Family Hearts

Family is a precious thing.  Sometimes during "real life stuff" I can forget that and I imagine if you are truthful, so can you.  Our day to day and other's day to day stuff can get in the way, however, I want to share with you a sweet story about friends and family and just some little things that make them so sweet to me.

It starts with my vintage stain glass  window hanging.  I purchased it for $45.00 at a local auction and was very excited.  Sometimes the excite wears on you when you find that it is, yes old, but with problems also.  It had some weak sides and also a few small cracks in some of the outer panels.  It also had a bend in the bottom, which I found would make for trouble.   But, this determined country woman was going to find this piece a way to hang in my master bedroom window, right where I pictured it the day I purchased it.

The local and very capable framing place had done work for me for years, framing my paintings and paintings and drawings others had given me.  Therefore, this was my first and best shot at getting my stained glass piece ready to "rock and roll" in my window.  However, Dorothy took a good look at it, and also saw it's beauty, but she saw more of it's troubles, and with a breathe in, said to me, what I never expected to hear...."I cannot work on this piece".  She pointed out it was fragile and with the bend, she could see breaking it when she would try to put a frame around it.  Then we both had a wonderful idea....take it to our local stain glass artist and friend to us both, Bonnie.  I just took it home for a bit to rethink.

A few weeks later I took the piece and carefully placed it into the trunk of my car and off to Bonnie's I went, with my husband also in tow.  Bonnie was outside on this cold day, bringing pecan seedling trees into her basement from her greenhouse which she was not going to heat over the winter.  After she finished with her 100 trees with the help of her granddaughter, she took a good look at my wonderful stain glass.  As Bonnie is a very exceptional and a bit eccentric person, and very talented, she saw the hope for the piece.  I told her my thought of just making a base for it and leaning it on the wall with a light behind.  Bonnie said, "No way, this piece needs to be in a window to be happy.  You want your stain glass happy so it can make you happy also.  That is what it is all about and why I make it."  She told me that I was the rescuer of this wonderful piece and now I needed to make sure to place it where it would bring joy and happiness to others and itself to be fully appreciated.  

In having my daughter and daughter in love and granddaughter over one evening to play games, I told them this sweet story of my "to be happy" stained glass.  I enjoyed sharing it and then went on with life.

Later I decided to take the piece to Hobby Lobby and the wonderful young lady there also admired this stain glass and said she would try to frame it and we talked and measured and planned and picked out a frame pattern and also hangers.  Weeks later she called me with pick up and said it did not break and she was happy with it.  When I picked it up, I told her the "happy" story also and she smiled and agreed and said that she was glad to be a small part of it all.

My husband and I carefully worked on putting chains on the hangers and hooks in the window frame so we could hang the piece.  I must report that it looks beautiful, and "happy" in the bedroom window and also is bringing me joy.  

And then on Christmas night as family gathered to share a meal and fellowship and gifts, I opened a small bag from my youngest granddaughter, Alorah, and she had purchased for me a small free standing stained glass floral piece with tea candles to place behind it.  She simply stated, you can set it on your writing desk in the bedroom under your "happy piece" and it can, in some small way, make you and the other piece happy.  This twelve year old did not just give me a gift of the present, but a gift of enjoying my life "happenings" and stories that I share with her.  I am blessed to have such interesting and interested family and friends.  

My vintage stain glass piece has found a good home and I do report that as of this day it is happy that I rescued it.