Blanket Stories: Talking Stick, Works Progress, Steward

A site-specific installation commissioned by Curator Faith Brower and the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon

65.
Lloyd McMullen
Bend, OR
Tags
Animal stories, Mothers

This blanket comes from s Florence, Oregon bunkhouse. We acquired this blanket while helping my mother-in-law Ruth clean out barn and bunkhouse.

Ruth had a lifelong fear of mice – so would not be inside with us during the cleaning.

To reassure her that we were in a mice-free zone (I did not know at the time that there is no such thing) I jumped on a bag of blankets crying, “No mice here!” To my horror, the bag rolled over revealing a squirming next of barn mice. Thankfully, I had not jumped on them, I was relieved to see.

My husband had the unhappy task of emptying the bag. This blanket, much bleached and washed many times, came from that adventure.