The Visit -- continued

Meanwhile, at home, Mama realized that she didn't hear Charlotte talking to the dog and cat anymore. She went to the backdoor; "Charlotte, what are you doing?" There was no answer so she went outside and called a few more times, "Char--lotte! Maybe she went to the toilet," Mama said to herself. She walked to the toilet and found the latch unfastened. "Charlotte, are you in here?" When Charlotte didn't answer, Mama opened the door, only to find it empty.

"Oh no!" she gasped, "not the well!" It was every mother's biggest fear that one of her children would fall into the dug well. Mama ran quickly back to the yard. Her heart beat rapidly and she stumbled as she hurried down the hillside path to the well. The lid was still over the top of the well! She slumped to the ground in relief and sat for a moment to catch her breath.

"She must have gone to Dane's house. Why didn't I think of that in the first place!" she thought.

As Charlotte stepped up to the side of Dane's crib to wake him up, Mama came to the door. "I'm sorry she's bothered you Leola. Now, little lady," she said to Charlotte, "let's go home."

Mama gripped Charlotte's hand firmly and with a tug they started home. Before they reached the gate, Mama broke off a keen switch from one of Grandma's peach trees. She gave Charlotte's legs a little swat with the switch.

Surprised, Charlotte jumped up and down and squealed as the switch stung her legs. All the way home Mama explained, "I was worried to death about you! I don't like to switch your legs but you have to learn not to disobey me."

At bedtime, Charlotte climbed up on Mama's lap and put her arms around Mama's neck. She hugged Charlotte close and gently rubbed the little legs.

(Mama would have been 97 years old today. See post for 4-11-09)

The Visit

Charlotte continued to gain strength, and although she didn't eat as well as Mama would have liked, she was able to play outside again with Wanda, who carried rocks and laid out a square playhouse on the hillside. Mama gave them some old jar lids for plates and they took their dolls and doll clothes to the sunny house.

On cool days Uncle Dewey and Aunt Leola came to visit , bringing their baby boy, Dane. They lived in the old family farmhouse with Grandma. Charlotte was eighteen months older than the little boy and she loved him even if he did still sleep a lot.

Mama was sewing today and Charlotte wanted to go play with Dane, but Mama had told her she didn't have time to take her and the cows might be in the road. So, what could she do? Wanda wouldn't be home for hours. She went to the toy box but the old dolls with holes in their sawdust heads didn't appeal to her today. Begging got her nowhere. She sorta wanted something to eat; some candy would be good. There were some chocolate squares on top of Mama's cabinet. She wasn't supposed to eat any of them though; Mama had said they were medicine. But surely just one wouldn't hurt her. Carefully she climbed up on the old trunk and took a step over onto the cabinet. By standing on her tiptoes, her fingers touched the box. She gave a little jump to grab it. Crash! She had knocked a pan off onto the floor!

"Charlotte!" said Mama as she rushed into the kitchen. "What on earth are you doing on the cabinet? Is that the Exlax box you have in your hand?"

Charlotte went outside, wandered around, talked to the old black cat and the hound dog. Soon she had walked to the barn; the cows were not anywhere close. She dabbled in the mud in the road, and her feet took her closer and closer to Dane's house. She looked back toward home. She didn't see Mama; she ran to the gate and crawled under.

Aunt Leola came to the door when Charlotte knocked. She asked if Mama had let her come by herself and how long she could stay. "I can stay for one hour," said Charlotte.

to be continued ...

Done Up in Blue

The chickens are four weeks old now, and with the 90* afternoon temperatures it's time to get the cooling system going. All the cool cells have to be filled with water and of course one pump had to be out of working order, so Noel has spent most of the day fixing things. I walked through all four houses this morning and put in migration pipes which keeps too many chickens from crowding towards the cooler air; they are smarter than they look and act.

So, with a late lunch behind me, I went to the sewing room to complete what I had started yesterday: another set of sheets and a pillowcase for the oak doll bed. I had already made another mattress and pillow. This time the sheets are done up in a soft blue and the pillowcase is edged with a multi-pastel eyelet:

This little Rail Fence quilt top will be a nice complement to the soft blue, when it's quilted.

Now, if only Charlotte Emily would keep her shoes off the bedding!!

Scarlet Fever

Charlotte and Wanda

In the beginning, it had been difficult for Wanda to accept Charlotte. After all, for over six years she had been the only little girl, and now she had to share Mama, Daddy, and Grandma with a baby. But as the baby grew old enough to do more than sleep and cry, and could walk, Wanda began to play with her; however she was glad when school started each fall so she could play with her friends. Sometimes she brought storybooks home and either she or Mama would read them to Charlotte.

But Wanda brought home more than just storybooks. She brought home measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, and mumps. One day she came home with a fever, and by the next afternoon she had a red rash over much of her body. Soon the rash disappeared and she seemed to have a cold and she coughed and sneezed and had nose bleeds. In a few days Charlotte had fever; her head hurt, her arms and legs ached, and the air chilled her. The only way Mama knew how to make the fever go down was to wrap the little girl in a blanket to make her sweat.

By morning a red rash covered Charlotte's tummy and neck; she could barely swallow because her throat hurt terribly. She stopped eating because of the pain and Mama told Daddy, "We've got to have a doctor for Charlotte. She's so frail and can't go on without eating." The doctor came the next morning and told them the girls had scarlet fever. He swabbed Charlotte's throat, the pain cutting through her throat like a knife.

Mama tried to cook the things she thought Charlotte would like, but still she wouldn't eat. She became so weak she couldn't walk across the floor. Charlotte knew Mama wanted her to eat, and she was hungry, and the sore throat was almost gone now. But she had gone without eating for so long that even the smell of food made her feel sick. Mama tried mixing vanilla and sugar into milk for her to drink, and added vitamins; Charlotte could smell the vitamins and refused the milk.

And then one morning Daddy went to town and brought home some bananas. Charlotte ate a couple of slices for supper, a half for breakfast, and she didn't get sick. By noon she felt like drinking a small amount of canned peach juice. Gradually she began to eat a few bites more, and gained enough strength to learn to walk again.

It's My Day

April 5th -- It's my day! 2011 - 1941 = 70!! How did that happen?

"Once upon a time

when days were still fresh

and new,

ordinary

and uncomplicated,

I was a free child

in love with everything...

a bee buzzing

the wind in my hair

a branch to hang from

bare feet in the grass

dandelions and fairies

teddy bears.

I don't remember growing up.

It must have happened while I wasn't looking

but it is obvious from my heart

that it has happened

for I am less simple

more complicated

and more cluttered.

I would not choose

to become a child again

but I am looking to children

and searching in them

for a simplicity and ordinariness

that makes being an adult

easier to accept

and miracles easier to see.

Children are not too sophisticated

to wonder

to take off their shoes

to reach out, and up

and all around

for that's where miracles are.

The child in me longs

to touch all of the adults I know

with the magic wand of littleness

and perform that great miracle

of enabling them to understand

that it's not too late

to live happily ever after.

The problem is so simple

they could miss it.

Their teddy bears

they've thrown too far

and how desperately they need them."

From page 21 of the Harper paperback, Seasons of Your Heart, by Macrina Wiederker

(Can anyone tell me how photos, like the one above, were colored? This was taken at home; I know because that's our old house behind me.)

Sunbonnet

About fifteen years ago this old sunbonnet came into my possession, faded and torn, too fragile to be worn, so I tucked it away, it being a reminder of days gone by. Mama and I wore bonnets and I always found them to be hot and confining, but they were more lady-like than a hat for a woman to wear. Every now and then I would take the old bonnet out, look it over, and think about making one like it. The bonnet is a very simple one, made from one flat piece of fabric with the tail snapped to the front sides. The actual bonnet part had a lining but the tail was bound in bias. So over the weekend I put it on a piece of freezer paper and drew a pattern. Instead of binding the tails, I cut two entire pieces from separate fabrics, sewed them together, turned them right side out, top stitched around the entire thing, and put four snaps on each side to give it the bonnet shape.

Pattern with two fabrics cut out

This was the end result, very easy; the most difficult part for me was sewing on the snaps by hand. I'm getting clumsy when it comes to holding small things.

I may wear the bonnet when I work in the garden, but not while driving the tractor; bonnets always seem to cut off peripheral vision and I want to be sure I know what is on all sides when I'm operating machinery.

Have you ever worn a bonnet?

New Bed Linens

Even though the weather is still too cool for spring, let's fix up the bed with new linens, starting with a tufted mattress and soft pillow, done up in ticking.

Add crisp, white sheets (they're the best) and a lace trimmed pillowcase. For those cool nights, top them off with a quilt, either appliqued,

or patchwork.

Now tuck yourself in and have a wonderful, dreamy sleep.