Saturn...Quilts of the Golden West...and stuff on the way to stuff

The Cassini telescope is taking amazing new photos of Saturn. Discoveries include a tiny moon orbiting between the rings, and a big ring never known about previously. Go here for some amazing photos.

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I've spent the past few days washing (yes, I spoil poor neglected Husband), ironing...quilting an indigo 25 Patch top (it's sooo close to being done!) Trying to catch up on business before I leave again -- this time to judge and appraise for the Mancusos' Pacific International Quilt Show. (For those of you in California, stop by and say hi. I'd love it. We're in the convention center at Santa Clara.)

I spent last week with Mom. She's not doing well, I hate to say, though she has better days...and worse ones. I can't blame her - I miss Dad, too. She'll be coming here for Christmas, which will hopefully help some. We putzed around a lot, went out to eat, and picked a few bushels of crisp Macintosh apples. (My share got banged and smacked around in the airport, but there is always apple crisp to fall back on.)

Husband, meantime, went antelope hunting in the Colorado backcountry with Daughter #2 -- and got a big buck within an hour of their arrival in Maybelle! Amazing, almost unheard of. THEN they got a flat tire on the popup camper they borrowed for the trip. Changed that, and put on the spare...going out the next morning, the second tire blew. Got that fixed...and the bearing froze up.

They spent two extra days because of a popup camper they never used. (They decided to sleep in the back of the Jeep instead. Didn't want to mess the camper up, I guess.) Monday night, they came home in the same storm I flew home in -- only their version was snowy, sleeting and filled with trucks that had jackknifed up at the Eisenhower Tunnel. (Which was closed westbound -- but thankfully not eastbound.)

They got home around 10:00 p.m. -- the same time I did.

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QUILTS OF THE GOLDEN WEST is finally at the Brickworks offices! And the books are lovely. You can see them, including sample pages, here.

You'll find a mix of history about pioneers; the Gold and Silver Rush in various states, including California; the fight over the Gold and Silver Standard; financial panics (there have been many -- at least one every decade of America's existence); and how quilters expressed their opinions about money, silver, gold...and life. Ten quilt patterns are featuring, including Girls of the Golden West, containing nine famous women who were involved with gold, silver and copper.

Want a copy? Everyone else is offering the book for $28.95 PLUS shipping -- but Brickworks is selling it for $24.95, INCLUDING media rate shipping. We'll even throw in a copy of our "Quilts of the Pioneers" pattern booklet -- a $2.95 value. E-mail cindy@cindybrick.com, or call toll-free 1-888-48-BRICK. We accept MASTERCARD, VISA, Paypal, checks and money orders.