Happy Home Town Days!

fter 35 years, is it really fun to pack up the Bundles and trek them over the hill to The Green in your favorite Vermont town for two days? You bet, especially that the portage could be made in two trips and under ten miles. Who did we see?

Families I love dearly came by to chat and hug - the Bodins, the Pennells (three siblings and their families), Eileen and Randy, Myra and Matt, the Svec family (Zoe was the winner of the raffle and has great Bundle Birthday party in her future), and the L and M King girls; neighbors, and then the dozen or so local people who tell me their Bundles live on in their families. Perhaps the best was the discreet hug on the leg from a Chester-Andover kindergartner who simply said, "Hi Bonnie." There was the special moment when Michelle, one of my former Girl Scouts and classmate of daughter Kate, who was selling her famous fudge, Mo's Fudge Factory, hugged me. We had the pleasure of introducing Blueberry Sal, a logo doll for Chester's Heritage Deli, who will work, not baking muffins, but sending their clientele to our doll shop this autumn. Lew was multitasking at the St. Luke's Annual Tag Sale and sold our Detroit Iron Works antique parlor stove, allowing us to solarize our beloved porch and still visit Arizona daughters a few weeks this winter! The sweetest story is about a rescued doll named Shy Anna from the Springfield Recycling Center by the Thomas family. Made in 1986, her condition was perfect save her hair that looked like an eagle's nest. I restored her, now with brown braids, ready to be loved forever as a birthday gift in this family. We chose Chester and love this village. I want our local children to learn to create, to embroider and to sew in the schools, and do craft activity workshops, engaging children and parents. I know too that local products produce local customers. I can imagine Bundles under several Christmas trees. How about Camilla being the star (like our cat Silvio) and bestseller in these tough times. In Chester, Bundles rule!