Today's Patchwork

I'm not a quilter like my very talented friend Patti who blogs on Osage Bluff Quilter (click on the link to see some of her lovely work), but I often think about life being something like a patchwork quilt...you know, bit and pieces of events/beliefs/actions stitched together to make us who we are...today's post is a patchwork of a few snippets of my life...

I paused as I walked past our garden today.  There is nothing left but some weeds and lots of fallen leaves that will create great compost. Mixed emotions flooded me as I stood there...gratitude for the bountiful harvest, sadness that everything was now picked (I picked the few remaining carrots yesterday), relief that I could take a break from preserving (don't get me wrong, I love canning, drying, freezing what we've grown, but it's a lot of work...seems funny that you have to can in the heat of the summer, would be much more comfortable dealing with all that boiling water and steam when it's cold outside), anticipation for all the joy we will experience with next years garden and the resolution that we still need to clean it out and prepare it for winter's rest.  This garden has brought me great joy, I've learned a lot, and it's a rustic, earthy colored patch on my life's quilt.

I went to see my friend Bertie (and husband Ron) to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving (we are heading to our river place and then gathering with the family for the holiday) and visit for a while.  Bertie looked happy and peaceful and pretty in her blue outfit...those are toe socks on her feet...we have matching pairs though mine are red...that we each bought when shopping together some time back...she deserves to be feeling happy after all she and Ron have been through over the past several weeks.  At one point we were laughing about family/friends...you can like someone, you can love someone, but you don't necessarily have to like and love them...but we both agreed we liked and loved each other.  I will miss her so much when they move away, but she'll always be a bright, beautiful patch on my life's quilt.

I had mentioned that I attended the Jackson County Netwest Open House at City Lights last weekend...I met many interesting writers and enjoyed listening to several authors reading some of their works.  The photo below includes Glenda Beall (red scarf), a new friend I met through blogging.  She's been very supportive of my blog and my writing pursuits; I'm enjoying our new friendship and everything I am learning about writing.  My blog is a textured, woven and expanding patch on my life's quilt...I can't wait to see what's coming next!

This evening sky is from a few nights ago.  My log cabin life is a large vibrant patch smack dab in the middle of my quilt...my life wouldn't be the same if we had not made the decision to come here.  Just think, we planned on living this life for one year and here we still are, 18 months later! 

Don't get me wrong, there are many parts of my life's quilt I haven't described here, these are just today's patches...perhaps I'll share more patches in the future.

Thanks for reading my blog, you are the best f/f/r/s/f's, see you tomorrow,
Lise