I had just taken a pan of biscuits out of the oven when there was a knock at my door. It was my next-door neighbor. She wanted to borrow a light bulb.
I asked her in while I went to my stash of bulbs to find the size she needed. When I returned to the kitchen, I asked her if she had eaten supper yet. She said she hadn't, so I dished up a plate of stew and biscuits for her. After we ate, she said she had to get home as she was waiting for a visitor to show up. When I opened the door for her, she said that I should look out in the hall near the door - that she almost forgot what she had set down there. This lady had a stroke a while back, and as a result she sometimes forgets things, and has to do things like set down a parcel in order to be able to knock on a door.
When I stuck my head out to look, I spotted a pile of fabric. She said that she knows I sew and thought I could use it. She said she can't sew any more and she wanted me to have it. I tried to pay her, but she wouldn't hear of it.
After she went back home I took a closer look at the fabric. There are at least 6 yards of a lighter blue denim and another 8 yards of navy denim. Wow! What a wonderful addition to my fabric stash. I'm not sure just how I will use it all yet, but no doubt it will be put to good use.
Bless her heart. You just don't find neighbors like Alberta every day.
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Maybe a lap blanket for Alberta to thank her for her generosity. Good neighbors are hard to come by anymore. A real blessing for you to have one.
ReplyDeleteJim...My "Ugly Quilt" was sitting on top of a tub in my kitchen when Alberta was here. She saw it, so I unfolded it and showed it to her. She loved it. I think as soon as I get it washed and dried, it will go to live with Alberta.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. I am blessed to have good neighbors.
I think she will be honored to have the "Ugly Quilt." I know I would.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jim. It is fun for me to be able to do something that makes someone else happy. The lady has had a rough go of it with physical problems, and if the "Ugly Quilt" makes her happy, then I am, too.
ReplyDeletegood show all around for both of you ladies.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rob. Both of us were raised with the idea that helping your neighbor is a good thing. Not in the sense of welfare entitlement as so many think of these days, but in the sense of neighborliness. It is just a natural thing to those of us who are of a certain age. :)
ReplyDeleteI think Alberta is also blessed to have such a good neighbor.
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice thing to say, Jess. There was a time when being a good neighbor was just the natural thing to do. The world might be a better place if that were still true.
ReplyDeleteGood neighbours make all the difference to one's life, don't they?!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the meal you shared with her was as gratefully received by her as the fabric was by you - can't be easy for her to cook after her stroke either?
Dani...I've had good neighbors and not so good neighbors. The good ones are a blessing.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is not easy for her to cook. There is an organization that delivers a noon meal to her on weekdays. I bring her bread when I bake or jars of home canned food that she can just heat up. Times are tough. We need to look out for one another.
Is there, by chance, a vacant apartment between the two of you?
ReplyDeleteI have seen denim patch quilts, but it was OLD denim and quite soft. You could never make a rag quilt due to the thickness, but I bet you could shred them and make a fantastic rug!
I use Youtube to learn anything I want to know, so there ARE lots of videos for making loop rugs and anything else with denim.
As fun as it would be to have you for my neighbor, I think the winters would probably kill you off! From what I hear, the upcoming one promises to be especially ugly. If I didn't love my family so much, I would be headed in your direction.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to wash the denim to remove the sizing and then decide how to use it. A denim rug is a really great idea. Don't you just love Youtube? It is my go-to resource whenever I want ideas or tutorials.
OH! I just had another idea!! What about a denim, over the shoulder, bag for her? Since she's forgetful, having a strap over her shoulder is a good idea, and she could put anything she wanted into it! Oh I love a mystery. What shall it be.....
ReplyDeleteDana...You are full of great ideas today. :) I like that one, too. It will probably be at least another month before I take time to do anything with the denim. Every spare minute is being used right now to stock up before winter sets in. Thanksgiving and Christmas aside, I hope not to have to leave the house from the time the snow flies until perhaps May. Lots of time to sew over winter.
ReplyDeleteMany years ago, when we first came to the mountains, there was a sewing plant near here. I ran their AS400 main frame for them nights. They would give me the bolt ends of material, sometimes almost a full bolt if a contract was being finished up. I would bring them home and my wife made almost all the kids clothing out of them, and some nice things for me and for her. She used to have her own sewing room downstairs, but after time passed and the kids were gone, she didn't do much sewing so we turned it into a backup radio room.
ReplyDeleteHarry...Oh how I would have loved to have access to all that fabric! I, too, sewed clothes for my kids when they were young and for myself. There was a Munsingwear factory where I bought a lot of mill ends for making T-shirts and other kids clothes. I think that home sewing is becoming another of those dying skills. Like your wife, I stopped sewing for a number of years after the kids were grown, but since I have retired I have been doing much more. Sometimes I think, between the sewing and quilt making and food storage, I need a bigger place to live!
ReplyDeleteHarry is someone you and I would have loved to visit just to sew with his wife! (Unless he lived in the hills back then and we'd have driven off the side of the road on our way!)
ReplyDeleteDana...It would be a challenge to get to their beautiful mountain top, but well worth the trip. Those are two people I would love to be able to meet in person.
ReplyDeleteIt really would be nice to have a neighbor like her and like you. I am surrounded by strange people.
ReplyDeleteFurry Bottoms...What a nice thing to say. It wasn't always like this. In the nearly 18 years I have lived here, I have had a prostitute, a drug dealer, a series of kids who liked to loudly party and several barking dogs as neighbors. I was on a first name basis with the cops who showed up from time to time to either make arrests or break up fights. About 10 years ago my landlord remodeled the building, got rid of the manager and screened tenants. Since then it has become a nice place to live.
ReplyDelete