Thursday, July 4, 2019

Really Random Thursday, 7/4/19

Happy July 4th to those of you in the United States!

Last Friday, we completely cleaned out my father's room as we moved him from memory care to skilled nursing. He didn't take much with him--a few clothes, a recliner, a CD player with CDs, that's about it. He shares a room so there is not much extra space.  We saw him yesterday, and the initial anger about being there instead of his cozy room seems to have subsided.

There were a few things that we weren't quite sure what to do with. These handpainted switchplate covers that I made my mother, probably around 1985, were given to a dear friend of hers, who is thrilled to have them, which makes me very happy as well.


Some things I took a picture of but didn't keep, such as my brother's doctoral dissertation, recycled per his instructions. I couldn't even begin to tell you what it is about. Probably why he is in charge of a department in the Washington DC Federal Reserve, and I'm a quilter. :)

This odd newspaper I found in a box. That baby girl would be me.
Mark decided to hang this in his fused glass workshop--it was just too hard to let go.
An American Legion medal my mother received at 8th grade graduation, 1942.

My least favorite quilt of any that I have ever made was this one--not a good picture of it but the only one I have.
About 20 years ago, my mother wanted me to make a quilt for her, which I was happy to do. She chose a popular pattern at the time, Garden Twist by Sharon Yenter. The original pattern was made with a splashy floral print. So beautiful. So not my mother's style. Instead she chose ivory and medium blue. If you could see a close-up of the main fabric, you would see that it is a tone-on-tone tiny rose print. I didn't enjoy making it, and I didn't like it when it was done. But she LOVED it, and that was the important thing. So last week, as we were cleaning out the room, I thought, "NOW what do I do with this quilt??" A good friend of Mark's was helping to load the furniture in the rental truck and mentioned that his wife had always wanted a handmade quilt. I happily gave it to him, and I know it will continue to be loved.

I repurposed some more of my china painting--a soap dish holds pins, a cup holds pens on my cutting table.
And I think that is pretty much the end of things. So many memories...

Levi read scripture on Sunday morning, along with two of his best friends.
A quilter on Instagram started something called "mid year roundup" where she wanted a collage of things we had accomplished in the first six months of 2019. I struggled to find nine things--I pretty much spent most of the first four months of 2019 curled up in the corner of the couch doing nothing, as I regained my energy from radiation therapy. But I did accomplish a couple things. And then I realized that actually completing radiation therapy was a huge accomplishment, so I added that picture in the very center of the collage.
I then decided to make a couple of collages that corraled all the "month markers" I have posted on Instagram. I like month markers because they are a good frame of reference in what can be an endless time continuum of photos.


I can always tell by the receipt who has filled up our two cars. Mark works really hard at making sure it ends up with an even dollar amount. Me? When the gas tank is full, I'm done, no matter what the amount is. This is so him!
Charlotte and her friend Grace are saving money for summer camp, so they started doing some baking. This is nothing new to them--they have done a lot of baking together and know what they are doing! They even built their own website, Bake It 'Til You Make It, with pictures and descriptions of everything that is available. Very professional.

We bought some carmel corn and some rice krispie bites. The packaging is cute and I know it will taste as good as it looks. I'm so proud of them.
And my friend, Kelly, posted this. Happy 4th everyone!

7 comments:

05 08
Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said... #

I've made that Garden Twist quilt - it is a UFO still waiting for me to finish quilting it You have had a great year so far - I didn't have any medical issues and still didn't get as much done as you did!

OPQuilt said... #

Happy Fourth of July, Cindy! In looking at your top nine, have we not seen that basket? Ooooh, lovely! This is a great post about possessions, memories, and things that tug at our heart strings.

Anne / Springleaf Studios said... #

Happy 4th. It's so hard to go through mementoes and know what to keep. I'm terrible at letting go. I always think I'll make something out of them. I did manage shadow boxes for my parents and Justin's parents containing a few of their little things and photos. otherwise I have boxes. How do you make your monthly markers?

Robby said... #

My parents are starting the process of down-sizing (or supposed to be) as they'll be moving next spring. I'm sure it will be a challenge for all of us. I'm so glad you included your bell ringing photo in your accomplishments... and those darling pincushions you made.

If it helps, once the pump automatically shuts off, it's better for air quality if you don't try to top off the gas, especially when it's warm. Our altitude makes air quality a challenge so there are signs at most service stations reminding people of this.

Happy 4th of July! (Oops, and good luck to Charlotte and Grace!)

Susan said... #

I love the monthly marker collages! I don’t always keep that photo in my phone but have a half year roundup is a great idea! Deciding what to keep and what not is never easy. When my mum and dad passed away within 14 months of one another we probably kept way too much. Now, 13+ years later, we are still letting go.... Happy 4th July! No earthquakes near you, I hope!?

FlourishingPalms said... #

As always, this is a great post, Cindy. Sure love reading about your activities, though your "what to do with it" pictures of your mother's things really resonated. My siblings were recently in Ohio at our grandparent's now-empty farmhouse and outbuildings, beginning to go through more than 70 years of accumulation, following the recent passing of our bachelor uncle. While it's mostly junk that's going on a burn pile, random important items keep being unearthed, like pictures (negatives too!), books, WWI uniform, and fabric from the 1940s. Guess who's handling the latter? Will be blogging about that soon. Anyway, I sure understand how good it feels to find a home for unneeded/unwanted items. It's a ton of work though!

Anonymous said... #
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.