Bittersweet Present - Coffee with Al

December 30th Tuesday - Snow flurries - Cold

The picture above shows a table runner that my older daughter, Susie made me for Christmas.  It by its self is special, but the story behind it makes it very special.

When my husband died Susie asked me if she could have all of his shirts that were cotton, so she, Krista and I went through all of Al's shirts and sorted them out for her.  Al loved to shop and he liked bright colors and stylish clothing; therefore, he had a lot of shirts and a variety of colors.  Susie took them home in a large garbage bag and put them in her attic.  I do think she used a couple of them to make Krista a quilt when she had cancer, but other than that they had remained in the attic.

Imagine my surprise when I opened my Christmas present and saw a fabric label that read "Coffee with Al".  That is what she named my table runner. What a flow of memories that came back to me as I stared at the runner.  It was perfect timing for some reason this Christmas season had been very difficult this year and the runner and quilt were very comforting.  I placed the quilt on a chair in the kitchen.

Isn't it pretty?

She does beautiful work.  I will post some of her other work later in the week.  This is a very appropriate place for the "shirts" to hang, as Al always sat in a chair in the kitchen when I came home from work and chatted with me about our day while I finished up dinner.  Those were special times.