If Walls Could Talk

I love speculating about old homes. Think of the stories they could tell us about the lives of the people who lived there many years ago.

A few weeks back my husband and I went for a drive in southern Idaho and I took these two pictures. These old homes fascinate me.  One is just sitting there empty, and it made me wonder what happened. Did the family move away? Did they just grow old and die and no one wanted the home? What did they do while they lived there? Did they have a big family?

So many questions went through my mind. The home felt empty and lost in this world and I just had to snap its pictures.

A few miles down the road I saw this old home and thought it interesting. It has been renovated and looks like someone still lives there. I still wondered about its history and the family who originally built it.

Why does one home get remodeled and continue to be lived in and the other doesn't?

Can you feel the difference? One has life, the other feels empty.
Wouldn't you just love to hear the stories about the lives of those who worked here, baked bread, ate together as a family in days gone by?

The other day I was doing some research on Cripple Creek and found this picture of an old house in that area. I wonder what secrets it could tell us.

I know most of the stories are long dead and gone, and probably we won't ever get to hear them, but I still wanted to share one of my passions with you. I'll keep wondering, and when I do hear stories about families of the old west and early days of settlers, I'll listen closely and enjoy them while I picture the old homes that were built with loving hands, hours of work, to house a young family or a hard-working settler with big dreams.

What about you? Do you ever wonder what stories you'd hear if the walls could talk?

Happy Reading!

K. R. Bailey

www.KRBailey.com

Don't You Love Old Barns?

I remember going to visit my grandparents in Cache County and passing a big old barn with a sign painted on its side.  I was always fascinated with that old barn.  It made me wonder what types of tales it could tell me. 

 Last spring I took a two week road trip with my sister back to Kentucky, and we passed many cool old barns.  Most of the ones I took pictures of were called “quilt barns”.  Now, I had never heard of the term “quilt” barns but my sister is an avid quilter.  She has a long-arm quilting machine and lives and breathes quilting.  Needless to say, I get to talk about quilting a lot when we’re together.  I’m not complaining because I love spending time with her, and she gets to listen to me talk about writing, so in the long run, I think we’re even.

 I remember spending time with my mother as a young girl and helping her hand quilt the beautiful quilts she made.  Now, I hate making quilts, but I definitely do appreciate all the hard work that goes into them.  So, when we were traveling and came across some cool old barns with quilts painted on them, I couldn’t resist taking a few pictures.  As I thought about the barns, I got to thinking that they remind me of the life we live and the lives of those who have passed on.  They are so rich in history.  Wouldn’t you just love to hear about their history?

 Here’s a beautiful old barn. 

 

Notice how pleasing it is to look at.  It’s painted and well kept up.  It’s obvious the owner loves his barn and is proud of what he has.  Wouldn’t you just love to go inside and see what treasurers are housed in it?  Keeping this barn looking so meticulous definitely would require a lot of work, and that is my first thought:  You have to work hard to succeed.  It doesn’t matter if you want to write a book, sew a beautiful quilt, look nice, keep your house and yard up, or become the CEO of a company.  Everything takes a lot of hard work to obtain it.

 

This second barn is big and sturdy and well made.  Even though it’s not fancy, it looks trustworthy.  That’s my second point:  Be trustworthy.  Whether it’s in your dealings with others, writing a book, borrowing money, or just in your everyday life as you work and play, you have to be trustworthy.  Make your word your bond.  Let everyone know they can trust you, depend on what you say, and rely on you when you say something.

 

This third barn is definitely old, but it has character.  It’s one of a kind.  My third point is:  it doesn’t matter how old you are or how young you are, build your character.  Let each day help you become the person you want to be.  You are unique.  Enjoy your differences.  Everything you do helps you become a unique person with character that makes you that much more interesting.

 

One thing they all have in common is they are great to look at and each one is different from the other.  They bring joy to anyone who passes by with their bright colored quilts painted on them.  So my last point is:  Be happy.  Bring joy to others and to yourself. 

 

I hope you enjoyed seeing a few of my quilt barn pictures.  If anyone has pictures of interesting old barns they’d like to share, I’d love to see them.   

For more about me, visit my website at http://KRBailey.com

Have a great day!