I got a really nice surprise this past week. UPS came by and they had a big package for me. I opened it up and it was a beautiful quilt that my longtime good friend Susie made for me. A little bit of a background for everybody. Susie was my first serious girlfriend. I was only 17 years old. You know when we look back 17 is so young and lacking in life experiences, but when you are 17 you think you're so grown up and you know everything. Back to the story, I met Susie her friends and her parents while vacationing in Yosemite. I joined the United States Coast Guard before I finished high school, with the caveat that I would not go to boot camp until after high school. I graduated in 1964 and in June of that year we went to Yosemite and that's where I met Susie. The next month July 7, 1964, I flew up from San Diego to Alameda California to start my tour of duty in the United States Coast Guard.
Long story short, we started writing while I was in boot camp and after I finished my training we continued our correspondence and I used to drive up to Susie's mom and dad's house in Northridge California which is in San Fernando Valley. I remember it was 169 miles from my house to her house. I made the trip so many times back and forth and I would spend the weekend at her parents home and they were so nice to me and long-suffering because I was well unsaved. We stayed friends throughout 5 decades. Susie married Bruce and when they come down to San Diego area we would meet with them or as in the case last summer I went to visit them at the RV park they were staying at right on the Bay.
I talk to Susie usually on Fridays when she's on her way to her sewing class. The name of her sewing class is, "Stitch and Bitch". It's such an apropo name for a sewing circle. I googled it to get a little background and was really surprised to find out that the Stitch and Bitch name goes all the way back to World War II when the ladies use to gather together in a sewing circle and talk about events that are going on and there's over 1400 of these by the same title in over 280 cities around the world.
I want to show you some pictures of this quilt because it's incredible.
Here is the other side and it's just as beautiful.
I've done some sewing in the past 50 years, having been in the upholstering business. So I took a close look at all the seams and how Susie made this and I am very impressed. Her attention to detail is just incredible! I wish I had a place to wall mount the quilt because it's so beautiful.
I don't know if you remember, but when Harriet was really sick during the final couple of months, I was paying all my attention to her and there is a little plant that's on her side of the bed on her nightstand that I failed to water and it was dying. It lasted a couple more months until I realized it needed water and then I started watering it and then giving it some of that Miracle Grow. This is a picture I took a little over 2 years ago, the plant had recovered except for that little one strand that I had to cut off because it was dead.
Then about a year ago we tried an experiment, I pivoted the plant 180° to see if it would turn by itself to the light. Now look at the picture below, I have not done anything to this except for water it and this plant is literally climbing out the window through the shutters, check it out. I think this is amazing!
I'm taking Samuel and Ethan for an outing this morning. A few weeks ago I took them out to teach them to fly my drone. Samuel is 11 years old and he has the skills and coordination, but Ethan is a little bit too young yet to put it all together. I know that he'll do well when he gets a little bit older. And my teaching them is under strict supervision for a number of reasons for safety number one and also because there is a certain dollar amount invested in these drones.
Maranatha,
Frank
