Scrappy Quilts

It's another cold and dreary winter day {{{sigh}}}. Whether you have to deal with mounds of snow and icy sidewalks or fog so dense you lose your bearings, it's nice to get home and cuddle up under a warm quilt. 

I think quilts are LOVE in a tangible form. I'll take an old fashioned scrappy quilt over a designer comforter any day! The only problem, like with childhood blankies and teddy bears, quilts passed through generations get loved to death and reach a point where you can't use them as they were meant to be. But they are still worthy.

I bought this fan quilt at an estate sale. Several people picked it up and admired it until seeing the flaws then casually tossed it aside. While they only saw imperfection I saw LOVE. Endless hours of tedious hand work, treasured scraps of fabric, memories, warmth, comfort...LOVE. 

Like this quilt. It was made in the late seventies by my grandmother with the help of my mom and aunts. I don't know who did the black stitching but I think it was done years earlier. I do remember the blocks being arranged and sewn together. 

I remember helping to tie the little pieces of green yarn. I was 13. It was the year my grandmother passed away. The prints are all scraps from my great-grandmother's dresses.  She had passed when I was about 7.  Four generations have had their hands on this fabric. Four generations separated for now, but tied together with little pieces of string. I hope that if this scrappy quilt ever finds it's way into a stranger's hands it will be recognized as LOVE worthy of saving.

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I want to apologize for not getting out to visit more of you. I'm kind of muddling through a lot of things right now. I hope you'll bear with me as I work on some other aspects of my life for a couple of months. I will be by from time to time.  Don't fret, I know how you all worry, everything is okay. I just need to get a handle on some things. I'll try to keep posting once a week or so but real life doesn't have a "preview" button so we'll have to see how it goes!

Copy Cat ...or...Dog

My daughter and I like to play a game where we draw pictures line by line and try to guess what the final picture is. I drew this dog, starting with the lines of the mouth and she had no idea where I was going. When we were done she asked why I did the mouth that way instead of just a happy face smile. I told her it's just one way it can be drawn.

A few days later I woke to find a pile of papers she had been drawing on in the middle of the night. One of them was a dog and cat with cute little noses and mouths. And ta da! They had legs! Rectangle legs straight from the heads but definitely legs!

Do you remember your child's progress as their fine motor skills developed? Each new body part is a celebration of growing, learning, and advancing. Of course everyone thinks their own child is brilliant and I'm no exception. These pictures really are special though. Why? Because my daughter is 15 years old.

At an age when most teens are learning to drive and grumbling about homework, my daughter is just finding the joy in being able to draw her best friends. And we celebrate it! Each little step gives her the confidence to go a little further along this path we call life.

On a Lighter Note

 

The rainy weather last week made for beautiful

sunrises over the Sierra's.

As the storm ended Monday it brought my favorite clouds,

big, low, puffy ones.

 They look like you could sit on the edge and dangle your feet over.

If only my ladder was a bit taller!

Even their reflection in the pool was cool.

The sky was a brilliant deep blue that we only get after a good storm has cleared the air.

Later we went for a drive and spotted this family out for a walk.

Whimsy is alive and well after all!

We stopped at a drive-thru and I was horrified to see what I thought was several dead birds.

Too much orange chicken from the Panda Express patio?

I was glad to see my first impression was wrong.

It turned out to be

The Red Rock Bird Spa.

As we sat and waited 5 to 10 birds at a time would be in this one spot. It was so amusing to watch bird after bird flutter over from the nearby bushes and take their turn in the sauna made by the water under the warm rocks. There were many puddles nearby but this was the place to be!

We have a busy day planned today but I will get back to visiting soon. Everyone is well (knock on wood!) and we're all back in our routines. My son is assisting with his high school's varsity basketball team and his Special Olympics team starts practicing soon so he's happy as a clam. My daughter is back to her chipper self and enjoying friends at school instead of playing with mommy! I missed all the New Year's posts so I'll be checking in to see how you all are and what your plans for 2011 are. For me it will THE year to get organized and get fit. Oh, wait, that was last year's resolutions...

Regardless

Today is a sad day in history of The United States of America.

Regardless of who pulled the trigger or why.

Regardless of the number of victims or the severity of their wounds.

Regardless of where you stand, what you stand for, or who you stand with.


Regardless of your identity or anonymity when you exercise your right to free speech.

After reading some of today's news coverage and the comments that followed I kept thinking about the line from Spiderman when Peter's uncle tells him "With great power comes great responsibility." If anything good comes from today's horrific act of cowardice and egotism I hope it's that the people of this nation realize what great power the right of free speech is. It is so powerful one word can incite a riot or clear a crowded building. And it comes with great responsibility.

Regardless of whether you are speaking to millions of followers on Twitter or your next door neighbor on the front porch.

Just a Quick Hello!

Hello Freinds! I just wanted to pop in and apologize for not not making the rounds the last couple of weeks. Several of us here are under the weather, and what soggy weather it is! With everyone home for vacation and/or sick, and the constant rain, the computer is in high demand. I hope everyone had a Happy New Year. I'll be around as soon as possible.
Hugs,
Dawn