A "Special" gift...

   Have you ever received a special gift that was totally unexpected. Let me tell you a story about just such a gift I received.

   I will have to start at the beginning... it began some 16 years ago when I was looking for a birthday present for my dad.  I remember giving a lot of thought on what I could buy as a gift that my dad would appreciate and actually use.   Dad really didn't need much...he managed to make do with what he had... always comfortable with the simple things in life. So one day while visiting my parents home,  I noticed my dad working out in his garden wearing an old barn jacket.   I noticed his jacket was rather worn, with several sewn patches on it. I asked my mom about the jacket...she shared with me that he bought it at a garage sale for pennies, it had belonged to a dear friend who had passed away. Mom said he enjoyed  remembering his friend and telling the story on how he came to own this  perfect jacket for gardening. 

This got me thinking....if I could find a new jacket just like my dad's worn jacket, it would make the perfect birthday gift.   So off I went searching for a barn jacket.   I remember being rather excited about this idea.   Then after many stops with little luck finding a similar jacket...I  received a tip about a store in Batavia, NY that might sell barn jackets, so I travelled an hour to the outlet store in Batavia, NY called the Melton Shirt Co.  Sure enough I found a jacket almost exactly like the one I saw my dad wearing out in his garden.  I was so excited...I found the most perfect gift for my dad!

So when my dad's birthday arrived....I travelled home to celebrate my dad's birthday.   I was sure this gift was going to be received with amazement and appreciation.  As he opened the gift I could see he really liked it and thanked me for such a thoughtful gift...commenting on how great it will be to wear this new jacket while gardening.

Well... Each time I travelled home to visit my parents I would notice my dad's new jacket was still sitting in the closet, untouched.  After several visits I began asking my dad "When are you going to wear your jacket?" Dad would reply..."I will."  Several years passes... and the jacket sat tucked away in the closet...unused.   At the time I couldn't understand it, why wear an old worn jacket...when you had a new one to use.  It became a topic of conversation during each of our visits throughout the years.

Then one day, several years after I gave this jacket to my dad, I came home from work to see that a package was waiting for me.  The package was from my dad.  My dad never sent letters or packages... I carefully opened the package to find the barn jacket with a note..."Chris- I want you to have this wonderful jacket...I know you will enjoy wearing it. Love,Dad".   

Now several years later...I continue to wear this jacket...it is now worn and frayed in some spots.  But now I understood ...how my dad felt about his worn jacket.   My jacket became my favorite jacket to wear! It had a story behind it...one I enjoyed telling friends and coworkers.  I love my worn jacket and feel grateful my dad gave me this "special" gift!

Sisters...

 

My sister celebrated her 60th birthday a few months ago. Although I am only a couple of years from reaching this life milestone as well, it was a wonderful time to remember all the "fun" things we did growing up together in our hometown. I wrote this letter to my sister on her 60th birthday...

Dear Sandra- Happy Birthday!         November 9, 2013

This is such a special milestone in your life. As sisters we are connected by our childhood home in Lyons.  As we were growing up there were things we did as young children that didn't seem to mean all that much at the time and even as years pasted, not giving much thought to these childhood experiences.  But...now as adults it is so much fun to think back on all the interesting things we did, what they really meant to us and how "lucky" we were to experience them!

This is what I remember... Catching lightening bugs in the back yard, sledding down Chippie's Hill, trips to Roseland Park, skating on a pond or the community center ice rink, fishing with a bamboo pole, playing with the baby chicks in grandma's basement, swimming in our pool, apple picking, playing in the chicken coop at grandma's house, picking raspberries eating gooseberries, the smell of fresh baked cookies...mom made the best cookies, dressing up to go to church, having a grape fight with neighborhood kids, riding the tug boats between the canal locks, climbing aboard the caboose at the train station, sleeping at grandma's house in the old iron beds...listening to the trains go by, bundling up to play in the snow, family trips...all squeezed into the back seat of Dad's car, country rides to see the deer, fresh baked bread with peanut butter on it...Yum, and all the wonderful birthday celebrations with family...enjoying mom's great cooking, presents, cake and ice cream!

My wish for you is to have a wonderful 60th birthday and many returns! May our childhood memories be a source of many "smiles" for you as you think back on our experiences growing up!

Remember...."A sister is a little of childhood that can never be lost" by M.Garretty. Love, Chris

Fruit...

I remember growing up enjoying the many different fruits that my grandparents grew.   Today we go to the store and pick our fruit from shelves...paying quite a bit to enjoy the sweetness of berries, grapes, apples and such. But... as I was growing up, when we wanted a fruit to eat we would go into the backyard to pick fresh grapes, figs, cherries, pears, raspberries, currants, apricots and gooseberries. These fond memories not only included the fun of picking and eating these fruits...they also include the great care my grandparents gave these fruit plants, bushes and trees to ensure they were healthy plants and produced wonderful harvest of fruits!   At the time of growing up with these fruit trees, I think I took it for granted that these wonderful fruits would always be part of my backyard.  But as years past my parents yard and then my own yard changed and the fruit trees disappeared.  But I still remember...  all the wonderful fruits right in my own backyard as I was growing up.  I am thankful for this childhood experience.   "When eating fruit, think of the person who planted the tree." Author unknown.   

So what do you build with Barn Wood?

Will had several projects that he completed for a small business. Here are some of his projects...

Barn wood.....

A new adventure took my son Will and me searching for barn wood. A request had been made to craft   several boxes from repurposed wood. So where do you go to get barn wood?  Why to the countryside.  As my husband and I drove through the country we observed several farms with old broken down barns.   You wood think that you could just go up to a barn and pick a few pieces of old wood....with owner's permission.   Not so easy....come to find out farmers have a lot of attachment to their old barns.   As if they are part of their family....with many important memories. So after a few failures of talking directly with the land owners...and a gentle remember from a state policeman...I decided to take a different approach.   I advertised that I was looking for barn wood.   Who would of thought that barn wood would be so expensive....many wanted $5 a foot.   It almost seemed hopeless until a response came from a person named Jason.   He said he was going to be taking a barn down close by and he would be willing to help us get some wood.  So in the dead of winter Will and I drove  to met meet Jason.....sure enough there sat a very large barn...very old and half fallen down.  Will walked around with Jason and picked out the wood he would like.  Took a couple of months for the barn to come down.....piece by piece.   So one day....the call came and off we went with a circular saw to cut barn wood for some projects.  Here are some pictures of our adventure of  "barn wood".

Laughter...

    

"The most wasted of all days is that during which one has not laughed."

-Nicolas De Chamfort

Laughing is the best medicine for your soul.  It is almost always free, fun to do and makes you feel good! This picture is of a card I received a few years ago from someone very special. I keep it on my craft desk as a reminder that it is good to find humor in things,  and take time to be happy. So, what are those things that make us laugh...

well here are a few of mine....

Reading the funny papers, Watching a funny show - "Big Bang Theory" for one, telling a joke, remembering a funny situation and discussing it, getting together with friends and talking about old times, playing a slot machine - winning(!), watching a chipmunk stuff his cheeks, looking at old photos when you were a kid - especially school photos, watching Ellen Degeneres' TV talk show, going to a Bill Cosby Show - Live, hearing a good joke, watching someone come out of bathroom - trailing toilet paper on their shoe(thinking - glad that wasn't me), playing a joke on my son(and him playing one on me), spending time with my husband doing silly things - although they didn't seem funny at the time-and then laughing about it, receiving a "surprise package in the mail - and feeling really great that someone thought of you, winning at "I got it" game at the fair - laughing at the silly prize you pick out, playing with squirt guns in the backyard, playing "Phase Ten" card game...

 

Easter Eggs...

      A longtime tradition in our family was to have an egg tree for Easter. Years ago my father would take us out and help us pick the best branch for the tree. We would bring it into the house, find an old coffee can, fill it with clay to hold the branch firm.  The eggs took some time to prepare - my mom would wash the eggs, then using a large needle she would poke a hole at each end of the egg. Then we each take a turn - first shaking the egg, then blowing through one end so the yok would come out the other end. Once the egg yok was removed we washed each egg and let them drain til they were dry. It was not always an easy task blowing the yok out.  And then what to do with all that scrabble egg yoks?? Then the fun began - my mom, brothers, sisters and I sat around the kitchen table and began decorating the eggs. I remember how proud we were of these eggs and how much fun it was to decorate the branch.  As years past and my siblings  and I have grown-up, we carried this tradition into our own homes.  We each have an Easter Egg tree - now decorated with our own eggs that our families made. Each year we would save the eggs from years before - showing a history of our special times in decorating our eggs.  Looking through my collection of Easter Eggs - I see dated eggs going back 31 years! Wow! And to think they haven't broken over time.

Eggs are given on Easter Sunday as a direct representation of  Jesus' resurrection and life beginning anew.  The symbolism also indicates as the bird emerges from its shell, so did Jesus from his tomb.

We didn't realize we were making Memories...
                                   we just knew we were having fun!

This is a picture of a basket filled with some of the Easter Eggs I made. They are blown out eggs wrapped in Embroidery thread. The process involved spreading tacky glue on egg shell and then carefully wrapping thread around the egg. Multi color thread results in the stripes once wrapped around the egg. This beautiful glass basket was a gift from my step-daughter. It remains in my dining room and is used for displaying some of my favorite things - such as my seasonal rag balls and for Easter - beautiful Easter Eggs.