Springtime in the Rockies? Not yet!

We hear much talk about Spring back in Indiana and other parts of the country, but I (Jonathan) don't feel it here at the camp yet!

While there IS lots of sunshine and much of the snow has melted, my body doesn't feel Spring yet! There is still LOTS of snow on the sun-sheltered slopes and I hear that for a normal year, we should expect another 14+ inches of snow! And while I'm hearing more and different birds throughout the day, I've still not seen any sign of spring flowers! (No "Sound of Music alpine meadow experience yet!) The only visual clue I've noticed that Spring may be coming was on a hike last weekend where I noticed some fresh green foliage underfoot! However, yesterday we replaced the rubber on the two plows we use for clearing the roads/parking lots in preparation for an expected spring storm this weekend! So while my head knows Spring is coming/is here, the feel of daily life just doesn't quite let my body "know" that Spring is here!

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Insert from Betty:  Earlier this week, I took a short walk to try to find a little white flower called candytuft which is the first spring wildflower to bloom here around camp.  Success!  I was delighted to find a small patch of candytufts which confirmed to me that spring is on the way!

Plus we spotted three of these lovelies prancing down the driveway a couple of mornings ago.

But I was wrong about Spring!  Here's what showed up today . . .

Not even kidding!  Over 34 inches just in time for the annual spring quilters retreat with 26 women here, sewing machines buzzing, conversation flying, and a bountiful supply of food. These women are not fazed in the least by all this snow.  They have come to expect it because it happens every year.  They just wanted to get up the mountain before it hit and they all did.  Jonathan was the taxi driver, taking them back up the curvy steep, snowy road to Emmental in shifts, the last one at 11:00 p.m.

Jonathan' and his Uncle Charles and Aunt Esther.  Esther came to quilt and Charles helped with construction in Pleiades and was very helpful with snow removal.

The path to our apartment.  The post on the left has a sign that says "no motor vehicles, please." 
As if!

Our buried Toyota Rave - only the mirror is showing.

The entrance to our apartment.

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So I (Jonathan) am enjoying this Rocky Mountain Spring and all that comes with it - it feels different. It is SO different from our Indiana Spring! And I'm glad it doesn't often snow 34 inches in 36 hours! (It's hard work plowing/shoveling all that snow and I'm ready for a rest!)  Life is hard and life is good! 

Snowing, Sewing, and Sowing

We just got through a wonderfully exhausting weekend of snowing and sewing. I had been told that the quilters retreat was one of the best weekends with sewing machines humming, creative ideas swirling all around, and delicious food.  Plus I was told that it always snows during the spring quilters retreat (Jonathan will be posting all about the snow in a later blog!). I was not disappointed. All  of that happened and more. (I also learned that "layer cakes, jelly rolls, and fat quarters" have nothing to do with food!)

Cara and Audrey, our camp granddaughters!

What I did not expect was the sense of "community" I experienced.  You know the saying, "it takes a village."  Well, I saw that happen with women teaching the younger ones and each other new quilting techniques, encouraging and cheering for each other during "show and tell," and telling stories of memories of quilting with aunts and uncles, mothers, and grandmothers.  Several of the staff  who work here at camp have children who participated in the weekend and who shared their projects including 10-year old Emma who showed us the colorful squares she was sewing together for her friends at school. And there was three-year-old Cara who pranced around with a piece of Charlie Brown fabric fastened at her neck like a Superwoman cape. She had chosen some squares which one of the other quilters sewed together for her on her sewing machine and which they shared at "show and tell".  Which prompted Cara to tell her mother at bedtime that night as she was drifting off to sleep that she wanted her own sewing machine! Seeds were sown.

Not only were there quilts being made, others made fabric bags, purses, bowls, potholders, etc.

10-year old Emma measuring and cutting her fabric.

Lauren, showing the wall hanging she made with squares of fabric from her mother's clothing.
Her mother died of cancer a year ago in April.  

Sewers and Sowers

Finished Project! 

Jonathan's Aunt Esther Nafziger cut out 34 of the needed 700 six-sided pieces (about 1/2 inch across) to begin making this wall hanging!

A pieced quilt top by Jonathan's Aunt Esther Nafziger which will be quilted and then donated to the Colorado Relief Sale.

Another completed project by Myrna - this one several years in the making.

Well, the snow has stopped, the sewers have gone home, but the "sowing" continues; providing comfort, warmth, and a sense of identity and belonging.  Here is a quote that was shared today:

"Sometimes I touch the things you touched, looking for the echoes of your fingers." --Lain Thomas

Maybe what touched me today as I observed the fabric pieces of art so lovingly and thoughtfully put together was the reminder that we all want to leave something behind to be remembered by. Something that will help tell our story.  We will all be remembered by something, whether tangible or intangible. We are all "sowers" even though we may never know the impact of our lives.  This retreat was "sew" :) much more than quilting!

This colorful wall hanging, made by my friend Anita, is a reminder of our friendship.  And, yes, that is Jonathan crashing after a weekend of snowplowing and shoveling!