Quilts as Art

      For a while now, my pals Jean and Jan have been telling me to go to the Visions Art Museum at Liberty Station in San Diego.  They know I love to quilt, and Visions is a museum dedicated to promoting and appreciating quilt as fine art.  I am so thankful I took their advice and visited! (check out www.visionsartmuseum.org for a cyber-visit...you may not get to experience the textures and colors in person, but it's worth a gander.)

     I arrived at the museum early this morning, determined to do something for my brain rather than join in the frenzy of last minute shopping for stuff we don't need.  If the early bird gets the worm, my was fat and juicy...I managed to piggy-back on a tour lead by an artist who teaches "Artful Quilting" through Adult Learning at San Diego City Schools.  One of the students, Sally, took me under her wing (another bird cliche...).  

     It turns out Sally is also a docent at the museum and had the inside skinny on how to curate a quilt show.  To say these pieces are stunning is an understatement.  Many of the artists dye their own fabric.  Some use a technique called "sun printing."  Sally explained that the artist brushes a special chemical on the fabric, then places leaves or other objects on top and leaves it in the sun.  I remember making pictures on paper using a similar technique in Girl Scouts as a child.  A variety of fabric, additional paint, and finally stitching create more layers of design to these contemporary pieces.  

    The teacher pointed out the rhythm of the stitching.  One piece was whole cloth silk rather than patchwork.  The artist painted a design on the fabric, then with silk embroidery floss hand-sewed an amazing texture and design.  One woman said she would go crazy sewing in that detail.  The teacher said hand-stitching is a meditative process.  You are not out of your mind, but in your mind.

     As a novice quilter, I am still quite taken with how quilts are assembled.  I like to look at the back to see what the artist has done with the side most people never see.  (Perhaps all those years as a journalist looking at the underbelly of life left its mark...)  Touching quilts is a big no-no, but my new friend Sally whipped a white glove out of her purse to show me the backs. A Japanese artist whose work was included in this juried show used a beautiful kimono on the back of a geometric quilt.  It was stunning: a total surprise.  The teacher said the back of a quilt should be like fine lingerie.  Not everyone gets to see it, but you know it's there.

     My quilting is no where near the quality of the pieces I saw today. But isn't it wonderful there are places we can go to see inspiration and imagination at work.  And it's equally wonderful when we run into a person like Sally, who is open to sharing her knowledge and has a white glove in her purse!

     

Christmas To Go

 There's a group of RVer's here called Happy Campers. Four times a year they get together for food, fellowship and fun.  At Christmas, they decorate their rolling homes with enough lights to rival Broadway.  Many have been in the group since it started 20 years ago as a club for people with Dolphin brand RVs.  Now the club is open to anyone who wants to get together for over-the-top festivities.

The RV park is open to the public on December 9-10.  It's a tradition that many in the community look forward to attending.

 We were impressed by how inclusive it was...as you can see, there is something for everyone.  Our favorite decoration was an inflatable airstream with Santa popping out of the side door.  One fellow camper told us she saw it on line and it retails for $168.  Obviously, these folks spare no expense.  They also get together at Halloween and create a spooky street.  Last night's full moon would have been perfect for that!

From Soup to Nuts...

Sunday was moving day. We didn't have far to go, just down the road and around the corner. It seems December is a big month here at the Chula Vista RV Resort. Lots of big groups come from all over the US and Canada to enjoy our lovely weather and the cultural flavor of the area. These BFF's from parts unknown like to park together, so we went to an empty spot in the back corner. Our new view is spectacular. We are parked on the marina facing southwest.

Moving didn't take as long as I expected. With the push of a button, we brought in all three slides (slides create rooms in RV lingo), then disconnected various hoses, cords, and cables.

With the help of a backup camera on the truck, Larry connected the fifth wheel to the hitch in the bed of the truck and we were ready to travel. I walked the short distance to our new spot while Larry drove around the long way, avoiding tight turns. Once he got to the spot, the idea was to have me "help" guide him as he backed up the trailer. If you are married, you can skip the next part, because you know how it went.

RV étiquette says that if a couple is moving in, you don't go say your hellos until the deed is done. Apparently, a couple here didn't follow that sage advice. First, they corralled me into a conversation, then when Larry got out of the truck and made a dramatic show of doing MY job and HIS job, the talking man said, "that's a piece of cake. I'm a retired truck driver. I could do that for you easy." He then proceeded to stand in front of the truck hollering directions about which way to turn the wheel. In the meantime, something shiny caught my eye and I lost track of the task at hand. Poor Larry. Anyway, we're in, we're hooked up, and we're staying put.

Last Sunday was much more fun. We took our bikes on the trolley and went north to the City College stop. We rode our bikes up Park Blvd. into Balboa Park, where the roses are in bloom, then on to Hillcrest. Just our luck, the Hillcrest Farmer's Market was in full swing. Lunch for me was a tamale. For Larry, a sausage sandwich. We also picked up various fruit and veggies and a bag of organic split peas which I made into soup yesterday.

Here's the soup recipe, made in a crockpot. With crusty bread and a crisp chardonnay, it was the perfect meal for moving day!

Slow cooker Split Pea Soup (from the Hillcrest Farmer's Market)

16 oz. dried green split peas, rinsed

1 meaty hambone or 2 ham hocks

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

1/2 chopped onion

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 T. salt

1/2 t. pepper

1 1/2 qts. hot water

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given; pour in water. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours until peas are soft and ham falls off bone. Remove bones and bay leaf. Mash or process peas to thicken more, if desired. Freezes well.

Living the Dream...

It's a relief to be homeless. I say that tongue in cheek, because I know just how lucky I am. In the span of two months, we sold our house, stashed our stuff in storage, and moved into a 38-foot Redwood fifth-wheel RV. We're what the RV community calls "Full-timers."

This blog will chronicle our life over the next year. It's all new and shiny now, but I know it will not always be easy. I will miss the day-t0-day interaction with my friends. I will miss my church community. I won't miss the traffic noise behind my former house, the barking dogs next door, or a house-full of chores.

As a child, my favorite book series was "The Boxcar Children" by Gertrude Chandler Warner. In it, four orphaned siblings create a home in a boxcar in an effort to stay together.

To me, there is something so wonderfully appealing in the idea of creating a little home with a neat little kitchen, a sleeping area and shared chores for all. I always wanted to live in a boxcar, and now, with a modern twist, I get the chance. Granted, it's not an abandoned boxcar. The Alden children in Warner's classic would have marveled at the woodwork, the Corian counters, the high-definition TVs. I would have to agree, and add that it is wonderfully cozy. The brochure boasts the 6-4-2 Baby Boomer Rule for Entertaining: 6 for cocktails, 4 for dinner, 2 for sleep. As Benjamin Franklin said, "A place for everything, and everything in its place." It's the perfect scenario for a person with mild OCD.

Full-timers are quick to point out that even though they may reside in an "RV Resort," they are not on vacation. There are still the mundane tasks of life to do: grocery shopping, paying bills, laundry, etc. Larry continues to fly his regular schedule Southwest Airlines.

I found out the hard way that there are some additional chores that must be done regularly. Namely, the tanks need to be dumped. There are three tanks: the galley tank which is "grey tank 1," the shower tank, which is "grey tank 2," and the aptly named "black tank," which I'm sure you can figure out. If you don't drain the tanks regularly, you'll get rising water in an unsubtle way. Now I check the tanks regularly and dump as needed.

For the most part, my chores are anything inside the trailer, Larry's are the jobs that happen on the outside. Also, I don't drive the truck that pulls the trailer. It's just better that way...

So I hope I will have something interesting to say about being a full-timer. One thing is certain: I'm excited to make our way across the country and spend a little time in a few of the unique communities that make up this wonderful country.