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Saturday, May 30, 2020

Life Blooms Anyway.


Beautiful Mountain Laurel in my yard.

It’s like a parade of sorts.  It first starts with the forsythia, and then the daffodils.

From there we move on to the dogwood and apple trees.  And just as their blossoms are falling, pushed out by the newness of emerging leaves, the rhododendrons burst into colorful action delighting our eyes.

And when the torrents of rain beat the rhododendrons and the lilacs into soggy fallen sadness – I walk out into the yard to play with Zoey and find that the Mountain Laurels have come to save the day.

This is just the first that has really started to bloom, but I bet with a bunch of sunshine and warmer temps – the woods will be full of the beautiful pink tinged blossoms.

Anyone who has read me for long knows that I find meaning in all kinds of life lessons and analogies are always spilling forth.

And such was yesterday – because there has been SO MUCH UPHEAVAL.  And unnecessary murder.  And raging racism (Which has me SO ashamed because I honestly thought that 58 years into my life we would have learned to love and respect each other by now as all equal beings of infinite worth sharing this planet!)

My heart is breaking for the unmitigated racial profiling and horrendous killings that continue.

And for my birth city of Minneapolis.  These kinds of things should NOT happen in Minneapolis? 

I know people’s emotions are hair-trigger right now.  But it’s at these times that we should be pulling together and helping each other out MORE. 

I am a middle aged white woman who was born in Minneapolis to two hetero white Minneapolis-born college kids in 1962. And though they had it hard, and worked for all they had they were also born into white privilege. 

No doors were closed on them, or assumptions made, or judgments handed down ahead of time based on their appearance due to their clean-cut American whiteness.

Sure, all lines lead back to being "immigrants" at one century in time or another, but it doesn't matter as much when your heritage is Anglo.

I didn’t ask to be born white, and have worked my ass off for everything that has happened in my life, but along that journey no doors were ever closed to me, no prejudices made based on the color of my skin, my race, nationality or my accent. 

(Okay, so I am STILL teased when outside of Minnesota about the Minnesota-ness of my accent that has never left me - but it's done in love and teasing, not in judgement!)

My last name has always been so very Anglo - Wilkinson or Hunter, instead of Ramirez or Patel, Shah, Yamamoto, Chan and the list goes on. 

I am straight, married for 39 years this August, 2 kids, pets, mortgage – the standard. 

My husband, also born into white privilege of hardworking but also white parents grew up without a lot of anything (but way so much more than many) on rented farm ground in Eastern Oregon.  Little rental farmhouse, 2 bedrooms one bath between them, but that home was filled with both parents, 3 children and an abundance of love and everything else that being white could afford them.

And I - as one white woman born of privilege - (And until you admit that to yourself you won't see it.) don’t know how to break beyond that, because I’m told that I can’t understand and will never understand - almost as if I'm not allowed to begin to understand - what others have gone through and have been living daily – for the entirety of their lives.

All I can say is that I SEE and I WITNESS and I long to make a difference.

To my LGBTQ friends, I hear you, too.  And I love you for who you are and I cry at the pain and injustice you suffer, and cheer for every triumph in your quest for a better life of acceptance, joy and love. Not in spite of who you are - but BECAUSE of who you are. Continue to shine on.  I DO see you.

And this goes back to the blossoms at the top of the page.  The world knows how to renew itself, no matter what is going on in the realm of us humans.  The flowers don't judge each other based on their color, size, fragrance.  

They just tell me "You can make a difference. Bloom where you are planted. And do better."

The one thing that breaks through these human imposed stereotypes?  QUILTING!

When we quilt together – there is no "them" or "those."  There is only US.  And WE.  

When we are quilting together, it doesn’t matter what your age or background is, your nationality, your education level, your financial status, your chosen religious practice, whether the world considers you as tall or short, fat or thin, one of the perceived beautiful people or homely (because that is what people choose to see) - IT DOESN’T MATTER!

So while my heart exploded over what is happening in my beloved Minneapolis (I really hope that cop spends his life in prison for murder, and the 3 others with him as accomplices to murder but I am not the judge or jury) I had to turn myself to something a bit more constructive – in bringing people TOGETHER instead of categorizing, dividing, groups of “them.”

(Boy this post isn’t turning out like I thought it would today.  I am rambling in my thoughts – but as this is my journal, I also ask YOU not to judge and comment back that “I thought this was a quilting blog.”  It’s NOT.  This is my life, and that means you get EVERYTHING.)


Quiltville Inn will be reopening late next month.

It’s time to SANITIZE ALL THE THINGS.  So we can welcome ALL.  

And yes, hopefully that will even include a guy’s quilting retreat in the future as we tend to categorize and stereotype by gender as well, don’t we?  Have you ever thought "Oh, you are a guy? You quilt? You must be gay?" We need to stop that. NOW.

Oh so much hospital grade sanitizer!  This gallon is a concentrate and makes 500 gallons.  FIVE HUNDRED GALLONS?! 

There is a multitude of spray bottles also arriving because there will be sanitizer for wiping down work stations, tools – rotary cutters, rulers, surfaces, etc. 

You guys know that you shouldn't share tools during a pandemic, right? Not without cleaning them first.  It's like borrowing someone's fork while they are eating with it.

There will be a spray bottle in each shower to mist the walls and floor with sanitizer so the next person can safely step in.

There will be a spray bottle of sanitizer in each bathroom with instructions to basically clean up after yourself leaving the toilet, sink, faucet, light switch and door knobs clean for the next person to safely come in.

The same for the kitchen surfaces.

And hand sanitizer stations EVERYWHERE.

This weekend we will be installing 3 z-fold paper towel dispensers in the bathrooms – pull one from the bottom, instead of handling the whole roll.  This will also free up counter space.

On my list are bigger trash cans for the plethora of paper towel waste that is going to have to happen.  The good thing is – I can order recycled paper towels, so that helps a bit.

For now – the days of cute terry hand towels used communally are OVER.

I have ordered commercial bedspreads for all of the beds at the inn because they will have to be washed after each group.  My quilts can't handle that kind of sanitation.  And above all else this makes me sad.  Isn't that silly?

But folks are welcome to bring their own quilts from home to brighten their sleeping quarters until I can safely bring my quilts out again.


My laminator has been smokin’ with new signage!


All entries get a warning sign.

Notices going up in the Quilting Quarters.

Today I plan on making the bathroom procedure signs.  More painting will continue as we work to get things ready.

We wanted to have the porch repainted by now – but we need gutters first because of the splash back the huge rains caused.  It will happen, in time.  Maybe not on the schedule I had originally planned, but it will happen.


Anyone entering a door will be greeted by this notice.


I cleared my head and my heart riding shotgun to town -

Windows down – this was my view of the passenger side mirror  - Zoey just LOVING the wind in her ears, the smells in her nose – and she is so cute when her eyes get squinty due to the breeze.  No more car sick.  She is reveling in it!


We waited in the car while dad went to get more paint and supplies.

And this is how my morning has gone.  Click to Play:


Saturday morning tail wagging!

(With Keurig playing that awesome morning song in the background!) 

Lola is settling in well.  She has mostly taken to hiding upstairs in the loft area, often behind the quilts that hang over the loft railing.  But Zoey can sniff her out every time! LOL!

“Where is Lola, Zoey?”  And off she goes in a doggy/kitty version of hide-and-seek.

As far as Lola and Emmy Lou go – Emmy is quite ticked off.  She’ll get over it.  Or not.  I don’t think they will ever be friends, but they will learn to tolerate each other and that’s the way it has to be.


Oh, this is going to be fun!

(I wonder what the thought bubbles over their heads are saying?)

Thanks for letting me get all of this out, and allowing me to speak my heart.  I know I am even a bit more vulnerable as the pain of losing Dresden is still so very tender.  I thank you for ALL of the wonderful comments after yesterday’s post.  They really helped.

I wasn’t going to add this in here – because you already know the drill.  But this is the final reminder for this month’s Quilty Box Gift-Away. The drawing is tomorrow, so hurry and get your entry in ON THAT POST.

All Digital Patterns are on sale for 25% off using coupon code DIGITAL25 at purchase – that also ends tomorrow at midnight, so don’t delay on that one either.  You’ll find them in the digital pattern section of the Quiltville Store.  Coupon MUST be used at time of purchase for discount to be applied.

The Addicted to Scraps Book is also on deep deep discount at only $15.99 (reg. $27.95) as long as Virginia’s lock down lasts – and that is supposed to lift June 10th.  It comes with a free PDF download of my Wanderlust Table Runner pattern (A $10.00 value.)

Today?  I’m going to see if I can start building rows for Casden’s quilt.  Now that the cats aren’t at the QPO I can safely lay things out.


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Go on and blossom and make that difference! What are you afraid of?

Have a lovely Saturday, everyone.


76 comments:

  1. Thank you, Bonnie. Well said.

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  2. No words today. Just tears. A beautiful heartfelt post. Thank you.

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  3. It really is just heartbreaking and doubly so in the midst of COVID.
    Thank you for sharing your loving thoughts. The discrimination, violence and hatred is just unbelievable. You are a shining light for humanity and an example of our only hope for the future. And we quilt on....

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  4. Hi Bonnie...i know this is not the point of your post, but where did you live in Mpls? I was born/raised in St. Paul.

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    1. I was born at Eitel hospital which is no longer there. I lived in various places while tiny, but went to kindergarten, first grade and part of second grade at Groveland School in Minnetonka.

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  5. I loved your entire journal today! Thank you for sharing your life with us! I love Mountain Laurel and so miss it in our yard. I am sending you virtual hugs for all that you are dealing with now. While you are dealing with Zoey Jo and Lola antics, I am dealing with Lucky who loves to catch chipmunks and bring them to the door, only to run away and hide them under the deck! Love our fur babies! Have a great day and weekend Bonnie!

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  6. Thanks for vocalizing all the feelings we all have.

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  7. My middle name is Laurel...mom always said I was named after a weed. If it is a weed, it is a very pretty one!! It is so nice to walk around and see all the plants coming to life...my lilacs are just starting to bloom and tulips are done.

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  8. Good morning to you, Bonnie. I just wanted to express my thanks for you sharing all the parts of your life. The quilty, the thoughtful and even the mundane! You have a wonderful way of expressing your thoughts and I find that you frequently hit the nail on the head for what is running through my head! Thank you for your gift of words (and also quilts) and I hope you can enjoy a relaxing weekend.

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  9. I couldn't comment through my tears yesterday. We lost our cat two weeks ago. Our vet was amazing and allowed us into their building which was closed except for goodbyes to hold her on her journey. Covid made it tougher because we wondered if there was something we would have taken her in for earlier. Her normal vet wasn't there but sent assurances that everything that could be done for her had been done. We as a country never look to the responsibilities each of us has to make this better. When I wasba teen about to be on my own I worked with people that were in this situation of not being seen. Invisible is not good neither is different or problematic so it is a change of perspctive needed by the whole country.

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  10. A beautiful sharing of what I am feeling today, too. It is raining here in Omaha, like the world is sad and crying. Love your furries, and I will make continue to make masks and quilt. It is my small way to comfort the hurting around me.

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  11. Thank you for your thoughts today. I really appreciated hearing what you had to say and feel much the same. Hope all your flowers brings you joy.

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  12. Thank you for this post.
    We can be angry. We should be angry.
    Quilters have long expressed their feelings in their work. Joy, sorrow, anger.
    Today I am angry and my quiltmaking shows it.
    As it should.

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  13. Thank you for speaking up against the atrocities happening, and for highlighting the privilege that many of us in this community share.

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  14. Well said. Too many people don’t understand that not having roadblocks is a privilege. You explained my feelings exactly about wanting to make a difference but being set apart by not having walked in others shoes.

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  15. Well said. Too many people don’t understand that not having roadblocks is a privilege. You explained my feeling exactly on wanting to make a difference but being set apart because I have not walked in others shoes.

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  16. What a sad day in Portland last night (and many other cities)...violence, looting, fires. I watched news coverage until 3am (my son works downtown at night, I'm still waiting to hear if he is all right). The looting continues. I watched a person in a wheelchair being flung out and beaten, while the person responsible laughed and looked for admiration from his peers..sad commentary. This type of behavior will only alienate. These types of people (black and white) look for excused to behave violently in any situation. They hijack and take advantage of otherwise peacefull demonstrations for their own sick pleasure. This has happened before here...I agree with Commisioner Hardasy that that behavior is inexcusable, and not representative.

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  17. thanks for your thoughts today. yes retreats do seem to only be for women but luckily our group has 2 men that quilt with us and we found a retreat camp that would allow them to come with us we all have our own room and bathrooms in the hallway so they have one and we have the rest. sadly to say we just lost the one that had been quilting with us the longest and his partner
    thankfully will still keep quilting with us. yes we are all alike when we quilt.

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  18. I am so heartbroken and feel so helpless. I just don’t know what to do.....

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  19. Thank you so much, Bonnie. I'm sad about Dresden and I will miss him. So much change and then more change. I hope things improve for your son in Oregon. I wish I had more optimism about human nature, acceptance and racial justice. People are so fundamentally tribal and our minds work to discriminate (in the sense of separating) this from that. So we go to us and them. I'm heartbroken over the pain this causes in society. I just try to remember it's not as bad as it once was, 100 or 1000 years ago and do what I can to love everyone just as they are, in God's creation. Justice for all! Thanks, Bonnie.

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  20. Captions for the Zoe/Lola photo (from my off-the-wall daughter):
    Kneel before your superiors, canine!
    Yeah, you'd better stay down there!
    Who has the high ground, Zoe?

    Much love to all, we need each other!

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  21. peace, prayers and blessings -- love and gratitude... Cats in Carlsbad CA

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  22. Very well said. Thank you for this post.

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  23. Well written, thank you Bonnie.
    read through tears for your loss and the ugly that is happening in our country. So happy for you that Quiltville will be opening again. Prayers for our country.

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  24. All I can bv say is "Amen". I am a 68 year old white woman who also recognizes my white privilege. If I had been there I would probably be dead because I would have tried to get that @#$& off. This racism, in my opinion is what will destroy the United States.
    .

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  25. Dear Bonnie I had started one of your mystery quilts and I just found it but for the life of me I just can't figure out which one it was! I want to buy the pattern to finish it!! I have alot of parts that are put together in triangles. May I sent a pic to your e mail?

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  26. It took me 5 years to get over losing our Siamese cat Kahlua, she was more family than some family. This is a hard time we live in but we will come out better for it. Thank you Bonnie for all you do and are.

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  27. Thank you, Bonnie, for saying what you have said on this public stage. I live in a Twin Cities suburb. What we are seeing is heart breaking. I drove over 50 miles round trip to get groceries yesterday afternoon, because two of the four chain grocery stores I tried to go to were already boarded up or being boarded up. Yet that is not nearly as sad as the pervasive, long term pain that has lead to the rioting or the ruins not only of chain stores, but small ma and pa stores, on Lake St and else where, many run by immigrants who have their own stories of discrimination. When will we as a society learn to treat ALL people, black, brown, white or any other color, as fellow human beings?

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  28. thank you,well said..............

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  29. Excellent blog post today. I am sick about my adopted city of Minneapolis. It breaks my heart. The protesters set fire to a nearly completed 189 unit affordable housing complex--brand new and desperately needed--now ashes. I couldn't imagine anyone local doing this---now it appears I may be right. We've heard sirens and helicopters every night. It is just so sad and really doesn't reflect the city and state I have grown to love over the last few years.

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    1. Yes, have seen news reports that in one city there, all the protestors arrested the other night were from out of state. So sad, so hateful for agitators to come in to harm the community, to try to cast the locals in a bad light.

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  30. You've said it all Bonnie what most of us are feeling and thinking. It's a sad world right now and pray that changes are made!!

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  31. Thank you for just being "you". Never apologize for that. Hugs.

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  32. Oh, Bonnie...

    Your thoughts are NOT too long. They express what many - or at lease, I - feel. You've expressed my sentiments so very well. I wish more of our world, particularly our governing bodies thought the same, You are good and I appreciate all that you do.

    Loretta McGinn

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  33. I am also a Minneapolis and Minnesota girl. At least I was until I retired and now live in Arkansas. I have checked on family who still live in MN to make sure they are OK. Everyone is angry but so happy that the policeman has been charged with murder. But oh the loss to businesses and jobs there and throughout the country. I hope that everyone will take and deep breath and breathe more slowly as anger and tensions start to subside. I never thought that this would happen in my "home" state.

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  34. well said.thank you.

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  35. I wish I were as articulate as you. Thank you for saying what I am feeling.

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  36. It’s so entertaining to see Zoey trying to play with Lola..but, she knows when the cat has triumphed! Animal antics are quite amazing sometimes..have a wonderful day!

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  37. My heart also is right with yours. How so much of our world has changed and not for the good. Hoping for a better future for us all.

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  38. Hang in there Bonnie! I feel your pain. at 73 I thought I would never see them burn down another city. I lived through the burning of Detroit. I was born in Detroit and lived my whole life within 100 miles of it. This year has been a year of major changes that will be here for some time. It has been a year and a half since I was able to hug my grandson. They are in the Air Force stationed in Germany. E is going to be 10 in July and already 4’-10” tall..he will be taller than me by the time I get to see him..April trip was canceled. God has a plan for us and we must leave it in his merciful hands! God love you and your family. Stay safe!

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  39. You said it best what most of us are thinking and feeling about Minneapolis. Thank you

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  40. Watching over here in NZ with my heart aching for the family who lost their loved one. I was reflecting with my partner last night that if I was young and black I would riot too because you are may as well get into trouble for something you actually really did do, for a change.
    I have followed your blog for a wee while now and enjoy reading it. As a lesbian who quilts and stitches I am happy to read your post today because I feel like I have landed somewhere safe. Thank you.

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  41. Thank you for your thoughts. This already a difficult time with the pandemic and now we have so much more to worry about. My heart is breaking.

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  42. It has been a horrendous week in our country. That police officer sat on that man's neck with his hands in his pockets!!!! It is beyond comprehension that other officers did nothing to get him off!!!! I appreciate your honesty and for speaking up. I am sad for your loss of Dresden. I am just sad.

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  43. I'm so sorry that Dresden had to leave for kitty heaven. Maybe he's reuniting with Sadie Jane. For several years I have been receiving your blog via my email, but all of sudden that stopped. It's been 2 weeks now since I've gotten your blog via my email. I don't know what happened to cause this.

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    1. Isupam- my Gmail account randomly snags emails from senders I've subscribed to for a long time. I have to do frequent checks of the spam folder to rescue legitimate emails. They modify their algorithms for spam detection all the time but apparently don't factor in that you've accepted the emails before. Just check your spam folder each day.

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  44. You brought me to tears today, Bonnie. I am so sad about what has been happening here in the Twin Cities. I, too, was born into white privilege. I don't pretend to know what it is like to live under the specter of racism. But my son's girlfriend is Jamaican, and I worry about her and what may affect their lives. There have been too many losses lately. I'm not a cat person, but I can appreciate the bond you had and how painful the loss of Dresden must be for you and Jason. My heart goes out to you.

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  45. Thanks for saying so eloquently what many of us are thinking. It has been a horrific week. Also sorry for your loss of Dresden, never easy.

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  46. Just to add another thank you for today's post. As a black woman, I can tell when someone is giving more than lip service to the big problems. It does my heart good to read your journals - the triumphs, the sadness and the joys. Thank you.

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  47. Thank you, Bonnie. Those of us who grew up with crayons that taught us that "skin tone" was our skin tone were fed a lifetime of assumptions and privilege and comfort that are often never examined. Meanwhile, tonight a respected professor, a PhD. whom I follow on Twitter and whose reviews I respect, shared an email he received: the "n" word, over and over and over. He explained--for those of us who were shocked, I suppose--that it is not unusual for him, for his black colleagues and friends, for people in the media. I thought about how frightened and angry I would be if I had received that, about the implicit threat I would perceive, and also about the dehumanization of it. I wish I could say, as I once did, "This is not the real America", but I know this is the history of America. We must change the history. One way to do so is posts like yours that make us think, and talk about uncomfortable things, and then be and do better.

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  48. Bless your heart, you have every right to put what you need to say in your blog. It hard to watch the news and see what is happening and I feel sadness and sorrow for all who have been effected by this dreadful situation.my prayers are with those who need them.
    Love how in the midst of all that is going on in the world Zoey continues to try and be friends with your beautiful cats.
    Stay safe
    Love and quilty hugs
    Anne xxx

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  49. What started as a peaceful Black Lives Matter in Reno NV this afternoon turned into a riot by 6:30 this evening--windows broken, City Hall set on fire, businesses vandalized, vehicles tagged and a vehicle burned. This went on for hours. It is heartbreaking to see the damage, but it is even more heartbreaking to view the hatred. My prayers tonight will be to ask for less hatred, more tolerance and for everyone to try to be better human beings.

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  50. Thank you for expressing so well what is in so many hearts. We must be better than this.

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  51. Bonnie, thank you for expressing so well the pain and horror of both the current situation as well as the ugliness of hatred for anyone who’s skin, ethnicity, religion, class, gender, politics are different than one’s own. When will we ever really learn and change?

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  52. Thank you for words of love. We grieve together so many losses of creation and of fellow image-bearers. Here we grieve two family members lost to Covid. Death knows no color.

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  53. Thanks for saying what needs to be said. Love you and your blog.

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  54. Thank you for this wonderful post. Although I know your heart is heavy with the loss of Dresden, Covid-19, and the social upheaval, I so thank you for your thoughts that are expressed by many. I pray for a better time soon and that justice can be served. I look forward to seeing folks return to Quiltville for retreats. I may not get there in person, but I love following your blog and seeing all of your pictures and reading your the research you provide with them. Peace and blessings to you and your loved ones.

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  55. Bonnie, I so appreciate the fact that you talk about quilting, family and pets in your blog. But even more than that, your comments on the situation in MN and countrywide were so important. I too am privilaged because I am a white woman who has never had to deal with the issues of discrimination and violence because of my color or race. We need to come together with open minds to understand the fear that those of color have to live their lives with. I cannot fathom how living like this must feel. Thank you so much for expressing so well what I am feeling.

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  56. You are always so eloquent in your your writings. Your choice of words are positively uplifting and thought-provoking. Hope to see you next year when you visit us at Smoky Mnt Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge. Sue from Knoxville

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  57. This looting and civil unrest (to put it nicely), is not to be laid at the feet of native Minnesotans...these acts are being fostered and promoted by groups of outside extremists whose existence depends on causing disruption and division amongst good Americans. Teach the young people NOT to follow these evil people who want to destroy your country. Praying for your country...

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  58. BRAVO, like-minded sister!!

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  59. So. In tears again, thinking the hatred and assumption of superiority and the associated xenophobia is never going to stop. Naively, after the election in 2008 I thought it was over, or at least on the downslide. Of course that was a foolish thought. My hometown is Baltimore but I've lived a bit south of it for most of my adult life in Annapolis. We have our own shame with the Freddie Gray incident and uncountable others before and after (Baltimore has a very colorful, jam-packed history of racism). We just have to keep showing up for life and not letting hate have the last say. Always speak out against it! And eventually, maybe, we can push it back into the sewer it crawled out of.

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  60. Thank you for your thoughts! This is not the American I was born into either but I do know that my God can give me comfort and strength to endure what I have to right now. I am excited to get back down to my sewing space and keep cleaning it up and out. I have gotten rid of 7 bags of fabric that was not quilt worthy and have space in my bins for more of the good stuff. I am finding that I will have more space on one shelf once I get my hubby off the TV and downstairs to move a bin of Beanie Babies. One of these days, they will be in Massachusetts with my younger daughter. Off to work.

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  61. Rant away - it's healthy and don't let anyone judge you for it.

    I've been hearing about retreat centers having people sign waivers stating that they will not sue should something happen to them due to being there. There is fear that someone will have something go wrong (Covid 19?) and out of fear, retaliate on the centers for having been open. Ridiculous but might be a necessary thing to protect oneself.

    Virginia
    Clearbrook MN

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  62. Dear Bonnie: Thanks so much for your sharing and caring as well as for your studio tour! I was born and raised in Stillwater, MN and now live in Hudson, WI - still in the St. Croix Valley, and I'm just so glad our MN National Guard as well as other officers/patrols came to help last night to stop the horrible violence in our Twin Cities. I was finally able to sleep after the breaking news went off the air when the violence stopped. Our prayers were answered! I'm also glad we have quilting because that's what I've been doing ever since I retired in July of 2019. God's peace!

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  63. Danke Bonnie für Ihre klugen Worte, herzliche Grüße!

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  64. As someone said earlier, I wish I could articulate as well as you. But you said almost word for word my thoughts too. Thank you for that and continued hugs to you as you deal with everything in such a 'can do, will do' attitude. I struggle with that part every day. ((( )))

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  65. well said, Bonnie, thank you. I'm in Minnesota . . .

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  66. Thank you for sharing your life and heart. I love that you share quilts, but I love, even more that you share YOU. Hugs!

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  67. Being a Canadian I don't get it…. why is it still so difficult to be black and free in the USA… I am so sad to watch the news and see this racism. We visited your country on many occasions. My great-grand-father was born in Connecticut and I still have distant relatives borned and raised in USA. That being said it makes me so sad to hear about what is still happening. I remember watching on our black and white TV set the Martin Luther King's great walk….. decades ago! I still have goose bumps hearing this in 2020. Thank you for saying out loud what I think. well I've be ostracised many times because of my mother tongue is french and was told on a few occasions to "speak white…" (aka english) but my skin is white so it was just half a sin I guess…
    I look at the good side of life most of the times but that does not make me blind towards the bad side of it.

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