On The Road Again

Dec. 24, 2011

We are on the road again. It was 17 degrees this morning in North Ogden, UT.  BJ has a week off so we headed south again. We stopped in Mesquite, NV at Casa Blanca. This RV Park is only $19.00 a night, however, they do not offer internet but they do have complete hook ups including cable. The restrooms and laundry area are clean and in good repair. Roads all around are paved. We are within walking distance to the casino and restaurants.

Driving around we found another view. BJ climbed a very large hill and took this for me. As I am watching him climb this very large hill I am thinking what will I do if he falls?  I have my cell phone with me so I will just call 911. Well, I do not know what road I am on and I do not see any street signs. I finally decide I will just have to leave him where he falls and drive down the hill to get help.

By the time, I finally get to a solution he is down the hill and beside the car.

I guess this RV Park does have internet. BJ just forgot to ask. I do see it today, where I did not see it yesterday on my computer. Earlier I had BJ take be over to the McDonalds so I could down load book 2 and 3 of the Hunger Games for my Kindle. It was fast and easy.

Dec. 26, 2011

We packed up this morning and headed to Vegas. We met up with my sisters and their husbands about 3:00pm. My brother and his wife come in about 8:00 tonight. They are renting a house for 5 days so we will hang out with them.

Since it has been a while I came back to the RV to post on our blog. I  will sign out for tonight.

Felting with my sister, Terrie

Felting was new to me when my sister suggested this. I figured I would go over and spend about an hour then be on my way. This was more involved than most projects I do. This post is not instructions on "how to". This is just to give you a flavor of felting. So do not try this at home without better instructions.


This started with materials that, to me, were unique and not common to yarn type crafting.

We have the wool, bubble wrap, a rolling pin or rolling bar (pvc from the hardware store), then soap and water in the container that can be easily drench the wool. we also had a piece of silk that is not in the picture. 


Kits are available with the wool, silk, and bubble wrap. The other items must be assembled before start of the project.


The bubble wrap was the first to lay out on the counter. My sister has a very long counter in her kitchen this was perfect for this project.


After the bubble wrap was laid out we started to place the combed wool on top. We used just half. Then the silk went on top of that. The remaining wool was placed on top of the the silk. So the silk is sandwiched between the wool, making two sides of the project.

At this point Terrie mixed hot water and soap to squirt on the wool. When one side was soaked we flipped this over and soaked the other side.


Now the fun starts. 

Terrie took the pcv tube or rolling pin and tightly rolled the layers of wool and bubble wrap around it. This was really wet so a terry towel was placed around the roll to help soak up the moisture.

This took a long time. Once the this was rolled up the process was to roll the wrap back and forth 25 times, then turn the wrap 1/4 turn and roll back and forth 25 turns. After a total of 400 back and forth. Terrie tested the felting. She pinched the wool and tried to pull away from the silk. If this pulled away then she had to do more back and forth with 1/4 turns. 

She ended up doing this 800 times. That went fairly fast. At the end  she had a really good grip. She tested the felting again and decided it was adhering to the silk.


She then took the wrap to the sink and unwrapped. to rinse all the soap out.

Another strange part was to slap it down on the counter top 20 times. Then lay it out to let it dry.This was a fun afternoon. I need to go back and take a picture of the finished project. I will have Terrie model this when I get back over there. 


So this is to be continued. I hope to get the finished project pictures next week unless something comes up.

Marcia

It has been really cold here in Utah. On the really cold mornings I have to put a coat on Maddi. She is not really thrilled. However she loves to sit in the sun. She sits side-ways like a real lady.

Dress Form Pin Cushions Inspired by DIY DISH

I have been busy. I have been making pin cushions.
I watched this video then I tried to make my own
http://www.thediydish.com/2011/10/season-4-how-to-make-a-dress-form-mannequin-pin-cushion/
So now you know what they are suppose to look like and these are my interpertation.

I plan to make the pattern smaller for when I have to use the glass candle stick holders. I think they look top heavy on the glass. I might change some other things as well. The original pattern is available at the web address above.

The diy dish really has some good ideas and inspiration. I really like the two girls. They are fun.

Heading Toward Christmas

Home again on the 26th of Nov. and now getting ready for Christmas. Marcia's daughter wants her to help her learn to sew. Our daughter wants to make more Christmas presents.

 Marcia: My daughter came over yesterday. we had gone shopping earlier in the month. She wants to make aprons for her sisters for Christmas. She found a Sewing for Dummies pattern. I was surprised how detailed it was. She laid out the fabric and placed the pattern on, then cut it all out. We didn't get much further when we had to stop. So next time we get together she will start to actually sew....on my machine. That makes me nervous!!

Happy Thanksgiving Nov 24, 2011

 Marcia has a sister that lives in Las Vegas so we came back to stay at Arizona Charlie.

We like Arizona Charlies because of the security. The park is well kept. The restrooms are always clean.

Nov. 22, 2011 On to Lake Mead

St. George is only about 15 minutes from Sand Hallow State Park.  This is not a huge city, however many shopping centers, restaurants and sites of interest would keep kids and adults entertained for several days.

St. George – everything from                     A to Zion.com

Driving further South through the Virgin River Gorge, no cell phone service for about 20 miles was a little concerning as I was tried to text my kids.

Our destination was Las Vegas. We decided to go to Lake Mead. That is a Federal Park. Marcia is disabled and had an access pass. With that entrance to Federal Parks are free. We did pay for the night at Lake Mead RV Village.

Our first mishap was at the entrance to the RV Village. BJ swung the RV around to get out of the way of traffic into the village. As he swung the rear of the RV he put the front tire up on the small rock retaining wall. So to get it off without damage he unhooked the car, drove the RV up a ways, drove the car off from the wall, then re-hooked the car to the RV.

This RV park was OK the sites were really close together. We had a view of the lake but no access.

 The RV pads were really close together. This was not really a concern because of the way the RVs were parked, one direction then the opposite.

 Our small dog was really excited to see this small rabbit.

 On the other side of the RV Village was a federal dry camp with nice restrooms

 Down the main road is access to boat storage and lake cruses.

This marina was a lot larger than I had expected.

Heading South - November 21 2011

The weather has been getting increasingly colder here in North Ogden, UT. I guess it is about time. I was really enjoying the Indian summer. We started heading South in our motor home two days ago. We have not had internet to post this on the blog.

 After 6 hours of driving, we saw some sunshine so we decided to stop at Sand Hallow State Park.  From I-15, we took SR-9 and headed east toward Hurricane, UT.  Following the brown signs and ten miles further, we were in Sand Hallow State Park.   

 This Utah state park has paved roads, full hookups, covered tables, and flat RV pads. That makes for good sleeping.

  Plenty of parking area for boat trailers with nice beach areas for swimming.

Collage of Travels

Our favorite activities involve camping with our family, camping by ourselves, traveling anywhere in our RV, We, BJ and Marcia, are grandparents. Four of our five children are married. We have twelve grand children.

Bj is the one with the bullets in his shopping bag. He loves to go to outdoor shooting ranges with the boys. He is getting quite a collection of guns.

Since BJ still has a full time job we travel around Utah and the surounding states. When BJ retires we plan to travel more and to more distant places. BJ enjoys working around the house when Marcia can convience him it is nesessary. She has not been able to convice him to finish redoing the downstairs bathroom. He started it four years ago.

Today BJ went with his boys in his scout troop swimming. They were able to pass several requirements. He had a ball. They were gone four hours.

Marcia had several projects she is working on. Crafty stuff. When she completes those we will post some pictures.