On the Road Today

While I did get a little quilting done, most of my time was spent on the road to Los Angeles and back, with even a stop at Best Buy in Palmdale.

The road trip was for a funeral at one of the Forest Lawns in southern Cali. What an experience these Creole New Orleans funerals are! The procession was huge and went through numerous cities from church to cemetery with 6 motorcycle cops dealing with traffic. Complete with 2 white horses pulling a white wrought iron hearse (this pic is like the one they had but not it), the Jazz band playing a dirge and then the swaying-fast dance, white doves released, umbrellas and white hankies, its something to behold. 

One of the topics I studied years ago was Comparative Religions, so as part of the research for the coursework, I would attend funerals of folks I did not know in order to be more objective. I paid attention to the sermons, the music, how children were cared for, how closer family grieved and the various other traditions & customs. A lot of people get caught up in their religion and that it is the right way/the only way, that they cannot see the point of view from other cultures or faiths. 

Me? Even though I knew this woman, I still love what happens when I go into a strange church, and can suspend my faith. There were three ministers speaking and they all seemed so long-winded. None of them offered much in the way of helping me get a sense for this woman. However, I did want to hear what they had to say. Funny, as I sit here writing, nothing comes to mind that gave me an ah-hah moment. It is very easy to become critical when the experience is out of your personal comfort zone, especially when it comes to religions and emotional events like funerals.

I am still on a Mother watch. Thoughts run everywhere as the inevitable gets closer.

I saw one baby in arms in the church. Young children came to the repast (that means where the soul is re-passing folks to see who is celebrating their life). I didn't see any teens anywhere throughout the day. 

The music was splendid. Soulful. Clapping, dancing to the music kind of music. Flower bouquets were huge, which is common here in southern Cali. People were hugging and smiling, crying and laughing. Real. Grief is often set aside for the public. Its how we have learned to roll ever since Jackie Kennedy's example for JFK.

The stop at Best Buy was to replace the external mic to my computer that my cat Rico got. I plan to keep this one in a box when not in use. No sense tempting him to bite another cord. He is usually not destructive.

I am working on a quilt for another one of my Sisters, which was started at a mystery quilt retreat. It really is still a mystery because I am just going with the flow with light and darks and not spending ANY time matching. It is made up of 30 blocks and for whatever reason, just when I think there are enough blocks, it comes up short in the count. If they suddenly turn up, I am going to laugh like crazy and add them to my orphan pile.

I found a way to use up Halloween squares I got in a swap last year. I made an offer on FaceBook to make up mini quilts the size of mug rugs for the first 5 folks to reply. I got more than 5 and will make what I can. Guess I am not the only one to like this holiday! They really are going to be quite simple, just two pieces of novelty fabric with a diagonal grid and then binding.