A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Ruth's Sled...A repeat post

My neighbor, Ruth and I had similar interests. Gardening and reading for the most part. She was about my age, when we met. I was in my 40's. There was quite an age difference. We gardened across a green alley from each other. I started my love affair with Redbud trees at that time. They grew in her "natural area" as she called it. She told me that her dad and mom brought all the Redbuds in our little town up from Southern Illinois and gave them to people. Her dad was a builder and built many of the old homes in our town. We visited everyday, gardened, swapped plants, shared baked treats etc. She was the most generous person I have ever known. She never went to the store without bringing me the newest jelly, household cleaner, lambswool duster, paints and pens and so on. So, when in her old age, she decided to move to Georgia to be nearer her kids...needless to say we were heart broken. They had a big sale before they left. I helped get things ready for it and even though I knew that this was the best thing for them...it was hard. One day I heard a knock at the back door. Here was Ruth holding an old sled. She said that she had had many hours of fun with this old thing. She lived across the street from the park, and she would go sledding there during her childhood winters. She still lived in the house next door to her original home when she was growing up.

At that time I was busy with my painting. Christmas was the busiest time of the year. People brought me milk cans, saws, and sleds to be painted. She thought that I could paint this one. I looked at it and told her that I would never paint it. I would use it at Christmas to decorate my house and remember her and our fun together.Before moving she brought over some very old pictures of her, when she was a little girl. I decided to decoupage them to the back of the sled, so I could look at them every year. Ruth is gone now, but I think of her every time I see glitter, Queen Anne's Lace, May Flowers, Johnny Jump Ups, Trillium, Jack in the Pulpits, Dogtooth Violets, Bittersweet, Holly and the Hampshire Forest Preserve (where she would "spirit away (her words) some wildflowers that they would never miss." She was someone who baked cookies for all the shut ins in town, the merchants, the firemen, and the people at the post office. She always added a little "doo dad" that she had made...covered with glitter...she was the glitter queen. I miss her.
Balisha

5 comments:

marlu said...

What a precious gift from Ruth! I love what you did with it.

lynne said...

Oh, Balisha, that story brought tears to my eyes. Close friends are so special.

susie @ persimmon moon cottage said...

I know that Ruth would have loved (loves) the way you have decorated the sled. What a sweet remembrance of your good friend.

deb @ frugal little bungalow said...

What a beautiful beautiful post. I am tearing up here ...glad that you had such a wonderful friend and neighbor...

I love what you did to the sled to honor her pictures.

Balisha said...

I still think of Ruth almost everyday. She was a holiday person. She kept up with current trends and never seemed old to me.
I have several things in my home and in my gardens to remind me of this lady. She was a gem.
Balisha