This picture is from last summer after we had first arrived in Ann Arbor. I'm now in Texas, away from the family, and really miss them. It's days like this when you can hang out in the back yard and just be that are probably some of the most rewarding. I wish I could be there right now.Tabitha and Natalie are coming to visit next week so it'll be nice for us to be together for even a little while.
The multi-colored patchwork quilt is from Grandma Garber, Tabitha's maternal grandmother. I guess there are other quilts that Tabitha had wished that we could have received for our engagement/wedding but we got this one instead. Over the years, the quilt has grown on me and, in a way, best represents what a quilt is supposed to be. Fancy quilts are oftentimes the result of people going out and buying specific cloth and patterns. "Old school" patchwork quilts like this one are what they are; a patch of different colors, patterns, and material that somehow come together to make a whole. I've heard some people describe the U.S. as more of a patchwork than a melting pot. This statement may be true but each of the patches still needs the others to make a quilt together. A patch alone is not a quilt and if even one patch is missing, the quilt is not whole either.
That's Rehtse and Winslow in the background. They are obviously enjoying the backyard too. I'm not sure they appreciate the quilt as much as finding something that is nasty and smelly that they can roll in.
