Sunday, January 31, 2010

Gonna Take A Sentimental Journey

My aunt made this beautiful star quilt for me when I graduated from High School.





It was on my bed for a long while~ but now sits tucked inside my cedar chest. It was starting to wear thin, and I didn't want it to wear out.

My aunt pieced the quilt top, and then my grandma did all the quilting by hand.



My grandma was an excellent seamstress and quilter. She was able to take very tiny stitches. I tried my hand at a few stitches too, but couldn't do them as neat and tiny as grandma could.


She taught me that the size of the stitch didn't matter, so long as they were all uniform.

This week, I had a great opportunity to see family and friends that I haven't seen for a very, very long time! It was wonderful to see so many people that hold a special place in my heart. Many were old ward members from the ward I grew up in.

The occasion, however, was bittersweet as we were all gathered to pay honor and respect to my dear aunt who passed away the week before.

She was kind and loving~ She always greeted me with a hug and a kiss and always told me "I love you, honey."

When I was in Young Women, she was our camp leader one year. That was the year we all got giarrdia!!! (That's just a fancy word for diarrhea) It was quite the event trying to get home as we had to stop every couple of minutes so someone, or everyone, could run for the bushes!

My aunt and uncle came to visit us when Curtis was in the hospital, even though it was so hard for them. Years ago, my cousin was killed in an industrial accident just shortly after graduating from High School.
Their visit meant so much to me because I knew it took a lot for them to be there.

She was loved, and she will be missed.

This quilt holds many, wonderful memories for me~ of my aunt and my grandma! It's a double bonus! So glad I have it.



A CRAZY QUILT
They do not make them anymore,
For quilts are cheaper at the store
Than woman's labor, though a wife
Men think the cheapest thing in life.
But now and then, a quilt is spread
Upon quaint old walnut bed,
A crazy quilt of those days
That I am young enough to praise.
Some woman sewed these points and squares
Into a pattern, like life's cares.
Here is a velvet that was strong,
The poplin that she wore so long,
A fragment from her daughter's dress,
Like her, a vanished loveliness;
Old patches of such things as these,
Old garments and old memories.
And what is life? A crazy quilt;
Sorrow and joy, and grace and guilt,
With here and there a square of blue
For some old happiness we knew;
And so the hand of time will take
The fragments of our life and make,
Out of life's remnants, as they fall,
A thing of beauty, after all.
~Douglas Malloch



Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Celebrity Sightings

Celebrities are common, every day folk...just like us!
As proof, guess who I saw recently at our local WalMart?

Google Images
I know, I know... Why was he shopping at a Utah WalMart? Stranger things have occured. Maybe he was here a bit early for the Sundance Film Festival?
In all seriousness, it was not really Willie Nelson, but a mighty uncanny resemblance, that's for sure! I think I made the poor guy a little uncomfortable because I couldn't quit staring! :)
I have actually run into a few real celebrities...
Footloose was filmed at my High School when I was a Junior~ so I saw Kevin Bacon...in real life!
I sat a knee's length across from Donny Osmond at the Dr.'s office.
Gary Coleman (aka "Mr. Brody") was in the hospital the same time Curtis was...I have a few funny stories about that. Let's just say his reputation is well deserved and leave it at that.
He was also in the room next to Curtis in the rehab unit...and my dad saved his life! It's true...He insisted on keeping his door closed, for privacy~ which is not always a good idea in a rehab unit! One Sunday afternoon we heard a loud thud coming from the room next door...we waited for a few moments...nothing happened. So, my dad went to the nurse's station and asked them to check the room. Sure enough, he had passed out and fallen in the bathroom, that was the thud we heard. So, we joke that my dad saved his life. Too bad he can't stay out of trouble (Gary Coleman, not my dad).
And for all my joking about Celebrity Sightings at WalMart (read more Here), I did get to meet a "Celebrity Blogger" at WalMart! It was fun and unexpected, and a great treat for me to meet Camille from Make It Work Mom, and Sassy Scoops.
See, WalMart really does meet your needs for one stop shopping! (If only their doughnuts were as good as the ones at Maceys...on second thought, probably a good thing that they are not!)

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy New Year!!!

That's all I got! :)