FPP Big Dipper

Cody's astrophotography demonstrates a view of the nighttime sky unseen by the naked eye.  My Grandaddy once told me how Indians tested their eyesight by looking at the Big Dipper and describing the dim and bright stars.  In the handle, their is a dim star next to the bright star in the handle.  In Indian lore, it was known as the boy with a dog.  Though ever-increasing night pollution has dim the views, there are parks being dedicated to Dark Skies, so opportunities still avail themselves.

FPP Washington Monument

In 1995, my Mom took me on a trip to Washington, D. C..  The National Mall was the second NPS trip for me.  We stayed with my Great Aunts, who lived in Bethesda, MD.  Theirs was the third house ever built on Bradley Blvd.  When we saw the Washington Monument, it was a very stormy day and windy late spring day.  Fortunately, the rains held off, so we could continue you our sight-seeing. .

FPP Ranger Hat

I loved wearing my ranger hat, though the NPS copied it from the US Forest Service, i.e. Smokey the Bear.  I used my clothes to match and get the proper green and brown colors and chose an animal print for the hat.

FPP Pearl Harbor

There are just no words for Pearl Harbor.  We visited in June 2015 and were lucky enough to get to go onsite, after a boat collision had damaged the ramp over the Arizona.  The entire complex is worth a day's visit. 

FPP NPS Sign

True iconic Americana are the NPS signs.  I stitched mine in NPS brown and green, and tried mimicking the stone anchors.  I will embroider National Park Service, and this block will be the center of the quilt.

Bargello Needlepoint

I absolutely love to stitch Bargello needlepoint, but I will say, those patterns grounded in some kind of history really attract my attention.

Building a good needlepoint library with easy to decipher pattern instructions enables stitchers an ability to create beautiful canvases.  Color schemes are not paramount in these books, because a stitcher can adapt their preferred color palette.  One of my favorite books contains some rather garish 1970s color schemes, but the patterns, all based on international, historical artifacts, maintain their relevancy in spite of the published stitch palette. 

A mid-1990s Joyce Petschek design

A Nikki Scheuer pattern adapted from a 19th century Siberian embroidered bridal coat finished Fall '20 

FPP Big Bend NP

I love Big Bend NP.  I first visited Big Bend in March 2008, and the hikes were amazing.  Sitting in the historic hot springs while dangling my hand in the Rio Grande was surreal.  I tried to go canoeing on the Rio Grande in the park during the late 1980s, but river runners were being shot from the Mexican side, so I delayed my trip.  Though I tried to get out there sooner, I didn't make it to the area any sooner.  I hope to taking a rafting trip through the Santa Elena Canyon soon.

FPP Eagle

Bald Eagles are quite majestic birds, but they do create a difficult situation for ranchers, as a Bald Eagle can carry a calf, deer, lamb off to their nest and whose end is rather violent.  Still, they are majestic and watching them "fish" is amazing.  I saw my first Bald Eagles in 2003 in Alaska while riding the train from Anchorage to Seward.

FPP Glacier NP

On my driving trip to Alaska, Glacier National Park was my first stop of the trip.  I enjoyed the Going to the Sun Road, the buses, hiking, and dining at the park lodge.  It and Banff are gorgeous places.

My first Fiona Sandwich pattern

               

NPS Quilt Begins

Coming home from a summer 2008 trip to the Florida Keys, we stopped at Big Cypress for the day.  Those Cypress trees are very reminiscent of those on Caddo Lake in Louisiana and Texas, and the ecosystem in which they live is phenomenal.  This was my first NPS Fiona Sandwich block.

Foundation Paper Piecing Quilting

 I signed up for Fiona Sandwich National Park Service block subscriptions in May 2020.  I watched videos and just could not figure it out.  Two months later, I broke my arm, so I really wasn't up to learning new things.  Today, I took a lesson on FPP at my local quilt shop, Urban Spools, and now, I know how to create quilt blocks FPP style!

My first FPP block--Crater of the Diamonds State Park

Cranky old man: Electoral College or Popular Vote

Cranky old man: Electoral College or Popular Vote

What I used to teach my 8th - 12th graders:

The Founding Fathers created the Electoral College for several reasons. First, they realized that the popular vote is a direct democracy, and they never intended the United States to be a direct democracy due to direct democracy's high failure rate--inability to accomplish governing, minimal majorities could tyrannyize those opposing them. The United States is a Constitutional Republic with failsafes to single dominance built in regardless the situation or the era, the Electoral College being one of the Constitutionally written failsafes. Another example, each state, regardless the population or lack thereof, possesses equal representation in the Senate. Population size is taken in to consideration in the House of Representatives. The Founding Fathers understood that not everyone or every state was equal, discounting a state's size in both landmass and population, was counterproductive and harkened back to governing with a lack of representation; they were really afraid of tyranny. They understood that some elections were going to be wildly popular, think Ronald Reagan's landslide 1984 win, and wildly unpopular, think Tuesday, so they did not take the Electoral College lightly, especially since to eliminate the Electoral College means there must be BOTH a supermajority of both houses AND the approval of 38 states.

The Presidential Election is a two-part process--November is the first part and is purely democratic and December is the second part where the 538 Electoral College electors cast their votes.

The Electoral College ensures that many types of voters, campaigning, AND coalition building, i.e. different groups coming together as one, have a voice. Literally, without the Electoral College, California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania, because they have eight of the ten largest cities in the U.S., could elect the president. Therefore, Montana, Maine, Maryland, and Nevada become unimportant to the candidates. However, city dwellers are just one type of voter and don't represent the country, just as if a candidate were to win the South, the Northeast, or win the Midwest. Those areas reflect a region, and a candidate cannot become president because they won a region, thanks to the Electoral College.

Swing States, because they change from election to election, also are important, but again, not the only focus, because of the Electoral College. They are a failsafe to voter fraud, as a candidate has to predict which states will be the key states to manipulate votes. As we have seen, predicting is not easy to do. Swing States keep political parties from ignoring states, for example, George W. Bush's flipping West Virginia, from a traditionally Democrat state to a Republican state, is what ultimately won him the election against Al Gore.

While George Washington saw no political parties and implored the country to avoid them, out of respect, politicians, who had already become divisive prior to Washington's presidency, chose to not align themselves with one party or another during Washington's presidency. They agreed that Britain's tyranny of the colonies needed to end; how to keep that tyranny in-check and at bay was not a single-thought process but a divisive one. The Electoral College ensures there is diverse representation and a checks-and-balances in the election.

The Electoral College is chosen in a two-part process with the first phase occurring prior to the November, General Election. The political parties control the first part, with each party selecting their allotted number of electorates--California has 55, so the Democrats select 55 electorates and the Republicans select 55 electorates--and the rules governing the state's choosing process is a State's right issue. The second phase occurs on the November Election Day. If the popular vote went to the Democrats, then the state's Electoral College electorates are those chosen by the Democrats. California's 55 votes go to the Democrat, i.e. Hillary Clinton. Maine and Nebraska split their electorate votes whereas the other 48 are an all-or-nothing entity, because that is how the individual states chose to write their rules governing their electoral college.

Surgery

Dad has had his surgery. He did quite well, and Dr. Vasquez was able to insert Dad's stents through his femural arteries!

My brother and his family came up for the surgery; two gentlemen from Mom and Dad's church spent the morning with us. The waiting room at the Jack and Jane Hamilton Vascular Surgery Center at Baylor Hospital was absolutely wonderful. My brother is staying with Dad tonight, and Dad should be able to come home Thanksgiving or the day after.

Dad had been adamant that his surgery not interfere with my college, so I began taking Historical Methods last week, but I must say, I am not liking this class as much as last class. The first six weeks seem to be a repeat of what we already learned in Historiography. Discussion Board is still around and looks like it always will. The book, What is History Now? edited by David Cannadine is not my friend. Another long paper is due at the course's end, but there are some interesting activities along the way--searching archives, finding grants, so we will see what Dr. Charles Reed has in store for us.

Aortic Aneurysm

We saw the vascular surgeon, Jay Vasquez of Surgical Associates of Dallas, and we really liked him. Dr. Vasquez explained that Dad's aneurysm is 4.7 cm, but it is one that is growing on the side of the aorta, a saccular aneurysm, so it has to be operated on and removed. The stent is mesh, made to order fitting Dad's heart exactly, and hopefully will be inserted going up both of Dad's femural arteries instead of opening up his chest. We will learn more from a second, pre-op visit.

An "A," but...

My final paper was an A, but a low A, because I just never could quite grasp a few principles of how one analyzes historiography. Nonetheless, it is finished, submitted, graded, and I just registered my first A.

Dad is ill, though. His heart has an aneurysm in its aorta, and so we do not know what kind of surgery, if operable at all, this entails. In spring 1995, Dad had open-heart surgery with a quadruple by-pass. The healing was a long process, and we are hoping and praying Dad does not have to have a second open-heart surgery at 79. His actual heart muscle is strong and 25 years younger than its actual age. Dad exercises, but not now for a bit, eats well, and enjoys his life--all good things.

I am enrolled for my second class, Historical Methods, but as we have this one week break between classes, I'll see if I'm actually taking the course or not after we visit the vascular surgeon.

Study, Study, Study

Well, I am halfway through this first course, and we are already registering for the second course, Historical Methods. I can honestly say, my spare time, i.e., non-working hours, is consumed with reading and studying, but it is paying off, as I have an A. I don't understand how exactly to write this final paper, but I'm working on it. Dr. Gledhill is helpful, and I'm thinking on-line will work but still not a fan of Discussion Board. Trudging onward...

Historiography

Historiography is the history of writing history. It is not as complicated as it sounds, right now, any way, but it is difficult to muster my thoughts about how history has been written. I like the professor, Dr. Michael Gledhill, but I do not care for the Discussion Board. It's how on-line students foster a sense of classroom; however, the thing is, not everyone can write or use grammar correctly, so I find it difficult to read a poorly constructed post, as is required. We write each week about a topic, reply to two topics, and some weeks we write additional short papers preparing us for the final paper--ugh! My advisor, Matthew, stays in contact quite frequently, too, and has been most helpful. All-in-all, I am pleased with my decisions, but I am worried about only 10 weeks in which to accomplish so much.

Making Good on a New Year's Resolution

I have always wanted to go back to college, but I have always been too busy...or so I thought. I would wind the evening down by playing Candy Crush, and after wasting many, many hours on that game, which does require the use of reason and spatial logic, I realized instead of trying to get to level 467, why not use this same time and keep your last resolution of 2014. So, I applied to Southern New Hampshire University.

I chose this school after first seeing their "bus" t.v. advertisement. I really had investigated it and others for about a month, but just did not do anything until yesterday afternoon. Now, I have, and I am a college student once-again, almost 30 years to the date I was last a college student. I guess better late than never. I am not sure how being an on-line student will work, but I am willing to give it a shot.

I will be earning a Masters in Public History, and my first course will be 501-Historiography, whatever that means. I have ordered the two books: Historiography: Ancient, Medieval, Modern by Ernst Breisach and The Modern Historiographer Reader: Western Sources edited by Adam Budd.

So we shall see...

Savin' the Ta-Tas!

It has been a long week!

I can not stress enough that you are your biggest health advocate.  2 1/2 months after my 29th birthday, I had breast cancer.  We did not know it at the time; we only knew something was wrong.  I was physically fit, playing indoor and outdoor soccer several nights a week and coaching high school athletes; I ate well-balanced meals; I weighed appropriately for my height; I have never taken an illegal drug, nor grown up in a smoking home, and with the exception of one puff of a cigarette the night before I graduated college, I do not smoke.  Even with all this goodness, I was not immune from a rotten disease.

I am a 17 year breast cancer survivor, and I have a most important recommendation for every girl.  Once-a-month, same date each month, give yourself a breast self-exam.  Even if you are very dedicated in visiting your Ob/Gyn annually, that is a one-time exam every twelve months.  A breast self-exam is twelve exams in twelve months.  Why is this important?  The first of each month is my BS-E date.  1 July 2012, everything was fine according to my BS-E.  On Saturday 28 July I accidentally noticed a lump.   On Monday, I had a mammogram scheduled for Tuesday, Ob/Gyn scheduled for Thursday, and my Primary Care Physician scheduled for Friday.  At the mammogram, I knew the radiologist would read the scans as soon as they were taken, but I was surprised when I was told there were multiple lumps.  I then was taken to have sonograms, which showed a 1cm, side-by-side 2cm and 3cm lumps in the left breast, and a 6cm lump in the right breast, which is the one I'd discovered.

For whatever reason, I wasn't worried; in fact, the novel I was reading was at a really good part, so I just continued to read while waiting.  In November, I'm walking in the Susan G. Komen 3-day/60-mile Walk and following their training schedule, which has us at 24 miles this week (13 weeks until The Walk), so I know I'm getting an appropriate amount of healthy exercise. Eventually, the radiologist came in and talked to me, after reading the sonograms and mammograms.  All the lumps are cysts--benign cysts.  After talking a bit, the radiologist who has a good sense of humor, said the 6cm lump was like a free breast enhancement.  Ob/Gyn visit showed no other cysts elsewhere and a good, healthy body.  PCP took lots of blood with results due Monday.

My annual woman's health exam is usually in November.  Never doing a breast self-exam, depending upon the physician to do it for me, means that in the time frame that I will have these cysts treated, the cysts would have continued to grow for four more months.  Cancer is rotten.  Advocate for yourself, your family, your friends, and your life.  Save the Ta-Tas with a MONTHLY breast self-exam.  Period!

...from Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop

10 of My Absolute Worst Pet Peeves...

Pet Peeves, the things that really, really bother the OCD side of our personalities because we can not fix these traits in someone else even though we would really, really love to do so!

10)  Being trashy--not picking up after yourself in public, because [wherever] has a janitorial staff and it's their job, or just because you are plain lazy and don't want to deal with it.  (Trash accumulates and is really, really nasty.)

9)  People talking loudly, especially on their mobile phones, in a public place.  Yes, everyone wants to have a good time with friends, and everyone has a mobile nowadays, but I do not want to be a part of your conversation.  It is just downright rude!

8)  Line jumping.  You are not more important than the other people ahead of you in line, and poor planning on your part, does not make it an emergency on mine.  Plan accordingly and wait your turn.

7)  Failure to use your turn signal while driving.  Let folks know what you are going to do with your car; it could be really important.

6)  People who won't yield to a fire truck, an ambulance, or a funeral procession, because they think that what they have to do is more important than a fire truck or ambulance's lights and sirens or paying last respects.

5)  Using the last of an item and putting the box back on the shelf as if it still had some contents remaining.

4)  People who try to drive and talk/text on their mobile.  They wreak havoc on everyone around them.  There are those who can do it well--carry on, but to those who can not, pull over and talk or hang up and drive.

3)  Hypocrisy.

2)  Screaming babies in public.  I love children, but I do not go out to eat, to the movie, to shop, or board a plane to hear someone else's child scream because a parent chooses not to do their job.  On the rare occassion that my brother or I threw a tantrum in public, Mom stopped what she was doing, scooped us up, took us out of there--either to the restroom or packed us in the car and home we went.  It's not convenient for the parent, but you don't have to do it but once or twice.  Instead, everyone has to suffer the screams, and everyone has to be inconvenienced.  I do say something, even as my husband hides under the table.

1)  Mean people.