Singing in the Rain

I feel a blog coming on! Not sure if it's because we hung out with old friends at the Weston Playhouse picnic last evening or because I am full of joy about sharing my four favorite things - family, food, flowers and my dolls. Fortunately, today will be an off and on rainy day, so our dream to plant the vegetables and the dahlia bulbs is out right now. Excitement looms from our doll mural pasting event on Saturday. By the way, we had sunshine, a perfect day. Ready to hear my song?

The fact that a great story by Christian Avard appeared in the Rutland Herald the day before was a great sign of an upcoming success. Knowing who was coming to the event helped us plan which doll photographs to have printed in color by Darlene at the NewsBank Print Shop and whether they ought to be big or small. We had fun. She had fun, especially when an 11 by 17 photograph of our Silvio glowing in the sun appeared in her email. Beloved stitcher Patty insisted our cat was her favorite Bundle. We were sure to include our three daughters in near life size and also four of the six grandchildren who were engaged in baseball events up north. But dear, sweet members of our Chester families decked the halls! There were 35 pictures and about thirty guests appeared throughout the day and evening. What lovely connections this day made, and what an incredible testimony to my doll creations has been perpetuated. The ferns, the dancing daisies and the calico barrel all added to the overall look of the outdoor art gallery.

Here's how it went. Gwen brought three generations of dolls and was my number one assistant. She and I worked on the timeline project for a couple hours. She had great ideas. Lew gave our intern and her sister the how-to speech out at the sawhorses and paste center. When Gwen's friend Susannah appeared with our friend Adelaide, all joy broke loose. She showed Susannah and Adelaide how to cut out their images, the Susannah and Sam dolls, set aside for them. Then our hostess had them pick the place they liked on the garage and then took them through the three pasting steps: coat the surface with a large brush, then the back of the image with a smaller brush and after placement, coat the image again with the wheat paste. Lew was proud of Hazel showing her friend how to paste. Guests came, cut, pasted, chatted, shared, and ate including Ruth who posted her namesake the Red Hat Lady. Everyone loved the BBQ and trimmings topped off with the carrot cake decorated with the Where's Silvio puzzle? View image

The mural project is an ongoing project. We are waiting for Margie and Holly to be added by one of favorite families, and my two come-on brochure girls Emily and Gretchen and Darlene of the harps. We included Jennifer, the hot air balloon chick, to remember the Quechee Balloon Festival, now a memory for us. She won't go away neither will the memories of fun and friendship.View image

Are events the way to go? You bet. Engagement. Orders to beat the band. A month away, we are putting together our plans and press for "Face It, Grammie's Rule" on Saturday, July 20 when grandmothers and their treasures create faces in many forms topped off by a garden tea party with Silvio. Details will be on the Special Events page. The final summer celebration on Saturday, August 25 is truly growing big with photographers, writers, illustrators and subjects-- a Bonnie's Bundles doll connected to you.

Meantime, we invite you to stop by to view the mural and even add your own favorite to the beautiful scene of love--truly something to sing about as it is about to be permanently protected from the rain!