In 2007 the editor of our little homeowners newsletter was ill and we needed an article informing our homeowners of the upcoming Christmas party for the kids of our neighborhood with snacks, Santa giving out toys and having pictures made while Ms. Santa takes kids for a ride in a horse drawn wagon. I wrote an article about "Making Memories" which outlined our Christmas activities in my grandfathers home and equated this with the memories we are now making for our children and grandchildren. Each year we have larger turn-outs for this neighborhood event and parents are telling me how much their children look forward to this. Because there has been such an increase in expenses in 2008, I was looking for a way to cut costs for this event so I spent the entire day of the "party" making yeast rolls (dozens and dozens and dozens) to "stretch" our food. The clubhouse smelled of baking bread and even spilled out to the kids and parents getting on the wagon with Ms. Santa. There were so many people who thanked me for this effort, and for this I am greatful; BUT my greatest pleasure was seeing how almost the whole room moved to the serving table when the hot rolls were coming out of the kitchen. I think there were children there who had never had homemade bread. I hope when they are grown adults with children of their own, they will remember a time in their childhood when our neighborhood came together for such a fun time. Those of us who quilt because we remember our grandmothers and/or mothers quilting may have taken away a memory of our childhood that neither our grandmothers or mothers expected. I remember how my mother's sisters exchanged patterns (cut from newspapers), fabric scraps, feed sacks, etc. There was always meals shared, sleep overs, lots of laughter and my mother went home to begin her quilt. Now I actually don't remember her cutting out the fabric or sewing it together for I would have been in school or outside playing or in bed asleep. Later on one of my aunts talked about how hard they all worked to get quilts made for their families and most of the time they only got to work on these after all of their work was finished for the day. Their worked included milking cows, making gardens, canning vegetables. They must have been really tired before they ever sat down to quilt, but without television this must have been a time to settle down before bed time. Sometimes I am sad that our children are so caught up in video games, t.v., going to the mall, etc. Do anyone of you remember how exciting it was to have a new Sears & Roebuck catalogue??? or having the postman deliver a box of baby chickens??? Anyway I guess the point of this walk down memory lane is that many times those of us who quilt, do so because this was an important, happy part of our lives, so I concentrate on making the quilt project in my home a happy, fun time. This week my granddaughter is out of school because she does not have to take final exams. Today we are beginning a quilt for her baby brother. I will cut out the squares and she will be sewing. We don't worry about cleaning house or doing much cooking and if we want, we will stay in our p.j. or gown all day because it is too cold to be outside. When she is an adult and I am no longer with her, I hope she will have comfort and pleasure in remembering these days just as I find comfort and happiness in remembering the days with many of my folks who are now gone. Quilts are so much more than just fabric, thead, color -- that is when someone really takes the time to think about it. Right now one of my husband's grandmother's quilts which is the most gosh awful thing you've ever seen, is covering a Bird of Pardise plant he is especially proud of in order to protect it from freezing. I am sure he remembers her each time that quilt goes over that plant.