Spectacular Gifts

We received so many thoughtful, wonderfully generous gifts from our friends and family! We are truly blessed. We have gift certificates galore to Hardware Sales, REI, Bakerview Nursery, the Garden Spot, and Cloud Mountain Farms that we can't wait to use. We got so many beautiful, fun and useful things... thank you, everyone.

Two gifts in particular stand out above the rest for sheer spectacular coolness however, so I want to show them off here. First, is the Chevy Luv (yes, that's really what it's called) which Bo, Charlotte, Abe & Ross repaired & painted and gave to us, complete with a big bow on top:We really needed a truck! It'll save so much wear and tear on the back seat of my Honda Civic, which is where we used to haul firewood and rocks and large bags of potting soil. :) This truck has a long history of belonging to various of our friends. The last time a title was registered it belonged to Greg, so I guess one of these weeks we'll need to meet him down at the licencing place and fill out some Lost Title and Title Transfer paperwork, at least if we want to get it legal to drive out on the roads. But for now it's great to have something to, say, fill with dirt, fruit trees and tools to haul around to where we're going to plant our orchard.

The second truly spectacular gift I want to highlight is an absolutely gorgeous quilt handmade by Mary Hone, an old friend of the Mapes who has known Cary since he was a tiny baby. Not only is the craftsmanship of this quilt top-notch, the colors and patterns make it a true work of art: I've hung it on the wall in the front bedroom, which is the only wall really large enough to accomodate it. I know Mary probably intended for us to put it on our bed, but I just can't bear to think of muddy little kitty feet tracking across it. At least not yet! It really is stunning, the picture above doesn't do it justice.