In this week’s episode, Dorothy’s heart is heavy as she prepares to say goodbye to her grandchildren.
I don’t have grandchildren, and I probably won’t for a long time. But I had a grandmother, so I can say without reservation that a grandmother’s love is like no other’s, especially if you have one of the good ones. I called my grandmother Mama Re (her name was Marie), and I thought she hung the moon. Darlings, she was fabulous–White Shoulders perfume and spectator pumps, dyed black hair into her eighties, and a voice like honey. Mama Re was from Williamsburg, KY, the heart of Southern Appalachia, but somehow she grew up to look and sound like a movie star. Even her cigarette butts, with their fuschia rings of lipstick, were marvelous.
Of course, I’m thinking about grandmothers because in this episode, Dorothy is facing the loss of her grandchildren. As a way of preparing, she’s made her eldest granddaughter, Alice, a pin wheel quilt, one of the most cheerful quilts ever. I posted a picture of my pinwheel quilt top in my last blogpost, but I’ll post it again here, in case you didn’t see it:
I made the pinwheels using repro vintage floral fabric from Washington Street Fabrics. Lovely to work with!
I would love to give you some amazing insights to 1930s culture and history as relates to this episode, but the Christmas crush is crushing me and my son will be home from college in forty minutes, so I must run. Just a reminder that next week’s episode will be the last one of 2018, but on Saturday, December 22, I’ll post the audio version of “A Friendship Album Christmas, 1932.” Lots of good stuff to look forward to. Thank you so much for listening!
