finished

This is the quilt I finished this week.  It is made up completely of solid Kona fabrics.

 It about 60 inches by 70 inches, perfect for a lap sized quilt. 

It went together pretty quickly.  For the quilting, I stitched in the ditch, diagonally, vertically, and horizontally. 

The back I like just as much as the front, even though there is a lot of purple.  This is the second time I made a quilt with all solids (see the other one here), and although they both turned out well, I am ready to go back to make things with prints again.    

Among other finishes for the week...

I am not teaching a GED class anymore, which has been a part time job since the fall of 2010.  Teaching adults is much different than teaching seven, eight, and nine year olds.

My piano lessons are done, for now.  It was the first time I have taken any kind of music lessons, and I enjoyed it.  I memorized one song (Allouette) and can play some others passably well with the music.    

I completed my twelfth year as an elementary ESL teacher.  That boggles my mind.  Twelve years is three times as long as I was in college, and more than twice as long as I was a teacher in California.

With all these finishes, now there is time to do travel planning for my next adventure-learning more Spanish.

Tales of Famous Americans

Tales of Famous Americans by Connie and Peter Roop is a book I think anyone above the age of 8 should pick up and read.  It has short biographies of a diverse group of people including Pocahontas, Benjamin Franklin, Harriet Tubman, the Wright Brothers, and Yo-Yo Ma.  It could be used as a read aloud for students as well.  The authors have another book, Tales of Famous Heroes, that I look forward to finding at the library as well. 

exploring history

Last year, I purchased a year's membership to the Minnesota Historical Society.  The membership allows a person to visit any of the historic sites at no additional charge. Last August, I went to Historic Fort Snelling for the first time in my life and was intrigued and would recommend it to everyone.


The same day I went to the James J. Hill house in St. Paul.  Another place I enjoyed touring.  I was amazed at the size of the house. 

Yesterday, I visited the Oliver H. Kelley Farm.  I am not sure I would put it on my list of places to go again, but I had driven by the sign for it on Highway 10 often enough to wonder what it was like.  The animals were actually the highlight for me.  There were a couple of groups of sheep trotting around the yard.  They hadn't been shorn yet, so their hair was pretty scruffy looking.

This sow was quite large (I don't remember my grandma's pigs being that big) and ugly.  It made me laugh.

Other sites I have been to this year are the Lindbergh Historic Site, Mille Lacs Indian Museum and Trading Post, and the Minnesota History Center. 

I would recommend buying a membership to the Minnesota Historical Society and then taking the time to visit some of the places that have been important in our state's history.  Memberships are available for individuals and families and last one year.  It will broaden your understanding of Minnesota's.  I hope to visit at least one or two more places before my membership is up, even if it is a repeat visit to Historic Fort Snelling.

Sing for Me

Sing for Me by Karen Halvorsen Schreck is the novel I finished reading last night.  Rose Sorenson loves to sing.  She lives in Chicago in 1937.  One night, her cousin Rob convinces her to go to Calliope's, a night club with jazz music.  Her life is forever changed.  This is a complex story about family, race, and love.  The book is a good choice for a book club as well as for those who like to read stories with substance.