The Arrowood Trail Thru the Mountains: 7/17/11

WELCOME

~ The pieces are all sewn together, stitched with love.........and a quilt tells a story and the story is our past ~

The Arrowood family immigrated from England to Maryland in the 1700's. They went south, eventually settling in the mountains of North Carolina. Later , some went further south, into the Piedmont of North Carolina, in search of work and a better way of life.

I am in search of my family.

I search for those that came before me, and lived their lives as best they could. I am in search of their stories, how they lived, and how they loved.

I shared this love of seeking the past with my Dad, sharing each new finding with him, the thrill in his heart intermingling with mine. I continue this search in his honor, and hope to know these people of ours when I join up with them all in heaven.

~ Steve Lewis Arrowood 1932-2008 ~

Come with me, back to a simpler time and place. A place far removed from the hectic pace of today. To a time when life was hard, but the rewards were great. When your quality of life was determined by your own sweat, your own toil, and your own ingenuity.

Would you like a glass of sweet tea? Let's sit out on the porch where we will catch the sweetly scented breeze of summertime. Maybe Grandma will fry up some of her wonderful chicken... Time slows here.

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"We shape our lives not by what we carry with us, but what we leave behind."

~You live as long as you are remembered.~

"Our most treasured family heirlooms are our sweet family memories. " Author: Unknown

"But those who came before us will teach you. They will teach you from the wisdom of former generations."

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Monday, July 18, 2011

Beautiful Epitaphs~ Of Souls Long Gone ~

In a meadow of daisies, in a sunny patch of country land, lies an old cemetery. The ones buried here were from a different era than us.

The markers are ancient, leaning over and some stones are not even legible. I wandered out among those in this field of silent souls, and found a gem to take back home with me. A gem carried not in my hand, but in my heart.

"She lingered brightly, by our side,

It seemed but one brief hour.

And then the chilling frost of death

fell on this fair, sweet flower.

The petals of this tinted bud

opened not for our delight.

But bloom upon her Saviour's breast,

Bathed in immortal Light."

Beautiful words. etched on a stone, for a cherished lady named Lida.

Some markers are finely made and elegant and alongside are crude, hand carved stones, made with love.

Each one tells its own unique story.

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