4/8/99

When I was driving home today I spotted a little girl, spiffed up James-Bond style, roughing up a small tree with an orange plastic pistol. My snicker was bittersweet--I remembered doing similar things when I was about that age. Particularly painful to recall is the time I pretended I was a hot-shot flag twirler in the high school marching band. Wonder how many of the neighbors caught that spectacle.

My mother drove up today and took me out to lunch, then shopping. My mother is a quilter. Her quilts are amazing, so intricate...I never had the patience for all that. She tried and tried to get me started, but I just made a few skirts and a couple of scrunchies and that was it. I did finish one kickass quilt, a crazy quilt sewn from old jeans that I embroidered and decorated, but I can't use it because it was so much work to make the damn thing.

So Mom mentioned this project she's near to starting and pumped me up to help her with it. For about ten years she's been collecting scraps of velvet and satin. She wants to make a real crazy quilt out of exotic fabrics. That stuff is hard to come by--especially if you don't want to go out and just buy it. She and my Aunt Maggie have saved this stuff, scavenging in the goodwill bins at the church, etc. After Mom left to drive home I went out to the mission store and wandered around for a bit. I ended up buying baby clothes. Fancy baby clothes in as many colors of velvet and satin as I could find. I did my best to find the worn items, since I knew what horrors would soon befall these precious little dresses.

I brought them home, lined them up on the couch, fetched the shears from the hall closet. And I balked. Couldn't get started. I mean, what if they weren't right? What if I cut them up for nothing?

Eventually the phone rang, distracted me, and I steeled myself and started cutting. Snip snip snip. I was left with one pile of big shiny, fuzzy pieces and one pile of edges, lace, and strings. Rolled up the big pieces, tied them with the lace and arranged them in a basket for a Mother's Day present. I'm so efficient this year--not to mention creative. I amaze me.

My mother also showed me the beginnings of the wedding quilt. (Aaaaggggghh! I'm getting married???) I mentioned this to John and we stumbled upon the topic of the last names. I'm happy to say, no big changes here. Same as with the engagement ring. I'll wear one if he wears one; I'll take his name if he'll take mine. I'm a big fan of fairness. Plus, it took me a long long time to learn to like my name, I don't need to change it right now. It's not like we send out family Christmas cards or anything.