Aforetime I have mentioned my habit of setting a pitcher of water on the counter to drink throughout the day. I prefer room temperature water for the most part and by keeping it there at arm's reach it is easier for me to remember to keep drinking, especially as I go about my quotidian home engagements.
As I was going through some of my mother's things recently, I discovered some of the handiwork sewn by my grandmother. Grandmother was born in 1914 and she could sew about anything. She was a clever woman very skilled with needle and thread. She actually made a living sewing draperies and slipcovers for years in the back room of her home, and oh the neat stories she would tell. One that fascinates me even to this day is was how she learned the meticulous job of making fabrics fit through training she had while still a young girl. Her father constructed pine coffins through government contracts he was given and her part was to perfectly fit the inside of the coffins with a lining of white cotton.
Just before she died I visited with her one day. She was lying on the bed with her eyes closed and when asked how she was doing she answered, "Oh, I'm just lying here hemming a handkerchief." She taught me a wealth of many things, but an important lesson was garnered on that particular day. The power held in both the concentration of the mind and the gratitude of the heart.
One of her white crocheted doilies with a solid linen center has proven
useful to set over my pitcher of water.
Beautiful and charming,
just like my grandmother.
