Faith, Folklore, and Friends

~Florence Main Street photo I do not like the cold North breeze or temps low enough to freeze the pipes, the plants, and the parts of motor cars that make them start. I do not like the freezing rain that makes the roads a major pain to try to get to work and school. I do not like it, and I’m no fool. I do not like the mushy snow. It doesn’t set my heart aglow. Instead, it just makes me mean as I pine for something green. I do not like the low, gray sky. Sometimes, it makes me want to cry when I think of all the blue skies gone and weeks of winter yet to come. I do like the summer, humid and hot; long lazy days and temps that do not fall below seventy, even at night! Hurry up, Summer! It’s nowhere in sight. ~ Wanda Stricklin Robertson

For a while now, I've had computer trouble, Internet trouble, and winter trouble, so I haven't been blogging much.  Thank you to those who have missed it, but some things are just bigger than me.  Hopefully, after many hours of repair work, everything is working again, at least, for now. In the meantime, my winter quilting class has started, and is off to a great start.  I'm thankful for my students who have braved the cold nights to get to class. This year, I have three students who are very different in some ways but all are in love with quilts.  Their class names are Dolly Madison, Roslyn Carter, and Jackie Kennedy. We have learned shortcuts on making half-square triangles that are in this first quilt.  We have talked a lot about quilting tools and how different it was back in the day when some of the world's best quilts were created.  Stay tuned; it is going to be a fun and inspirational class! This class is made possible by a grant ...

The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!”               And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come;  and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.     ~Revelation 22:17

The woman looked anxiously at the sky, then bent over to get another wet diaper to hang on the clothes line to dry.  She was enjoying this warm weather, but something  just didn't seem right, it being late January and all.  Still sore from the birth of her baby girl a few days ago, she quickly hung the cotton diapers to dry.  She could see the clouds building in the western sky. By the time she collected the dry diapers a few hours later, the sky was overcast and a northwest wind cut though  her cotton house dress.  Grabbing her heavy coat, she began to bring in dry wood for the fireplace.  By the time she had enough for that night, a cold rain had began to fall.  When her husband got home from work a little while later, the rain had begun freezing and already, a thin glaze of ice covered the porch steps. They listened, quiet, that night as the rain pounded the tin roof of the house and the wind raged outside their windows.  The husba...

In Loving Memory Mary Lynn Stricklin Horton January 12, 1937-December 2, 1990 Let's just pretend, because it's your birthday, that the lump in your breast was a mosquito bite that disappeared in a few days and your life continued normal, if normal can describe life. I will call you up and tell you to come by, the coffee's on and there's coconut cake. We'll talk about hair color and plants. You will be amazed at how the grandchildren have grown.     We will speculate about Rosie's new man and how high the price of groceries will rise because of the early freeze.   I will make you a copy of that quilt pattern you've been wanting. We will giggle at old stories: the time you broke your foot riding a bicycle, the leaves in the chicken stew. We will groan about our weight gain and I will say your boobs are as big as the moon.  We will refuse to talk about cancer. We won't t...

On Wednesday, when the temps got above freezing, we decided that we really needed to buy some food.  When we were finished at the store, I swiped my debit card, and it was declined.  Really?  I only had about forty dollars worth.  The checker tried it again; declined again.  Hub tried his, and it was declined.   I felt something akin to panic and the checker advised us to talk to the bank, ASAP. In just a few minutes, the bank informed us they had put a hold on our account, because someone was trying to get funds that they had not worked for.  A big shout out to Bank Independent for paying attention. I have a couple of hints for the hacker: 1. Men who have lived in North Alabama all their lives do not speak with a heavy Middle-Eastern accent.  The person at the bank knew immediately that you were an impersonator, and although you were able to access all of our security questions, you were not able to answer questions about the...

Our internet has been sporadic for several weeks.  Last week, it completely quit so we had to have a Comcast technician to come and repair it on Saturday afternoon.  He replaced the modem, and the internet worked fine.  Until Monday morning.  We called again, and another technician came late yesterday.  He checked all the connections outside.  He found that the squirrels, who apparently own this place, had chewed the cable lines almost in two where they connected at the pole.  He replaced everything necessary, and we are good to go this morning. This just goes to show that no matter how smart we get, there are always unanticipated things that can so wrong, like hungry squirrels. I'm guessing the squirrels are tired of sunflower seed.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.  ~Psalm 119:105

The tradition of eating certain food on New Year's day in order to bring health, wealth, and all good things in the new year is old. So old, in fact, that no one can really pinpoint when it started. The food varies greatly depending on what part of the world you live in. One explanation for the South, that is just as good as any to me, is that during the Civil War, the northern soldiers had not been taught about the goodness of garden greens. It is told that when the soldiers passed through and took all the food, they left the greens and the black-eyed peas, finding them undesirable. The people who stayed ate what was left. Probably a more accurate scenario is that greens will grow all winter here except during the coldest winters, and cooks wanted something fresh to prepare for the New Year's holiday. Who knows? This New Year's day, we made the collards a little different than usual. There is absolutely nothing wrong with Grandma's or Paula Deen...

One of my favorite gifts this year was this ceramic Santa that my friend, Connie, gave me.  He was so handsome in his red suit and hat, sitting in my dining room for the whole Christmas season.  When I look at him, I can see Connie sitting at her table, painting away, and concentrating on getting everything just right. I love knowing she spent her precious time making this art for me. Today, he is wrapped in a quilt in a big, blue bin, ready to be taken to the storage room until around Thanksgiving next year.  I'm looking forward to using this gift every Christmas that I get to experience from now on!

Once again, we have been given another chance, another attempt to get it right, another calendar with blank pages that will be filled, one way or another.   What can we fill them with? A lot of laughter and crying, some compassion, and more than a little kindness. We can stand boldly for what is right. We can buy some seed, Plant something, anything, and watch it grow.   We can share what we know and what we grow, green happiness.   We can do something we have never done before; something so far outside of our comfort zone that no one believes you can make it.   But you will.   We can go somewhere we have never been before, in a car or a train or a ship or a book.   We can use our minds to soar through the stars and come home again.   We can pray for wisdom and apply the gifts we are given. We can listen, we can linger, we ca...