Caution: Perfectionist at work
We have been back home for a week, adjusting to "normal" life again.  Some aspects (farmers' markets, playing with friends, cooking, playing with the girls and their favorite toys, having a nice big house just for the four of us, etc.) are very nice; other aspects are a littler harder to return to (cleaning that same big house, dealing with a garden left unattended in July for three weeks, alarm clocks in the morning, going back to work and so on).
I have picked back up on my quilting projects- currently four baby quilts for various friends underway.  I like to do the same phases of things at the same time; cutting, piecing, quilting, binding etc on all of them rather than doing one quilt at a time.  This week I have been finishing quilting the layers together.  Upon review, after finishing the last with a very nice quilting job, I realized that one poor quilt was not so well done.  Someone (there is no need to place the blame) must not have been paying attention or being careful, and there is bunching, warping of the cloth (I like to use flannel, which is colorful and soft but stretches terribly), and all sorts of other issues.  I asked Patrick if he saw any mistakes, and instead of picking up on what I thought was a glaring issue in one corner, he noticed that there was a block out of place.  Right in the middle.  Shame and annoyance, all at the same time.  
I woke up this morning with the realization that I will (no question) be taking the quilt apart, taking out all of the quilting stitches and unpiecing it until I can get to the misplaced square and fix it.  While I have been assured that the quilt is fine (isn't the hand made look the point of a hand made gift?) I just cannot send this off.  I mean, how can I sentence some poor baby to wonder why they got the POS quilt, when there are all of those other babies out there with nicely made quilts?  Obviously unnaceptable.  You know how particular babies are.
Moral of the story:  In quilting, as in pretty much everything else in life, it is always easier if you find and admit to your mistakes early on.  Fix them then!  Because if you have to go back later, it will be so much harder.  (Secondary moral: Don't marry a perfectionist, because it will make your daily life way more complicated.)

A week in California and Oregon, in pictures (there are many more if you are interested!)
I am so happy to report that the region that I remember as being one of the most beautiful and secluded in the world, the Trinity Alps, still more than meets my expectations.  It was wonderful to return, even more so to bring Patrick there.  There were a few things that have changed from my long ago summer there- the movie theater reopened!  Starbucks!  cell phone reception (even on mountainsides)!  The wilderness was the same, though- incredible.

Patrick had a good time fishing in an assortment of mountain lakes.  I have a photo of him fishing at the lake (Little Boulder) where he caught a rainbow trout, but I was wandering nearby trails and missed the actual photo opportunity.  After one day of hiking near Weaverville, we stopped at the bar in town so that I could show Patrick the place I hung out- with my mountain friends, a mule packer (yes, this is apparently a profession) and a pot grower (well, it is California)- the sole bar in town, The Diggins.

After a few days in the Trinity Alps, we headed north to Crater Lake, Oregon.

Absolutely incredible.  And, as you can see, I have pictures of Patrick hiking through more snow.  He did enjoy the ability to work on his snowball making and throwing capabilities in late July in both California and Oregon.

We also hiked down the only available trail to test out the waters in the deepest lake in the country.  I am also willing to attest, after managing to get in all of the way and float, that it is probably one of the coldest (Patrick saw that it was about 38 degrees that day).

The final leg of our journey was to the wedding of one of my good friends in Sunriver, Oregon.  It was a wonderful chance to catch up with a group of friends (we rented a house together). And, as one friend noted, Patrick and I did clean up well after our five days of adventuring.  Congratulations, Alexia and Tucker!

A few quick shots from the past week at Henderson Harbor (I am en route to California and very happy for the free internet at the Phoenix airport!).  Sorry for the funky alignment... I am not sure how to fix it and you will enjoy the photographs anyway.
The girls LOVE to swim...

Play with friends...

Go boating...

Go "tubing"...

Go fishing...

Look for sea glass...

And every so often... put on a little attitude...

Next vacation spot... California and Oregon, sans kiddos.  I will have to take pictures of scenery, as there will be no cute kids to look at.   Patrick and I are pretty excited for our getaway to the wilderness... although we are both stuck at airports at this precise moment (him in St. Louis and me in Pheonix) and are not sure exactly when we will arrive there!

So much fun, so few pictures.  I need to do better.  Or just borrow my Mom's, since she has probably taken hundreds already!   We have gotten in some visits with both old and new friends, family, a lot of time in the water, wild blackberries, dead fish (Mariel has so far caught two pre-dead fish.  To her dismay, we have not eaten them), and all of the delights that make up a summer visit to Henderson Harbor.
Tomorrow morning is the annual visit to the Jefferson County Fair.  If you don't recall my love of the county fair, you can return to blog postings for July 2009.  Thursday- Dairy cow competition, 9 AM.  Brown Swiss.  I am so unreasonably excited.  Oh, yeah- I will bring the girls, too.
The drawback to all of the excitement is some seriously overtired children by the end of the day.  Mariel is just killing me with her whininess and drama.  Today I had to carry her, literally kicking, up the stairs to get ready for bed.  She kicked the wall, at which point I (roughly) put her down and yelled at her.  We got into the bathroom, and I asked if she thought I had any more patience.  "No, Mom. You have lost your patience," she said.  "I think you have lost two patiences."  I started to laugh and agreed, "That is probably right."  "Its okay," she said, "if you ask nicely you can probably get one back."

We made it!
Mariel, Noella and I made it to Henderson Harbor after our 2 day journey in the car.  We are happy to be here- the girls LOVE the water and the boat, and it appears that their grandparents are also pretty happy to have them around :)
A few surprising (or maybe not) facts about our journey:
20 minutes: the amount of time we were in the car before the first "I need to go potty!" emergency was declared
3: the number of times stopped on our first day for Mariel's emergency potty breaks.  Number of times that she ACTUALLY had to go to the bathroom: 1
3: the number of times we stopped on our first day for Noella's emergency potty breaks, which she initiated by screaming "POOP" over and over in the backseat.  Number of totally dry/ clean diapers: 3.  Number of times that Noella then ACTUALLY went to the bathroom on public toilets: 2.  No joke.
0: the number of times that I stopped for emergency potty breaks on the second day of driving (this does not in any way reflect the number of requests).
6: the number of times we listened to the CD of all of Jaime Lee Curtis' books being read.  Anyone want a recitation of "I feel silly"?
7,000 (approximate): number of times that I had to play "This little piggy" with one hand reaching into the back seat, equally portioned between two kids.
13 hours (approximate): number of hours that Noella was actively eating during our 16 hours in the car.  The remaining three hours she was either asleep, yelling POOP, or shredding paper.
fifty- one hundred- thirty: number of days Mariel says she wants to spend here at Grandma and Papa's cottage.  I think this means the trip was worth it!