A bit of Appalachia Past.
It’s been nearly 2 weeks since we took a leisurely long and winding late Sunday afternoon drive, following ridges and hollers and just seeing where roads would lead – from paving to dirt and beyond.
We wanted to explore parts of the area just to see where they would lead. And I’ve been trying to think of a way to work these photos into a post, and there hasn’t been one, so lest I forget about them completely (It’s highly likely - I totally spaced my chiropractor appointment yesterday afternoon…) and neglect to post these at all, I am stepping away from whatever else I planned to write about and just put these glimpses of earlier life up here.
How many of you see 3 flying geese in the dormers over this porch?
And why were there 3 dormers there on this little building? Could they have been sleeping quarters?
To tell you the truth, I’m not even sure I could find this place again if I tried. But it was a BEAUTIFUL evening, and in the open pastures and fields, an abundance of deer were also enjoying the late afternoon sunshine.
View from the top of the ridge.
Life here was rugged and harsh, and I have to admit I am glad I wasn’t born 100 years earlier in these parts.
My cushy 1960s era birth in the metropolis of Minneapolis and later growing up years in the California Bay Area is much preferred when I really think about it. I know I was lucky.
I love my modern conveniences. I don’t think you could even find a radio signal out here. I know my cell phone doesn’t work! Yet, I hear tales and stories from friends near MY age who remember visiting grandparents where no hot water, no plumbing, no bathroom was to be seen – yet happiness abounded. Love flourished.
Oh sweet thing, what’s the story?
There is something extra sad about windows and doors being boarded up. Someone at some point in time loved this front porch and its columns.
The sad thing to me is – while these places are abandoned and rotting away – there is not a lot of new construction of anything going on. It seems to me that as old places fall to ruin, the easiest quickest and most affordable thing for a family to do is to bring a pre-fab mobile home on to the land and just move in. These old homes are the end of an era.
Someone even left the chair on the porch –
After 50+ years I don’t think they’ll be coming back for it!
So who still owns the land? Someone surely does?
I am listening for the echoes of laughter. Of someone’s voice calling out “Honey, I’m home! Dinner smells great!”
And I think that catches us up with all of the old, abandoned and restored buildings I had photographed over my Christmas to New Years holiday break!
(Sorry, no international orders. USA orders only.)
(an $8.00 value!)
Orders will be shipped in the order in which they were received. All orders will ship before I leave for Japan on Thursday. I am only doing a wave of 300 so I CAN be sure that all are shipped before I leave.
When you make your purchase, PLEASE double check the email address with your order. If your email is not correct, your PDF pattern link will not get to you.
Also be sure you are ordering STRING FRENZY and not String Fling – String Fling does not come with the Hunter’s String Star bonus pattern.
If you place an order while I am gone (You are still welcome to!) just remember that I will not be returning until Feb 6th, and orders placed while I am away will likely start shipping the 7th or the 8th.
Thank you for your patience - my schedule is about to go full force crazy with teaching travel.
Join me via Facebook Live on SATURDAY for a fun time – I am deep into reclaiming some left-over piano key borders and turning them into 16-patch blocks to beat back the Winter Blues.
Grab a project, come sit and stitch with me for an hour. If you miss it, you’ll find it embedded in Sunday Morning’s blog.
I’ve become quickly addicted to the simplicity of this project-on-my-brain – stitching through a round of Netflix Chickflix – Mr Church (LOVED it!) Monster-in-Law (Hysterical) and I Don’t Know How She Does It (So cute and yes, I could relate!) So if you are looking for something to binge – give these a try.
Quiltville Quote of the Day!
Thank you, C.S. Lewis (and Kevin!)
Keep dreaming,
Keep setting and working towards those goals!
25 comments:
Love the pictures of the old houses. My family used to go for drives through the Wisconsin countryside when the weather was nice. I loved imagining who lived in the abandoned houses, and guessing how that barn roof got all squished in the middle. LOL The stories they could tell!
Yeah! Quilt cam tomorrow! I can't wait!
I see some strip piecing also!
Sad to see those old homes boarded up. If we only knew the stories the walls could tell. You will have a Great trip to Japan. My friend just got back from there. I'll follow along with your adventure. Chain stitching Good Fortune blocks today for the Monday Link-up. Thanks for the Mystery. It's my 7th one
I am the curious type - I would have had to walk up the door of that first building to see if those dormers were bunkies. Seems like they wouldn't be the warmest place to sleep...
I so love your rural life. Alas, I am married to a city guy who couldn't tolerate that life at all. I'm also amazed at all those old buildings still standing. Around here they would have been vandalized and torched long ago.
To stories those old homes have....often wonder who lived in them and what they did too.
oh i do believe in that quote for sure! if only the old houses could talk...great photos...and quilt cam...yay!
I love your posts! You are my morning read! These homes stir something in your soul. I love that you share these with us. This post this morning took me back to my childhood and my grandparents house in Payette, Idaho....looked a bit like the top house all boarded up. I loved that place! Thanks for the reminiscing this morning! Happy Friday...now back to the quilts!
If you don't know the poem "The House with Nobody in It" by Joyce Kilmer you should look it up. I think you would like it. I always think of it when I see the abandoned house pictures you post.
Estoy deseando que llegue la hora de la publicación porque siempre cuentas historias interesantes. Aunque podría hacerlo, no me uno al Quilt-cam, jajaja, porque no entiendo nada y me pongo nerviosa, de momento ahi no hay traductor. Aquí también tenemos edificios abandonados en el medio de la nada y pueblos donde ya nadie habita, que en tiempos fueron bonitos, pero todos los abandonaron buscando una vida distinta, donde hubiese trabajo y se pudiese ir a las escuelas. Me parece que en todos los sitios ocurre lo mismo. Un saludo a todas.
Weren't some of the properties bought by the government and left as they were when the parkway was built?
A couple of authors with books with a real feel for the region - Sharyn McCrumb and Emilie Richards (the Shenandoah Album series, lots of quilting in them). Hopefully available as audiobooks.
You will be out out of America for your birthday. Happy Birthday Bonnie and thank you for all you do for us. Enjoy Japan and then the visit with your family. I will be 85 Monday.
If that first picture was in Arkansas I would think that it was a converted Dog Trot and they added the middle dormer when the enclosed the hall (or Trot).
Thanks for recommending Mr. Church. It was a great story. I am looking forward to seeing what you will do with these blue 16 patches.
I think I do see logs on the left side of the building. Everything I know about log cabins I learned from the boys on Barnwood Builders.
Access to computers and other control systems which might provide you with information about the way the world revolves around technology should be unlimited and total. All information should be free and accessible to all. That is why we at INTEGRATEDHACKS have come come up with a team of highly motivated and dedicated hackers to help you get access to information you are being deprived of. Our services include and are not limited to hacking of social media accounts,email accounts, tracking of phones hacking of bank cards and many more.
Have you ever been hacked? Need to recover your stolen account, Want to monitor your kids,spouse or partner, Change your school results track messages from an email or mobile number and many more, INTEGRATEDHACKS is the one for you. Hundreds of our clients have their phones, social media accounts, emails, servers, may bots and PCs hacked consistently and efficiently. Our professional hackers for hire team is highly qualified and can hack anything or device you desire without giving the target any form of notification which makes us one of the best.
Are you having doubts about your partner ? Worry no more. All your doubts would be cleared.
★ Contact Us For Your Desired Hacking services via : integratedhacks@protonmail.com and experience cyber hacking like never before.
Yay! Quiltcam!
Also, Cataloochee and Requiem by Fire, by Wayne Caldwell.. I highly recommend them, in that order.
I will try to wake up at 5 am Australia time to see a Quiltcam live.How can I join in?
Thanks for that recommendation
Every time I see an old grand house or building my heart just aches to have the money to restore it! It's a big ache. I wish I could fulfill that desire, but age and finances won't allow for it. I still love love love seeing photos of old structures and imagining what was and what could be, if someone would just love it again.
love the old buildings, and wish I had lots of money... I would buy the beauties and fix them up and then sell them to someone who would love them and fill them with love and laughter and even tears. They deserve more than they've gotten. And yes those dormers look like they'd be cold in the winter, but that's where you add layers of quilts to keep warm. Even add a dog or two (how about a 3 dog night LOL). Thank you so much for sharing. I will be working on my #goodfortune during the Facebook Live Session. I am going to get this done before I move on to the multiple projects I plan to get started this year, Some of which I am already behind on- some BOM's and a BOW.
Bonnie, in your article you said, "I hear tales and stories from friends near MY age who remember visiting grandparents where no hot water, no plumbing, no bathroom was to be seen" Well, I remember those things without asking anyone else. Coal oil lamps and battery radios, flat irons that were heated at the fireplace and a wall phone that we rang up an operator to call the number we wanted. We had an outhouse until I was in the third grade. The photos of the old buildings remind me so much of my childhood and relatives houses. This was a great article and reminded me how it was and how we didn't not feel deprived.
I forgot to mention the quilt frame at my aunt's house that was drawn up to the ceiling when not in use and put down when neighbors came. They sat around the frame quilting but all they would let me do is watch but maybe they were training me for what I love today.
The Appalachian Past image reminds me of the shack in The Jerk movie.
Post a Comment
If you are commenting as "anonymous" please leave your name at the end of your comment.
Did you know that ad space on this blog provides for all of the free patterns and free mysteries and challenges at no cost to you? Without ads, this blog would not be possible.
Thank you for understanding the many hours that go into this blog 6 days a week, 52 weeks a year. :)