Memories

See what I scored at a cute little shop here in Cheyenne this week. These little Christmas ornaments are covered with seed beads and brown feathers. This is the beginning of the craft show season for the holidays and I hit three Saturday. The weather has been absolutely unbelievable for the first of November in Wyoming. Usually we have snow, snow, snow by now. The temp has been in the upper 60's every day.

This is as far as I have gotten on the quilt top but it was so much fun to see it come together so easily. As I recall my grandmother and her friends sitting around her dining room table and quilting, I wish I had been older and could remember more of those quilting bees. I don't think she called it a "bee", but there were 6 to 8 women and her frame always sat on the table with these ladies visiting and I was always playing under the table. My memories are so faint though, because you see, I couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years of age and that was nearly 60 years ago. Wouldn't granny be amazed at the techniques and speed with which a quilt can be assembled now!! I hope to have it ready for an actually quilting class---it will be machine quilted I am sure. My poor ol' arthritic hand just couldn't manage I am afraid.

We had another pleasant happening this weekend also. An old classmate from grade school, through high school stopped to visit. Understand that I grew up in a rural community where many of my classmates were children of farmers. It was a small community and every one knew everyone else, sometimes generations of families continued to stay. They were strong, hard-working people. As a child, I remember that he worked as hard as a grown man and there were times when he stayed home from school to work in the fields. If a kid stays home today, you can bet it is not to help the family in their business or trade. Not many small farms continue to survive there today though and the values instilled in this man have made him a success in his own right. Anyway we were a small class of kids and I remember so many times that one of their parents would volunteer to haul the same bunch to Greeley to the skating rink or to the movies. A real treat for me as we didn't get to do that very often. We had so much fun!!! There was not much money either for those kinds of frivolities, but my folks always managed to find a way to let me go. Not very many of us still stay in touch, but I treasure the friendships of the few who do still take the time to do that. There were kids who came and went, but for the most part there were about 8 of us, 4 boys and 4 girls who were just pals. From 1st or 2nd grade we had a bond of sorts unlike any other. Not all, but most of us even went on senior sneak together and that was a kick. I don't think a trip like ours would be done today. (Maybe that will be another blog.) Oh, to be 12 again! Memories!!! You can't take those away.

~"That's the trouble with the world, too many people grow up. They forget. They don't remember what it's like to be twelve years old."-----Walt Disney