Airing of the Quilts
Spring was welcomed as a time to take down the heavy draperies, and open windows. Walls were wiped down, carpets taken out and beaten, windows made sparkling with vinegar, floors scrubbed, cushions pounded. Fresh paper lined the shelves. The air in the house was choked with dust. And, yes, the quilts went out to air.
I remember the rug beatings at my grandma’s house. It happened about the same time as the porch washing. With the walls and ceiling swept free of spiders and other dead winter bugs, then hosed down, porch furniture returned, my cousins and I were ready to color and play paper dolls for another summer on Grandma’s porch.
Our homes are cleaner since we have cleaner heat, but the opening and washing of windows is still a welcome springtime event. I have a window washer who comes every year after the pollen drop ends, and he spends the day washing windows and screens and even the tall ceiling fans while up on his scaffold. The windows sparkle, and my view of the world is sharper. Don’t you love springtime?
This spring I’m invited to participate in another spring tradition, the airing of the quilts, in Franklin, North Carolina. This is also an event in Huntsville and Smithville, Texas; Tunkhannoch, Pennsylvania; Venice, Florida, and Milwaukee, Oregon.
Franklin is a lovely mountain town in Macon County, not too far from me. The drive to Franklin is beautiful whether you drive from Georgia, Tennessee, or North Carolina. Just a beautiful drive! Books Unlimited is the Indie Bookstore on Franklin’s Main Street. It’s everything a town’s bookstore should be, including a resident cat and cheerful bookseller. My books are on the shelves, I’m happy to say. I’ll be signing books Saturday, surrounded by quilts on display in the store fronts up and down Main Street. They’ll be hanging from porches and clotheslines throughout Franklin and Macon County. I can’t wait to see the burst of color, just like spring itself.
I’ll be signing Bread upon the Water, a favorite of Franklin residents and Blue-Eyed Doll. Blue-Eyed Doll is my most recent book, appearing at Books Unlimited for the first time. Bread upon the Water is a favorite in Franklin, as it’s the true adventure story of Duong Tien, who is a Catholic priest now at St. Francis of Assisi Church in Franklin; one of their own. Come to the Smokies on Saturday for the airing of the quilts, music, food, and small town hospitality; the best of springtime in the mountains.