When I discovered blogging a few months ago I never dreamed what rewards would come my way.
For instance, one of my recent blogs was about Grandma and all the things she taught me. Within a week, I received a phone call from a first cousin who lives in South Carolina. Within a few more days, I received a package filled with quilt blocks Grandma appliquéd for a quilt she was planning to make in 1953. As it turned out, Grandma wasn't able to finish the quilt. There are two blocks remaining. One is half finished and contains the needle and thread Grandma placed there fifty-five years ago. The blocks (pictured above) contain fabric from summer dresses I remember from my childhood – my mother's, my Grandma's, my aunts', and mine. I am now facing the challenge of making the very first quilt I have ever attempted.
Another amazing connection happened a week or so prior to that. I received an e-mail that said, "My brother stumbled across your blog and the poem our dad wrote about his grandpa." It was from a cousin I've never met and whose name I never knew. I lost this particular branch of the family when I moved to Columbus, Ohio, at age seventeen and my cousin married and moved to Cincinnati at about the same time. Our visits back to W.Va. never coincided. Although my cousin has passed away, his daughter and I now trade family stories and pictures that are precious to both of us. Her brother searched the internet for his dad's name on a whim one day and my blog came up, along with the first line of his poem about Grandpa. Who would ever imagine that?
In addition to the above, a nephew I love very much but hadn't heard from for a long time has begun e-mailing me, I was invited to judge Parkview High School's annual Reflections art contest (which I did), and I've sold my painting, "Firefly Evening." None of these things would have happened without my blog.
Carl says my blog must be going all over the world by now. I think, perhaps, he is correct. I can hardly wait for the next surprise.
For instance, one of my recent blogs was about Grandma and all the things she taught me. Within a week, I received a phone call from a first cousin who lives in South Carolina. Within a few more days, I received a package filled with quilt blocks Grandma appliquéd for a quilt she was planning to make in 1953. As it turned out, Grandma wasn't able to finish the quilt. There are two blocks remaining. One is half finished and contains the needle and thread Grandma placed there fifty-five years ago. The blocks (pictured above) contain fabric from summer dresses I remember from my childhood – my mother's, my Grandma's, my aunts', and mine. I am now facing the challenge of making the very first quilt I have ever attempted.
Another amazing connection happened a week or so prior to that. I received an e-mail that said, "My brother stumbled across your blog and the poem our dad wrote about his grandpa." It was from a cousin I've never met and whose name I never knew. I lost this particular branch of the family when I moved to Columbus, Ohio, at age seventeen and my cousin married and moved to Cincinnati at about the same time. Our visits back to W.Va. never coincided. Although my cousin has passed away, his daughter and I now trade family stories and pictures that are precious to both of us. Her brother searched the internet for his dad's name on a whim one day and my blog came up, along with the first line of his poem about Grandpa. Who would ever imagine that?
In addition to the above, a nephew I love very much but hadn't heard from for a long time has begun e-mailing me, I was invited to judge Parkview High School's annual Reflections art contest (which I did), and I've sold my painting, "Firefly Evening." None of these things would have happened without my blog.
Carl says my blog must be going all over the world by now. I think, perhaps, he is correct. I can hardly wait for the next surprise.
