC Berkeley and USC in Sociology and Biology and received his DDS from Northwestern University in 1970. He earned his MBA from University of Pacific in 1999. After leading a successful private dental practice for over 25 years, Dudley taught dentistry at UOP for 15 years. During his term at the dental school, he was recognized several times by faculty and students in recognition of teaching excellence. He was an active member of the ADA and CDA, volunteering at countless events and programs, serving on many committees, and helping with local arrangements at scientific sessions. His passion for food was unparalleled as travel itineraries were prioritized against proximity to the best local restaurants. If you knew Dudley, most likely you would have shared a meal and engaged in good conversion, excellent food, fine wine, and memorable laughs. His contribution to UOP, dental societies and even his recent trip to Cambodia teaching local dental students was a fine example of his life work and interest; his love for his wife, his boys, grandchildren and his faithfulness to his Mom all sum up such a rich and fulfilled life. He is survived by his mother, Phyllis; beloved wife Genevieve; his two sons, Jason and Derek; and grandchildren, Kaylee, Kellen and Clark. A celebration of Dudley's life will be held at the Marin Art & Garden Center on Sunday July 12, 2009 at 2pm. (30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd, San Anselmo, CA 94960) In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in his memory be made to support medical research at UCSF. Donations may be made to the UCSF Foundation/ Dr. Lawrence Way's Research Fund (B1289) in memory of Dr. Dudley Cheu, c/o Sarah Krumholz, 220 Montgomery Street, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/10/MNCHEUDUDL4.DTL#ixzz0WWNQNKO

razzleberry jam

After a big weekend picking berries like crazy (we got four pints from Sauvie Island ... cohos I think and then some Willamettes from Rowell brothers... about 8 lbs I think, though we ate a lot and Val probably brought over another 5 lbs. Val came over and we made about five batches of Jam... raspberry jam! One of my favorites (heck, I think they're all favorites in turn :).
For most of them we used the recipe on the pomona pectin box. We got, hmmm lets see 19 half pints (sent 10 homewith Val) and four pints of jam out of five batches... the first four with the pectin, the last with just a load of sugar (mostly made the pints).

summer bliss

Raspberries from the prolific bush down the street. A little uber-creamy vanilla yogurt (though maybe a custard one day when we are up to it). Whipped Cream. Crushed Amaretti cookies. Bittersweet chocolate shavings.

Cape Disappointment

Last parliament

Of owls that is... I should say mysteriously... for now!
I have arbitrarily decided that a good parliament of owls is a group of 6, with two tufted owls in the bunch. This group also had button eyes and were looking quite wise indeed.