"What do you think about us going to pick up the quilt?", I ask my Mom.
"You know there is FedEx and the postal service...we could just have it sent to us." my Mom says as she is probably already thinking about what she will need to pack. "But whatever you want to do. "
Next stop: Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
Look, I know there are easier ways to have gone about this. I admit on paper it looks logical but did I factor in little things like rush hour traffic, taking time to eat 3 meals a day, time spent waiting at airport luggage carousels, getting lost because who would even understand GPS...besides we rather use maps... and picking up car rentals and waiting for shuttle vans and...? Lets just say why dwell on those petty details :)
I just arrived home from a work trip from the West Coast mere hours ago. I am running on about 4 hours of sleep and lots of adrenaline. My car needs to be at JFK airport in NYC but we are flying out of LaGuardia so we drive to JFK and then take a taxi to LaGuardia. It has been so long since last I was in a taxicab that I need a tutorial on how to work the credit card machine. The last time I was in a NYC cab, they had those recordings from celebrities like Joan Rivers reminding you to wear your seatbelt to keep one's tummy tuck firmly in place...or something like that.
Mom and I land at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport around 2p.m...not bad. Leaves us time to drive to the Dallas Museum of Art to see the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit. I know!! Haute couture fashion in Dallas. Who knew? He designed quite a few memorable costumes for Madonna...and the mannequins in this exhibit are animatronic and have hologram-like faces projected on to them so they sing and their eyes blink and an on-the-runway model mannequin just will not shut up. You know how they like to listen to themselves talk...if only they had ears :)
We get our dose of fashionista culture. But unlike some we-do-not-do-lunch fashionistas, we do eat. And we are hungry. But that's okay because there is a Museum Cafe right off the lobby. We will just grab something quick and then be on our way. Right on time...except the cafe is now closed. Who closes a cafe at 3:30 in the afternoon? It's okay. We saw a sign for a Museum Restaurant on the 2nd floor. We make our way past the exhibit of cutlery and flatware and...the restaurant is closed too. Back to our car rental we go....
Next stop: Burleson, Texas. That's where the quilt lives. This quilt is a wedding gift for dear friends. This quilt is a labor of love for a couple in love; whose relationship has withstood the test of time and the challenges that life sometimes present. This quilt is also made by a renown quilter by the name of Frances Snay, mother of one of my favorite people on the planet, Gene. After numerous telephone conversations, I'm thinking we need to meet Fran. Something tells me we will have a new friend in Texas when all is said and done.
We drive down lots of Highways ...30...35....other numbers I can not remember now. We pass a huge billboard that reads, "February is Meat Month". I point it out to Mom and still do not know what to do with that information :) We pass lots of malls and fast-food chains. Yes, we are hungry but fast-food chains? Not feeling the burger and fries and tacos today.
Now I wouldn't classify Burleson as a blink-and-you-will-miss-it town...but the other two towns I drove by after Burleson...Joshua and Claiborn...those definitely are.
"I think we have driven too far", Mom says, cautiously because she knows I am tired and hungry. A bad combination when trying to deal with me. "It has been a long two miles from where we were meant to turn onto Juniper Lane", she continues. Granted, we have now driven about 15 miles too far but...hhhmmmm...yes, I suppose she has a point. I turn into a QuickStop convenience store parking lot wherein I am ready to eat my arm off. Mom goes to get some coffee and treats to eat to soothe me, the savage beast whilst I call Fran to get the confirmation I knew was coming...that we had driven too far.
"I didn't get you a coffee because they only have half-n-half," Mom says as she returns to the car. "But I got a whole bunch of these 49 cent donuts". I think to myself, this is how Texas is going to be....half-n-half only (when I only like milk) and 49 cent donuts when I need a proper hot meal soon.
The sun has set as we pull into Fran's driveway. How our 4p.m. anticipated arrival became 7:30p.m., I will never fully understand. Like I said, it looked good on paper. Fran is kind enough to recognize weary when she meets it. She has made us a lovely chicken salad and fruit salad and yummy tea. I think to myself, with one elbow crooked under my head at her dining table, because I admit it, that elbow is holding me upright right now, how kind it is of her to let these two virtual strangers into her home. I also look forward to tomorrow when I can put a coherent sentence together...and make a better impression.
It has been said that everyone has a story. What I find fascinating is Fran has told her story through the quilts she has created over the years. She has also poured her heart and soul into these quilts. Standing in her living room, she takes Mom and I on a spiritual journey without ever leaving her home.
"Oh, my ...look at this one, Estelle. It's gorgeous", my Mom says as we help Fran unfold yet another of the hundreds of quilts she has lovingly handmade and created over the years. "These colors are brilliant and the patterns....amazing".
Each quilt that is unfolded brings more ooooohhhhhs and aaaaahhhhhs and oh, that's so beautiful....honestly, we run out of adjectives to describe these works of art.
"This one is a log cabin pattern and even the colors have meaning", Fran explains. During the time of slavery and the Underground Railroad, certain patches of material were put in windows to indicate whether a house was "safe"....there is love and history and artistry in these creations. I knew we were coming to Burleson to pick up a quilt; but we got so much more than we planned...a new friend and a history lesson too. :)
The clock is now striking 10p.m. We say our good byes with plans to meet the next day. Driving back to Dallas takes about an hour. Should it surprise anyone that it is 11p.m. when we finally check into the Marriott Renaissance? And we still haven't had dinner?
"I'm making a salami sandwich", or maybe it was peanut butter, Mom tells me as she is unpacking some of the emergency provisions she travels with ...always. That sounds good. I then call my friend Romlee, who said he is a night owl so lets prove that fact. Romlee thinks it is a great idea and finds nothing unusual in meeting up with Mom and I around midnight...we order a few late night snacks from room service and grab any moments we have into the wee hours of the morning to catch up. Around 3 a.m. we agree to meet up in the morning again to continue our conversations...
...and we do. Copious amounts of coffee are consumed as well. Only mere hours before we were hugging each other hello (after not having seen one another for over five years) and now we are hugging each other good bye. The time was precious but too short. Note to self: can not let 5 years pass like that again.
Back in the car and off we drive, past the February is Meat Month billboard again. I still do not know exactly how one is meant to celebrate Meat Month :) This time we are heading to Arlington, Texas to have afternoon tea with Fran.
Looks can be deceiving as we drive up to a location that looks like a big-box warehouse with signage outside that reads "Decorators Warehouse - Texas #1 Biggest Christmas Store". Well, that's great but the fact that it is 80 degrees and the month of February right now does not escape me. We walk inside and are met by hundreds of decorated Christmas trees, thousands of ornaments ...everything is 40% off signs...including a sign for $30.00 wedding dresses. I do not exactly understand the correlation between wedding dresses and Christmas decoration merchandise but I do not care...a good sale is a good sale :) I have to remind myself that we are here to meet Fran for tea so we walk through this artificial Winter Wonderland in Arlington, Texas and in the back of the warehouse is Rose's Tea Salon.
It's perfect. We are in afternoon-tea- heaven. I can not think of many places wherein one can be noshing on tea sandwiches and quiche in one moment whilst buying lamps, scarves and a toiletry kit in the next...all in the same place at discounts as high as 75% (oh, yes, there was also an all-year round boutique right outside of the tea salon...and I had exactly 17 minutes to do a little retail therapy before heading back to the airport)...
Tea. I still do not quite remember how the people seated at the table next to us ended up joining us for more tea and conversation.
"Hi...this is my Mom, Estelle....and I'm Estelle....and this is our friend Fran who lives here in Burleson"...and as Harvey meets Fran and Brad meets Mom and I meet Martha and every other combination therein we ask, "So Harvey (as an example) where are you from?"
"Well, I live here in Texas now but...." ...get ready for it...."I'm originally from Brooklyn, New York".
Of course, he is...as is Brad....and Martha lives in the Texas town now where Fran grew up....and ....
"I wish we could stay longer to chat. We will simply have to come back to visit but Mom and I have a plane to catch. I wish we didn't and this has been too much fun but ...ugh!!!! We have to go".
E-mails are exchanged....hugs...handshakes and promises to meet again. We will. This I know to be true. There are just now too many friends in Texas to not return. See, some things just can not be planned out on paper :)
Back on the Meat Month Highway for a brief moment and then we point the rental car toward DFW Airport. A lot of repacking of luggage at the last minute (darn those great prices at the Decorators Warehouse), the quilt is our carry-on and off we go to San Francisco.
Oh, yes, we have a grand reveal. A celebration to unveil the quilt and bestow the gift upon our friends David and Dante. Kevin and Gene, Mom and I.....we give little mini-speeches, clink champagne glasses and this is a first, the quilt gift comes with caveats attached such as...
"Gentlemen, this quilt can not be used as a doggie blanket" and "If you both should leave this world before Mom or I, then it should be willed to us" and...."May it wrap you both in all the love and comfort you so richly deserve". Once those items and a few more were agreed to, it was finally left to live in its new home.
We left San Francisco as quickly as we came. There was a hair styling moment at Gene's salon for Mom who hasn't had her hair done to her liking in about 40 years. Thank you, Gene for making hair magic happen. There was a lunch that turned into dinner at the Cliff House because we were all in need of nourishment, rest and relaxation near the Pacific Ocean. As the sunset on this day, I thought, " Would I have loved more time with our friends? Of course. Am I infinitely grateful even if the time spent together is mere hours? Always. It is better than no time at all spent together"....and who would have wanted to miss this spectacular sunset.
To everyone who made this quilt moment happen....thank you. To Fran, my Texas Mom whose labors of quilting love are being shared exponentially now. We just adore you and thank you oodles. To Romlee, Kevin, Gene, David and Dante whose gifts of friendship are priceless. I just love you all like so many pieces of fabric in a quilt...lots and lots. To my Mom, thank you for being willing to play the crazy travel game. I know no one else who would sign up for this. Thank you for always letting me make a plan knowing full well, we will be deviating from it. That's unconditional love :) To our new friends, Harvey, Brad and Martha...until we meet again....
Time away from home....84 hours. Miles traveled...including back and forth past Meat Month highway billboard 5, 236 miles. Spending time with friends, making new friends, gifting the quilt and seeing our friends reactions: Priceless .
Yes, I suppose we could have just had the quilt shipped. :)
"You know there is FedEx and the postal service...we could just have it sent to us." my Mom says as she is probably already thinking about what she will need to pack. "But whatever you want to do. "
Next stop: Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.
Look, I know there are easier ways to have gone about this. I admit on paper it looks logical but did I factor in little things like rush hour traffic, taking time to eat 3 meals a day, time spent waiting at airport luggage carousels, getting lost because who would even understand GPS...besides we rather use maps... and picking up car rentals and waiting for shuttle vans and...? Lets just say why dwell on those petty details :)
I just arrived home from a work trip from the West Coast mere hours ago. I am running on about 4 hours of sleep and lots of adrenaline. My car needs to be at JFK airport in NYC but we are flying out of LaGuardia so we drive to JFK and then take a taxi to LaGuardia. It has been so long since last I was in a taxicab that I need a tutorial on how to work the credit card machine. The last time I was in a NYC cab, they had those recordings from celebrities like Joan Rivers reminding you to wear your seatbelt to keep one's tummy tuck firmly in place...or something like that.
Mom and I land at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport around 2p.m...not bad. Leaves us time to drive to the Dallas Museum of Art to see the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit. I know!! Haute couture fashion in Dallas. Who knew? He designed quite a few memorable costumes for Madonna...and the mannequins in this exhibit are animatronic and have hologram-like faces projected on to them so they sing and their eyes blink and an on-the-runway model mannequin just will not shut up. You know how they like to listen to themselves talk...if only they had ears :)
We get our dose of fashionista culture. But unlike some we-do-not-do-lunch fashionistas, we do eat. And we are hungry. But that's okay because there is a Museum Cafe right off the lobby. We will just grab something quick and then be on our way. Right on time...except the cafe is now closed. Who closes a cafe at 3:30 in the afternoon? It's okay. We saw a sign for a Museum Restaurant on the 2nd floor. We make our way past the exhibit of cutlery and flatware and...the restaurant is closed too. Back to our car rental we go....
Next stop: Burleson, Texas. That's where the quilt lives. This quilt is a wedding gift for dear friends. This quilt is a labor of love for a couple in love; whose relationship has withstood the test of time and the challenges that life sometimes present. This quilt is also made by a renown quilter by the name of Frances Snay, mother of one of my favorite people on the planet, Gene. After numerous telephone conversations, I'm thinking we need to meet Fran. Something tells me we will have a new friend in Texas when all is said and done.
We drive down lots of Highways ...30...35....other numbers I can not remember now. We pass a huge billboard that reads, "February is Meat Month". I point it out to Mom and still do not know what to do with that information :) We pass lots of malls and fast-food chains. Yes, we are hungry but fast-food chains? Not feeling the burger and fries and tacos today.
Now I wouldn't classify Burleson as a blink-and-you-will-miss-it town...but the other two towns I drove by after Burleson...Joshua and Claiborn...those definitely are.
"I think we have driven too far", Mom says, cautiously because she knows I am tired and hungry. A bad combination when trying to deal with me. "It has been a long two miles from where we were meant to turn onto Juniper Lane", she continues. Granted, we have now driven about 15 miles too far but...hhhmmmm...yes, I suppose she has a point. I turn into a QuickStop convenience store parking lot wherein I am ready to eat my arm off. Mom goes to get some coffee and treats to eat to soothe me, the savage beast whilst I call Fran to get the confirmation I knew was coming...that we had driven too far.
"I didn't get you a coffee because they only have half-n-half," Mom says as she returns to the car. "But I got a whole bunch of these 49 cent donuts". I think to myself, this is how Texas is going to be....half-n-half only (when I only like milk) and 49 cent donuts when I need a proper hot meal soon.
The sun has set as we pull into Fran's driveway. How our 4p.m. anticipated arrival became 7:30p.m., I will never fully understand. Like I said, it looked good on paper. Fran is kind enough to recognize weary when she meets it. She has made us a lovely chicken salad and fruit salad and yummy tea. I think to myself, with one elbow crooked under my head at her dining table, because I admit it, that elbow is holding me upright right now, how kind it is of her to let these two virtual strangers into her home. I also look forward to tomorrow when I can put a coherent sentence together...and make a better impression.
It has been said that everyone has a story. What I find fascinating is Fran has told her story through the quilts she has created over the years. She has also poured her heart and soul into these quilts. Standing in her living room, she takes Mom and I on a spiritual journey without ever leaving her home.
"Oh, my ...look at this one, Estelle. It's gorgeous", my Mom says as we help Fran unfold yet another of the hundreds of quilts she has lovingly handmade and created over the years. "These colors are brilliant and the patterns....amazing".
Each quilt that is unfolded brings more ooooohhhhhs and aaaaahhhhhs and oh, that's so beautiful....honestly, we run out of adjectives to describe these works of art.
"This one is a log cabin pattern and even the colors have meaning", Fran explains. During the time of slavery and the Underground Railroad, certain patches of material were put in windows to indicate whether a house was "safe"....there is love and history and artistry in these creations. I knew we were coming to Burleson to pick up a quilt; but we got so much more than we planned...a new friend and a history lesson too. :)
The clock is now striking 10p.m. We say our good byes with plans to meet the next day. Driving back to Dallas takes about an hour. Should it surprise anyone that it is 11p.m. when we finally check into the Marriott Renaissance? And we still haven't had dinner?
"I'm making a salami sandwich", or maybe it was peanut butter, Mom tells me as she is unpacking some of the emergency provisions she travels with ...always. That sounds good. I then call my friend Romlee, who said he is a night owl so lets prove that fact. Romlee thinks it is a great idea and finds nothing unusual in meeting up with Mom and I around midnight...we order a few late night snacks from room service and grab any moments we have into the wee hours of the morning to catch up. Around 3 a.m. we agree to meet up in the morning again to continue our conversations...
...and we do. Copious amounts of coffee are consumed as well. Only mere hours before we were hugging each other hello (after not having seen one another for over five years) and now we are hugging each other good bye. The time was precious but too short. Note to self: can not let 5 years pass like that again.
Back in the car and off we drive, past the February is Meat Month billboard again. I still do not know exactly how one is meant to celebrate Meat Month :) This time we are heading to Arlington, Texas to have afternoon tea with Fran.
Looks can be deceiving as we drive up to a location that looks like a big-box warehouse with signage outside that reads "Decorators Warehouse - Texas #1 Biggest Christmas Store". Well, that's great but the fact that it is 80 degrees and the month of February right now does not escape me. We walk inside and are met by hundreds of decorated Christmas trees, thousands of ornaments ...everything is 40% off signs...including a sign for $30.00 wedding dresses. I do not exactly understand the correlation between wedding dresses and Christmas decoration merchandise but I do not care...a good sale is a good sale :) I have to remind myself that we are here to meet Fran for tea so we walk through this artificial Winter Wonderland in Arlington, Texas and in the back of the warehouse is Rose's Tea Salon.
It's perfect. We are in afternoon-tea- heaven. I can not think of many places wherein one can be noshing on tea sandwiches and quiche in one moment whilst buying lamps, scarves and a toiletry kit in the next...all in the same place at discounts as high as 75% (oh, yes, there was also an all-year round boutique right outside of the tea salon...and I had exactly 17 minutes to do a little retail therapy before heading back to the airport)...
Tea. I still do not quite remember how the people seated at the table next to us ended up joining us for more tea and conversation.
"Hi...this is my Mom, Estelle....and I'm Estelle....and this is our friend Fran who lives here in Burleson"...and as Harvey meets Fran and Brad meets Mom and I meet Martha and every other combination therein we ask, "So Harvey (as an example) where are you from?"
"Well, I live here in Texas now but...." ...get ready for it...."I'm originally from Brooklyn, New York".
Of course, he is...as is Brad....and Martha lives in the Texas town now where Fran grew up....and ....
"I wish we could stay longer to chat. We will simply have to come back to visit but Mom and I have a plane to catch. I wish we didn't and this has been too much fun but ...ugh!!!! We have to go".
E-mails are exchanged....hugs...handshakes and promises to meet again. We will. This I know to be true. There are just now too many friends in Texas to not return. See, some things just can not be planned out on paper :)
Back on the Meat Month Highway for a brief moment and then we point the rental car toward DFW Airport. A lot of repacking of luggage at the last minute (darn those great prices at the Decorators Warehouse), the quilt is our carry-on and off we go to San Francisco.
Oh, yes, we have a grand reveal. A celebration to unveil the quilt and bestow the gift upon our friends David and Dante. Kevin and Gene, Mom and I.....we give little mini-speeches, clink champagne glasses and this is a first, the quilt gift comes with caveats attached such as...
"Gentlemen, this quilt can not be used as a doggie blanket" and "If you both should leave this world before Mom or I, then it should be willed to us" and...."May it wrap you both in all the love and comfort you so richly deserve". Once those items and a few more were agreed to, it was finally left to live in its new home.
We left San Francisco as quickly as we came. There was a hair styling moment at Gene's salon for Mom who hasn't had her hair done to her liking in about 40 years. Thank you, Gene for making hair magic happen. There was a lunch that turned into dinner at the Cliff House because we were all in need of nourishment, rest and relaxation near the Pacific Ocean. As the sunset on this day, I thought, " Would I have loved more time with our friends? Of course. Am I infinitely grateful even if the time spent together is mere hours? Always. It is better than no time at all spent together"....and who would have wanted to miss this spectacular sunset.
To everyone who made this quilt moment happen....thank you. To Fran, my Texas Mom whose labors of quilting love are being shared exponentially now. We just adore you and thank you oodles. To Romlee, Kevin, Gene, David and Dante whose gifts of friendship are priceless. I just love you all like so many pieces of fabric in a quilt...lots and lots. To my Mom, thank you for being willing to play the crazy travel game. I know no one else who would sign up for this. Thank you for always letting me make a plan knowing full well, we will be deviating from it. That's unconditional love :) To our new friends, Harvey, Brad and Martha...until we meet again....
Time away from home....84 hours. Miles traveled...including back and forth past Meat Month highway billboard 5, 236 miles. Spending time with friends, making new friends, gifting the quilt and seeing our friends reactions: Priceless .
Yes, I suppose we could have just had the quilt shipped. :)
Comments
Post a Comment