I spent yesterday traipsing around Pennsylvania with Lois, digging through antique malls!
Can you believe that we didn't even hit a SINGLE quilt shop? NADDA-ONE! But Oh, the lovely antique textiles were petted, fondled, appreciated (okay, some were hysterically laughed at!) and SOME...are coming home!
You'll have to bear with me...There isn't room (OR LIGHT!) to get pics of what I bought in this hotel room...but I know you will love my finds if you can just wait a couple days for me to get a good way to get them photographed!
I did, however, bring you some eye candy!
Look at this lovely Sugar Loaf type quilt with the great red setting triangles! This quilt was a "display only" and it must have served its purpose because we made a beeline for it. :c)
It must have been our lucky day because we found blocks and textiles everywhere. Even Lois said it was unusual to find such a bounty!
This was an antique mall in Strausburg, PA and there were lovely things around each and every corner! I just love the simple designs of these blocks, and the very very VERY Pennsylvania Dutch fabrics and colors. Yummy!
Oh I love the rusty-madder/pumpkin color of this album quilt! And it was in such GOOD condition!
Yummy reds were everywhere...this log cabin was wonderfully quilted! And what you see in the left of the pic was a HUGE spinning wheel, I couldn't get a good shot without that wheel being there!
Close up of the wonderful late 1800s fabrics!
There are more pics to show...but if I post them all here now, you'll be scrolling forever, so I'll save some for a rainy day!
Today I left Bel Air, MD..and drove down to Annapolis! I went to the visitor's center and signed myself up for a 2.5 hour walking tour, and it was the best choice I could have made! My guide was fabulous, all kinds of historical knowledge and walking these historic streets and thinking...Wow...George Washington really was here....two signers of the declaration of Independence attended this church, seeing the other buildings, and having the awesome opportunity to stroll across the grounds of the Naval Academy, wander through the naval academy museum, walk down on the water front, have a wonderful lunch at the coolest diner ever (I had a hot pastrami on rye and a bowl of Maryland crab soup! Mmmm!) was just....I can't put it into words!
I'm now writing to you from Cambridge, MD...I have plans tomorrow to do some more sight seeing here, and in St Michaels, and perhaps on into Easton if there is time. The Southern Comforter's retreat doesn't start until 3pm, so there is a nice opportunity for me to do some more wandering and browsing.
Yesterday and today have been total medicine for my soul. You know, the internet does strange things. Blog reading and email lists and forums and facebook and all a sundry make us think we "KNOW" people. I'm going through a bit of a difficult time trying to find balance with how much of "ME" to put out there. No matter what you think you know about me ((or anyone else for that matter)), just know there is an awful lot that isn't said. That goes for any of us.
A couple weeks ago, a blogger that I had been reading for a while took her own life.
It's sad. It's senseless. It has made it really hard for me to try to be chatty on superficial things. And I don't know the story. All I knew is I had followed her blog, and then for a long time there was no update, and it was from someone else that I found out what happened, but not really what happened. I don't know why she did what she did or how or anything. It feels surreal that she is gone. I couldn't have stopped it, and by her blog you would have never have seen it coming. She was engaged to be married to a great guy...she loved her dog and posted about her doggie adventures all the time. Life seemed to be good, so what happened? I'll never know. There is no way to find out, and I think I'm not supposed to find out. Why are we so enthralled with the details of someone else's life? I'm just sad. She was a beautiful person, and no matter how public her blog was, evidently she was suffering behind the scenes and it has just made me think so much. What could have been different?
So...no matter how perfect someone's life looks like on the outside, we've all got our hurts and challenges and struggles on the inside. I love this pic. I think it's a good thing to remember especially through the upcoming holidays. Be Kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle~~ Plato.
21 comments:
Hi Bonnie. I'm glad you had a day to enjoy, and I guess to reflect a bit too. Sorry for the sad news.
I noticed you changed your blog background, it suits your style very well!
Well said Bonnie! Glad that you are having some down time for yourself. Looking forward to tomorrow for some reason! LOL!
Blessings!
Kimberly
Love your adventures and your wisdom! It is difficult to decide what to put "out there" -- and we quilter bloggers, just like writers, have a "voice" that tends to take on a persona of its own, us but also the person we wanna be. And with the crazies (trolls! :-D), there is the fear that too much revealed might cause harm in a totally different way! Maybe the best answer is to share what we are comfortable sharing, and say a prayer for all those whose blogs we read, and as often as possible choose encouragement over criticism, blessings over cursing, beauty for ashes -- all of which you do very well! :-) And when tragedy strikes, do what quilters have done for hundreds of years -- get together and sew and cry and love on each other and go on. It's soo good to be a quilter!
Blessings,
Mary Lou
I've enjoyed your blog and books for a long time and wish I knew you'd be in Maryland as I live in the Annapolis area. It's wonderful and you made a great choice to take the tour. Email if you are still in the area and have a desire for even more of the Maryland crab experience.
What a marvelous comment from Mary Lou, and thanks for the reflection and the great quote
Dear Bonnie
You don't have to post this... it can be a 'for your eyes' only.
I am near tears now about your 'blog friend' Living where I do and making that changes I have had to make at my age to live here I can understand how a blog can fill a place that nothing else can fill. There are 'friends' with no judgment or negative history. Just sweet words and encouragement. One can be only who they really wish to be and show only what they wish to show :-)
It is a good 'band-aid' place but not a permanent fix-it for hurting places of the heart~ the places that God really sees and only He can touch. Thank you for being so frank and reminding us all that even though we are 'friends' we really don't know each other. But it is nice that there is an element of acceptance and 'being there' for each other.
Hadassah
Thanks, Bonnie, for the thoughtful post. I know that we do feel close to the bloggers we read all the time. You are a good example, I've been reading your blog for years (Never commented before and I will meet you at Road in January!) but I don't really know you. I feel with you when bad things happen and I am happy with you when things go well.
Please don't stop sharing with us.
So sorry to hear about such a senseless loss of life. But glad to hear that you are taking good care of yourself and allowing yourself the time to reflect and rest and shop. Thank you for the kindness reminder...it's so true.
amen
Oh, Bonnie,
I am sorry. That is just tragic...so sad. I will pray healing for your heart.
Lucy (in IN)
I love the eye candy you shared with us, but even more your thoughts on blogs and internet friends. I was on a number of discussion lists (still am) where I've met many of the people in real life and it makes the friendship more real, but I still feel we are pioneers in this blogosphere, sort of feeling our way into what feels right. I think we need to be kind and supportive of one another - and mostly we are - and still perhaps protect our privacy a little. The sad things for me have been a few people who died while on discussion lists, not by their own hand. But it took the list a while to figure out what had happened. It isn't like living in a neighborhood together, is it. And yet we can sometimes feel very close. And we can find more kindred spirits than we might find in a neighborhood. I enjoy it, but even after 13 years of being very busy online, I still don't completely know what to make of this wonderful resource.
Bonnie, I'm sorry to learn of your blogger friend. What a shock! Thank you for bringing this and associated thoughts and questions to our attention. There have been some thoughtful responses; a healthy, helpful exchange. I often wonder about the boggers who share so much of themselves --in a helpful way, but still there are risks. I often sign my comments with "Blessings!" That is not a "nice" end to my comment. That is for real, my prayer that you and others would be kept safe and encouraged and be blessed even as your posts have blessed me.
Take heart! Enjoy the fellowship with Southern Comforters.
Bonnie: Thank you for sharing that quote...it is so true. I remember meeting a talented and beautiful woman in a workshop who seemed to have a perfect life, & I was a wee bit jealous. Then..I found out she had two disabled children. I felt really bad about prejudging her! On the surface, her life was great. But in private, she had her own troubles and sadness.
Regarding blogs, while its true that we don't really "know" the writer, they are sharing an aspect of their life with us, and there is genuine interaction.
Please keep on blogging! I love reading about your adventures, your quilts, and your ponderings!
Louise
(My word to verify is "fatte"...lol...should I be paranoid??!!)
Bonnie,
Thanks for the quote at the end. It really does remind us that everyone's facing their own struggles. We often don't choose to share those struggles on blogs (at least the deeply personal ones), so everything looks hunky dorey to everyone else. Perhaps that's functional...it gives people a place that is highly rewarding and not laden with the troubles of our life. But what sad news. Oddly, for some reason, I was wondering the other day if that ever happens...something happens to someone and the blog posts stop...and the rest of the world is left wondering what happened. I guess it does. I hope your trip is rejuvenating for your soul. It sounds like a wonderful time. When I antique shop, I rarely find quilts or blocks. I must be looking in the wrong places.
Well said, Bonnie! Thanks for the great reminders!
So sad...and so difficult to remember that we never really know what is going on in other people's lives...even people we think we know well. We only know what they show us...it is something I have to remind myself often...I too, give a lot of thought about how much I put "out there"...it is a complicated balance.
Hugs
Terri
So sorry to hear about your blogging friend. I read the Tioga & George blog and two months ago his son, who he often mentioned, committed suicide. George has been pretty open about it and I think the blogging has helped him work through it. Like you said about your blogging friend, his son seemed to have a really good life but something happened to upset the apple cart and the end result was tragedy for his family. We DON'T know what all is going on in bloggers' lives, we can just hope for the best for all of them.
This worries me; several bloggers that I "read" faithfully have been absent for a while. Now I must wonder as I am sure others do. So many of my quilting buddies are online buddies, I only know what they post but they are "part" of my quilting life. Blessings to all!
That is tragic about the blogger. You are right - you never know what is behind the closed doors, or in this case, behind the computer screen.
I'm also sorry to hear your your blogger friend's suicide. This is a tough time of year for some people, Even though for most of us it's a season of joy, goodwill and family, it can amplify loneliness and desperation for others.
Thanks also for the quote about Plato, very appropo for this time of year.
Gail :)
Bonnie, it was great to meet you this past week. And I'm glad you were able to have some time to regroup while you were here in Maryland. So sorry to hear about your blogger friend....I love the quote from Plato.
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