Idaho, December 2025

This layout includes 10 pictures from the five-day visit Trevor and I made to Idaho in December 2025. We stayed at my sister's house as usual. We filled our days with lots of games, good food, and family time. We went for a walk to investigate the nearby construction; Allison intentionally stepped in a hole with no concern for what might be in there while Trevor behaved like the Californian he is, fascinated by a frozen puddle. 

 

Idaho, December 2025 (affiliate link)

One day, my mom took Trevor to the World Center for Birds of Prey. (I skipped it because I'd been there twice before, most recently in 2024.) While they were gone, Kari and I planned a June 2026 trip to California for our mom. We just got back from that trip, so I'll tell you about it tomorrow. 

Interesting US Maps, Part 2

Ready for more interesting US maps? Here are five more that I found fascinating. 

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I love etymology. It's absolutely fascinating to learn what the names of each state and capital mean. My favorites are Sky-Tinted Water (Minnesota) and A Good Place to Dig Potatoes (Topeka). 

 

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In our travels, I've heard numerous people say they're afraid to come to California because of the earthquakes. First, I've lived here for 54 years and have only experienced three significant earthquakes, none of which caused any damage where I was. Your chances of dying or being injured in an earthquake in California are tiny. Second, I've never heard anyone say they avoid Hawaii because of earthquakes, yet the magnitudes of the strongest-ever recorded earthquakes in California and Hawaii are the same: 7.9. Curious why Wisconsin is greyed out? Here's the answer. 

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I've never thought, "Gosh, I wonder what US capital city is closest to me right now?" while traveling, yet I can't take my eyes off this map. Look at Kansas - only about 1/4 of the land is closest to the capital city of Topeka and the remaining 3/4 is split between the capitals of Nebraska, Colorado, and Oklahoma. I grew up about 85 miles from our Sacramento and live about 45 miles from Sacramento now, so it's completely foreign to me not to have easy access to our capital. 

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This map is similar, except it shows the closest world capital. It's funny how normal it seems to me to be close to my state capital, yet I'm about as far away from the national capital as I could be. In fact, not only is Mexico City closest to here, Ottawa is almost exactly the same distance from me as Washington DC is. Check out Alaska! Reykjavik?! Tokyo?! So interesting!

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It's very interesting to see which cities The Associated Press consider well-known enough to not need their state name. They're not necessarily the most populous cities - Forth Worth (the 10th largest city in the US) needs Texas as an identifier. San Jose is the 13th biggest city in the US but could be confused with the capital of Costa Rica and thus needs California with it. 

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I will never not love maps. What about you? Let me know in the comments what you found the most interesting!

Interesting US Maps, Part 1

I collect interesting maps. Not physical ones, but every time I see an interesting map online I save it. Today you get a peek into some of the maps I've collected recently. 

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This map refers to the 63 National Parks (not the remainder of the 433 National Park units). Someone in the comments said they need a Tornado Alley National Park, which totally cracked me up. Many people pointed out that Hot Springs, Gateway Arch, and Cuyahoga Valley are all urban parks, so that portion of the map doesn't represent proximity to what many people think of as what a National Park should be. I thought it was interesting that I live in the only part of California that is yellow-green. With 9 National Parks, most of the state is pretty close to one. We're 130 miles away from the nearest, Pinnacles.   

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Spanish is the most commonly spoken language in 43 of the 50 states, so it is fascinating to see what the next most common language is. I'm not one bit surprised it's Tagalog here in California. The one that surprises me the most is Hmong in Minnesota (I would have guessed Somali) and Tagalog in Hawaii (I would have guessed Japanese). 

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This map was posted on Terrible Maps, but it is not terrible at all (other than the fact that it doesn't have a title). It shows the most populated city in the US that starts with each letter of the alphabet. I wish I had thought of this idea. I would have LOVED to research this. It makes me want to visit Xenia, Ohio and Zionsville, Indiana, which were definitely not on my radar before. 

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This map compares the geographic center of each state with the population center. I'm not especially interested in the geographic center, but I'm fascinated by the population center of each state. In many cases, it's not biggest city. Take California, for example. As best I can tell, the icon is sitting somewhere between Buttonwillow and Maricopa, which is apparently the average between the massive cities of LA, San Diego, and San Jose. 

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I'll be back on Monday with Part 2 of Interesting US Maps. Enjoy your weekend!

How to Draw an American Lobster

I feel sorry for lobsters. 

I literally can't think of another animal where every craft project, sign, or other visual representation portrays it as dead. A red lobster is a dead lobster. Can you imagine if you wanted to make a cute chicken craft and instead of this 🐓, the only options looked like this🍗? It seems... rude. So today's craft honors the living version of Maine's state crustacean, the American lobster. 

My lobster, while realistic, is not intended to be a scientific drawing with every feature exactly perfect.  This is the level of detail I'd use with the 4th or 5th graders who are most likely to be studying their state symbols. I chose to use watercolors, which is the easiest way to mimic the mottled colors of this fascinating animal. Affiliate links below. 

How to Draw an American Lobster

Materials: 

• watercolor paper
• pencil
• watercolors
• colored pencil

Steps: 

Start by drawing the main part of the lobster's body in the middle of your paper. I'm struggling to describe its shape; the best I can come up with is a stubby carrot or an elongated guitar pick. 

Next, draw the abdomen. There should be six segments, not four like I drew (sorry). I was looking at a photo of a live lobster while drawing and it looked like four from that angle. 

Add the tail fan - two segments on either side of the middle segment. 

Now draw the claws. An American lobster's claws are asymmetric. The larger one is used to crush its prey. The smaller claw is for holding or tearing the prey. A lobster can be right or left "handed" depending on which side has the crusher claw. 

Time to add legs! The lobster actually has ten legs, but you've already drawn two of them (the claws). There are 8 "walking legs" along the body of the lobster. The first three pairs have small claws, but you don't need to draw that level of detail unless you want to. 

From the angle we've drawn, one pair maxillipeds ("jaw legs") are visible near the lobster's mouth. There are two other pairs that are hidden in this view. The lobster uses them to pass food to its jaws

I've also added the eyes, antennae, and smaller antennules. If you won't be painting your lobster, draw them now. Otherwise wait until after painting. 

I said before that a red lobster is a dead lobster. That isn't quite true, as approximately one in ten million lobsters is red while it is alive. Read this article to learn about other rare colors! Most American lobsters are a mottled greenish-brown color, so that's how I chose to paint mine. 

I painted the lobster itself, let that dry, then painted a watery background. When that was dry, I used a brown colored pencil to outline the lobster and add some details. I used a black pencil for the eyes, then went back to the brown pencil for the antennae and antennules. 

I learned so much about lobsters in the last 24 hours! I love how much I learn with practically every craft project I do. 

"Unofficial, Proposed, or Facetious" State Symbols

While I was working on my state-inspired crafts chart, I checked to see if any states had adopted new official state symbols that would be potential craft projects. Indeed, there have been a few new additions that I'm considering for future crafts. But that's not what I want to talk about today. Instead, I want to talk about the list of Unofficial, Proposed, or Facetious State Symbols that Minnesota maintains. 

Every state has a list of their official state symbols, but (as far as I can tell) Minnesota is the only one with a publicly accessible list of state symbols that were voted down and/or were proposed in jest. I love this. For the ones that were actually serious, it's really interesting to read the bills and follow the debate. For the others, it's a fun look at Minnesota culture / humor. 

You can read about the many (MANY) attempts to name a state mammal (I am #TeamTimberwolf)... 

... or the tongue-in-cheek options for a state insect. (I'm voting for the wood tick.)

I have a lot of thoughts about the debate over an official state soup. I would laugh, but that's hard to do when you're shuddering so violently. 

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I really wish the other 49 states kept a list like this. If you're aware of one that I didn't find, please let me know!

Mini Keepsake Quilts 1 & 2

It is extremely rewarding to make quilts and give them to people in need. I love knowing that someone who is facing what is likely the most difficult time in their life will receive warmth and comfort in the form of a quilt that I made. I've shared photos of the first quilt I ever made and, two weeks ago, my second quilt, but I wanted something more to remember my quilts. So I gathered up the scraps, cut (or pieced) twelve 2-inch squares, and turned them into mini keepsake quilts. 

Just like the originals, the minis have plenty of mistakes, but I'm fine with that. I'm a beginning quilter (and beginning sewist) and I'm proud of these mini quilts. This time last year I couldn't have made them at all. The mistakes show my progress and motivate me to keep improving. 

My plan is to hang a cord on the wall like a clothesline, then use mini clothespins to display my mini quilts. It's going to be so cute!

State Name Art: Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, South Dakota

It's Round 3 of State Name Art! This time, Kentucky, Missouri, New Hampshire, and South Dakota. As before, I love how different they each are. It's great fun figuring out how to place the letters of the state in its silhouette, then deciding what scene to add. Affiliate links below. 

State Name Art

Materials:

• Bristol vellum
• Flair pens
• colored pencils
• microtip scissors
• colored cardstock
• glue stick

Steps: 

Print or trace the outline of the state onto paper. I like to use Bristol vellum when working with colored pencils. I made the outlines using graphics from PicMonkey, but you could also draw or trace your own outline. 

Use a pencil to sketch in the letters of the state. Sketch lightly so you can make adjustments if necessary. Some letters will have missing parts or distortions; that's not a problem as long as the state name is legible. Outline the letters with a Flair pen, then color in all spaces that aren't part of the name.  

Lightly sketch a scene across the white space of the letters, choosing an image that represents the state. When you are happy with what you've sketched, fill it in with colored pencils. I drew a horse in a pasture for Kentucky...

... Gateway Arch for Missouri...

... sunset over the mountains for New Hampshire...

... and a buffalo grazing for South Dakota. 

Cut out the state and glue it to colored construction paper. 

I'm continuing to have a lot of fun with these. This makes 12, which is a far cry from 50. I'll keep taking them four at a time until it's not fun anymore.

College Towns That Double as Great Tourist Destinations

I love college towns, so it was with great interest that I read the article 15 College Towns That Double as Great Tourist Destinations. Of the 15 places on the list, I have visited six: Burlington, VT; Boulder, CO; Madison, WI; Annapolis, MD; Ithaca, NY; and Santa Fe, NM. I enjoyed all six of them and concur that they are excellent tourist destinations. 

That said, in my mind there is an enormous difference between Burlington, Boulder, and Ithaca vs. Madison, Annapolis, and Santa Fe. The latter three are all state capitals, which gives them a completely different feel than the previous three. They're less tie dye as they are power tie. That got me wondering what the actual definition of a college town is. It can't just be a town with a college in it; literally no one would say New York City is a college town despite being home to a shocking number of colleges and universities.

 It turns out there is an accepted definition for a college town:  

• College towns have a population smaller than 350,000 and are physically separated from a larger city. 
• College students make up at least 20% of the population. 
• The college is the major/primary employer in town and has a significant impact on the local economy. 
• The college shapes the cultural identity, public events, and social life of the town. 

This definition came from Blake Gumprecht, author of The American College Town (affiliate link). 

In 2008, Gumprecht developed a list of 305 cities in the US that meet the criteria to be a college town. In general, they "are known for having lively downtowns, picturesque residential neighborhoods, unusual cultural opportunities for cities so small, ample parks and recreational facilities, safe streets, and good schools."  They also tend to have a diverse culinary scene and plenty of hotel rooms for visiting parents and scholars. All these things add up to a great tourist destination. 

I've been to several dozen of the cities on the list. Of those, I picked my top 5 that I think belong on the list of great tourist destinations. (Yes, my alma mater is first.) Click on each graphic to read about our time in each of these awesome college towns. 

Yes, I do realize that Columbia is a state capital, but it feels more like a college town than any other state capital I've visited. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts about college towns that double as great tourist destinations. Do you agree with the 15 listed in the original article? How do you feel about my choices? Are there any ones you'd like to add? Let me know in the comments!

Corn Dog Craft for Kids

What do Oregon and Indiana have in common? Corn dogs! This beloved fried food is popular in every state that has a fair, ballpark, or frozen food section in the grocery store, but Oregon and Indiana have special corn dog claims-to-fame. Corn dogs were invented in Rockaway Beach, Oregon in 1939. Follow this link to learn more about the birth of corn dogs. Make sure you scroll down far enough to see the mechanical corn dog. Indiana is not the birthplace of corn dogs, but the small town of Bristol (population 1600) is called the Corn Dog Capital of the World. They produce 80% of the world's corn dogs. Bristol is also home to the annual Corndog Festival. (Note: Both corn dog and corndog are acceptable spellings.) 

Celebrate the corn dog with a fun and easy craft. Affiliate links below. 

 

Corn Dog Craft

Materials: 

• watercolor paper
• watercolors (these are my favorites)
• scissors
• craft glue
• craft sticks
• yarn (yellow, red)

Steps: 

Use yellow, orange, and brown watercolors to paint a piece of watercolor paper the color of a corn dog. When you are happy with the color, let the paint dry completely. 

Cut the paper into the shape of a corn dog, approximately 6.5" x 1.75". Obviously, exact size doesn't matter. Glue the corn dog to a craft stick. Add a squiggle of glue down the length of the corn dog, then yarn on the glue. Trim the excess yarn, then let the glue dry completely. 

Steve likes his corn dogs with mustard. I prefer mine plain, or occasionally with ketchup. 

I had a lot of fun with this corn dog craft. Give it a try!

Puzzle Party!

To celebrate my 54th birthday back in March, I threw myself a jigsaw puzzle party. It was awesome. I printed the photos right away, but I'd been waiting to scrap them until I could get my hands on puzzle patterned paper. As soon as it showed up, I made this page. 

Puzzle Party (affiliate link)

I've been doing modern scrapbooking for 25+ years and this is the first time EVER that I used up all of the letter Zs on a sticker sheet before running out of any other letter! Using one Z is really rare for me and running out of them - ever, let alone first! - is unheard of. Like most people, I tend to run out of the vowels and letters like S, T, and R. Anyway, that was a fun first for me. 

Perler Bead Lighthouse

My latest internet rabbit hole led me to lighthouses. I learned that there are 750+ standing lighthouses in the US, of which approximately 450 work. All are fully automated. There are lighthouses in 31 states; Michigan has the most by far. There is some debate about how to define what exactly a lighthouse is, but most experts agree that Michigan has around 129. Maine and New York each have around 65, followed by Massachusetts (52), California (45), Wisconsin (43), Washington (30), Florida (30), North Carolina (29), and Ohio (26). 

The vast majority of lighthouses are white for easy visibility. Some have colored patterns (usually black, red, or unpainted brick) called "daymarks" that provide a contrast with the sky and water for easy identification during daylight. Lighthouses come in a wide variety of shapes and styles. Rather than design a craft for one specific lighthouse, I decided to make a generic design that represents the hundreds of lighthouses in our country. Affiliate links below. 

Perler Bead Lighthouse

Materials:

• large square pegboard
• Perler fuse beads
• iron

Steps: 

Start by placing three black beads at the bottom center of the pegboard. Add five white beads on either side of the black beads. Repeat this same pattern for the next three rows up. Then add four rows of 13 white beads, then one row of 13 grey beads. 

Add two rows of 11 white beads centered over the grey row. Then make three rows with two white, two black, three white, two black, and two white. Add two more rows of 11 white beads, then 11 grey beads, then 11 black beads.

The next row up has 9 black beads. Then add three rows with one black, three yellow, one black, three yellow, and one black. The next row has 11 black beads. Add two rows of 7 black beads, then one row with 5 black beads, one row with 3 black beads, and a single black bead at the top. 

My pattern is easy to alter if you want to make a lighthouse that looks different. Just change out the colors to add daymarks, make it wider, make it taller (you'll need to use a second board), move the windows, etc. You can base your project on an existing lighthouse or design your own like I did!

State Name Art: Kansas, Delaware, Iowa, and Nevada

I finished a second batch of State Name Art. This time, I made Kansas, Nevada, Delaware, and Iowa. I love how they're completely different from each other and from the four I previously made. Affiliate links below. 

 

State Name Art

Materials:

• Bristol vellum
• Flair pens
• colored pencils
• white Posca pen (Nevada)
• microtip scissors
• colored cardstock
• glue stick

Steps: 

Print or trace the outline of a state onto paper. (Bristol vellum is my favorite when working with colored pencils.) I made the outlines using the graphics on PicMonkey, but there are plenty of places to find outlines. Students can draw their own outlines or use pre-prepared tracers. 

Use a pencil to very lightly sketch in the letters of the state. Make adjustments until you are happy with the letters. Some letters may be distorted or have missing parts; that's perfectly fine as long as the state name is legible. Outline the letters with a Flair pen, then color in all spaces that aren't part of the name.  

Lightly sketch a scene across the white space of the letters that represents the state. When you are happy with what you've sketched, fill it in with colored pencils. I did sunflowers for Kansas...

... the beach for Delaware...

... a cornfield for Iowa...

... and a night sky in Nevada. After coloring this scene with colored pencils, I used a Posca pen to add the stars. 

Cut out the state and glue it to colored construction paper. 

I had a lot of fun with this latest batch of states. Figuring out each one is very satisfying. As I said before, I have no intention of doing all 50, but I'll keep going for now! 

I Finished My Second Quilt

I was so excited to finish my first-ever quilt and I am just as excited about my second quilt! 

I didn't select the fabrics for my first quilt. I'd volunteered to take a pile of donated fabrics home to cut into squares and eventually had the courage to sew them together. I asked the experts in our group to teach me each skill as I went, since I was learning to sew as I was learning to quilt. I struggled and made a lot of mistakes but I'm really proud of that first quilt. 

For this second quilt, I had full control over everything. I started with six pre-cut blocks from our big stash, then picked other fabrics to go with them. I put the top together much faster (and with far less seam-ripping) than last time, despite having to piece more blocks together. While very few of my corners lined up last time, most of them do on this quilt. I was able to do all the steps without asking for advice. Binding was still the trickiest part for me, but even that went better this time. It's exciting to see how much my skills have improved from my first quilt to my second. I still have a lot of basics to master, but that will come with practice. I'm eager to get started on my third quilt! 

As a reminder, all of the quilts that the St. Mark's Quilters make go to Lutheran World Relief, which passes them on to people around the world following natural disaster or war. We accept donations of fabric, batting, and thread, as well as monetary donations to pay for shipping the quilts. Each quilt costs about $4 to get to people in need. The quilt I just finished is our 41st quilt of the year. We hope to finish a lot more, so shipping costs will add up. 

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I photographed the quilt on our dining room table, which is part of the bunny territory. This might be obvious from the bunny toys and open box of hay that are visible in the first picture. It's definitely obvious in this photo, with visible pens and litterboxes. 

Did you spot Tulip, checking out the chair? Bunnies are ridiculously curious, which meant that the second I moved the front chair away from the table, Tulip ran over to check it out. Even though it's the same chair she regularly naps on, somehow it's different and needs a full inspection. Silly bunny!

Common Loon Craft

The common loon is a beautiful and distinctive bird that lives primarily on lakes in the northern US and Canada. An expert diver, 80% of its diet is fish. The loon is the state bird of Minnesota (and the provincial bird of Ontario, Canada) and is also found in abundance in Wisconsin, Maine, Michigan, New Hampshire, and Alaska. Make a loon of your own by following this easy tutorial. Affiliate links below. 

Common Loon Craft

Materials: 

• cardstock (black, two shades of blue)
• scissors
• colored pencils
• white Posca pen
• craft glue

Steps: 

Cut out the basic shape of the loon from black cardstock. Draw your own on scratch paper first or print my shape below in the correct size to use as a template. 

Shade the loon's beak with a grey colored pencil. Use a black colored pencil to add a line to define the upper and bottom mandible. 

Color the eye orange, then add a black pupil in the center. Use an extra-fine Posca marker to add a white catchlight at the top of the eye. 

Draw a series of vertical lines along the throat and the back of the neck to make the distinctive bands. 

Use a Posca pen to make the rest of the markings on the loon: white hatch marks on its breast, curved white lines on its shoulders, and blocks of white on the wing that are bigger at the top and center than lower and on the sides. Finally, use the grey colored pencil to define the tail feathers. 

The underside of the loon is white like its chest, but I didn't bother coloring it since I knew it would be covered by the water. Also, I trimmed the loon to give it a more rounded bottom. Here's my finished loon. 

Cut three (or more) strips of cardstock to make the lake water. You want them to be a little wavy. Glue one piece to your background paper, then glue the loon on top of that. Glue the next strip so that it covers the underside of the loon, then glue the final strip over that. 

I'm glad to have made this project and learned more about this super cool bird!