What a Day

First, let me apologize for not visiting anyone yesterday.  I had just started on my day, checked in on a few people, showered and started to walk the dog when I got a panicked phone call from Anna that she and Ryan had both forgotten their name badges for the science fair.  So I rushed up to the mall to drop those off and the rest of the day was a blur.  I went around to visit all my students and had lunch with my science teacher friend before coming back home to gather everyone up before going out to dinner before the awards ceremony. 

Special awards are first on the agenda.  Anna had a brand new project this year, and she was worried that she didn't know it as well as she knew her stuff from earlier multi-year projects.  She moved into engineering this year though, which is such a great field for women.  Some of her judges were seriously trying to convince her to change her major into biomedical engineering.  We were so hopeful for a SWE (Society of Women Engineers) award.  We didn't know anything about though a Mainstream Engineering award which was given to a someone from the senior and the junior categories.  Anna was just walking off the the stage with hers when they announced Sydney's name! 

 So Anna turned right back around and gave her little sister a great big hug.  I was in the audience crying like a baby.  As much as sister's can bicker, it is awesome to see them support one another. 

Then the place awards.  Sydney first in junior environmental engineering.  Ryan second in robots and programing something.  Anna first in engineering.  We were all so happy.  The kids had all kind of sleuthed the places out ahead of time  based on who the best of show judges visited on the second day.  They are all so sneaky in their spy craft.  I must say, they were all pretty accurate in their predictions.  We were all happy and ready to round it up when they started announcing Best of Show and called Sydney's name as runner up.  Boy were we shocked!  She had a nice simple little middle school project, but she sure knew her stuff. 

Then the main contender for best of show in the senior division got runner up and we were all stumped.  When they called Anna's name for best of show I thought her head might explode.  She was so shocked that she could hardly get up to walk across the stage.  Best of Show comes with an automatic bid to the International Science and Engineering fair in Pittsburgh.  I have never seen a kid so darned excited about a trip to Pittsburgh.  I'm still not sure she has completely come to terms with the idea.  I think I have her convinced that they didn't give the award to the wrong person by mistake.  

Here they all are with their ribbons at the end of the awards ceremony.  

 And all of us together.  What a night!  I'm sorry to go on so long, but I am so proud of all of them!  The next few months will be busy with follow up contests and next level fairs.  All so exciting!  Today I am a soggy mess of nothing.  We filled out lots of paperwork and tried to catch up on laundry and normal weekend things.  Honestly, it has not been a productive day in any way. 

I do have a few new hexies to add to the mix.  It was fun to dip into some darker purples and think about how the setting might work.  I really kind of like the idea of the little triplets of white for linking.  No need to decide now though.  I think I'll do some more prep work while the cross country skiing continues on the Olympics.  I would have loved to watch figure skating last night, but it is still fun to watch all the festivities, no matter the sport.  I will go now and peek in on the posts of yesterday and see what everyone is up to on Slow Stitching Sunday.  Nothing special in the scrappy category this week for Oh Scrap!  Not that there is much in my repertoire which isn't scrappy.  It is fun to see all the Squared Away blocks showing up.  Here I am as a proud mama again.  Now I think my head might be the one ready to explode!  Happy Sunday everyone.  Thanks for sticking in there with me through the non-quilting stuff.  I'm sure real sewing will happen again someday!

Back into Home Mode

 How wonderful it feels to be home again.  Back in my own bed.  Caught up on laundry.  I got the first two sections of OMG sewn together.  Just one more section to go......  I am hoping to be able to settle in and get quite a bit done before we have to be off again for our family vacation later this summer.  

 Anna and I had a great time at Genius Olympiad.  It was quite chilly in upstate New York.  A nice change really from the summer baking of Florida.  Anna thought that staying in dorms and eating dorm food was quite exotic.

They had chipmunks!  So much cuter than our squirrels, though they had those as well.  

Anna met a nice group of girls from Florida.   They were mostly from a private school in Orlando.  Also, two sweet girls from Kentucky who were in the short film category.  Kelly came alone from Pensacola and she joined us later for the college tours.  

After getting an only an honorable mention last year, Anna was so excited with her gold medal this year!  I'm so proud of her for sticking with it and improving her project so much.  

Niagara falls was quite damp!  Because we had done the boat tour last year, we went into the caves this year and enjoyed the view very much. 

 Then we were off for a New York, DC and Ivy league tour.  I had never been to the city before.  It was quite stimulating.  We had already done the DC tour not too long ago, but there is always more to see there.  I learned quite a bit during the college tours.  It was a glimpse of the road not taken.  I was so thankful to be going to college at all, and fancy out of state schools were never on my radar.  It was all very enticing though, so much opportunity for the lucky few.
Now it is back to real life again.  Anna and Ryan both have summer courses to work on.  Sydney seems to be wasting her summer away on Netflix.  Maybe I'll go and see if I can get them moving.

Science Fair

Another regional science fair has come and gone.  Anna had fun doing her project this year and learned how to use scanning and transmission electron microscopes.  She collected mangrove leaves near oyster reef restoration projects to see if the added calcium had a positive impact on the thickness of the cell walls.  

 She got her first ever first place ribbon!  She was so excited and will be going on to the state science fair! She also got an invitation to the Genius Olympiad again which was the fair last summer in upstate New York.  Fatima was in the computers and math category this year and finished second to the best of show winner.  Not too bad at all!

There was also a college scholarship and some cash and a backpack from the Air Force.  I'm forgetting something I am sure, but it was a great night all around.  River was first again in Animal Science, and runner up for best of show.  That means he has a run off to find out if he will get an invitation to the international fair.  We went out to dinner after the awards and Anna was all tired out, but happy and excited.  I'll spend today getting caught up on all that I missed yesterday.  I glanced at the ScrapHappy Saturday posts, but haven't taken the time yet to leave a single comment.  Bad hostess!  Plenty of time to fix that, I'm sure all the kids will be sleeping late.  

Three Down.....

Just pulled the Rainbow Scrap Challenge Sawtooth Sampler of 2015 off of the quilting frame!  I'm going to sit and admire it for a few minutes, but maybe after that I'll trim the edges and make up some binding?  Or maybe tomorrow?  The main project for tomorrow will be to start the reorganization of the sewing room.  With Kurt home, he can offer lifting and carrying help.  

Anna sent this photo of her using the scanning electron microscope at FIT today.  Doesn't she look all official?  I hope her data turns out.  She sure is learning a lot during the process.  

Weekend Wrap-Up

 Fair weekend has come and gone.  Many ribbons were awarded, along with scholarships and cash and assorted goodies.

 The best of show winners will be moving on to international in Pittsburg while the first place winners will move on to the state competition in Lakeland.  

 Anna's project won second in her category.  The first place winner went on to best of show, though, so she felt good about her red ribbon.

Here she is at her board.  She continued on with her project from last year about water quality, but added brine shrimp to her oyster shells.  Despite missing out on a state bid, she has been invited to compete in 4 other follow up contests.  She is most excited about one called I-SWEEEP which takes place Houston in May.  It is an international environmental science fair and she has already started chatting with some other participants from Sweden.

Here are Anna and River after the awards.  They have been spending quite a bit of time together since Science Olympiad last month.
So, as you can see, there hasn't been much sewing time as of late.  I keep thinking that things will slow down soon, but I am constantly surprised as new things pop up. 

New York Beauty 5

 Yesterday was a supersize day and a half.  Finishing up exams is greuling, science fair is in full swing, and Christmas festivities are frantic.  I came home exhausted and collapsed at 9 something.  Passing out at 9 something came with waking up at 4 something, and I felt like getting some work done.  So here is New York Beauty block 5!  Very sunny, right?

 Look at the spark that it adds to the NYB wall so far.  Who knew I could do that?  I sure didn't!

I have been officially tasked with construction of new science fair boards for next year.  We've been using these giant wooden tri-folds.  This year we got a big fancy printer though, and these PVC frames are supposed to support the printed posters at fair.  It should be much easier to transport.  Kurt did the cutting, 'cause I'm a little terrified of large power tools.  I've just been doing the assembly at school between exams.  So, 15 down, 45 more to go.
Speaking of count downs.  LAST DAY before winter break.  Just two exams today and then finishing the grading and the last minute odds and ends.  Yahooo! 

Science Fair

 Anna had an amazing night at the science fair awards!  Lots of specialty awards including money, certificates and plaques.  Two invitations to compete in further contests, and a second place ribbon.

Here she is in front of her board.  Her project?  Using oyster shells to reduce the nitrates and phosphates in the Indian River Lagoon.  We are so happy that she had such a good night.  It was so much fun to see her keep going up to walk across the stage.
Poor Ryan wasn't quite as lucky and failed to get a bid to state for Legos.  I keep reminding him that he is still going to state for Mathcounts, but he is still sad.  Good lessons to learn.  

Slow Stitching Sunday - Superbowl Edition

 Yesterday was full of driving back and forth to the mall for science fair.  I had my handy little bag of handwork available for down time and managed to sew a melon or two on Cheiko's Calla Lilly which is Dear Jane J-10.  The last time is sewed this block, all the points got cut off when I sewed them together, so this time I marked the seam allowance with a blue water soluble pen.  Do you see the little handmade bag?  It was a gift from my blog friend Amanda and it makes me smile whenever I use it.  She has broken her arm recently falling on ice, so I am sure some love and warm wishes from us all would be most welcome.

So here is Anna getting her 4th place ribbon for her science fair project.  She was a little bit disappointed, but has already started to plan improvements for next year.  I try not to be one of THOSE parents when it comes to science fair, but I did try to offer some encouraging advice.  Our school did quite well with prizes and four of the top winners were my students, three from AP Biology and one from my Honors Biology class.  They are all invited to the state science fair as well as international which I think is in Phoenix this year.
The Super Bowl is tonight, and though I do have to keep asking to be reminded who the two teams are, we will still watch as a family.  One of our neighbors has a party each year so we will probably visit with them for a while as well.  Maybe I will get some more handwork done during the game, as the commercials are the fun part for me.  

Purple Prep

I always have big plans for getting some sewing done in the evenings while Kurt is out of town.  Usually I am about done by the end of my day as a single parent and collapse on the couch instead of getting something useful accomplished.  This time though, I focused on getting a little bit of purple preparation done, and made nice progress.   Every purple block is at least partially ready to go.  Some just have fabric and a pattern collected into a baggie and some are prepped for applique or cut out and ready to sew.  These three just happened to get finished while the sorting and organizing was underway.  The first block is H-2, Jacob Anthony. The one is the middle is C-5, Eye of the Cyclone.  Last on the right is J-4 which is called Adeline's Apron Strings.
Science Fair is this weekend, it is Anna's turn this time, she will be at the mall all day Friday and half a day Saturday.  Sydney still has the second level to look forward to, so the season isn't quite over yet.  They are both looking forward to wearing their new clothes, I'll have to remember to take a picture.  

Science Fair

Anna and Ryan both competed at the next level of science fair yesterday. Today we got notified that they had both won prizes. We are just back from celebratory ice cream following the awards ceremony.

Anna won third place in 6th grade biological for her project on the effect of UV radiation on e. coli growth. 

Ryan earned a 1st place ribbon in 5th grade environmental for his project on the effect of rising ocean temperature due to global warming on the rate of photosynthesis of elodea.
I've got a stack of school work to try to finish tonight so that I leave with out guilt for spring break.  In just a few short days I'll be on the sunny beaches of Mexico with a margarita and good book. 

Tiny Tuesday - Work in Progress

I meant to work on a Midget Block last night as soon as the kids were in bed.  Kurt is out of town, so there isn't much extra time when everyone is awake.  When I woke up on the couch at 8:15, they kids had already tucked themselves in and I couldn't ever get woken up enough to accomplish much at that point.  I was sure I'd be able to whip one up tonight, but I came home to a chorus of excited voices letting me know that the science fair winners needed to go to an awards ceremony instead. 

So here is Anna with her award for 6th grade in the category of biological, and Ryan with his award for 5th grade in environmental.  They are all quite excited of course and wanted to know if they could have celebratory frozen yogurt after the awards. Can't say no to that. 

Finally, here I am with all the kids stuff done, and not a lot of time and energy. Applique fits that bill nicely, so I pulled out one of the blocks that was prepped and ready from the cruise at Christmas.  There is still one petal to sew down, so I thought I'd show a shot of how I prepare my pieces for applique.  Tracing the template onto freezer paper, I iron the shiny side down to the wrong side of the fabric and cut out with a quarter inch seam allowance.  After clipping the curves, I use a glue stick to turn the edges under, sticking them right to the paper.  I sew everything down with the freezer paper still in there, using a blind hem stitch.  Although it is a bit stiff, and hard on the thread, it allows the edges to stay just where you want them without the skill and finesse needed for needle turn.  The finished block takes a quick bath in the sink, to dissolve the glue, and then the paper comes out easily after the background fabric has been trimmed away.  Teresa at Fabric Therapy has some nice tutorials for glue-stick applique, though she puts her freezer paper on the right side of the fabric.   I've tried it this way, as it solves the problem of having to remove the paper from the back later, but it seems to take a bit of skill and I just don't have the knack yet. 

Monday Miscellany

I had grand plans of quilting maniacally on the long three day weekend.  Instead we spent most of the time working on science fair projects.  As a science teacher, I should really love science fair projects more.  All the research was already done, but there was still typing and printing and pasting to finish.

Ryan studied the effect of different temperatures on the rate of photosynthesis in elodea.  See his nice bubble graphs?  He learned a lot about using excel spread sheets. 

Anna tried to kill E. coli with UV light. I learned that working with bacteria isn't worth all the paperwork involved. 

I tried to sneak in a few minutes of sewing in amongst all the science fair fun. So far I have the first few rows of Flamingo Bay sewn together. I only had to frog stitch one block today because it was rotated the wrong way. Yesterday I sewed backwards more than forward.

Home Stretch

Tomorrow is the last school day before spring break!!  I don't think it has quite sunk in yet that I am going to have a week off.  The last time I was supposed to have a vacation I ended up taking a new job and missing out completely.  It is going to be nice to be able to spend a couple of days at home.  There will be time to finish off mom's chemo quilt and to get some work done for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I'm feeling a bit guilty about not having participated in my own challenge in recent weeks. 
Tonight was the awards ceremony for Anna's science fair project.  I know we already did an award thing for her project, but that one was for the school and tonight was the district level.  She was so happy with her 4th place ribbon and is already planning project ideas for next year.
It was a big day on the family front.  My mom had her first round of chemo and it all went great!  She isn't feeling any side effects yet and is upbeat about the results.  We are all working hard at keeping a positive attitude.  Kurt's mom had a shoulder replacement surgery today.  She is still feeling numb from the nerve block they used and will stay in the hospital overnight while that wears off. 
I guess that is all.  I need to go and look over the tests that I am giving tomorrow.  We have this nifty new grade camera thing that is supposed to grade them instantaneously.  If only it could score the essay questions I would be a happy camper.