A Gratitude Halloween Banner Giveaway

August 24, 2010



A Gratitude Halloween Banner Giveaway

I am terribly behind on my blog.
I am going to catch up a bit before I get to my awesome giveaway.
If you don't want to read about my week just skip to the end.

Last weekend we drove to Filmore Utah for a geocache day.
We chose Filmore for a bunch or reason.
First, my Grandma Billie's mother's family was born, raised and died there.
Second, Filmore was Utah's first state capital because it is almost the center of Utah.
Third, Chris went to high school with a friend who has a farm in Filmore and she invited us to visit.




























On our way to Fillmore we stopped in Levan to find a few geocaches and visit Chris' paternal great and great-great grandparents graves.
We decided since we were visiting graves in Fillmore we may as well visit graves in Levan.
You know, kill two birds with one stone.

Oliver signing the geocache log.

We learn so much about the settlers of a city by visiting their cemeteries.

View outside the car.

View inside the car.

Filmore cemetery.

My grandma Billie's grandma and grandpa. (My great - great grandparents).

Oliver and Freya standing near the resting place of their great-great-great-

great grandparents.

My grandma puts flowers on her mothers grave.

When my grandma was six her mother became very ill.

My grandma writes in her autobiography that "The one memory that has haunted me all my life was when my mother became ill and went to the hospital. After many test the doctor told Dad and I that we could never bring her home again".

My great grandmother was committed to an insane asylum in 1933.

We now believe that she was bipolar which was exacerbated by postpartum depression.

For twenty three years my Grandma Billie assumed her mother was dead.

Her father remarried and had more children.

In 1956 her aunt Elaine (mother's sister-in-law) called and said that her mother was better and was being placed in a rest home.

My grandma writes "I was numb and couldn't believe it. It had been twenty-three long years since I last saw her."

"Everything was hard for her at first. She was like Rip Van Winkle and had been asleep all these years. Elaine was going to stay with her this Christmas. We thought it was best if I didn't see her yet, for she still though of me as being six years old. I asked Vern (my grandpa, RIP) if we could buy her something really nice for Christmas, so we went to town and bought her a beautiful green coat. We took it to Elaine so Mother could have it for Christmas. She had a gift for me too that Elaine had helped her buy, a beautiful statue of a lady, my most prized possession."

I now own that beautiful lady statue and it is my prized possession.

"I wrote Mother for a year to help her understand I had grown up, married and had two children. It was so hard that first time I went to see her. I didn't know what she would think. She welcomed me with open arms and took me to all the ladies and introduced me as her daughter."

My grandma Billie's young life was full of heartache yet she remained optimistic and full of love.

Love of life and love of family.

After the cemeteries, lunch and a visit to the state capital building we visited a working farm for the first time!

At Swallow Farm they raise and breed dairy cows.

The Swallows grown corn for feed. Lots and lots of corn.

It was almost feeding time so the cows excitedly ran to the fence.

Grandma Billie and the kids thought it was hilarious.

One of the Swallows sons raises pigs.

Two of the pigs are named Bacon and Porkchop.

These two little piggies played in the mud.

The Swallow farm.

I would like to go back soon and spend the weekend.

It would be an awesome experience for us to learn how much work is involved with raising dairy cows.

I would like to know what each piece of farm equipment is used for and what it does.

While driving the streets of Filmore we came upon the best yard sale ever.

I found these vintage, almost brand new, super soft pillowcases.

In my opinion you can never own too many pillowcases.

(Unless you have more than a drawer full. When my pillowcase drawer gets too full I pawn them off on my sister).

Three more pillowcases.

A small, square table cloth. (A drawer full is plenty).
A lady doily.

A mushroom curtain, circa 1970.

It is humbling to me to see how mended this pillowcase is.

Someone loved this case and wanted to keep it in good repair.

(All linens cost four dollars).

Most excitingly I found these three purses.

(Total price - six dollars)

Inside flap of purse.

I explained to Oliver and Freya that this is how we remembered peoples phone numbers in the old days before cell phones and speed dial.

Monday the postman brought me something great in the mail.

My lovely friend Wendy was organizing her linen drawers and thought I could put them to good use.
Both sets of pillowcase are on my bed.

Chris carries the handkerchief in his pocket.

I made a head scarf for Freya and plan to make one for myself out of the doilies.

The note Wendy sent made my day and is from The Black Apples Emily Martin.


Saturday I received another beautiful pair of pillowcase from Becca of listeningandlaundry.blogspot.com.

Becca sent the cases as a thank you gift for a giveaway she won.

The generosity of people I have only met through blogland astounds and delights me.

My faith in womankind is renewed.

As a thank you to all the wonderful women I have met this past year I am giving away four Halloween banners.

Two tiny flag banners and two tiny and fat flag banners.

Tiny banner.

Tiny banner.

Fat and tiny banner.

Fat and tiny banner.
(Oh Mary, I need to wash that window)!

If you would like to win one of the four banners please leave a comment along with your e-mail.

Friday I will draw four winners.