As part of the cruise of the Columbia and Snake Rivers that I am on, today some of us went on an excursion to Pendleton, Oregon. The main purpose of ..read more

Today I started a cruise down the Snake then Columbia River. The cruise started in Clarkston, Washington. Clarkston is seemingly a twin city with Lewiston which is on the other ..read more

Yesterday I went on what is pretty much a nerd tour of Hanford Reactor B. Hanford is the Department of Energy facility where they made plutonium to make nuclear bombs, and Reactor B was the first reactor built during World War II to make plutonium. It is now a National Historic Landmark. The tour included a long bus ride to the site, which gives you a better understanding of just how big Hanford is. The tour then includes several hours to wander around the building, and several presentations by docents. I still can’t quite get over the fact that the public can tour a building where they used t ..read more

A friend of mine really liked the parabola bargello quilt I made for myself. She asked if I could maker her one with a sine wave in her favorite colors of blues and purples. I agreed, but I told her she would have to wait a while. She recently retired, so I made it for her as a retirement gift. I am happy with the way it came out. I quilted it to emphasize the sine wave pattern, by an echoing technique. I had a bunch of leftover fabric that I had already sewed via the bargello technique, so I used much of it to sew two pillow shams as well as a small throw pillow. sine wave bargello quilt s ..read more

One of the things I like about making things, especially with sewing, is that I can design the thing to my exact specifications. I am going on vacation soon, and I wanted a better camera bag. I have one, but it is heavy, and it is not easy to wear. It also lacks certain features that I wanted. I wanted a lighter weight bag that would still cushion my camera and would travel easier. I also wanted to be able to wear it across my torso or as a backpack. Thus, I designed and built my own. I used denim from an old pair of jeans for the exterior fabric, as I think denim is fairly tough. I also plan ..read more

I came to Niagara Falls for the 2024 total solar eclipse with the idea of spectacular images of the eclipse above the falls. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate. I was really lucky with clear skies for the 2017 eclipse, so the overcast skies was really disappointing. I got a couple of glimpses of the partial eclipse. Totality did not disappoint. It’s been seven years since I last experienced totality, but I feel like totality was more dramatic this time. It was so overcast that it was already cool and not bright, so when totality hit, it felt very much like night and was very dark. Vi ..read more

Surgery for scoliosis was two months ago now, and I am still recovering. My ability to walk is improving slowly as my body adjusts to the new spinal arrangement. I have a limp that is going to take time to fix. I can climb and descend stairs, but I have to hold onto the railing with one hand, and it is really better if my other hand is at least touching the other side. The main part of my house is on the second floor, so I have had to figure out how to get things up and down the stairs if I want to live on my own. There are a couple of solutions, but I am engineer, so naturally I installed a s ..read more

Four weeks ago today, I was in the hospital having had surgery to correct my scoliosis the day before. My neurosurgeon said the surgery lasted about six hours, but I was sedated for about 12 hours. They sedated me at about 7:30 a.m., but my neurosurgeon said surgery did not begin until about 9. I woke up after 7 p.m., but my neurosurgeon said surgery ended around 3. I had warned the anesthesiologist before that I was a slow metabolizer. My guess is that they did not give me a reversal, but they just let me sleep after surgery, which was probably a good idea. I have no idea how many people were ..read more

At the age of 49 I was diagnosed with scoliosis. Scoliosis is normally diagnosed far earlier in life. My scoliosis is not some sort of weird adult onset type. In fact my neurosurgeon pointed out evidence on some of my spinal images that showed how long it had been there, but I am getting ahead of myself. I can remember in junior high when everyone had to go to the gym in shifts, separating the girls and the boys, to be checked for scoliosis. My maternal grandmother had scoliosis, so I was at increased risk, yet it was not caught when I was young. I have never had good posture, but now I look b ..read more

I have been in old Quebec City for three full days, and it has been a lovely visit. Old Quebec is compact and walkable with the exception of the fact that old Quebec is really just a series of stairs and slopes. Thus something may be just four blocks away, but it is also the equivalent of eight stories higher, so plan accordingly. The old town is surrounded by its original fortification walls, with a citadel at the highest point. Many of the streets are cobblestone, and most of the buildings are clearly original ..read more