Going to the Doctor

"Going to the Doctor" may be an odd title for photos of a lady looking at quilts in a museum.  When I take my aunt to doctor's appointments about 60 miles away 3 times a year, we make a day of it.  Usually she wants to shop as she doesn't get out that much, but sometimes we do something very different.  On this day, we went to a quilt exhibit.

Journaling reads:

“What would you like to do after we finish at the doctor?” I always ask Thelma before we make our trek to Charlotte. At least three times a year, I take my aunt to the orthopedist.  It started when she had a bad result from a knee replacement and I knew of a doctor, via one of my clients, who did replacements of replacements. Now I take her for her shoulders.  We usually stop somewhere on the way home for shopping or sightseeing.  Near Christmas in 2009, she didn’t have anything in particular she wanted to do, but I did.

The Mint Museum downtown had a quilt exhibit I wanted to see and I thought she would enjoy it, too.  Thankfully a kind stranger pulled her wheelchair up on the sidewalk and after that it was an easy afternoon viewing beautiful old quilts.  We were both amazed at the details and workmanship.  In the permanent exhibit, I spotted an Electrolux vacuum that looked just like the one Thelma has been using non-stop for decades so I had to get a photo of the treasures together.

Our drive back and forth is filled with conversation about what is going on within our lives, gossip and general discussion about how things used to be.  Every once in a while, I remember that when I was young, it was Thelma who used to take me places with her.  I’m glad I can return the favor.


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My aunt is such an inspiration.  Her medical history is horrendous and she just keeps going.  Every time we go out, she says she really should be at home working and she means working - canning, gardening, cleaning.  She's slow but she doesn't let that wheelchair stop her.


I took her to the doctor again last week and we shopped at Wal-mart on the way home.  She gets in the electric wheelchair and away she goes!


Project Notes:


Taking a lesson from our Explore class, I cut up some photos I'd made of the quilts and used those for embellishments.

Most of the paper and embellishments were from Fancy Pant's Road Show collection.  I remember when I ordered this from PeachyCheap and couldn't wait for the post man to bring me the package.  However, while the papers and embellishments are beautiful, I've had an awful time making them fit my photos.  So after this layout, I'm splitting the collection up and putting the remaining paper in drawers by color, the ribbon in my jars and the buttons with all my other buttons.  I think it will get more use that way.

This layout is another of the "going retro" ones for Shimelle.com.  Her challenges are good through next weekend and there are lots of good ones to check out.

Thanks for visiting today!