It's not just stuff!

Today was a heart tugging day. A friend and I, helped another friend cleaned out their family home. I am always amazed at the things we all collect throughout out lives. And it always is tough to see that something that meant so much to someone, might now.., really not mean anything to someone else. Guess that is where the old saying  " One's man junk is another man's treasure " comes from probably. Still it is hard to imagine that all these things have a meaning and a story and it may be now...that no one will ever know what it is.
I guess that is why I have always loved antiques and felt grateful if I knew where they came from and whose they belong to in the past. I am glad that I have so many things of my grandmothers and she did tell me the stories about them, which make that even more valuable to me.
It made me want to come home and go through my things, closets and drawers to organize them more. I made my kids promise that when I pass away, that they will share the things I have to someone who would appreciate them, and especially to those who might need them.
 Still I am sure that there will be more than one chuckle about something I have, as they ask themselves " What in the world did Mom plan to do with this? " Or something even worse like
" What in the world is this?"
Maybe I should make a list of things and write down the stories about each one of them. That might take some time, wonder if there is a faster way to do that?
I have tried to share a lot of my stories to my Grandchildren, they have sharp and young minds, maybe they will remember them ?  Let's hope so! I hope at least they will defend my things and say
 " It's not just stuff! ", because it meant a whole lot more to me!

I think I should have a plaque on my sewing room that says...

Birth Certificates...
Show that we were born.

Death Certificates ...
Show that we died.

But Quilts and crafts...
Show that we really LIVED!!!

That quote just made me smile!
Good Night dear friends!

In our Hearts

Last night for Family Home Evening, we helped clean out someone's home. Our friend lost her Mother and we were helping her go through all her stuff, and try to set things up so she could have an Estate Sale. She said that her Mother had lived in that home for 30 years, and  you could tell that by all the things that she had accumulated. I thought as we went through things, how sad it is in a way, that these things that meant so much to her but don't have the same value to those around her. Of course some things did and were very precious to her family, but we weren't really dealing with that we were dealing with all the stuff in her cupboards and garage.

It made me realize that I need to go through my stuff and see what I really need and then try to find a home for the rest, that I probably don't need. My friend's heart is breaking, it seems sometimes the circumstances are such that you just have to keep going, planning things like the funeral, reading the will, dividing things up, worrying about selling the family home and on and on. It doesn't seem fair that some of that can't wait until you are properly done mourning for your loved one. But that is not the way it is, some things have to be done right now. I saw how her heart was breaking and how tired she was. We were glad to help in some small way. I found this poem and it made me glad that death doesn't take away our love and memories of them. I am glad that they always stay in our hearts. Good night dear friends!

In Our Hearts
Author Unknown

We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.

We thought about you yesterday,
And the days before that, too.

We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.

Now all we have is memories,
And your picture in a frame.

Your memory is our keepsake,
With which we'll never part.

God has you in His Keeping.
We have you in our Heart.

 

"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up -- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had."

- Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

"Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal."  ~From a headstone in Ireland

Stuff, Stuff and More Stuff!

Well, it is late and I am so tired that I don't think I should write very much, who knows if I will make any sense. I have been reorganizing my Sewing Room, it isn't a very big room so...you probably wouldn't think it would take someone so long to do that but...you have never seen my stuff! So of course I had to call in the World's Greatest Organizer...my daughter Amy. She is so amazing with taking a room full of STUFF and organizing it in a way that is amazing and functional. I love it even thought it's not quite done. But I am finished for the night, I noticed about a half hour ago that I just took stuff from one box and put it into another box. I didn't sort through it or decide if I wanted it or not; instead I just moved it from one area and then when I looked around, there it was again...just in a different location. I think that is a sign I really needed to stop.

I will try and finish it up tomorrow, I have a lot of sewing to do for work so...I had better get it organized soon. I also found a lot of my quilt tops that are completed but I just haven't quilted them. So I decided that I am not going to buy any more material for myself, until I start knocking out some of these quilts. I have got to make sure that I start finishing these projects before I begin another...what a concept. Good night dear friends!

 

"Quilters aren't greedy, they're just materialistic."

“Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
~Roman Catholic Saint Francis of Assisi

"When life gives you scraps - make a quilt."