Noogle

Yesterday was David's first day at a new amazing job, it was also Kathryn's birthday but I'll talk about that when she receives her late present from me. (cause it's all about me?)
So, sorry but this post is for David. Our 2nd born baby boy, who is now almost 30 years old.

David and his wife Kara

Yess-er-ee! David got a job working for Google in the "Maps" area which is right up his alley.
He has been looking for about a year and a half for a job and meanwhile found a second job at Games Workshop, a little retail shop up at Stoneridge Mall clear up in Pleasanton. His original job at Mens Wearhouse has been ongoing part and full time for 11 years. He started working for them while he was in High School, and then after his mission he went back to MW Tux store and kept going to school while he worked and started a family.

David and his baby L

He now has been married for nearly 8 years, has 3 cute kids, graduated from San Jose State, and received his masters degree from there as well. All the while he has worked really hard at one full time and one part time job, and trying to find a better job this past while, but to no avail.
His resume had gone out to literally hundreds of businesses and some head hunter type woman found it on Monster.com. She saw he had a Masters Degree in Geography and she knew she had a placement for him at Google.

Now our David is a new Google employee. A Noogle.
His first day there were 90 new employees orienting at the main building on the HUGE campus in Mountain View, CA. There are 7.2 million square feet in the Mountain View facility. There are 32,500 employees worldwide and many more who are consultants, like David.
He is going to take a shuttle to work and save on the gas, he will be able to eat lunch in one of the 27 cafeteria/cafe's on the campus, and so many other amenities.
Last week our paper had a story about the best places to work in the USA. Google made #1.
So, bottom line, David is now working for the #1 employer in the Nation.
Not bad, eh?

Pillowcase Quotes

My friend in another ward (congregation) at church asked me to help her with a pillowcase project for the children in the wards' birthdays.
The Primary theme for this year must include something about Choosing the Right and so she is having me print with my handy dandy sewing machine on each of the cases, "I Can Choose the Right." They will be given to the kids for their birthdays throughout this year.

We decided to use a font that comes with the machine, and so hit set up fairly easily as soon as we figured out just what it was that we wanted it to look like, and its size, etc.

Now I just have to decide which color of thread to use for which color of pillowcase. Such a hard decision I know, but wanting the kids to enjoy the individual case that they receive is a bit of a concern.

Here is my beginning assortment. I'm going to have the gal that requested these do all the thread clipping and ironing, etc.
I'm whipping them out between all my other projects and it's going to work out just fine.
I think I'll make some for my own grandchildren too. Always getting ideas.

Dress-Up Dress

It is almost our Lena's 4th birthday and she loves to play "dress-up" so I thought I'd make her a cute little non-Disney dress so she can use her imagination as she plays.
It's not that I don't like Disney, or the idea that Princesses always have bad step mothers, or that a Prince type will always rescue you in this life if you are beautiful, or , or,   ....., but, .... well, .....I guess sort of.

I had this old pattern from 1993 that I made a Belle costume for my own daughters out of. (See! I like Disney after all.)

And I had some red flowing organza type fabric and some silver lame' so I got it going without going to the store.

 I also had some cheap trims that I thought would contrast and make it look quite costumey for a little girl.

 Still didn't have to go to the store.

 The sleeves have an inner sleeve to keep the top cap all full when it is being worn. It is smaller and is sewn to the bottom part of the sleeve with the fuller upper sleeve into the same seam. This causes it to puff out over the bottom sleeve.

 I put the lace and sequin trim all around the peplum of the skirt too, just to give it a little kick.

The back of the dress.

 Bottom of the dress.

 And the front.

Cute, huh?
She opened the gift up and immediately put it on. I didn't have a camera, but I'll steal a shot of it off of her mom.

……Here it is. The girl is definitely cuter than the dress.
Pretty good for not going to the store. I told the Hubby it was free.

Stephanie - One More Item

Having my DD around for the holiday, and me getting all my old fabric out to dress the shepherds and angels at Christmas were the two things that led to the number of new clothes Stephanie now has in her closet.
Last on the list was a vest done out of the beautiful purple fabric that I made some Christmas jumper/skirt out of for Katz's little girls.

 I lined it with some old gold shiny fabric and I think the lapels turned out great. Again I made some buttons out of the fabric because that's the mode I'm in right now... self fabric buttons. Beautiful.

Can't wait to get a picture of her in this very versatile vest. VVV Voom.
The pattern was again from my stash and you will soon see another from this very pattern for my other DD.

I love having an assortment of different patterns so I don't have to go to the store.

Daughter Apron

After seeing the little granddaughter aprons, my own daughter really wanted one.

So I told Stephanie that I'd make one for her after she was back in Utah. There is obviously no fitting involved in making an apron, so I didn't want to waste the time she was here with me sewing something for which I didn't need her to be present.

 The name and initial were a must in the plan.

 And I thought she needed a little food item so everyone understands the use of the finished product.

Notice the red stripe "ticking" from my childhood stash being used again. If I don't watch it I may run out of this sooner rather than later.
Cute stuff.

Good News

Just click on my Elder Michael (Missionary) picture to the left and check out the VISA news. Still more waiting to come, but at least we know all is not at a standstill.
Go Michael.
Keep praying for the Visa to be expedited.

Vintage Pattern - 1986

Simplicity 7603 is the next pattern I grabbed out of my stash for Stephanie's wardrobe.
I had some fabric left over from a wool grey pinstriped dress I made last year for Kathryn.

This  needed to be fitted quickly because Steph was leaving in a day or two and I wanted to make vest as well.
So I pinned it together and then sewed it after she had left to go back to Utah and her life as a teacher and student instead of a daughter in our household.

 This is the 8 gore completed skirt from the front.....

and from the back. The three back pleats with a little belt connecting them really make the back. The self fabric buttons on the belt sides also adds character.
Hope it fits and she likes it.
I love the fabric and it should go with a hundred things.

1970's Jumper

I purchased some nice tweedy brown wool last winter in NYC and thought I'd make something for Stephanie from it. We went through many old patterns and picked Simplicity 8904 which cost me 85 cents when I purchased it for a drum majorette costume in the 8th grade.

Yep, that's it all right. Now I have to go find a picture of me drum majoretting.

 Yep, that's me all right.  Do you like the retro look just scanned and all faded?

 Or should I clean it up with an automatic color balance button?

This was the first year of a new West Junior High School and I was in the 8th grade. Gail Packard, a 9th grader further away from the camera, is the other shorter majorette leading the band. I wrote on the back of the picture, "The twirlers in back of us are MaryLou Dawson, Ranya West, and Brenda Gordon.
In front of us are the banner girls (not pictured) Sarah (Dufford), Susan (Martin), Pam Motts, Gina Hall, & Denise Pond."
Susan and Sarah were a couple of my best girlfriends.

 Here I am on our back lawn at 717 Pacific Drive. The back of this one says, "This is me in 8th grade - 13 yrs. old, and majorette. First year at West Gold and Black 1972."

Here, my mom got a picture of me (this one is a touched up Polaroid) in front of the band who didn't have new uniforms yet with the new school colors.
The outfit I still have is a black velveteen jumper with a double knit gold turtleneck shirt under. I made it all and the buttons were covered with the gold fabric. I used Jan Christensen's old majorette boots and they were too big and I was mad that my parents wouldn't buy some for me.

Man ..... look at those stick thin legs.

Here's my little sister Camille with her french horn in the band. Isn't she cute?

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But, I wasn't talking about me to begin this, was I?

The jumper for Stephanie. Yes.

 She wanted pockets on it and I wanted it lined so that it would fit her without any bunching.

All finished. She sent me a picture of it from her iPhone.
Looks good sweets! What a grown up you are in your very own classroom.

Visit from Jonathan

We weren't able to have our oldest son home for the holidays because he couldn't take time off from the Great Harvest Bakery where he was working in Salt Lake City. Stephanie was able to see Jonathan coming and going to the airport for her trip home. He drove her to and from and then got the privilege of using her car while she was here.
He got up to Mantua and spend some time with GG Hodgman on Christmas day, and actually saw his little bro. all Elder'd out on Christmas Eve., but he missed his other immediates I would like to suppose.

Steph sent this surprising picture from her iPhone 

Remember how he looked the last time he was home?

So after the new year started and things slowed down to normal, he came to LG for the week. He also brought his friend Lindsay and they came to the city (SF) to play with me on Tuesday. (I had already made plans to go with John up to SF and spend a few days while he was at a medical investors conference.

 Here we are up at Twin Peaks after exploring the fascinating and somewhat odd MOMA.

 Momma and Jonathan.

 Jonathan and Papa. (what handsome guys!!)

On Thursday we went to Castle Rock and had a nice hike. (As if I needed more hills after walking around San Francisco for 3 days. Crazy.)

It was a really beautiful week weather wise. We are experiencing near high temperatures for the date in the afternoons and near low temps in the morning hours. Real unusual for this time of year when it is usually raining like mad.

Thanks for coming to spend a bit of time with your parentals.

Backyard Update

Thought I'd post a few pictures of our lovely back yard as the holiday's have past us by.

 The general theme of all these pictures of course is, "Find out how many different trenches and types of pipe can be buried in a 1000ish square foot area in our back yard."

Drainage comes in many sizes and flavors.There is surface drainage, subsurface drainage, 

irrigation, and the like.

Here he is just destroying the top corner of the shallow end of the pool.

 Then they put boards in its place.

Many many pipes around the pool and hot tub are being uncovered and investigated as to what their purposes are.

 I'm gonna copy a picture and label all these pipes and trenches in case we ever have a problem with any electricity, sewer, storm drains, or gas leaks.

 Gotta have drain pipes behind all the walls and under all the doors??????

 Does the cable line have to be in a separate pipe from the phone line?  How about the electricity?  Low voltage or 110V?

 Ummm, interesting looking rebar around the outside of the new pool basin is being constructed here.

Many irrigation pipes going in and out of this one. There will also be one in the little indentation immediately next to the house to catch any excess moisture from the vents and flower pots.

Is this a little crazy, over excessive?

                              

Rebar is forming the structures for stone walls and pool wall/lower pool basin.

 Now this looks like its taking shape with the gunite addition to the pool. Lets check out the basin on the other side of this fresh new wall.

Awesome.

There will be a separate filter and water return for this little basin next to the new patio, so there shouldn't be any accidents with water from the main pool overflowing or anything terrible like that. The 3 little indentations with pipes flowing in will be small waterfalls coming into the basin. 

Cool, huh?

Just one issue.  We got just a couple days of work done during the past 2 weeks because when the inspector came to check out the pool addition construction, he noticed the extensive wall work and thought we needed more permits. The City employees were on vacation, so let's wait. Just because it's December and the weather is feeling like October does not mean we should rush to beat the rains of winter....... or does it?

Not fun.