This coming Sunday is the annual Evitt Decoration at the Evitt cemetery, located on a hillside in western North Carolina. Relatives close and distant will pour in from near and far. Most of the graves of our loved ones are mounded with fresh white sand, and flowers from local gardens are cut and laid on all the graves. Such a peaceful sight. My mother always made sure she had fresh arrangements to adorn the graves of our loved ones. When she could no longer do this, she passed the baton to me. When I was a little girl, I recall mother making beautiful roses and hyacinths out of crepe paper and dipping them in wax to preserve them. She would then gather foliage from all around our home and put it all together composing such lovely wreaths! She was so talented and loved doing crafty things. This year I won't be there, my sister Marlene is coming to my house for a visit this week-end and I know we will reminisce about our family and our lives growing up in the mountains. I have been thinking of sweet mother as I have put together the flower arrangements for my brothers and sisters to place on the graves. All containers came from thrift stores and the flowers I got on sale and clearance from a local craft store.
this arrangement will be placed on my mother's brother's grave, just a child when he died
This arrangement was $4.00 and is for mom and dad's grave. It was actually complete except it needed some more leaves to help shape it. I also added a piece of crocheted scarf to the front in tribute to mom. She sure could crochet. I picked the scarf up at a yard sale, since it was all torn up it was free. Mother would appreciate how "frugal" I was able to be!
I made this for my grandmother's grave. I never got to meet her, but my sister Joanne has shared some of her memories with me!
This picture is not sharp, but I just loved the little burro he is so sweet and it will go between the graves of my two brothers--Evitt and David. One of them was stillborn and the other one died at six weeks old. They were mom and dad's first two children.
I made this for my niece Tracy (Sandy and Dennis' daughter). She died when she was
two years old. She was so sweet and precious and we all loved her so much.
Her flowers are my favorite to make each year. When I saw this little bucket with
the cute duck and the many ribbons--I immediately thought daisies and how perfect this would be for Tracy!
Well thank you for looking and allowing me to share with you. Doing the flowers each year is time consuming and the flowers take over the house with a big mess for a few days. But knowing that I honor a tradition that is at least two hundred years old and meant so much to my mother makes it so worthwhile! As I write this, everything is cleaned up and put away, and the boxes are ready to be packed with the flowers so they will arrive safely at their destination. I'm sending them with my brother Maurice. On Sunday I will be picturing my mother walking up the hill with flowers in her hands to remember her loved ones. I will also be thinking of my brother Ronald who passed away at the age of 70. He absolutely loved coming home from Texas each year for the Evitt Decoration!
