28 April 2013

November 2011

We Say Good-bye to People and Places
We Have Loved So Very Much...




We Finally Make a Last Trip...
With the Last Load...




We Spend Thanksgiving with Family...




We Celebrate a 60th Wedding Anniversary...


We lay a Beloved Aunt to Rest...

...and then we move into my Poppa's home...with him...
because our 5th Wheel (temporary housing plan) 
is in bad shape due to weather...
 and problems we didn't see when we bought it...
...and so the "fun" begins...

Update


So here we are, more than a year later...
having decided to blog again a bit...

How is the best way to ease back in and bridge the gap? 

Maybe a series of simple posts... 
one for each month that has lapsed...
simple photos, simple phrases...

It can never express the craziness of the past year...
but it will provide a bit of continuity?

Bear with me...

19 November 2011

In Transition

Just an update to let ya'll know that we are in the midst
of major transition right now.....
and my computer is torn down and in storage at the moment...
which translates to little or no blogging for a bit.
We said good-bye to our Little Rock House this past Monday---
our closing went well and the new owners moved in that night.
We are grateful they love the Little House as much as we did.

We are spending a few precious days visiting and saying good-bye 
to family and friends.....pulling up the roots of our lives here.
We are planning our final trip to our new destination
for November 23rd.

Hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
In spite of all the uncertainties in our world, 
we in America still have much to be thankful for!!!

Blessings.....we'll be back with you soon.

14 November 2011

Odd Thrifting Moment


Above you see a typical thrifting scene...
someone else's cast-off's that could become your treasure.

The very odd thing for me
was when I walked into this particular store.....
that the quilt you see?
It once belonged to me.

It was made by my paternal grandmother
probably back in the depression days-or shortly thereafter-
made of thriftily saved pieces and parts of discarded woolen clothing.


My reasons for passing this treasure on
include the fact that I had kept it in a box for probably 25 years
and didn't even remember I had it until I was cleaning out a storage shed...
it is old and fragile and would not withstand the cleaning it needed...
we already have enough warm winter blankets & comforts...
we need to downsize and can't keep everything...


Before I donated it to my favorite charity,
 I did take time to photograph it.

I love the autumn-ish colors and simple artistry
of a thrifted comfort from days past,
when our grandmothers stayed home
and cared for their families 
by "using it up, wearing it out, making it do or doing without."


When I saw it displayed in the thrift store a few weeks after I had donated it,
I must admit I choked up and had tears in my eyes...
not because I missed the quilt,
rather the emotion of seeing my grandmother's handiwork
displayed so beautifully---as it should be!

I truly do not wish to have it back...
and I was so happy that the store had not thrown it away.
The way  they chose to display it and the price tag attached
honored my grandmother's creativity and labor
in a way that I could not.
The manager told me that a customer had come in twice and looked at it,
she really wanted it for a room she was redecorating...
my greatest wish is that it go to a home where it will be loved and used!

I walked away from that store a freer woman.
I know now, that things are separate from people and relationships.
I don't have to keep things in order to keep memories...
The people I have loved and the time we have shared
will always be in my heart and my mind.

I am grateful for the photos I have,
they satisfy my desire to "keep" bits of my past
that I no longer need or use,
and they take up so much less space!
And so I am content.

But it was an odd moment...

10 November 2011

Sweet Beulah Land



For your listening pleasure...

One of my favorite songs
performed by one of my favorite vocalists.

You can hear more of her music at this page,
and while you're at it,
check out their new website.

May your day be blessed!