Miss Abigail's Pioneer Reenactment

Miss Abigail has been preparing for a special handcart pioneer reenactment since January. Finally, on Tuesday, she was so happy that our small church group left to join a large group of other teens to spend the week walking and pushing a large wooden cart loaded with supplies to honor and appreciate her Mormon pioneer ancestors. I think they will hike about 40 or more miles before the end of the adventure.  Each youth was encouraged to find out more about the life of an ancestor who could be an inspiration to them and to walk the Trek in honor of this person. Miss Abigail chose to research her great great great great grandmother Abigail McMurtrey Allred. Abigail not only shares her name, but also her birthday! GGGG Grandmother Allred's picture is on the memorial brooch Abigail is wearing. Getting ready for this Trek has consumed quite a lot of time and certainly a lot of creative brain energy. Now that it is over, I hope to be able to pick up my more normal busy life...Abigail and I certainly hope all of you are having some fun summer adventures of your own.

In My Workbasket - Spindle Spinning

I've been so involved lately in projects that have little to do with hope chests, so I haven't had much material to post about for some time. But, this last weekend, I took Miss Abigail on our local fiber farm tour and I acquired some alpaca roving blended with Merino wool. It was just so soft that I wanted to spin it immediately! Since I have another project already on our spinning wheel, I just put this on a spindle and spent some waiting time in pure heaven, spinning out the door of our truck. The fiber is lovely--very soft and easy to spin. I haven't spun any fiber other than the wool from sheep, so it is interesting to see how much I liked this alpaca wool.

These dainty alpacas have been very recently shorn of their lovely fleece.

Miss Abigail is helping my handsome grandson Erik watch a spinning demonstration. Erik is feeling a little disappointed that he couldn't help spin the wheel, but he had lots of fun with several other activities, including a dust bath like the chickens.We had a great time visiting Cynthia Daly at Milagro Moon Ranch.

A Peek Inside - Hope Chest List

I mentioned that I have been visiting relatives and that I spoke with my mother-in-law, Ione, about her hope chest. She worked on it for quite some time, beginning when she was about ten years old. Sometimes, nearer the time of her marriage, she felt like she didn't do anything but embroider. Next time I visit, I want to set aside time to talk more and take pictures of things Mom still has saved. She mentioned that after things wore out from use, she ripped off the decorated edge and saved her hard work. Ione recorded a list of items she had completed in her wedding book.

5 quilts, 10 pair of pillow cases, 40 dish towels, 10 hot pads, 6 doilies, 5 dresser scarves, 3 table cloths, and several dish cloths. She also collected a lamp, a chair, a footstool, a sewing machine, china service for 12, silverware for 8, a book about nursing (she attended a Red Cross home nursing course,) and a cook book. She also counted on several gifts received from her aunts and friends to complete her household necessities.

A Peek Inside - An Old-Fashioned Gift

While I was visiting family, I had a chance to talk to my mother-in-law about the hope chest she made when she was a young girl, preparing for marriage. She disappeared for a few minutes and came back with these lovely pillowcases. She said they were a gift from her best friend's mother on the occasion of her marriage. It was a beautiful gift, wouldn't you say? I can see that I need to spend some more time in her basement with a camera. She has used the pillowcases often, and kept them so well for more than 50 years. They still look almost pristine. I just thought you might like a peek at the kind of work that went into a hope chest many years ago. If you zoom in on the last picture, some of you may be able to duplicate the pretty crocheted edging. One of these days, I'll try to write proper directions...

Grandson

 My favorite part of the recent trip to Idaho was reading and playing with my grandson Blaine. He is such a cutie! What a blessing to me to spend some time with my family...

A Peek Inside -- Scrapbooks and Family History

Genealogy and family histories are a traditional item to include in the hope chest, at least in Mormon families. Happily, I have managed to include some of these in Miss Abigail's hope chest. This is the first scrapbook I made for Abigail. It has her birth story, which was pretty harrowing, and pictures from the first year of her life. I've also been slowly working on a personal history of my own life to share with all of my children. I'm on my way home from Idaho with scanned pictures, genealogy and other memorabilia of my father's life. Plus, I have 10+ hours of recorded interviews with my mother about her life, which I hope to use in a family history.

Because I am a faithful Mormon woman, genealogy and family history is a responsibility in my life. But I also see it as an opportunity to become better acquainted with my ancestors and to pass their stories on to my children. I'm a link in a long chain and I certainly want Miss Abigail to feel the security of her strong family ties.

Do any of you have family records and stories to pass along? I hope so.

Happy Easter

My father used to say "life is real." As I get older, I'm coming to understand more fully what he was talking about. I've been in Idaho helping my mom. Miss Abigail is at home, taking on the responsibilities I left to her. Life is such a cycle. As I watch my mother age and become more dependent and less capable of taking care of everyday things, I feel such an overwhelming feeling of love and gratitude for all that she did for so many years. Life is real.

This picture was taken on Easter morning when I was either two or three years old. I am the little blond on the left with the frilly hat. My mom always arranged new clothes for us at Easter--not always a hat, but always a pair of white gloves for the girls.

At this season, I'm so thankful for the blessings I have. Life is real and I am blessed.

I'm currently not posting much. I've just got other things...