quiltersmuse.com Blog

More and more, people are becoming “numbers,” in many ways. I’m not sure when this situation began. The first indication was the machine at the meat counter that dispensed numbers on little papers that were called, in order, so that no one would “cut the line.”

Another situation that comes to mind was waiting to be seen at the Air Force Hospital Clinic when I was expecting a baby…along with a long line of other so-called “pregnant guppies.” I felt like a number then, just one more of the crowd to be “processed.”

Of course, our lives are ruled by other numbers like Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, credit card numbers. In all, our personal and business identification numbers make up our credit profile, and when those numbers are stolen, we risk becoming victims of “identity theft.”

It doesn’t take much for someone’s credit record to get mixed up with that of someone else who has been less scrupulous, or less timely, in paying bills. A few years ago, I was shopping in a department store and was going to pay for clothes purchases with a major credit card. On that day, there was an offer for an additional 10% off the total bill, if one signed up for their store brand card.

To apply through their computer system, the young clerk punched in the information, and then said, “Sorry, mamm, credit denied.” I stood there, mouth agape, in amazement. I pay all the bills immediately and have a stellar financial record, or so I thought. No, according to the credit reports that I later requested, someone with the same first and last name, who is a deadbeat, and who has probably filed for bankruptcy by now, had her information entangled throughout my report. More than a year was required to straighten out that mess!

Numbers reflect an impersonal world. In a small town, in years gone by, the shop owner would know your name, and would also be aware of the names of every member of your family as well as many other details gained by gossip or direct knowledge.

Ah, it is a changing world. I don’t like it. There’s a lot I don’t like about today’s world. Don’t get me going! In so saying, I am reminded of a picture of my late mother when she was young. She has a frown on her face, and in her own writing, above that picture in a scrapbook, she writes, “Smilin’ Thru.” If we can’t keep a sense of humor, what do we have left?

By the way, anyone can request a free credit report, once a year, from any of three major companies who keep track of this information, one of which is Esperian. Check your report carefully and report any discrepancies. A good credit record is always wise to maintain!

Have a super weekend!

Patricia

Not having running water, or even a sink in the bathroom for several weeks, made me appreciate what life was like in this house when it was first built in 1821. At that time, the “facilities” consisted of an outhouse that overhung the “gully,” teetering on the edge of it. Right beside the structure were two hen houses. When I first lived here, there were chickens and yes, a rooster – a very loud rooster whose job it was to be an alarm clock, the minute the sun started rising in the east.

Our bathroom downstairs is the smallest room in the house. I always imagined it to have been used as a birthing room, although I have no knowledge of children having been born here to previous owners of the house. All I know is that we are the fourth couple to have lived here, in almost two centuries. The bathroom used to have a door that led outside. The area is now a window. The well is located on that side of the house, so it must have been handy to exit from that room.

One day, in recent memory, Jim took one look at the bathroom and decided to make some changes. He went to the lumber store and bought whatever boards he needed to build a new cabinet for the sink. He recycled a cabinet door that was in the cellar and cleaned up a closing mechanism that says “1871,” on the underside. Then, we went to a pottery place and purchased a sink with Chickadees on pine boughs painted inside it.

In the meantime, there were many trips to buy plumbing parts, the kind of special stain he wanted for the wood, plumber’s “goop,” etc. Home Depot is to him as Keepsake Quilting is to me. Fun to browse, think, and plan!

Hand painted pottery – bathroom sink by Sharon Oliver of Granite Lake Stoneware, 544 Granite Lake Rd., Munsonville, NH 03457  (603) 847-9908.

Of course, the potter also had a Chickadee liquid soap dispenser, and a Chickadee bar soap holder. Both were irresistible. I remembered that I had stitched Chickadees on a bird feeder, and Pansies, in Crewel Embroidery, on a hand-painted background, so I retrieved that framed piece from a closet where it had been staying ever since we “made over the bedroom,” about a year ago. That piece is enough to convince anyone that we really, really like birds!

There is more work to be done! Jim wants to add new hardware to the cast iron bathtub, including a spray nozzle. He also plans to replace some of the hardwood floor boards. In the meantime, there is yard raking to do, and more work, as spring and summer chores kick into place. He is so hopeful that we shall have no more snow, he moved the snowblower from the summer porch to the cellar.

Running water in a sink…such a little thing. A more aesthetic rest room…so much work to create, yet pleasing when done. This old house is one that gives us so much to do, but at the same time, provides so much enjoyment.

For now, I’m smiling, ear to ear, admiring the results of Jim’s “Yankee Ingenuity” and know-how. If we had to pay someone to take care of all of the details that this ark requires, we could never afford to live here. We have both made up our minds to work hard. We are happy!

Best wishes,

Patricia

Good evening,

I have just published an online file entitled, “Historic Embroidered Girlhood Samplers.”

For some time now, I have had a keen appreciation of these items from the past. I hope that you enjoy the information in the article.

Patricia Cummings

Every spring, we look forward to seeing the first flowers to appear in our yard: the perennial “Glory of the Snow.” This particular set of flowers, shown here, somehow migrated to the edge of the foundation, just below the lowest (old) clapboard on the house. Our perennial flowers are apt to come up any old place, and the result of letting this happen has created an interesting mix of plants in odd places. I had to smile when I saw this patch of blue flowers. I hope you will, too. Happy Spring! Pat

I like the spirit of the song, “Rally Round the Flag,” written in 1862, during a time of low spirits for Union troops. The tune is upbeat, and the words show the determination of purpose that when the war was done, no man would remain a slave. In the end, countless lives were lost, but a new nation had been shaped.

The United States has a long history of fighting against tyranny. Isn’t that at the very core of our democracy? Every day, we all struggle to maintain the freedoms we have, and to reach a point where we are all living in peace, as individuals, as families, as communities, and in the greater world.

This song spoke to my heart, and like two other “war” songs that I recorded recently (”Mrs. McGrath,” and “Johnny, I Hardly Knew You,”), I play them because they are meaningful to me, and I hope, educational, for you.

Click here to access the Song Playlist.

Have a great Tuesday!

Patricia