El Guapo has a cold. When El Guapo doesn't have a cold and he snores at night, I elbow him and 'hurrumph' until he turns over and quits snoring. But when he does have a cold, I could pump my elbow into his side like a piston and 'hurrumph' like crazypants and nothing would happen. I know this. And, if he's zoned out on Alka Seltzer Plus Cold Medicine, he will be completely unaware of my rising ire. So. If I have learned one thing in 20+ years of marriage, it's this. When El Guapo has a cold and starts with the snoring, go sleep on the sofa!
Two nights ago, at about 3:00 a.m., I rummaged around in the hall linen closet in the dark and finally identified two quilts that, combined, would keep me warm for the rest of the night on the sofa. One I knew was the Irish Chain quilt I made with fabric I bought on our trip to Ireland in 1999, and I was pretty sure the other was a quilt made by my Great-Grandmother, which I restored several years ago.
The neat thing about this whole nocturnal rummaging, was that in the morning I looked at the quilt made by Great-Grandma and was pleasantly surprised when I saw the work I had done on the back - which I had TOTALLY forgotten about! I chose to piece the back together and embroidered over every seam. I so clearly remember doing it - now. How could I have forgotten, even briefly, all that work?
It got me remembering about my great-grandparents. They were married for over 75 years and lived well into their nineties. One summer when I was pretty young, my Grandma took my sister and I to stay with the Great-grandparents for a few days. I remember being delighted by the way they ate a full meal, like pot roast or a roast chicken with all the trimmings, at lunchtime and then for dinner just had cottage cheese and fruit or a sandwich. I know, now, that this is how farmers used to eat - a big meal at lunchtime to get them through the day - but at the time, I just thought it a charming peculiarity of my great-grandparents.
I also remember my great-grandma allowing my sister and I to denude her rose bushes. She gave us a surprising quantity of Doan's Back Pills bottles, and we filled them with water and rose petals in an attempt to distill perfume. I think we had high hopes of selling perfume from a stand in the front lawn, but nothing came of it.
Two other little memories. Lots of gum - Chiclets I think. And a vague memory of worrying that my older sister might wet the bed. This was a very real worry, and I wasn't sure how it would be received by my grandma and the great grandparents.
So there, not only did I discover a forgotten treasure of the linen variety, but I also remembered a little treasure from my childhood.
All because El Guapo has mad snoring skills.
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