Farewell, Marj

We received a sad phone call yesterday telling us that Joe's cousin, Marj, passed away. She had been hospitalized since an auto accident a few months ago.

Marjorie with her parents and baby brother.

Rest in Peace, Marjorie

15 July 1923 - 29 December 2007

A Merry, White Christmas

Mom, Joe and I drove to my daughter, Michal's, home in Wheatridge (a northwestern suburb of Denver) on a warm, sunny Christmas Eve. We enjoyed watching 2 of the great grandchildren, Miles and Kaylee, make and decorate sugar cookies and later got to see their parents, Brooke and Donnie, Lindsay and Derek, and Kaylee's 4 month old baby brother, Sean, when they came to pick up the children. Sean was sleeping in his baby carrier so I wasn't able to get a photo of him.

Our contributions to the Christmas celebration were roast beef cooked with potatoes and carrots for Christmas Eve dinner; red grapes, layered bar cookies that I made; Joe's fantastic peanut butter fudge from his Mom's famous recipe; and a pumpkin and a pecan pie from the Village Inn (I seldom do pies).

We had a quiet Christmas eve with Michal Ann and woke up Christmas morning to a sky full of snow. It snowed all day and was gorgeous to look out at; I'm just glad we didn't have to drive in it because there was a lot of black ice under the snow on the streets and highways. Kat, Greg, Ben, Mandy and Evan and then Carl, Robyn and Jason arrived around noon. We ate my homemade cinnamon rolls and Michal's egg, bread and sausage brunch casserole, and sipped Mimosas, while Michal and Mandy chopped mushrooms, onions and peppers for the three pans of lasagna (one vegetarian).

With the lasagna we had Robyn's great green salad with rasberries, pine nuts, and glazed pecans; garlic bread; and vegan Robyn's Cashew loaf, which is a family favorite. After the meal we opened the presents from under the traditionally decorated Christmas tree. I lucked out with a set of crystal Chardonnay glasses, a soft, charcoal gray wool granny shawl, and a set of Bible commentaries wrapped in a yard of Ricky Timms' dyed fabric. Robyn went into the Longmont quilt shop and asked the lady for suggestions and she told her to get the Timms' fabric because I'd know what it was as soon as I saw it. Joe surprised me with updated Photoshop software to help me make my quilt fabric better.

Watching Ben and Jason help Evan make his Lego Star Wars creature and then Robyn playing Transformers chess was quite entertaining. Everyone learns quickly that you can't win when you play against Evan because he makes up his own rules(4 year olds can get away with that.) But Robyn gave him a good run for his money.

Mother strung beads for the granddaughters and the quilt on her lap is Kaylee's "Quiltmaker's Gift" quilt that I made for her. She is very fond of it and loves to have Grandma Michal read the book to her while she snuggles in the quilt.

After our sad Thanksgiving it was so good to have the family together for Christmas. We just wish Sharon and her family could have been here but we all talked to her a couple of times on the phone.

This morning the sky was blue and everything was coated with a thick layer of snow as we drove back home; everything looked beautiful. It hadn't snowed as much here as in Denver but the ground was covered with pristine snow until we drove into our back driveway. Cho Cho and Ditto were quite happy to have us home again and Cho is sitting on the desk, keeping me company, as I type this.

Unto You A Child Is Born

"The Nativity at Night
late 15th century
GEERTGEN tot Sint Jansabout 1455/65 - about 1485/95
NG4081. Bought, 1925.

This is one of the most engaging and convincing early treatments of the Nativity as a night scene. The brilliant light in the foreground comes from the Christ Child in the crib. It illuminates the figure of the Virgin, who bends forward, hands joined in prayer, Saint Joseph in the background, and the figures of the delighted small angels to the left.The radiance of the angel announcing the birth to the shepherds on the distant hillside provides another contrast between darkness and divine light. A third and lesser source of light comes from the shepherds' fire.The idea of the infant Christ illuminating the Nativity scene comes from the writings of the 14th-century Saint Bridget of Sweden. She wrote that in her visions the light of the new-born child was so bright 'that the sun was not comparable to it'. A century later, the interest of artists such as Geertgen in depicting naturalistically the contrasts of extreme light and shade served to heighten the sense of the miraculous birth.

See The Nativity At Night here and click on the zoom symbol to explore - can you find the tiny fluttering angel?

Oil on oak34 x 25.3 cm.

National Gallery, London
The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5DN, England
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/ http://www.nationalgallery.co.uk/ "

Love, Grace, Mercy and Peace to All!

Still Here_Still Stitching

It's been a while since I last posted here. I've been so busy getting Mom's new home arranged and handling her financial arrangements that I didn't realize how long it's been since I shared with you all.

After our snow and cold, the past 2 days have been sunnier and warmer. I got some lovely sunset cloud colors on my camera this evening from the parking lot of the Hastings book and media store in Canon City where I had been picking up books for grandchildren. The moon is even visible in some of them; the color was more in the south and east since there were no clouds on the mountain skyline to the west.

I haven't had time or energy to do any quiltmaking but have gone back to my long time sanity saver, needlepoint. I can do this in the evenings while watching TV with Joe. Christmas time always gets me into stitching more ornaments. I'm finishing some pieces that I started last year; I finished the green stitching on a tree and filled in the empty bars with gold yarn. There is also a photo of a Christmas tree that I stitched and beaded last year; the colored bugle beads make good tree ornaments. I'm also putting the background stitches around an angel, which is shown in the photo with another angel that I stitched last year. I finish these with a felt backing that covers a layer of thin batting.





When we moved to Florence from Deer Trail 20 years ago I managed to lose my large collection of needlepoint beaded ornaments that I had made, so each year I try to add a few ornaments to my recreated collection. I've also made ornaments for the kids through the years. The one piece I was sorriest to lose was a tree top angel that a male friend made for me when I lived in Boulder. Jack was fascinated when I began to needlepoint in the early 70s and had to figure out how to do it backwards, since he was lefthanded. Later, he actually found a book on needlepointing for lefties.





I love to make quilts, but I do not find it relaxing, and I wear out quickly. The rhythmic hand stitching of needlepoint has always been a very relaxing activity for me in a way that nothing else is. I am so thankful that I can still hold and manipulate the tapestry needles, which are larger than the quilting needles that I am no longer able to use.

Same Sunset, Different Eye

Those of you who enjoyed my sunset photos need to check out my brother's photos of the same sunset. We both needed the refreshment that those colors gave us.

Our replacement monitor has arrived and it is wonderful to be able to see the writing on the screen again, however, this is one of those new long, narrow rectangular ones they are making now. It may be fine for watching wide screen movies, but it distorts my photographs, and I'm not pleased. Are any of you having that problem? If so, have you figured out how to adjust it so people don't look wider than they are tall? (Would I exaggerate?)

I also received my locker hooking book and my free motion quilting foot for my Bernina, but I haven't had a chance to try using either. I spent this cold, snowy day setting up a filing system in one of our file cabinets for Mom's and Dad's records, while looking for addresses and phone numbers for insurance companies, etc. that need to be notified of Dad's death. Yesterday I was in Fowler getting papers out of a safety deposit box and picking up more clothes and other items for Mom, and we will go again tomorrow, if the snow clears up. I had no concept of how much there is to do after the loss of a loved one. I am glad to be able to report that Mom is settling in well at her new place, and even wants us to bring her sewing machine and some material so she can do some sewing. At this point do you suppose I could interest her in quilt making?

I can't seem to shake off this awful virus and am still coughing and hacking and dragging. I sure would like to be able to soak in the sun for a while, but winter is definitely upon us. Very soon the days will begin getting longer; Hooray for the Winter Solstice! I may build a bonfire and jump over it like they did in the old days in Britain. Or I may just wrap some rope lights on the porch rail and set up the teepee shaped light assemblage that I found at the store for my front yard, since we don't have any evergreens in the garden. "If winter comes can Spring be far behind?"

I love my neighbor's idea of the perfect Christmas tree, although I imagine it looks strange this evening in the snow.

WOW!

Today Steve and I went to visit the banks, Post Office, Fowler Tribune, and City Hall, as well as picking up a few more items from the house for Mom's new home. Driving home from Fowler this evening this is part of the sunset I enjoyed. These photos were taken East of Pueblo.

Looking North toward Pikes Peak.



You definitely need to click on these to enlarge them.

Looking west toward the Spanish Peaks (Huahatolla) left, and Wet Mountains to the right. The highest peak in the Wet Mountains is Greenhorn Peak (Cuerno Verde).












Looking Northwest over Pueblo toward the Wet Mountains.













West toward Spanish Peaks and Wet Mountains a little later. La Veta, where Ricky Timms lives, has his gallery, and films The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson is in an unbelievably beautiful valley as the foot of the Spanish Peaks.

Life Goes On

Wouldn't you know, with all the stress, I have fallen prey to a miserable chest cold. When I try to talk I croak. I'm on antibiotics because my sick lungs are susceptible to pneumonia. It's been a couple of years since I last had a cold and I had forgotten how rotten "the common cold" makes you feel.



I decided that today had to be a relaxing and resting day, and since it was a beautiful morning and early afternoon I rode with Joe to a nearby Penrose alpaca farm. I have a weakness for alpacas and their soft, luxurious wool. While Joe worked on Robin's dishwasher, Gary to me for a tour of his place and introduced me to his 60 alpacas. Their Australian shepherd, with one blue and one brown eye, and the white Great Pyrenees accompanied us, as did a sleek black and white cat (I never met a herd cat before). I am in love and am going to have to drive by occassionally to admire these wonderful animals.





After the tour, Robin showed me the treasures made from alpaca wool that she sells in her small store. Robin is an artist as well as alpaca farmer, and I was delighted to see a needle felted alpaca with blanket that she had made. They have their wool processed by a place in Kansas and have several natural colors of yarn, with photos of the alpaca who donated the wool on each label. I really admired the hand knitted socks and sweaters and the sheer woven scarves looked almost like silk. I hope one of the kids asks me what I want for Christmas, because I have my eye on a hand embroidered black scarf.



I also want to share my newest treasure with you. My 11 year old granddaughter Rachel, from Salt Lake City, gave me a drawing for a quilt design, and someday I hope to use it to make a quilt for her.
















Tomorrow we will start moving Mom to Canon City. Mom and Dad have lived in Fowler for 57 years, and in their home for around 40. It is so hard! I don't want to do this; I don't want to play this game anymore, it's not fun. I just want things to go back to the way they were. My reaction to losing Dad is nothing like what I expected. I don't feel sad, it hurts too bad to be just sad. I literally hurt physically, my whole body, with a hole in my middle. I feel like something is horribly wrong with my world, something like anxiety, but not just sadness. I told Joe that death isn't just the loss of someone, it is the loss of an entire lifestyle. "This too will pass." For the last 40 years this has been one of those common sayings that help me to keep putting one foot in front of the other, whatever happens. Thank God, humans are so adaptable.

Thanks and Love to All

I can't tell you how much your messages have helped me get through this week. Thank you for caring.


The memorial service on Wednesday was lovely, with family and friends sharing their memories of Dad and made quite personal when Pastor Don projected some of my brothers gorgeous photographs, with scripture passages, on the screen at the front of the church.

It was wonderful to have so many of the various branches of our large family together, I just wish there had been more time to visit. My Dad's only surviving sibling, Uncle Johnnie was able to come from Oxnard, California with one of his twin daughters, Suze. Suze and I hadn't seen each other since we were kids at least 45 years ago, yet it seemed like we had never been apart.

Since my mother is not able to live alone, and my brother, Steve, has to get back to Reno in a few days, we were fortunate in finding a vacancy in an assisted care home in Canon City, where Joe and I can be close to her. Mother looked at 4 studio apartments today, and picked the one she liked the best. We will be moving her and her basic furniture, clothing, and household items on Sunday. Later we can add items that she wants and has room for. Friendship House (formerly the Oddfellows Home) is in the Colorado Oddfellows complex of 2 independant living
apartment buildings ( one of which I managed until 10 years ago), 2 assisted living buildings, and a nursing home (where Joe's father ended his years) near the St. Thomas More Hospital (the Oddfellows donated the land for the hospital). There is a lovely park with old trees and flower gardens in front of Friendship House and a small chapel where weddings and funerals are held.


We were impressed with how clean and bright the building is, and the staff seem very loving toward their residents. We met several of the ladies that live in the building who told us how much they enjoyed being there and told Mom how happy she would be. One of the couples in the building are the parents of a long time friend, and are delightful people.

My mother is handling all this amazingly well. She is a strong woman of faith. She and Dad would have been married 70 years on January 25.


The photos were taken at the dinner that the Fowler First Christian Church women prepared for the family:


Aunt Lucy (from Albuquerque, the widow of Dad's youngest brother, Aunt Angie and Uncle Johnnie (from Oxnard, California, Uncle Johnnie is Dad's last surviving sibling from four boys and two girls), Mom across the table, brother Steve in the background.


My oldest grandchild Lindsay, Derek, and their little Sean, our third great grandchild born in late August.


Friendship House



Putting together this blog has been a challenge; when we got home from the hospital on Sunday, we discovered that our big, beautiful computer monitor had had a mortal ailment of some type. Luckily, Joe still had the old 14 inch monitor with the old computer in his room and was able to hook it up, but it is so small and dim that I have a bit of a problem seeing well with it. Funny, when we first bought it, many years ago, we thought it was great.

Dad Passed Away

Dad is wearing the red cap.


My dad passed away peacefully on Sunday morning. His last words were that he would have liked to make it to their 70th anniversary in January. The memorial service will be on Wednesday afternoon in Fowler. We are so thankful that he didn't have to suffer for very long, but we miss him so much.


Since Dad was the caretaker, we now have to make arrangements for care for Mother; there is no way she can live by herself. I'm going to be occupied with all of the arrangements for a while.


Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.


Fritz


born April 5, 1916, near Fort Rice, North Dakota


died November 25, 2007, Pueblo, Colorado


He was a good man.


Rest in peace, Daddy

More on Dad's Condition

Mom; my baby, Sharon; Dad

It was a hard day; early this evening we thought we were losing him and they even had us have mother brought to the hospital (by her cousin in Fowler), but he surprised us and rallied and even asked if he could be shaved because he chin itched.

The heart catheter procedure was cancelled because they thought he had pneumonia and his kidneys were closing down. It turns out that his lungs are filling with water because of the kidney failure and heart damage. Nothing they have tried is having the effect needed on his kidneys. I finally got to talk directly to the doctor, and he says at this point it is wait and see; he could slip away quickly or he could rally and be able to go home and live productively again. He says there is little chance with his condition that he would become a bedridden invalid, Thank God! He would hate that. He did tell us that he would like to be able to live until his and Mom's 70th anniversary on January 25, but only if he could have a fairly normal lifestyle.

My kids and some of the grandchildren and great grandchildren came to visit yesterday, as well as two of Dad's nephews from the Denver area. 2 neices from Albuquerque drove up today; Katrina is spending the night in Dad's room and Carla took Mom home and will take her to church tomorrow and then bring her to the hospital. My brother, Steve, couldn't get a plane this weekend, so is driving and will be here Sunday afternoon. My kids are coming back down tomorrow. Our huge family from California, New Mexico and Colorado are constantly in touch by phone. I am so thankful that we have such a close, loving, supportive family.

Thank you, all, for being there and listening, and sending notes of encouragement.

Update on Dad's Condition & Happy Thanksgiving

The scan taken yesterday showed that the surgery is not needed but tomorrow morning they will do a heart catheter procedure to determine if he needs to have an angioplasty with a stent inserted into the coronary artery.

Joe and I took Mom to Thanksgiving dinner at a Pueblo restaurant and then we spent the afternoon with Dad, and the nurses educated me on the procedures that Dad will undergo.

The kids celebrated at my son's place in Boulder and will come down to visit tomorrow. I missed being with them and will be so happy to see them. My brother will fly in from Reno, if he can get a flight this time of the year; if not, he will drive out, which will take 2 days.

I so appreciate the love and support that you are sending our way, and I am praying for all of you and your families, also.

Hope you had a great holiday with your families. Remember to count your many blessings every day, not just Thanksgiving Day!

Father Ill

My dear 91 year old father has had a heart attack and also has some other major medical infection problems that need surgery but they are trying to determine if he can stand surgery at this time. I am on my way to pick up my Mom and go to the hospital in Pueblo.

Here is my Dad with Mom's cousin, Bill, looking at the family history quilt I made for Mom's and Dad's 65th wedding anniversary.

Please pray for my family at this time.

Nov. 12 x 12 Grandfather's Stash

For over a year I've been taking photographs of color and texture in nature with the idea of printing them on fabric to use in quilts. I have done photo transfers in quilts where the photo is an image of someone or something, but in this case I simply wanted them to be used as color and texture, not figurative. For my November 12 x 12 Challenge quilt I decided to use autumn colors and textures in a small hexagon quilt similar to vintage Australian quilts I've seen photos of and admired. Native Americans used the name Grandfather for the Creator, so I named this quilt "Grandfather's Stash".

The photos were printed onto prepared June Taylor fabric sheets, cut into small hexagons and fused onto the background fabric with Steam a Seam 2. The quilt was sandwiched with backing fabric and cotton batting in pillowcase style. A zig zag stitch around the hexagons with invisible thread was done as the machine quilting. I then printed the label and a fragment of a favorite e.e cummings poem on June Talor Quick Fuse and fused them on the back along with some leftover hexagons from the quilt.

This exercise has really sensitized me to the amazing color and texture around me and I am seeing my world in a much richer way. I'm beginning to plan a series of larger seasonal quilts, using my nature photos as the fabric color and pattern, for the coming year. These will probably be sewn rather than fused, because the combo of printed photos on fabric and the fusible material make the fabric so stiff and difficult to handle and stitch.

The 12 x 12 Challenge quilts can be seen at the Quilt Studio blog.

What a Day

I fell in love with a piece of art made from recycled materials in the Pueblo Chieftain this morning. A
Pueblo Community College student art show was to be on display on the Pueblo campus today. Due to other commitments I couldn't see it in person but I really like the photo. I might decide to do something similar to display on the wall of the garage/shop that faces my kitchen and dining room windows.

It was such a lovely tawney, blue sky day that I decided to drive to the High Country Quilts shop in Colorado Springs to see if I could get a free motion foot for my Bernette 75. (The Bernina shop recently merged with this quilt shop, which is my favorite in the Springs.) Learning to do free motion quilting was one of my goals for this year and it's already mid November and I haven't, but the July 12 x 12 piece is demanding free motion quilting to reach it's potential, so... It turned out that they didn't have one in stock but they are ordering one for me, so it will still be a while before I can post my July quilt.

While there I discovered something I wish I had found several months ago. I have been using hexagons in the 12 x 12s this year and just finished cutting out 81 small hexagons for the November 12 x 12. I had one plastic 5 inch hexagon template from which I have extrapolated various sizes of templates from thin template plastic, but these do not work with a rotary cutter. Fabric hexagons take a lot of time to cut with scissors and are not very uniform, which makes it difficult to fit them together well.
I bought a Mercury Hexagon Template which can be used to rotary cut hexagons, from strips of fabric, up to 8 1/2 inches. How much simpler and more precise than my old method! I knew there had to be a better way. Why couldn't I think of this? I am so pleased because I was just wishing I had an 8 inch template for a series of larger quilts that I am planning for next year.

This ruler can also be used for making diamonds, 60 degree triangles, and trapezoids (half- hexagons).

I also ordered a book on making locker hooked rugs from quilt remnants, a locker hook tool, rug canvas and string. These rugs and mats have the primitive farm house look I love and I'll tell you more about it when the book gets here and I can experiment with it. I'm so happy that these hooks are large enough that I can do this with my arthritic hands and it is something I can do while watching TV in the evenings with Joe. I've been wanting some new rugs, and have lots of scraps and remnants. It is dangerous to go to a quilt shop or show!

To top off the day, I got a cell phone call from daughter Kat, with the "1812 Overture" playing loudly in the background. This is one of my favorites, and she wanted to tell me that my 18 year old grandson, Ben, had burned a CD of several pieces of classical music and was playing it. It hasn't been long since he was teasing me about the "boring" classical music station that I listen to. He thought they sounded like the guy who does the Visine ad on TV. I told him that young people like noise and excitement while old people crave peace and serenity. Of course, now that I think about it, the "1812 Overture" isn't either peaceful or serene, is it? But it is not peaceful in a different manner than hard metal music (music?).

Driving home in the twilight over the foothills of the Pikes Peak Massif, I got a fantastic view of the Arkansas River Valley backed by the Wet Mountains with the Sangre de Christo range looming in the back on the skyline. It made me think of "the Wall Around the World" from the Darkover series by Marian Zimmer Bradley that I've read many times in the past 35 years.

Mr. C's Restaurant, in Penrose 6 miles down the road from us, where we had our wedding dinner 23 years ago, is closing tomorrow after 30 years in business. It's time for Frank to retire and do some traveling in Europe with his wife. Joe has worked on nearly every piece of equipment in the place for the last 20 years, so Joe and I had dinner there tonight to give Frank our best wishes. I asked the waitress if I could buy our cute cactus margarita glasses as a souvenir and when Frank heard about it he came out and gave them to us so we could remember him when we have a drink from time to time. We will sure miss Frank and his Matadors (a fried burrito type Mexican dish smothered in green chili).

It was a good day! And I even got a yard of bright colored frog fabric.

What's On Your Bed?

I picked up this challenge from Paula at Colorado Quilter. I think it's fun to see what quilters

dress their beds with. Actually, the folded quilt at the foot of my bed is not one I made; I bought it on eBay a few years ago. I've never made a full size quilt, only crib, lap and journal type quilts. Most of the quilts I've made have been for other people. I am planning on making a full size quilt from my Women of the Bible blocks for myself, but I don't want to put it on my bed, because all three cats would mess it up quickly, I'm afraid. The vintage kitchen table next to the bed is what I use as a cutting table.

You can see that I also have needlepoint pillows, sheep, and a lion at the head of my bed. Two of the sheep are Shari Lewis' Lamb Chop stuffed toys and the Lyons Lion was made for me about 30 years ago by one of the little old ladies at the Boulder County Housing Authority's first project, Bloomfield Place, for senior citizens in the town of Lyons, north of Boulder. (One of the highways to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park runs through Lyons. ) This is when I worked for the Boulder County H. A. and assisted in the development of the project and then was in charge of property management. And now I are one of the little old ladies.

Here is a photo of my design wall (doors) with the WOTB and Names of Jesus blocks that I've finished so far. Too bad I didn't start quiltmaking when I was younger and could accomplish a lot more in much less time than it now takes me. But, I'm so glad that I finally did start; it has enriched my life so much, both in the creation, and in the quilters I've met.

The folded quilts on the shelf with my stash boxes are family quilts. The Butterfly quilt was made by Joe's Mom, Elsie, (from the pattern and fabrics, probably in the sixties) and the Depression Era Dresden Plate quilt was made by my Granny many years ago. I still have some unused Dresden Plate circles and strips of the pie shaped edging pieces that she had left over. One of the pieced circles is hanging around the shade of my reading lamp on the head board. I love those old fabrics.

This and That

Tonight I took Makayla to see the "Bee Movie" after we dropped Amber off at work, and before we had to pick her up again. (I'm so out of it that when they told me the name of the movie I thought they said it was a B movie. Do they still use this term in the 21st Century?) This is a fun movie; not only is it cute and funny but the use of the hexagon hive motif fascinated me. I might have to do a lot more hexagon quilts before I'm tired of these pattern possibilities. Does this mean I've been hexed? Maybe I could try adding hex signs to the hexagons. Oh well, it's late, I'm sleepy and getting silly.

Look at the great pattern I got in the mail today. When I saw this on Sew Momma Sew I was so excited because I am a bookworm

and it is getting harder and harder for me to hold books while reading. I've switched to paperbacks as often as possible for several years because they were easier to hold, but now even paperbacks are getting painful. This looks like the perfect solution to my problem because it holds the book on the lap and holds the pages open. Now if I can figure out how to use it while reading in bed; maybe Joe can invent something that would hold it at the right angle since it wouldn't work on the lap while reclining.

For those of you who are beginning to think about Christmas shopping, you might want to check out some of the items my brother is creating from his wonderful photographs. Just click on this link. Even if you are not in the shopping mode, his photos are worth the trip.

Royal Gorge Quilt Council Fall Show

The local quilt council show is being held at the new Pueblo Community College campus in Canon City and I really enjoyed visiting the show on one of those glorious, brilliant, blue sky days we have in the fall.

This was my first trip to the campus, though Ihave driven past many times. The building and site are wonderful in the valley between the Skyline Drive Hogback and Fremont Peak on US Highway 50, west of Canon City, on the way to the Royal Gorge entrance. For many years this was the site of the terraced gardens of the state Territorial Prison where prisoners grew their own vegetables. I remember how lovely the gardens were when I was a kid and hated seeing this land lying vacant and full of weeds. When the state donated the land for the PCC campus I was thrilled, and they have certainly designed a campus that takes advantage of the beautiful location.

This wonderful huge bronze eagle statue is located in the courtyard.

Here a few photos of the quilts; info on these and more photos can be seen in my Webshots album.