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Wednesday, July 05, 2023

An Appalachian Parade!


We had a blast yesterday afternoon, hauling our lawn chairs down to a shady turn-out spot down highway 58 - the 2 mile stretch known as "Rugby."
 
Operation Independence Day Parade was about to begin!

We've been here for 6 years now. (How can that be?!) and truth be told, we don't know an awful lot of folks in our community.

And I know why.  We are so busy with our day to day lives - the hubster's telecommuting job from his  office-loft at home and our running of Quiltville Inn - Not to mention my quilting business and little mail order operation of the Quiltville Store and the Quiltville Etsy Pattern Shop.

They keep us so busy that we don't give ourselves the opportunity to really meet the people in our area.

That is about to change!


And so the parade begins!


As we drove in a bit early to find our shady spot, we got to talk to others and meet people who were also out to celebrate in our small community.

And did I know there was Bingo at The Grange on Friday nights?  Things may just get even more fun around here! LOL!


1930's John Deere 430!


Whoowhooo!  Hi neighbor!


This sounds like fun - I wonder what the movie is?


Everyone is getting into the act!


And here come the horses!

Everyone was so cute!


Truly, the only thing missing was the music - we needed something loud and patriotic.  I love the ears on the mules.


So much fun!


It was tricky to get the photos while the parade was in full motion

Click to Play:


This is my community.

This is what I call home and I am so happy to be here.

How long did it take for the parade to pass us by?  19 minutes.  But 19 minutes of fun, togetherness and pride.

No matter our differences and leanings - one thing is certain.  We love where we live and the people in it.  And we look forward to a brighter future.


The flag off the porch at Quiltville Inn.

Happy birthday, America.

There is no growth without struggle.  But our struggles make us stronger.

I hope everyone who celebrated had a wonderful day. Fourth of July was always special to me growing up and I was remembering the many block parties and BBQs and gatherings from my childhood.

Sweet memories.

I'll add yesterday to them and look forward to next year.

TODAY:  Ortho guy day.

Today is the day I find out what is going on with the left knee 2 months after my twist and fall in Vietnam and what plan of action we need to take to get it better again.

It's kind of a disjoined week with a holiday smack dab in the near-middle, but we will see this week through.

How about you?  How did you spend your fourth?


Quiltville Quote of the Day -

Our journeys are not just our own, they are enhanced and altered by others who come into our lives and walk with us awhile, or simply cross our paths as they go their own way.
Thank you for adding so much to my journey!
Vintage Periwinkle Star quilt found in Kentucky.


 

18 comments:

  1. It was a quiet day for us
    Ran a couple errands and took a long nap! Watched the fireworks 🎆at night on TV
    Today I'm cooking so probably no sewing. Next is the horizontal sashings to be sewn onto the quilt
    The beginning of a 3 day heat wave starts today..yuk.
    Thankful for central air
    Blessings 💞🙏
    .

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  2. When I read "Today is Ortho guy day", I thought the pest control people were coming! Gave me a good chuckle.
    Pat

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  3. So fun to see your little town parade, so nice to know these little towns all over our country still exist and celebrate together our nation's birthday. Happy 4th, too hot to be out here by the beach so some hand binding going on while I listen to Wimbledon on the radio. Good luck with your knee.

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  4. Anonymous9:48 AM EDT

    I loved your 19 minute parade. It brought back my own memories of celebrations long ago. Roxie

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  5. Anonymous10:23 AM EDT

    Our kids from Memphis came up to Iowa for 4 days! always so great to be with them and their two adopted greyhounds. So grateful for all we have in America!

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  6. Haha, fantastic parade! Thank you for showing us that! Next year you could put quilts on your rig and be in the parade! Also great to just watch and celebrate with neighbors. 😁 I always dreamed of being in a lawn mower drill team in our parade!

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  7. Gotta love a parade with a John Deere Tractor. Hubby drove his dad's when he was 7 on the family farm. We had a fun time in the heat. Thank goodness we had extra water bottles at the baseball game.
    Then we took a nap, cause we're old. A BBQ ended our celebration. I watch the Capitol 4th and Macy's Fireworks on My TV. While the neighborhood burned $$$$ on Fireworks. Boom, boom, boom until midnight.

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  8. Anonymous11:28 AM EDT

    Here's a bit of my reality with adding a second cat to the household. 9 months of separation when no one was home with them and years of fighting and occasionally snuggling together. It was never good but they both got lots of love and attention that they wouldn't have gotten if they had stayed where they were. Just one left now and she is queen of all she surveys. I tried some of the calming stuff and it didn't seem to work at all. Good luck to you and them.

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  9. Next year...boombox with patriotic music! Love small towns! They know how to do it right!!!

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  10. Anonymous11:36 AM EDT

    Happy 4th!! Small towns r wonderful, I use to live in one and now it’s a big city

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  11. Cindy from NOVA12:27 PM EDT

    And we thank you for contributing to our lives, whether it’s quilting, travel, kitties, western VA life or whatever, you are a gem! I hope you keep this up for many years; your blog is my morning delight!

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  12. Our town is not a small as yours but I loved the small town feel we got when we attended the annual 4th of July concert and fireworks display.

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  13. Anonymous2:36 PM EDT

    God bless you, Bonnie. We love you and your little town and your fur babies. Reminds me of Lewisburg, WV in the 1940's. People were real neighbors then. Wish things could be like that again. Nowadays it's too quiet and keep to yourselves! What a shame. Thank you for the trip down memory lane.

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  14. Hi Bonnie, our small village of just over 300 or so souls, just celebrated our 155th consecutive Memorial Day parade. Even during Covid, we were outside on the streets remembering those who served and didn't come home . Those who gave everything so that we could live more freely than just about everyone. It's an honor to have parades and know what makes the USA wonderful.
    Quiltville.blogspot.com

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  15. Anonymous3:36 PM EDT

    What fun! I pretty much stayed home yesterday and was able to be up in my quilting studio a bit (with the AC on! Close to 100 here yesterday). I finished up my Triple Treat blocks--laid out a third of them and LOVE it! Before I can start joining them, I promised to clear out my studio---Thimbleberries Quilt Club kits from over 20 years ago? Not gonna be sewn, so am taking out the fabric and putting it in my stash! (I think I have them from 1997-2006....that's A LOT of fabric!). Makes me happy to get a bit organized! --Connie from northern California

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  16. Yes, I agree with the music along with the celebrations. We had "small town" fireworks the night before but the crowd really wasn't that into it! We celebrated quietly... not much in the mood for anything heavy this year, lots of other little fires to put out. (personally)
    I sewed, and then shopped at JoAnn's. (It was awesome; I was the only customer in the store for a minute! Got some crazy good deals, too!) Getting projects done, and starting new quilts! HA! Hopefully things go good with the knee, and you have fun getting to know your community more! Happy Wednesday! :)

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  17. Anonymous7:45 AM EDT

    Such a great community event. You will have to let us know what the movie Was if you attend .

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  18. Hi Bonnie:
    4th of Jully week is also Birthday week for me ( 2nd). Plus company just left to go home to Minnesota. The 4th was quiet.I was going to go to a BBQ of another friend named Donna Weeks. It is her Birthday, and she has a Quilt shop nmes "Quilts for U". Well the car started over heating, so I justwent to Fred Meyer for Senior shopping and back home. Then since it wasn't raining, I planted in the out doors garden. Not many day without rain in the last month, so I am way behind on planting. No sewing or quilting for me right now. Have a Great week!

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