Comments from Readers

I’ve gotten so many comments in the comment section lately.  I love it.  I thought I would highlight a few.

Hedy wrote:
“If I lived closer, I’d paint your rooms. When I was a new widow at 51 years old, I redid the whole house. I know now I needed to do work so the grieving would not overwhelm me. Keep on being busy, it helps.”

I’ve met Hedy and knew that she was a younger widow.  This so much helped me to read this.  I could see someone besides me, dealt with death in the same way.

This cute little cross stitch came from Virginia.

She also wrote a note asking “if I was really okay with receiving random packages with fabric from strangers”.  That made me smile.  My answer to that is this….I don’t consider you all strangers.  I know it’s cliche but I consider you all friends I haven’t met.  And yes…fabric is great.  I can’t use it all so know that I do pass some on to charity groups in my area.

When Nell came for a visit a bit ago, I sent a bunch of fabric with her.  She teaches at a school on the reservation.  She has a VERY active group of student quilters.  They always need fabric so I sent some on with her.  She was happy to get it.  There are other groups in my area, and I ship some out to other charity groups.  You are also welcome to pass fabric on to other groups who have requested fabric.  You can find that list here.  If you tell them you are a blog reader they often send me a picture of quilt that were finished using your donated items.

From Sally after I wrote that I saw Rocketman in the Theater:
“I still have all my Elton John albums. I worked many hours babysitting for 50 cents an hour to pay for them!”

AH!!  Remember the days of being kids and babysitting for penance.  I had one family that I was a regular babysitter for.  Ah, I loved that family.  I also remember the nights waiting for the parents to come and hearing EVERY sound in the house and imagining the worst.

Paula wrote:
“Thinking of you Jo! :) Is that smiling guy, with the t-shirt that looks like it has a tie on it Kramer? He looks so much like Carver. You can really see the family resemblance. What a treasure. :)”

She was referring to this picture.

Yes.  That is Kramer in the center with the “tie shirt”….and this is Carver.

They do look somewhat similar.  They definitely both have the same humor….always picking on and teasing others…

Even at 2 1/2, Carver totally gets humor.  He gets picking on people too.  He will climb up on my lap, look straight at Kelli and in a teasing voice say, “I Grandma Joey’s boy.  Not your boy Kelli”.  He totally has a teasing voice and it’s just precious the relationship those two have.  The teasing goes both ways between the two.  Kramer was a lot like that…always picking on people.

Then this from Sally:  You might remember Sally from this blog post.  I met Sally in early March in the Lab at Gundersen Clinic in Lacrosse while we were getting a blog test.
“You and your family have been on my mind and in my heart so much since we met at Gundersen. Especially and more so this last week, as I walked that same hospital’s halls and waited in hushed rooms myself. My mom was admitted to the Gunderson ER on June 8, moving from ER to Cardio/Pulminary to ICU and eventually to a Palliative Care Room, where we said our final goodbyes on Sunday 6/16. And the questions now are the same for us. I’m numb. I’m exhausted. I’m concerned about my brother, my sons and the grandchildren. And I’m moving thru the motions. She was not my spouse – I’m blessed to have my husband at my side. But she was more than my mom – she was my friend and the longest relationship in my life. So I’m thinking of you….”

Aw…these notes mean so much to me.  Until this all happened to me, I never realized how much those of us in the world are so busy going about our business that we don’t even know that families all around us are struggling.  I can’t help but wish I was there.  I can’t help but wonder what I was doing on 6/16 when Sally said goodbye.  Ah.  Notes like this and my past months with Kramer so make me want to simplify my life so I’m not so busy.  I no longer want to put my head down and push forward through a day.  There is so much more to life.  My thoughts and prayers are with you Sally and many others who have wrote or left a comment sharing your life.

Thanks so much for all the notes and comments.  I truly read them all.  It’s usually how I end my nights.  I appreciate the time you give in writing them.