ANNIVERSARIES OF THE HEART.

I love this poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. It really suits my feelings at the end of a year. I miss those family members gone, and as I go through the rituals of Christmas and the new year, I think of them, little memories tickle in, mostly sweet, some regrets. And, I appreciate the sentiment of "anniversaries of the heart." Here then, the poem. And, a ritual my mother and I shared for more years than I can remember.

The holiest of all holidays are those
Kept by ourselves in silence and apart;
The secret anniversaries of the heart,
When the full river of feeling overflows;—
The happy days unclouded to their close;
The sudden joys that out of darkness start
As flames from ashes; swift desires that dart
Like swallows singing down each wind that blows!
White as the gleam of a receding sail,
White as a cloud that floats and fades in air,
White as the whitest lily on a stream,
These tender memories are;—a fairy tale
Of some enchanted land we know not where,
But lovely as a landscape in a dream.


My mother was a hard-working person, who tried to make everyone's dreams come true at Christmas. She cooked enough on Christmas to practically keep all of us full until the New Year. An early riser, she would get up before everyone and savor those early morning moments with her first cup of coffee and the crossword puzzle from the morning paper. Other than that, she rarely took time off for herself, but the week between Christmas and New Years was hers. She'd set up the card table and begin a jigsaw puzzle. Anyone and everyone could take part. If someone dropped in, she would engage them in the puzzle. Time floats away as you concentrate on working a puzzle and she chose them to be challenging. Then on New Year's day, the puzzle finished, we took down the tree and put the ornaments away.

I kept that ritual going in my home after she died but then, somewhere, I stopped working puzzles. And this year, for the first time, I missed putting my ornaments away yesterday.

A couple of days after Christmas, I got into my stuffed full quilting closet and there, the "anniversaries of the heart", lay hidden. Memories came pouring out. Lacey doilies she had crocheted. Patches she had made for a bedspread. Her handwriting on wisps of paper pinned to fabric describing its future use. Her button collection.
I kept scraps from clothing she wore or made for my daughters. The closet had so many unfinished dreams, I've yet to finish the job.


With most of the material and stuff I'd put into the closet gone, it is looking much neater on this side. My sewing machine is giving me trouble and is out of the closet. I gotta find something better.


On this side of the closet, those nicely closed drawers were so stuffed full, the bottoms were warped and the drawers couldn't close.


My office is practically unnavigable for the stuff I unloaded from that closet. Yes, it was full of unfinished projects, but marvelous memories it contained have inspired me anew to finish them. Thanks Mom. Thanks Henry.

EVERGREEN STATE FAIR.

My idea of a great fair, is to eat all the greasy, yummy foods you don't make at home and don't eat out. Wow! Grilled turkey drums filled the bill. We arrived early with the idea to walk around during the coolest part of the day outside and do the inside exhibits when it got hotter. We weren't hungry yet, so we passed them for later.

A ride called Freak Out where your legs hang free with nothing under you, always freaked me out. I did ride one but it made me uncomfortable enough to never do it again.

I just KNEW someone was going to fall out of that contraption. But, no one did.

This ride was a bit milder.

At least they have a bar across the seat. I had fun watching them. Not interested in riding anymore.

Kids love the merry-go-round. Me too.

This little girl doesn't look to sure of a roaring lion. Maybe mom selected for her.

She might have been more comfortable on this kitty cat.

As we walked along, a horse judging event was taking place and we stopped to watch. My youngest daughter had a horse in our local fair and I kind of knew what was taking place. The student shows the horse to its best advantage in a set walk, with set positioning. It shows both the student's and the horses training and obedience, smooth handling, etc.

I picked this girl to win. It was a familiar move to watch her get her horse with his back legs spread and into a particular stance.

We met her later in the barns. And she won that event.

It helps to have a really great horse, too. And this one has many ribbons including a Grand Champ.

Hmmm!  Look at all these sausages, and onions, and peppers. It smells really good at the fair. I usually end up eating sausage something. This fair had no beer booths that I could see.

This guy was just sweating around those grills. He had heaps of fried potatoes and onions to go with those sausages. Oh, my. Not quite hungry enough yet. Good and greasy though.

Danny Vernon? Not sure I have his name right. He was a cool Elvis Impersonator. I've heard a couple Elvis's but this guy was really good. The moves, the looks, the whole show.

Then we came to the draft horses. They had clydesdales,  percherons, and possibly another type. They are enormous with enormous heads. Kind of intimidating.

Didn't seem intimidating to this young woman nonchalantly reading a mag.

You have to get up on a bench to dress and brush these giants.

Didn't bother this young girl, braiding a giant tail.

I don't know how this giant felt about having  a little tutu on her tail.

This draft horse has a beautiful tail, unlike the percherons. It was being harnassed for a wagon pull at 1:00. We intended to go back and watch it, but by then we were what seemed half a mile way from that arena.

We walked through the Home Arts building. Tons of needlework. People are often surprised to see that men design and sew quilts. This one is by Dave Ball, and has a masculine flavor.

Another by Robert Newsome, excellent points and beautiful quilting. I was impressed.

An interesting crazy quilt done in cotton, with flower prints.

One block from a farm themed quilt.

A woman making bobbin lace. I was impressed that she could talk and keep shifting bobbins at the same time. It takes intense concentration.

She showed me a framed piece she had done.

You don't often see real hooked rugs, using wool pieces instead of yarn. I make braided rugs, and hooked rugs. The problem is, I've hooked some pieces, but never actually finished a hooked rug. I have two that are half done. I love the darn things. They are heritage quality pieces when finished. Someday...

We are getting hungry and I love my fair food, but this giant corndog doesn't appeal to me. I'm posting the picture because this is my youngest daughter's favorite fair food. Betcha never saw one this big?

The swine barn was interesting. I'd never seen one of these cradles that prevents the sow from rolling over on her babies and killing them. In the old days, people kept their sows in pens where the babies could nurse through holes in the fence where she didn't have any space to roll. This is much friendlier for both.

And, the type of pigs we raised had curly tails. I didn't realize that some pigs have straight tails.

I watched this pigs tail as she tried to uncurl it and it would just retract back into a curl when she relaxed. What is really telling about fair animal barns is the lack of any unpleasant odors. Super clean.
I keep looking for the perfect junk food.

One booth was making gyros. I took a picture of this lady's gyro and I peeked and watched them make it first. Can you even see that one thin slice of lamb?

I finally settled for this chicken, taco salad. It was not very greasy but very tasty. I had a piece of chicken in just about every bite. I figured to save that turkey drum stick for later in the day.  But, we saw a lot more fair. More tomorrow.

GO BINS.

Our society is a throw-away society. Clothing clots the second-hand stores and everyone tends to wear an item once and toss it in the wash. The idea of wearing a pair of jeans for three or more days is foreign to young people. I not only wear my pants for a week, if they are clean, but T-shirts two or three days as well. If I’m out and about, I change, but to work around the house? It seems practical to me to do less washing and wear my clothing until it gets dirty. It lasts longer and doesn’t get washed to death. It saves water.
I’ve complained in this blog about truck loads of clothing and useable items being dumped into the landfill by a second-hand store manager. When I asked him why he doesn’t offer it to people for free, he said to me:  “You take care of your business and I’ll take care of mine.”
The economy has changed considerably since then. I was pleased to learn that Goodwill has put GO BINS in apartment complexes and other public places for people to unload their unwanted clothing and useable hard goods conveniently. And, in Calaveras County, where clothing was dumped in the landfill,  the county supervisors decided to approve the idea of deposit boxes in shopping centers with the same intent in mind. They used to have them, but they became messy as people rummaged through things and tossed stuff all over the parking lot. I don’t know how they intend to prevent that from happening. The Go Bins have a sensor telling when they are full.  Here,  I think they should do like Telluride, Colorado, and put up a shelving unit marked FREE. Like a bulletin board, people can bring or take things. What doesn’t get taken can be removed to a second-hand store or shipped overseas to countries that accept such goods. Waste is waste, and kids (and adults) might catch on to the benefits of not wasting stuff. Why not start a local factory producing rugs and quilts and insulation from unwanted fabric?  I’ve seen it done by volunteers all over the U.S. It can work here.

GRAND RAPIDS, MN.

After a gorgeous sunrise in Superior…one of the loveliest things about living on the road, we see the sun go down each night and the sun rise each morning. We left Superior, WI about nine, crossed this unique curving bridge into the State of Minnesota right at Duluth, and parked practically in an alley in Grand Rapids, MN.  In fact, we are parked between signs, one reads, No Overnight Parking and another Overnight Parking Violators will be towed at owners expense.  We actually got permission from a bank manager to park here in our constant hunt for free parking.  Thank you Wells Fargo.

We are parked in “Old Town” Grand Rapids. Old fashioned light posts, beautifully festooned with flower baskets so full I could reach then with my nose,though petunias are not particularly fragrant. To the left of this photo is an open lot with a farmers market just closing up as I started my walk about town. I bought delicious cherry tomatoes of every color. My goal was to visit Central School on the corner of 169 South and 2 West. We are beelining for Washington State and sticking tight to Highway 2.

Central School is on the National Register of Historical Places. The wooden central stairway and hardwood floors, are a thing of beauty. Four classrooms upstairs, four downstairs and a basement that once held offices and a cafeteria. The building now rents to shopkeepers, with a bakery, a quilt shop, antiques, quality wood work and jewelry and unique gifts. A lovely stop.

No matter how many times I see this sign, it brings me a chuckle. The other one I like is: “She who dies with the most fabric wins.” I guess you can tell I’m a quilter.

I’d never seen this pattern before. It is called stepping stones. ABC’s of Quilting carries some neat quilt kits along with the usual fabrics and quilting supplies.

The owner of Whispering Woods Gallery displays the work of many artists. These lovely items above are placed on a basswood plinth. He makes furniture, beds, desks, benches and uses various woods including basswood, which is unfamiliar to me.

He demonstrated the cambium layer of bark of the basswood tree because it is known for its strength. He uses it for bucket handles, it can provide rope for a bunk bed, or braided   hanging ornaments or lamps. The wood is soft like pine but very strong.

I loved that you can stop here for a game of checkers, another little area is set aside with floor pillows and a children’s reading library. Too fun.  You can sit and enjoy a treat from the bakery. Gifts, antiques, old and new items. A lot to offer.

I left the school and directly across the side street was a line-up of nice shops, Hopperton’s Moccasins and gifts. Nice stuff.

MacRostie Art Center where Ashley Kolka was in the process of setting up a new exhibit.

Fine arts, sculpture, jewelry, fine paintings, multiple medas.  this chair is exquisite with a price tag to match at $6,000.

Next door, a clothing store with wearable art, bags, shoes, scarves.

At Stained Glass With Class, I asked, “Are you the glass man?”  George Berkholz answered: look at my hands, I’m always full of cuts.  You really can’t tell, they are more like scratches. He and his wife Lisa work the shop and also host classes. I watched him work for awhile. He cuts glass so fast you can’t get the action with the camera.

He makes some unusual items.

Nice Shop, friendly people.

The Yarn Gallery was my favorite stop, well, a toss up with the wood gallery. The yarns are varied and pretty amazing, but I loved, loved, loved the yarn chair.

I’m goofy about art chairs. I don’t know quite how or why I’ve come across a bunch of objects turned art with yarn. My photos include a yarn bus, a cab, a bench I think an elephant or a giraffe. Too fun! For a quick stop, this was a nice area of Grand Rapids to be in.