Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving Week in Retrospect [with photo over-load!]

Early in the week I set myself to sorting the disrupted bedroom.
J. turned a conveniently deaf ear to my pleas for assistance in rearranging a framed picture or two, so I decided to risk the bashing of mis-placed nails and managed to hang the lower quilt block on the second try,
and got up the brackets for the wall-hanging--at which point I discovered I had never created a 'rod-pocket' on the back of said quilt--so down to the family room to some speedy hand stitching.

Most of my large quilts were made when we used a queen-sized bed, so there isn't much allowance for the king-sized bed.  The fabrics in this Bear Tracks quilt are some of my favorites, so I folded it over the coverlet where the autumn colors can be enjoyed.
The cats have decided they can deal with the rearrangement of furniture.

I moved the quilt rack to the end of the hallway below my g-grandparent's framed wedding certificate.
The pieced blocks in the blue Double Four-Patch quilt were hand sewn in 1916 by Esther Jane Lewis who was then 9 years old.  The quilt was in rough shape when I acquired it after her death.
I picked out the best of the blocks, including the signed one, and reset them with a fabric
which had a vintage look.
The quilt on the back bar is a very simple one stitched up on a snowy December day using remnants of winter-themed fabrics in dull greens, deep reds and old gold.

The day before Thanksgiving was cool, with intermittant showers.
Pebbles refuses to 'go in out of the rain' and grazes along the edge of her pasture.

At times during the afternoon the clouds parted over whisps of blue sky
and rather lack-luster sunshine picked out the leafless trees beyond the creek.

Frosty nights have blackened the most tender herbs in the little plot just off the back door.
This tri-color sage has grown fresh new leaves since I harvested sage and thyme last month.

This is one of the lavenders I raised from seed this season.
I have hopes that it will winter.

Gina and her cousin Susan hatched plans for a family Thanksgiving get-together.
S. and her family live about 5 1/2 hours away and are intrepid travelers.
G. and I planned meals, divided up the cooking and baking.
G. had sleeping spaces for the three teenagers. I plumped pillows and folded a Maple Leaf quilt over the foot of the bed in our guestroom/office for Susan and Mark.
I was in the midst of a baking orgy when the family drove in after lunch at G.'s.
[My out-put for the day was 4 loaves of bread, 3 pies, and a pan of cranberry/date bars.]
D. was designated to convey a pie and loaf of bread, still warm, to friends up the road who are in the midst of a house renovation.
S. is a multi-talented and creative person.
She brought us gifts of her homemade jams, pickles and conserves.
Whether at home or visiting, she is out of bed and showered, moving soundlessly about before daylight.
When I arose at 7 she was cozily installed in the rocking chair by the fire, stitching at one of her beautiful applique projects.


This young gentleman did NOT ride on top of the mattress which was being moved a mile down the road to Gina's house!

Thanksgiving Day was warm and sunny. Dinner was planned for mid-afternoon.
J.'s cow gave birth on Wednesday, and Thursday morning brought a distress call from the Yoders [where Dory the Cow is boarded.]
Dory was down with 'milk-fever' [hypocalcemia] and of course the farm supply store was closed for the holiday.  J. rushed to borrow a bottle of calcium solution from the Jersey farm up the road, had to visit another neighbor to find the rubber tubing and needle to administer it.
Dory didn't respond as well as expected, so a call was made to a local vet who provided another bottle of calcium as well as a calcium paste to be given orally.
[She survived--after a shaky few hours.]
There was still time for the men of the family to haul a load of firewood---a job undertaken with considerable good humor--before we gathered at G.'s house for the Thanksgiving feast.



Friday afternoon was a time for farewells and the promise to gather again soon.
The leftovers have been cheerfully shared and consummed.
G. [blessings on her!] is busy today decorating her house for the Christmas season.
Here, a mile down the road, its been a quiet Sunday---time this morning for me to read by the fire while J. poked at his laptop and Willis the Barncat appropriated his chair.
As the day draws into night's early darkness, our little house is filling with the good smells of
beef simmering in a thick gravy; J. has fetched in some of the last potatoes from the garden which have been scrubbed and tucked in the oven to bake.
Coleslaw made from one of our late cabbages is waiting in the fridge.
G. and D. have been alerted that we have dinner to share.

12 comments:

  1. Your quilts are lovely they are very special because so much love goes into stitching them,I love mine.Lots of lovely pics you have posted.Love Jill xx

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  2. Wonderful Holiday photos, MM.
    I am glad that you had a lovely Holiday, with family. I am also glad the cow is doing ok, its generally the holidays when something goes wrong, both human and critters, it seems that way at my house, and when I was a tech at some of the vet clinics I worked at through the years.
    Take care, have a wonderful up coming week.

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  3. What a lovely post about your life the past few days, with quilts done in the past, decorating, cooking, sharing, love and joy. So glad the cow survived too. That is a blessing.

    Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

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  4. Thank you for sharing your family Thanksgiving gathering ...loved all the photos ...it was nice to see things being given wall space again ...I remember so many of your quilts and patch work pieces from your previous home.
    Glad Dory suvived ...it must have been so stressful dealing with the problem.xx

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  5. Jill; I'm glad you enjoyed the quilts. I think handmade items make a home very personal.

    Denim; You've got it--an emergency just will happen on a weekend or holiday! When we had the farm Jim had a well-stocked cupboard of veterinary supplies and could handle many situations. We surely weren't prepared for this one.

    FL; I wasn't sure these family doings would be of interest, although I always enjoy the details which others share. So much of our lives is about the little things.

    Angie; My eyes are really drawn to these familiar bits and pieces which are finding a place on walls and shelves. This house being smaller than those we've had previously, I'm still having to edit belongings so that we don't end up looking like a charity shop!

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  6. Oh what beautiful quilts and I am drooling over the stunning applique flowers wallhanging. The last year or so has been rather dire for crafts in this house as I need to feel happy to sew, but fingers crossed, it's coming back to me . . .

    It sounds like you had a wonderful family Thanksgiving - had to giggle at the modish form of transport - have mattress, will travel!!!

    I'm glad thaht the cow pulled through.

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  7. I did enjoy sharing your family Thanksgiving. Lovely for you that G is now just along the road.

    Good to hear that Dory the Cow is recovering. I had a horse with acute colic one Christmas Day. Thankfully, he recovered too but it didn`t help with plans for Christmas Dinner!

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  8. Everything looks so wonderfully peaceful! I do admire quilt makers. You made some pretty ones. (I always have problems when it comes to the sashing)Glad you could figure out what to do to save the cow. PS: Glad the pie turned out for you!

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  9. I loved this post, I like all your different news.
    Your quilts are just lovely, they make your home very welcoming. I was interested to hear how you restored the quilt made by Esther |Jane lewis. I would love to have a better look at it (you only just got it all tidy and folded!).
    I think there is nothing nicer than hand crafts and baking to say "welcome".
    I smiled at your "charity shop" comment, my house was once described as cross between a pub and a junk shop LOL (fair enough).

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  10. It looks like you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, that's what the holiday is all about, being with our family and friends.
    Love your quilts! Your room looks so warm and inviting it must be hard for guests to leave.

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  11. Sharon- I was here on your blog looking at your beautiful quilts, when I saw a message pop up that you had just left a comment on my blog! what synchronisity!! The quilts are beautiful- your skills are far more advanced than mine!

    i do have to ask- where's Willis? I havent seen him in a while?

    Leanne x

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  12. Hello MM! Your words and imagery are so beautiful that I've given you an award. You can read about it on my latest post.

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