Wow, Wednesdays seem to roll around pretty quickly! I was just sitting here minding my own business--blogging, recovering from the Christmas chaos, deciding where to turn next--and it occurred to me that it's already Wednesday. 
Ah, a good pin it session is in order. Now there's a way to relax! So here we are.....let's start with a couple of quilting motifs from my board titled "quilt, printables." 
There are many more quilting motifs on this board, over 60. And you can find thousands on Pinterest. I do not pin every photo I run across, though. I'd never be able to muddle through them.
Moving away from quilts for a while, here are some barns. Several years ago I visited the Smithsonian on a teacher inservice trip. We were quite lucky in that we were able to go behind the scenes and talk with the people who curate and study some of the Smithsonian Institute projects. At the time they were working on documenting barns across the American landscape. 
Someone had realized that we are slowly losing this American icon: barns are rarely built today and barns of yesterday are slowly disappearing. 
Imagine how thrilled I was to realize that there are people all over America who are helping to document this heritage through pictures and stories. The majority of photos I pin include the town name where the barn is located but, as always, I can not guarantee that the information is accurate.
My fascination with old barns began as a child when I'd climb in the loft of our barn to read and pretend.
Several years later our family took a vacation to the Midwest. The boys were bored silly in the back seat, but I kept a steady lookout for the barns that had piqued my interest. I begged Richard to move! I wanted to buy a barn for us to fix up and live in.
He thought I was crazy, but I've since read several stories of families doing exactly that. Why did I want the barn and not the farmhouse? I'm a little unconventional, for one. But I also loved the huge size of the barns. Who wouldn't want this kind of space? I also appreciated the history of the massive spaces and have always wanted to preserve old places.
Of course, we never did seriously consider moving, but Richard enjoyed teasing me about it.
Asking one of my sons if he lives in a barn when a door is left open was sure to get different response than most. A few times I even heard "my momma would live in barn."
And indeed, she would!
Living in a barn surrounded by cows, sheep, goats, chickens and all manner of livestock would be a perfect life. Of course, it helps that there's an agreement in my family: Richard feeds the outside animals, and I feed the inside ones.
Hmm, maybe it's the romance of the quiet and the beauty of the landscape, or the quaintness of the scene, but I do think a barn would make a perfect home. Maybe it has something to do with the Christ child swaddled in a manger. My favorite Christmas song has always been "Away in a Manger."
I haven't really considered the cold wind, the snow or the ice of the Midwest. Maybe those would whisk me back to my Louisiana home!
Enjoy your pinning!
Happy Quilting,
Mary
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