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Quick Visit On Tuesday, I took only a few things out to the Women's Shelter, for Quilt Time With the Kids. The Quilt has helped me gather with children at the Shelter for over 15 years, now. We sang some songs and Pickles the Puppet came out, for a while. I kept it low-key. I learned years back, to let the community groups come in, with holiday parties and gifts. Thank goodness there are lots of people out there who help make Christmas at the Shelter a little brighter.  I tried to keep it simple and keep it calm, which is actually very hard for me. After a bit, I brought out a bag of about 25 old Beanie Babies. I told the kids the animals were looking for homes, if anyone cared to adopt. These were not gifts... gifts are usually new. How sweet to see the faces of the kids, as I put the stuffed pets in the middle of the quilt. We talked about where the Beanie Babies came from. The kids wanted to know how old my kids were now. They seemed more drawn to the ones that looked the most loved. And they liked the idea that my grown kids wanted the animals to be cared for. It's nice to be needed.  We went clockwise around the circle and each child picked. Then we went the opposite direction and the kids picked another. There were extras for latecomers. Then I put out bells and metal stars and gold cord. The kids decorated their pets. Older kids helped the younger ones. Some of the older kids wanted my help... just because it's fun to get help. Then we picked up the Jingle Babies and I blasted "Jingle Bells" from the portable speaker. We sang and jumped and jingled around the room a while. Like I said, it's sometimes hard for me, to be totally calm. 20+ years Ago The kids at the Shelter had wanted to know about my kids. As I drove home I thought about 1996, when my kids were young and Beanie Babies were a big deal. Christmas was simple and life was good. My kids and their friends knew the names of every Beanie Baby that was sold...  My kids didn't know much about shelters and abuse. But a few years later, they began volunteering at the Women's Shelter. I remember the conversations, driving home in the car, after spending time at the Shelter. They learned a lot from those visits. We still have a lot of Beanie Babies living in an upstairs closet. My kids have happily allowed me to share their collection over the years, so you'd think they'd all be gone. It's kind of fun to know there are Heidi & Scott Beanie Babies, living in New Mexico and Arizona... Mexico and Guatemala.  While putting away the Quilt, I noticed "Wrinkles" in the closet. That had been the favorite in 1996. I gave Wrinkles a bell and a place of honor downstairs. We won't have kids in the house for Christmas this year, but we have lots of fun reminders! Merry Christmas!
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Trees in December For my December theme with the Seniors, I chose trees.  We talked about the obvious... favorite trees and what's good about trees. Tree Color We don't have much fall in Texas and many of my Quilt Seniors haven't ever left the state.
But we still talked about trees in autumn. We talked about the colors and the shapes of leaves. We talked about the smell of fallen leaves... and the chores. People in Trees We talked about climbing trees.
Some remembered climbing as kids. No one remembered climbing a tree as an adult... except me. Tall Trees We talked about the tallest trees.
Redwoods and tall palms... that need adults to climb them, to remove dead fronds. Dead Trees We talked about how beautiful trees can be, even when they're not alive anymore.
We decided the best non-living tree, is a decorated Christmas tree! But it's also the most aggravating tree, when it falls over! Petrified We even talked about fossilized trees... which I know little about.
But we passed around a piece of fossilized wood and shared stories of finding fossils over the years. Tree Shapes! We talked about the best shapes for trees. You have to love a gumdrop tree! 
We decided branches can be the most beautiful part of a tree, even without lights. Fake Trees Besides dead trees, there are other trees that aren't alive.
Fake Christmas trees... and tree sculptures! Decorated Trees! Since it was December, we talked a lot about Christmas trees and lights.
Lighting outside trees is a more complicated task, than decorating the tree in the house! We wondered if the shoes hanging from this tree, were considered decorations.
We were quite sure the Mardi Gras beads were considered a decoration. They were hanging from a palm tree in New Orleans. Live Things in Trees I shared my favorite tree photo.  I took the photo years ago at Brazos Bend State Park at dawn. The birds in this tree were incredibly loud! Hanging from Trees We talked about all the things that hang from trees... like children and birdhouses.
Stained glass windows hanging from a tree, can look pretty fun. But not as much fun as a swing. Holes and Words We talked about mysterious holes in trees. Sometimes there are hidden treasures.  We talked about damage to trees, by beavers or nails or pocket knives... Trees in Art And we talked about trees in art.
Many remembered drawing trees as children. Stick people, houses, suns and TREES. Pretty much everyone mastered drawing those few things, as a child. Our Tree I had a few branches scattered on the table. We propped them up and created some trees, while we talked.
We added some leaves and pinecones and some candy canes, since it was December. It was sort of simple and silly and just about right.
What Did I Learn? I love simple themes. |
The QuiltFor 20+ years children have called it the Magic Quilt. They've danced and pretended all over these colorful squares. I've dragged it to schools, shelters and studios where children have climbed on top to hear Magic Quilt Stories and to act them out. Archives
November 2024
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