Sometimes the talent of a person can astound. Early this morning, I caught a certain niece of mine hanging a gift bag on the door handle of the old screen door. She had good intentions of leaving that bag dangling there and slipping away unseen. I fooled her! Just as she was climbing back in that big truck of hers, I opened the door. Well, she had no choice but to come on in the Little Bayou House and visit a spell. The gift bag contained a gorgeous sweater that she and the rest of her "group of detectives" (from the recent Clue Hunt on the Bayou) had gotten for me as a show of gratitude for creating the hunt. It was not a needed thing as this group is always welcome at the house but the thought nigh on overwhelmed me.
It was not the contents of that bag that has to do with Eva's talent. As she readied to leave, she pulled out some ornaments that she painted. OH, MY WORD!! These were gorgeous! That girl has more talent in her pinky finger than most folks of the world combined. She amazes in everything she does and I have not found anything that she cannot do.
The ornaments were made of slices of wood that her husband (who is equally as talented, by the way) cut from some tree limbs. On each, Eva painted. I chose three that looked as if they belonged in the Little Bayou House but I have the idea to give them to Darling Daughter. Elizabeth adores the Coast as much as I do and these will go perfect on her "Coastal Christmas Tree". On the small slabs of wood, Eva had painted a shrimp, a blue crab and a Red Snapper. Yep, those pretty much describe the Coast to a T!
I cannot wait until tomorrow when Elizabeth stops by the house. I am thinking she will like these as much as I do! Plus...Elizabeth will now have a piece of Eva's artwork in her house. There is nothing better than a handmade gift and when it is as beautifully made as this, it is all the better.
Isn't it funny how something as simple as a ribbon can trigger a memory and then a flood of feelings follow? Hanging on our Christmas Tree are several handmade ornaments that were given to me years ago. These are nothing more than a few pieces of ribbon tied together with a button glued in the middle. They are supposed to resemble poinsettias. As an handcrafted item, they are nothing special..as a memory, they are everything.
Back when my kids were small, I did a lot of volunteering at their school. Mostly, I did arts and crafts with the kids but I, also, decorated their classrooms for different events or parties. It was fun and kept me in close contact with their teachers. Not many parents wanted the extra work that was involved in being "Class Mom" but I loved it. With my youngest son's classroom, I had a helper. She was the grandmother of a little girl in the same grade. Ms. Evelyn and I got along famously and could work together without ever a hitch. She was highly creative and never shied away from any projects. In fact, she instigated a good many of the fun times that we provided for the children.
Each year, Ms. Evelyn and I would exchange a small gift at Christmastime. Always, these gifts were homemade! What else could be expected? I cherished each just as I know that she did. Good friends are just that way.
Well, as they have a habit of doing, the kids grew into adults and Ms. Evelyn and I did not have classrooms to decorate. We still kept in touch with each other until that fateful day when Hurricane Katrina hit. With no method of communications at hand, we had no way of contacting each other. Her house took a direct hit. She and her husband headed to Texas to live with their son for a while. I had no idea at the time and with all the confusion that major storms leave in their wake, I never even thought of the outside world.
It was not until years afterwards that I discovered that my dear friend had passed from this world. I felt a whole rush of emotions. It was hard. Just weeks later as I was decorating the Little Bayou House for Christmas, I came across the ribbon ornaments. Wow! These things were always special but now they took on a whole new meaning. They were our friendship all tied up in ribbon. I still cherish the poinsettias and hang them on the tree. I still cherish the memory of Ms. Evelyn. Some friendships last forever.
