Pieces of Friendship - Part 2

I finished up my last 2 swap pieces and enjoyed every stitch! I'm excited to see what comes back.



My third piece is brown/gold/black. There are 2 open brass hearts in the middle tacked down with just a couple of tiny stitches and surrounded by black sequins with an added layer of transparent gold sequins on top of that and held in place by a tiny glass seed bead. A black 4mm Swarovski bicone sandwiched between two tiny seed beads. There is a vintage glass cab up in the upper left corner and another vintage glass cab in the lower right corner. A metal dragonfly bead in the lower left and vintage flower shaped sequins throughout the upper right held in place by more black Swarovski bicones.



Last is in my favorite colors. A beautiful filigree heart is the center piece, held in place by seed beads. A little metal bird charm has a place in the lower left and a metal ladybug bead on the lower right surrounded by vintage sequins. Some aqua glass flower beads and other random glass beads finish it off.



Here they are all together.

Now a quick photo tour of my weekend spent at the Becoming an Outdoorswoman program...



It sure felt good to be outside for an entire weekend and the bonus was meeting so many neat women.



One class I found most fascinating was 'Backyard Habitat', it focused on finding ways to landscape your yard using native plants to build habitat for wildlife. If that is something you find want to learn more about, I highly recommend the book that was a handout in our class - "Bringing Nature Home" by Douglas W. Tallamy. My goal now is to plant a butterfly garden in my backyard (among other things) specifically for Monarch's



Next was ATV safety. While I have ridden on an ATV numerous times, I have never learned much about safety, I found the lessons taught in this class quite valuable.



The setting was so pretty too - a large grassy area, right on the river.



Canoeing was next and even though I was tired, I had a great time. I don't know that I learned anything new, but I did have a blast just paddling around the little lake with my canoe mate.



My last class was Orienteering - always good to know how to use a compass and orient yourself on a map when you are in the outdoors. I'd like to spend more time using those skills - I don't understand it as well as I would like to at this point.



I didn't take a class in archery, but managed to snap a couple of photos.



Of course, there was a campfire on Saturday night - complete with ghost stories and marshmallow roasting.



Given the opportunity, I'd do it all over again in a second!

Next outing... a trip to the zoo with my grandson's second grade class on Friday, we have a wonderful childrens zoo here in Fort Wayne, a day spent there is always a good day.

Local Festival

I love festivals and there are plenty in this part of country. One of the more popular festivals in Fort Wayne is the Three Rivers Festival. We try to go at least one day every year. This year was no exception. It's fun for the kids, it's relatively inexpensive and not too far to drive.

There is a big fountain in the middle of the park which becomes quite a draw for the kids (and some adults) on especially hot days. My grandson thought it was quite funny that grandma stood in the middle of the fountain to cool off. This photo was taken right after that.


We enjoyed lots of treats as we walked down 'food alley'


And when we were finished we walked back through the park to get to our car. We stopped near the "Old Fort" (it is THE fort for which the city was named) to ride a couple of old fashioned bicycles.

The Fort will often open up the old buildings and have people in period costumes, I enjoy it. But I understand there are some folks divided here on whether or not the Old Fort should be torn down to make way for new development (I hope it never happens).

Back to the old fashioned bicycles. Here's my son's group...


And here I am with my other half

Where in the world is Fort Wayne, Indiana?

This months GPP Street Team Crusade is "Where in the World?"
For more details on this crusade, please check Michelle's blog for the lowdown.

I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana right now. It is not a place I ever imagined I would have called home. Funny thing is, my grandmother (pictured below on the far left) was born and raised in Northern Indiana, leaving in 1925 with her husband to make their home in Southern California. Fast forward to 1996 when my son (third generation Californian) happened to follow a girl to Fort Wayne. I followed seven years later. So, here we are as a family back in Indiana - coincidence? I think not.

Family photo - Buena Park, CA sometime around 1967 0r 68. I'm in the shorts in the front.

I grew up in Orange County California - Buena Park to be exact. Not far from Knott's Berry Farm. Some of the 'old timers' remember when Knott's used to be a place for a great chicken dinner and wonderful jams. Somewhere you could take the kids to feed the ducks and check out the ghost town as well as look at a replica of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell and it was all FREE. Now it's a rather sizable amusement park with many of the places of my memories paved over as parking lots.

I remember being surrounded by orange groves and dairy farms when growing up there... all gone now. We used to have a weekend 'cabin' in Lake Elsinore when I was growing up - that area is now a bustling community of it's own, not just for weekends!

I left Orange County in 1997 and headed north for a job in San Francisco.

View of downtown - Transamerica Building


Golden Gate Bridge

I lived in the East Bay - Concord to be exact on the border of a town called Clayton, not far from the foot of Mt. Diablo. There are spectacular views from the 3849 ft. summit. On a clear day, it is possible to view the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and the southernmost mountain of the volcanic Cascade Range, Mount Lassen more than 180 miles away. Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, about 125 miles (201 km) to the east, can be viewed with a telescope on a clear day.

There is a flower that can only be found on Mt. Diablo, it's call the Fairy Lantern, isn't it pretty?

Fairy Lantern - Mt. Diablo

Now you might be saying - nice tour of California, but what about Indiana? I'm getting there - I wanted to take you on a shortened journey of how I got from there to here.

So, fast forward to 2003. I quit my big job in San Francisco and decided it was time to move closer to my son and grand kids, a couple months of planning and *poof* DONE!

Going from California (South or North) is a bit of a shock to the system in several ways. The most prominent is the weather. I experienced my first weather warnings shortly after moving here. It's always something - rain, floods, ice, fog, wind, snow, extreme cold, high heat index, tornadoes - we have lots of weather here. But with it is quite a bit of beauty and actually a lifestyle similar to what I experienced in Southern California growing up in the 60's and 70's. Lots of farmland, decent people that like, know and help their neighbors, friendly strangers, manners in abundance, reasonable housing prices and cost of living - just an all around great way of life. I love it here.

I have access to so many wonderful things, I will list only a few...

There is an awesome old theatre downtown that attracts talented entertainers. The Historic Embassy Theatre is a treat for the senses. One of the main attractions at the theatre is the Grand Page Pipe Organ. During Downtown Fright Night we made our way to the Embassy for a Halloween presentation of The Black Pirate silent movie. The 80 minute movie was accompanied by the pipe organ. It was so much more entertaining that I ever imagined, really a treat.

Another historical landmark is the Allen County Courthouse. It is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. The mural's inside the courtrooms, the gilded ceilings, as well as the stained glass are simply amazing.

There are the seasons...




Winter


Spring




Summer


Fall

With each season there are wonderful festivals and fairs. A couple of my favorites are..
Johnny Appleseed Festival
Hilgers Fall Festival
Wabash Herb Festival

There are many more - I could go on forever, but I won't - I'll spare you that!

And after all that - there is my backyard. It is peaceful and beautiful, a sanctuary to me. This is a photo I took not long ago - positively heavenly, don't you think?


I am so lucky!