On April 12, Street Children Day, my mind grappled with the statistic. An unbelievable 100 million youngsters in the world, living in the shadows, now stand in the light for all to see. Not just the rising toll of Syrian orphans who have lost their parents in war, but those waifs who eke out an […]
Category Archives: Cleo Thoughts
“He watched over me before I knew Him and before I learned sense or even distinguished between good and evil, and he protected me, and consoled me as a father would his son.” -Saint Patrick The mid-March wind howled outside the large drafty windows of my classroom. Crispy gray snow piles ringed the playground […]
“Canned tomatoes are like summer saved: all that deep sun kissed flavor ready to be enjoyed.” – Better Homes and Gardens The kitchen knife slides easily across the cooked beets, creating burgundy cross sections of summertime goodness slipping into sterilized jars. A cup of hot vinegar-sugar syrup tops the beets then the metal lid and […]
“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” -St. Francis of Assisi From eQuilter.com As a child living in a struggling household, I attended a one-room school house in rural Wisconsin. The snow fell thick on the corn stubbed fields surrounding our school as the wind whistled around the […]
“The beauty of a quilt, the meaning of a quilt, the history of a quilt- that’s what our brand quilts are about.” – Shelly Kuntzler Suzy’s Fancy: Cowbelles Brand Quilts Quilts.com The deep cold and heavy snowfalls of this winter snuggled my husband and I underneath hand stitched quilts with pots of coffee and hot […]
“Cousins are connected, heart to heart. Distance and time can’t break them apart.” –Anonymous Most of my cousins live in Iowa where they farm, teach school, staff offices, and raise vegetables in gardens. But one of our riotous clan took root in Malawi, African soil. Time and distance separated us. My older cousin, Byron Jeys, […]
think blue line When my daughter, Rene’, married Chris, the wedding proved to be one of the most emotional experiences of my life. The significance of their upcoming vows took a turn when the groomsmen bought the latest bullet proof vest for Chris. As the groomsmen put it, this gift was for Rene’ so Chris […]
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“Marriage is like quilting, it takes some work but is worth it.” – jeanequilts The gray clouds shattered the warmth of the sun, leaving the guests with chilly fingers but warm hearts. Shakopee, Minnesota in May should have been warmer, but this Saturday proved to be one of the coldest temperatures for several […]
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In most cultures, the older women pass on the skills they have acquired over a lifetime to the next generation like a needle pulling thread in a running stitch. Just as my life as a mother and wife started and my mother’s wealth of knowledge of all things domestic was needed, she passed over Jordan […]
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martin luther king jrFifty years have passed quickly. Those of my generation remember what they were doing when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated as they recall the day that President Kennedy also was shot. The 1960’s began a decade of dreams that the future could be different from the past. That mankind could […]