One day my supervisor approached me at work. She had something in her hand; a folded piece of cloth. She said, “i’m making a housewarming present for you and i just wanted to get your opinion on whether you think this is something you would use before i continue.” When she unfolded it i saw a beautiful embroidered buck, complete with antlers, in front of a patch of trees. I instantly loved it! I couldn’t beleive she had embroidered this animal! I mean, to draw an animal takes skill, but to create it with thread is a whole new thing! She wanted me to measure my window and that would let her know how long to make the top of the curtain where the little rings would be holding it on the rod. She had made me a bathroom curtain so the wildlife wouldn’t be able to see me while i was on the pot or in the shower. A week later she returned with the finished product, the top of the curtain crocheted from soft cream colored yarn and tiny plastic rings stitched in place to hang it from the curtain rod. As the house began to come together, i noticed a piece of my family and friends in each part. My supervisor provided the bathroom curtain. My mother provided the heater. My grandmother provided the rocking chair, and my sister would be making the curtains for the living room. There was a piece of all these people in my life in the various parts of my property. I didn’t know it at the time, but this trend would continue as more people came forth to contribute what they had to give, whether it be their time and labor, something they’d created with their hands, or something they’d bought because they knew the property needed it. My land became like a jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table at a family reunion. Each person that walked by put a new piece where it went.
