Back in the Day

I've been away doing the migraine-thing.  So far the new meds aren't doing anything for me, but I persevere!!

So, I'm cheating today by showing you some quilling that I did back when I was expecting my first baby - 25 years ago!!

Lisa helped put up and decorate her grandparent's Christmas tree after Thanksgiving. I thought I should take the opportunity to photograph some of my old friends as, of course, I didn't make any of these for myself.  I've learned to be a bit better about that these days.

Back in the day, I took ceramics classes so that I could make the bases for my quilling as well as a few other pieces.  This is a potpourri container.  I think it measures about 6" in height.  This design is undoubtedly one of Malinda Johnston's, or closely based one.  I think all of her books are out of print, but available on amazon.com.  Her company, Lake City Crafts, still exists, but I don't know if she is associated with it anymore.  She inspired me through all of my hours of quilling, and is one of the greats!!

Now, here is a story that took place back in those days.  It has nothing to do with crafts, but it's...
Well, it's one of my often told stories!!  (For some odd reason, there are weird formatting problems!?)


The Stranger in the Drive       (from storylane.com/karenclark)

Lisa was an infant, about two months old I think, and I didn't know anyone in our neighborhood at the time.  I'm not sure that it would have helped anyway.

Her bedroom faced the front of the house and ours the back.  Behind us was all cornfield,
although to the sides we had neighbors. It was a pretty typical subdivision in the late 1980s.
Pretty much everyone was at work, just the baby and me at home in our little neighborhood. 
I never thought of it that way before.

I looked in on our sweet little girl as she lay napping and then peeked out her window
at the beautiful Poplar Tree in the front yard when I spotted an old car in our driveway.
Huh?  What's is that doing there?  We don't know anyone.  And there's a man just sitting 
in it.

My heart started racing.  I checked Lisa.  Still sleeping. I stood more to the side and just barely peeked.

He is't making a move.  Just sitting there, not exactly looking menacing, but not looking innocent either.

I moved cautiously to my bedroom and peeked out my bedroom window for accomplices.  No one there.  I called my husband at work (a good half hour away) and started filling him in as I proceeded around the house furtively trying to spot anything out of the ordinary.  I also continued to check on the stranger in the car and, of course, my sleeping baby.

I had quickly formulated an escape plan.  There was a gate in the back fence into the corn field.  The beagles, baby and I could make a run for it into the next subdivision over which was so much larger than ours that surely there must be someone home during the day.  
The stranger is still not making any move.

I finally agreed with my husband to just call the police.

I may be the only housewife in the history of housewives to have called the police on the police!!  He was an undercover cop!!  It turns out that our subdivision was across the street from an apartment complex that was known for it's seedier side.  Well, not that well known.  We didn't know!!

The nice officer on the phone figured out fairly quickly what was going on (probably by calling the undercover cop in the area to check it out!!)  He told me that he knew the officer in my driveway and that he was a really nice guy and that I shouldn't be worried.  The next thing I knew, my doorbell was ringing and a very chagrined, very scruffy young man was at my door apologizing profusely.  I assured him that I was fine and that he was free to stay, but he was so embarrassed that he got out of there as fast as he could go!!

It turned out that our driveway gave him a beautiful vantage point to keep an eye out for a drug trafficker that he was, well, keeping an eye on.  He had no idea that he had been terrorizing me.  He assumed that we were at work like all of the neighbors.



P.S.  My daughter Lisa now does quilling and did hours and hours of it for her girlfriend Megan's wedding.  Megan can now quill as well.  They were very creative in all of the wedding preparations.