August 2011 Meeting

This month, we met at Randi's house on August 9 for a "packing party" of the quilts that will travel to the Dragonlord children in Fort Campbell Kentucky. Randi had all the quilts sorted alphabetically and stacked on her couch in the living room. It was quite a sight!

We set up an assembly line and began packing the quilts. First, both the quilt and the label were photographed and the name of the child was logged on a "packing list" for each suitcase. Then the quilt was folded and packed. As each suitcase was filled, it was weighed, with most of the suitcases weighing in at around 35-40 lbs.

Some of the quilts needed to mailed because the recipients were not living on base. Those quilts were boxed and labeled. Thanks to Randi's amazing record keeping, the entire process only took a couple of hours. During that time, a reporter, Betty Aleck from the Leader-Courier, came to interview us about the project. She asked each of us what we got out of the project. Some Bees said they gained empathy for the children; others said they felt more involved with the military and the sacrifices they make for our country; one Bee said she felt as though this project was a bit of atonement for the behavior of our generation during the Vietnam war when soldiers were treated so disrespectfully. It was an eye-opener to reflect and discover that we are all probably getting back more than we gave as a result of this project.

After packing was complete, with all the quilts fitting into seven suitcases, we went out for a celebratory dinner at La Fiesta Mexican Restaurant in Fernley. The food was great and we briefly discussed a few items of Bees' business.

Next Meeting

*** Tuesday, September 20 at Helen's house ***

Food: Tricia will bring a main dish; Linda will bring a salad; Margie will bring dessert.

Business: At that meeting, Randi would like to discuss the possibility of rotating the responsibility of "Queen Bee." We also need to figure out how to identify the various angels on the cancer quilt.

Trip to Kentucky

Linda, Peggy, and Helen left on August 17 to deliver the quilts. (Unfortunately, at the last minute, Randi was not able to make the trip due to an illness in the family. ) A full report with lots of photos will be forthcoming when they return.