Prayers For Sale Quotes
"Why would a body stand in the cold when she could come inside by the stove?"
"You can spend your summers in Middle Swan, Mom, but I insist that from now on, you live with us during the winters."
"No money will buy a prayer, I tell you, but I’ll give you one for free, if you’re in need of it."
"And I’d be grateful if you’d find a way short of dying to keep me from moving in with Mae."
"Lordy, I love it! I’d rather quilt than eat on the starvingest day of my life."
"You’ll find a woman along the Tenmile Range, now it takes her a time to warm up, but once she does, you’ll never have a better neighbor."
"I reckon so. Not many know you’re here yet. I didn’t myself till you stopped at my fence."
"I’m known in Middle Swan for my stories, but not this one."
"It hasn’t. But I have. I’m almost as old as these hills—eighty and six."
"But I’m saving them for good, for callers such as yourself."
"Somebody gave me china cups as a wedding present, too."
"I gave the prayer like you asked, gave it more than once."
"This frame’s the one Billy made for me in White Pigeon seventy years ago, and I’ve never used another."
"It’s as fine a spoon as I ever saw. When I married, I had but two spoons, and they were tin."
"If you see a boy with one shoe, don’t shoot him. That’s my husband."
"It’s a fact that when men outnumber good women, if you want to call them that, the other kind comes in."
"The Lord takes His time, more than He ought to if you ask me, but He answers most of them."
"The Lord made friends. They can be a burden, but most times, I’m gladder for my friends than I am for almost anything, maybe even quilting."
"I promised I’ll tell you about her when we get to the toppen part."
"Lightning never hits a feather bed. It’s a fact."
"Joe Sarsfield was mean enough to insult Jesus Christ."
"I'd rather eat a fried raccoon than tell Missouri I lost the house."
"Without each and every one, the quilt would fall apart."
"Still, she said she was richer in Middle Swan than she’d ever been in White Pigeon, and that was as true as God’s stars."
"Charlie wasn’t happy about the poor way they lived, however, with Martha working like a Turk, the way mining town women did."
"When silver was discovered in Leadville, Charlie decided Middle Swan was a bust."
"Charlie filed his claim and announced, 'Now my wife can be a lady again!'"
"Martha was embarrassed by the gilt and the marble in the house, and the peacocks that Charlie bought to parade around the yard."
"Martha held out the awful piece of jewelry to Hennie, who wouldn’t have worn it, either."
"Martha hated the way the money changed Charlie."
"Martha lost everything, as well, because instead of taking a cash settlement when she divorced Charlie, Martha had agreed to let Charlie pay her a sum of money every month."
"Charlie married the girl. Martha stayed in that mansion with nobody else, the rooms closed up and sheetcovers over the furniture, living on popcorn, baked sweet potatoes, and molasses candy."
"There never were any two people as surprised and happy as Charlie and Martha when she walked through the door."
"‘Finally at last, that’s the end of my stories for today,’ Hennie said."
"Hennie Comfort’s face as she opened the door to find Tom Earley standing on her threshold."
"Hennie untied the ribbon and folded back the tissue. Her eyes glowed when she saw the tortoiseshell side combs edged with silver and dotted with turquoise."
"‘Here’s to your health.’ She took in her three guests with the toast."
"‘I’d rather work in a mine, then,’ Dick said."
"‘I believe I remember you had a dress of that,’ he said, pointing a gnarled finger at an indigo shade sprigged with black."
"‘I reckon you’ll breathe your last right there at that frame, Hennie,’ Tom said, laughing."
"Hennie poured the coffee, and the others busied themselves passing around the spooner, cream pitcher, and sugar, doctoring their coffee, tasting it, and adding just a speck more sweetening."
"Mrs. Comfort, it’s a terrible thing for a person to see."
"You can’t have chickens in Middle Swan. They’ll freeze on the roost—unless you keep them in the house."
"‘You put too fine a point on it, Hennie. You’ll never wear down.’ He reached over and took her hand, and the two sat silently, watching the fire."
"I have enough money to do that. And if I don’t, there’s Mae, not that I care to be beholden."
"It’s the prettiest time of year, autumn is, but the coming of the leaves means snow’s not far behind. I’ve always hated to see winter’s dark days come on, this year more than ever, because it means my time on the Swan is almost over."
"‘I hope it’s all right,’ the girl said uncertainly. She clasped and unclasped her little hands in front of her coat, which was strained across her growing stomach."
"‘I guess there’s not so much bootlegging on the Swan anymore,’ he said, ready for conversation now that he was almost finished eating."
"‘I saw Charlie Grove today. I think he still pans a little gold,’ she said."
"‘Same. Good night, old friend.’ He touched the first two fingers of his right hand to his lips, then turned and walked along the trail, his steps surprisingly sure for a man of his years."
"I always thought I’d die here, be wrapped up in a quilt and planted. Not a crazy quilt; crazy quilts are a confusion."
"A fellow that’d steal from the man who pays him isn’t fit to live with hogs!"
"I hate cussing more’n anything that ever came down my road."
"It ought to be dug out of the ground with a pick and a shovel, like coal."
"Quilts are like lives. They’re made up of a lot of little pieces."
"I never knew why the Lord made babies and gold so hard to come by."
"‘Can’t’ is the awfulest word I ever heard. I never like to hear a person say ‘can’t.’"
"The only furniture was an old bureau, a table, and two wooden chairs that didn’t match."
"I’d be real sorry to lose you, but I have to admit he’s a good man."
"I believe I’ll leave this frame for you to use. It wouldn’t be right, a person walking into this room and not seeing the quilt frame set up."
"You wouldn’t be the first to pick Mrs. Travers’s place because of Nealie."
"The stove was an ugly thing, and it smelled, but she was glad for it."