Scenic Route

We had a wonderful Easter--with 60 F above 0 weather!! I wore my party padabouts sans pantyhose :) I made two of these Martha Stewart Mandarin Orange Upsidedown Cakes--one for the Easter dinner we celebrated with friends (the hosts supplied a real USDA ham! Heaven :) and one for our church fellowship that evening. I was able to sew my Easter duds together at the last minute, the skirt went together in about an hour on Saturday and the top on Sunday. Nothing like last minute, but the fact that I had any time at all was a huge surprise/gift to me. The fabric was from a 3-piece Sari package I got at a local store. There were two 3-meter lengths of a cotton/silk blend (skirt) and then another 2 meters of a silk scarf--that's what I made the vest out of. The biggest blessings of all are that He is risen!!! and calls to family of course.

Some things need no translation and that includes love of fabric and sewing. My Mongoilian friend, Selenge, has been after me for 4+ years to give sewing demos at her quilting center here in UB. I have finally agreed--and have had a blast! The language thing (the students speak almost no English and I use my "Monglish") is just no big deal. The first week I showed them origami fabric flowers from Kumiko Sudo's great book, Flower Origami . The next class we had Show & Tell and they just took the concept and ran with it! Now we've started Bible blocks (complete with the corresponding story :D ) --from this site: www.patternsfromhistory.com/bible_quilt/bible_bom.htm for a sampler quilt of old American blocks. The one group picture shows our finished Garden of Eden Block. Then, they taught me how to make these really cool little silk flowers made from circles!

I made this little fleece owl in about 30 minutes right before I met up with this little birdie below. Her name is Rachel Saruul and she belongs to our young friends Keegan & Tugsoo Cook. That impish smile is due to Mom catching her getting into a big piece of chocolate cake meant for her Daddy. The owl pattern came out of a Sew Simple magazine, Volume 11. The song title belongs to a GREAT song by the Be Good Tanyas ( thank you , Nikki!)

Valentine's Day this year marked the 30th (!!) anniversary of our first date. Randy, as always, came through with flying colors. I woke up to a dozen beautiful red roses (not to be taken for granted here in Mongolia!), was treated to a marvelous day, and finished up by dining & dancing at a Valentine's Day charity dinner (which means I got to dress way up :). I thought I would just throw in these fun birds I made last week (also from the Spool website). They adorn my guest bathroom and a spot in the living room. Too cute, eh?

Here are some projects I made for my 7 Wee Ones before I left the States. Hats & scarves for all plus a few princess pillowcases. Then, I brought back this great fabric to re-do my sewing machine & serger covers and thread catcher. I've always been a bit picky about these things and mine were at least 10 years old. They sure brighten up my sewing room and go with my artwork :) I finally ditched that old pattern and dowloaded the cover patterns at http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/2008/07/25/sewing-machine-cozy/ Directions were brief and perfect!

Well, I kissed the babies in Denver goodbye (sigh) and headed back to Mongolia. A mere 33 hours later (from the door of the Denver airport to exiting Chinggis Khan airport in Mongolia), I was receiving a bear hug from Randy :) I just want to share a glimpse of Incheon Airport in Seoul, So Korea--notice the lounge/sleeping areas; they're sprinkled throughout the airport. The whole airport is spotlessly clean and wonderfully quiet. Flight announcements are made one at a time and in a pleasant North American voice. Showers, massage, etc., are all available to everyone (notice the massage tables behind the lounging lady); not just those with lounge privileges. Incheon Airport is my "wardrobe" of re-entry into Asia (you know; The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe tale) and helps take a bit of the sting out of leaving loved ones. Check out the video!

I just cannot put off blogging any longer--never mind that I'm living with 3 of my favorite little things right now and that they have been down with a virus. Yes, it's been like living in a TB ward. Anyway, I've added a video of Kelby taken when I first got to Denver-- toooooo cute. Oh, and I could not resist adding Natalie's "centerpiece" of fairy bodies--a festive touch to the table the night the pastor and his family came to dinner. :) That's Tinker Belle's rear end front & center just in case you're trying to place it. Oh, and that is my Greta Goose that i discovered in my bed--put there by nurturing Natalie. You might notice the baby monitor next to Greta--I took it for the girlsies while this plague has plagued us. to help Nikki out who has her hands full with a stuffed up Kelby ...ah, the things we forget about...like the love/hate relationship with the baby monitor.