Memories....
I opened a big bag of cat food yesterday...the kind that has been chain-stitched closed. You know, you get hold of the right end and pull and it all comes out. I have been opening cat food and dog food like this almost since I left home 30+ years ago, and it never fails to remind me of mom. In fact I may have said that on here before. Back then I don't think I ever saw the string any color other than white or off white.

My mom had a ball of string, only she called it twine. And she never threw any of it away. She used it to baste her quilt linings (backing we call them now...) into the frames. I know she used it for other stuff, but I can't for the life of me remember anything else. Doing the backings was the primary use.

And yesterday I left my rotary cutter open for just a second and was reaching back to get it and of course, I cut myself. Just a tiny cut, but it wanted to bleed like a stuck pig. So I came upstairs to get a band-aid. And that brought back that we very, very seldom had a band-aid in the house...unless it was some that company left there. I think maybe in last year or two we might have...maybe my brother Neal will chime in here and say if he remembers.

But she usually kept old sheets, and back then they were almost all white. If one of us needed a bandage, out would come the old sheet and it would be ripped to fit the need. If we got hurt, it did not slow us down much. But I digress...
I got to digging around in some treasures from my mom today. She would decide she wanted to make some quilt or wall hanging and she would sit down and sometimes trace a figure, but just as often as not she would just start cutting. Above is some of her leaves she has sat and cut...I have a whole box of other pattern parts and not sure what they go to.
This is a picture of the rest of the stuff in the tin box...notice how shaky her writing is on the envelope that says Double Wedding Ring. Late in her life her writing really did get shaky...I have a letter or two and you can really see it in it. But back to the double wedding ring...I cannot remember how many of those she has made since I have been alive, and I know she made some before I was born. I remember seeing an old black and white photo of quilts and I think one of them was a double wedding ring. She had no fear of curves...or anything when it came to sewing.

When she had things she wanted to save, a lot of times they were folded and rolled up and tied just like the two things above. Actually, the one thing is a bonnet torn apart to be used as a pattern. My mom always wore a bonnet when working in the garden...well, maybe not always but a big part of the time. She was one of the last people I know of that would wear bonnets.
And I even have an apron or two of hers that I kept. She was never without an apron, but I think I have told about that before so won't repeat myself.

She had the attitude that she could make anything that anyone else could...and one of her favorite sayings was that if you hadn't ever made a mistake, you hadn't done anything. Which is pretty much true if you think about it..

I am having blogger's block right now....I even went for a drive and that did not get me out of my slump. Normally, I come home renewed but not this time. Not sure what my problem is. I got a few pictures, not particularly in love with any of them as far as being a good quality photograph. As always, I encourage you to click to enlarge the photo.

But I came up over a little hill and down, and here were all these buckets...someone is tapping the maple trees. No one was around to talk to or I would have asked a few questions. I am sure it takes a lot of sap to make a gallon of syrup. I wondered as I looked around how they collected the sap...do they have a tank of some kind that they bring and fill. These were not near a house or building of any sort so it has to be transported some way.

Then the other thing today was all these lambs...I wanted to go around and pet them so bad. But I literally know nothing about sheep. I didn't know if I might disturb the mamas (ewes) or not. I know some of our old cows did not like strangers around their calves, so I wondered if sheep might be that way also. But the babies got up and started bleating and running my way...I left before they got any more worked up. I really think they thought I should have some kind of treat for them.