The History Quilter: June 2013

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Bloglovin Test Post

Google Reader is about to go kaput (I was out of the loop for so long while student teaching that I didn't know it was going away!) and now I'm searching around for blog readers because....I want to read your blogs!

Obviously I want you to read mine too so this is a test post for Bloglovin, an alternative to Google Reader that I need to post with the following....

<a href="https://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3256419/?claim=jxnejt4hgeu">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

in order for me to claim my blog.

Ok done.

Btw, I've checked out Feedly and now I'm on to Bloglovin to make my comparison. Feedly was eh, ok. Not in love with it though so on to Bloglovin to see what they have to offer.

Just for reading here are my tomatoes basking in the summer sun. At 4:30pm it's about 82 degrees here with hotter weather on it's way which make the tomatoes very happy.

So many tomato plants, so many tomatoes, so many quarts of tomatoes in my future!

No more pics but I'm happily planning a new quilt, a couple of new garments and have been fabric shopping both in the store and online. I'll be sewing very soon. Yay!

Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday...

Susan

Friday, June 21, 2013

Dreams, Quilts & Trains

What fun it was to read your comments from my School's Out Giveaway - thank you so much to all for entering. I had Mr. Random Number Generator pick the winner and with 16 entries, everyone had an excellent chance. My winner was #15, Amy, otherwise known as A.J. Dub. Congratulations Amy!

A Quilt Finish:
Last weekend I finished up Transport Your Dreams and had the wonderful opportunity this week to give it to the adorable little boy whom I made it for. He's only a baby now and will only lie on it and shortly be rolling around on it, but my hope is that one day he loves his quilt so much that perhaps I'll see a photo of it looking very worn and loved.

Transport Your Dreams Quilt

Transport your Dreams - I just love the back!

In keeping with my travel theme, I wanted to take photos of this quilt hanging from the Pacific Electric Red Car that sits just off Main Street in Seal Beach, CA, a town I absolutely adore. After further research about the Pacific Electric Rail Car or "Red Car" system that I knew ran in the downtown Los Angeles area in the early twentieth century, I learned that it went as far south as Seal Beach, through Huntington Beach and terminated in Newport Beach.

Pacific Electric Red Car Museum in Seal Beach, CA

I brought various kinds of clips to hang the quilt on the side of the rail car but no luck. There was nothing to hang/attach the clips to on the side. Oh well, I had my older son along with me for lunch and he provided the perfect "hanger" with the Red Car as the backdrop. Success - I got my shot.

Transport Your Dreams Quilt back with the "Red Car"

Hope your dreams take you as far as you want them to take you!
Susan

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A School's Out Giveaway!

School's out people and its time for me to resurrect this blog with a Giveaway!

I'm giving away four 1 yard cuts of 2wenty-thr3e by Eric & Julie Comstock of Cosmo Cricket for Moda that I just picked up at Birch Fabrics in Paso Robles, CA over the weekend. The vintage style and fun words and graphics caught my eye while browsing through the store. I'll tell you how to enter down below.

2WENTY-THR3E

Because it is Tuesday and to pay homage to my fellow food aficionado Debbie, here is a little Tuesday at the Table of my own: Spicy Tuna Rolls. This past Sunday afternoon one my Uncle's returned from a fishing trip to Mexico and showed up at my door with a huge cooler full of Bluefin Tuna. Yes...Bluefin Tuna. The melt in your mouth goodness that one shouldn't look at or even order as it's categorized as "Avoid" according to the Monterrey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch. But when your Uncle shows up at your door with a cooler full of it, how can one refuse? I didn't.

Last night I served the tuna two ways: Marinated, coated with sesame seeds and then seared quickly on the BBQ and rolled into Spicy Tuna rolls. I also served it to myself as I was preparing it, slicing off a sliver at a time relishing in the pure taste. I was even able to convince the 15 year old to try a taste - he still makes the same "icky" face he made when he was 2. So cute.

Wish I had more pictures but the camera was acting funny (it's really me who doesn't know how to work the camera, yet).

Nori, sushi rice, avocado, bluefin tuna, spicy mayo

Not easy to cut

Not super pretty but they tasted divine!

To enter my School's Out Giveaway, please leave a comment about a favorite summer memory. I'll pick the winner on Friday, June 21st at 6am pacific time. I'm looking forward to reading your comments.
Hope lots of smiles come your way today~
Susan

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Signing In High School Yearbooks

My Student Teaching semester is nearly over: all that is left is a final to be given to my 10th grade World History class on Wednesday and the last day of school on Thursday. No more lesson planning, research and waking up before any sane person chooses too in the morning. For a sense of closure I've volunteered to work graduation so I can have the opportunity to say goodbye to the many seniors whom I've truly enjoyed throughout the semester. I guess it's my final thank you to them for all that they have taught me.

As I walked into school on Friday I thought about what I would write in student's yearbooks that day as I assumed I would at least be asked by a few. I knew it would not be the "Have a bitch'n summer" that is sprinkled throughout most of my middle school yearbooks or the "Have a great life!" that is ubiquitous in the graduating senior yearbook. I chose to individualize each one, careful to change things up for every student as I know that they share everything with each other. (They even take pictures of what people write and Instragram, etc., them - yes really they do!) What an enjoyable day that was to spend both periods signing yearbooks, sharing summer plans and assuring them I would be a graduation.

When lunch arrived and the seniors dispersed to other parts of campus or further, I had a thought of wishing that I had my own yearbook which the students could have signed in. The thought moved on and minutes later when it was time to close up the room I looked toward the board and found these:

Six of my lovely seniors had written on my board - what a huge treat! In a way it was my own personal yearbook. I couldn't help but take photos to add to the wonderful positive memories that my Student Teaching semester has given me. Funny I've just realized that by taking a photo and now blogging about it, I've done exactly what some of my seniors have done. If they only knew - hehe.

My own high school yearbooks sit just above me on a shelf where I am now, folded into my favorite chair at my computer. I have not looked at them in a long time but perhaps I'll get them out tonight and flip through my senior year yearbook to look back at how my fellow students viewed me and the world when we were 18. Maybe...

Summer is almost here - lots of cooking, gardening, canning, sewing, quilting, reading, spending time with friends, blogging, and recording are on my list. What is on yours?

Enjoy your Sunday~

Susan