Me on Monday

Greetings from Costa Rica. 

Posting will be sporadic this week as I spend time with my family. 

Something for Sunday

Today, March 8th is International Women's Day. 

It's a day to reflect on the most influential women in your life. For me, that woman would have to be my mother. 

I cannot believe that I have so few photos of her. I guess I've scrapbooked most of them. I should have thought to take pictures of them so I could refer to them again and again. So, these few will have to do.

When she was just 22, she had 4 children under 2! We were all born in January, me--1952, Ronnie--1953 and the twins (Janice & Jennifer)--1954!

Whenever I felt sorry for myself that I had a husband going to school or traveling with work when I had babies, I just thought about her and how hard she had it! 

To top it off, she was widowed at 35 with 7 children! I was the oldest---15 at the time. My youngest sister was just 2 years old. I admire my mother so much. She was a "stay-at-home-mom" and managed to continue that for 16 years after our dad died. She was committed to staying home and taking care of us. She took in typing to earn extra money. She worked through the holidays on a part-time basis at a local department store while we were in school. She did it for the extra money and the store discount she received to buy Christmas presents. She had other small part-time jobs, but for the most part, she was always home when we were.

She canned everything and made assorted jellies. The freezer was full of the fruits and vegetable the local farmers gave her to help out. She bought "day old" baked goods from the Hostess store for our lunches--I still remember she got 6 packs of Twinkies or Ding Dongs for a dollar!

She was an original "refunder." In the early '70's--I guess you would call it a movement. People saved and sent in boxtops and assorted other proofs of purchase to receive coupons for free stuff. She could go to the grocery store and get a cart full of food for the cost of the tax! She was a hard worker--always. My memories of her were either doing dishes or laundry. She was always working. 

When my youngest sister, Joyce was a senior in high school, she could no longer afford to stay home. She went to work full-time and was ultimately transferred to South Bend, IN. We were all grown then, but still couldn't believe that our mom was moving!! Joyce--the baby, graduated from high school and went with her. It was fortuitous for me as Sandy was starting college at Saint Mary's in Notre Dame, IN. It was comforting to know that her grandma would be there--"just in case!"

Here is Sandy with her great-grandma and grandma.

I think this picture was taken about a year before mom passed away at 78. Much too young! 

She was an incredible woman--very strong for the times. I'm proud she was my mom! 

Okay, this could be a Mother's Day tribute too! I love you mom!

Scrapbook Saturday

First off, I want to mention that yesterday, we broke a record here in Nashville, TN. We reached 85 degrees for a high temperature! Our norm for this time of year is 58! It actually got warm in the house!!

Now on to my regular post. This is sort of scrapbooking. 

Today is Janet's "Celebration of Life" memorial. My niece, Jackie, asked Jeanne and me if we would make the photo boards. We did what we do best--scrapbooked them! Janet was our scrapbooking buddy, so we wanted to honor her this way. She was always self-conscious of herself in pictures (as most of us are). She was usually behind the camera. We picked the very best of her and we had plenty to choose from. 

These 9 boards (foam core) represent 16.5 hours--between, editing, cropping and printing pictures and then laying them out and adhering. We used 188 pictures in all. 

They turned out pretty good--don't you think?

This is my favorite picture of the bunch! It epitomizes the 1970's! My brother and Janet look so young and cute! 50 years ago! My how time has flown!

My brother, Ronnie passed away in 2018. I'm so happy that they are back together again!

Friday Funnies!

Ten Things Thursday

Let's look at some beautiful bathrooms!

1.

Okay, this is gorgeous! I love all the white--especially the shiplap. But, where is the Kleenex, soap and waste basket. That's not to say it still wouldn't be beautiful, but you'd definitely have to take away the flowers on the sink.

2. 

OMGosh! I could totally get in to that pink vanity! So pretty!

3. 

I love everything about this one--the vanity with the white baskets, the tile, that rug (swoon) and the color scheme. 

4. 

I think this one is attractive. You can't go wrong with black and white.

5.

I do like this one, but would rather have a softer aqua on the walls.

6. 

I think this one is attractive, but I'm not exactly a "brown" person. I don't wear it and don't care to decorate with it. I do like that faded tile ceiling. It might be tin.

7.

Just wow! 

8.

Even though pink is my favorite color, this might just be a little too much for me. I do love that pink vanity!

9.

Love the ceiling and the green tile. I'm not sure about the floor. I don't like the vanity at all--but I do like the sink.

10.

The painted flowers brings this bathroom to life. I wonder if I would get tired of it?

If I had to choose just one, I think I'd go with--guess which one I would choose!

It's------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------number 3! That peek of a crystal chandelier put it over the top!

 

Travel Tuesday

Everything went well with my colonoscopy and best of all, the doctor says I don't ever have to have another one! I'm sure that has more to do with my age--as you only do these every 10 years.

Since I had the very first appointment (I always choose early), we were home, I got ready and we were on our way to St. Louis by 9:30. I had an English muffin in the car--my first food since 6 p.m. Saturday night. We stopped for lunch about 1 p.m. at Freddy's in Marion, IL. That was the best hamburger and fries!! We got the senior meal and topped it off with a frozen custard turtle (hot fudge, hot caramel and pecans). The child-size custard cost as much as our senior meal!! 

We got to St. Louis just in time to miss the "hard" rush hour traffic. When we got to Jeanne and Jim's we talked and had happy hour. Jeanne had a charcuterie laid out--at which I scoffed! If we have that, then it's dinner! I nibbled, while Butch made it his dinner and by-passed the chili she'd made. We basically talked the whole evening while Jeanne rolled her eyes a lot! I asked her if she was bored! She already told me that I talk too much, but this time, Butch and Jim were doing their fair share of the talking--but mostly Butch! He can be a talker too--once he gets started! I was having a perfectly delightful time! We don't see Jim very much as it's mostly Jeanne and me doing things together so it was fun to hear all about what he'd been up to.

Now today, the work begins. The "boards" are much smaller than I expected. We have way too many pictures--way too many. Then I had a brainstorm in the middle of the night--we'll put two together. They are lightweight foam core, so that should work.

Later, I'm hoping to get to visit with Jackie--and the girls depending on what time they get home from school. Then tonight, we're all meeting Matt and Sharon for dinner at one of their favorite Italian restaurants. 

We cannot come to St. Louis without going Italian. I will stand by this statement: St. Louis has the BEST Italian food in all of the U.S. Every restaurant is a winner because there are so many, that they HAVE to be really good or they won't last. There is no better Italian salads and pizza anywhere. They have a style all their own! Oh, and don't get me started on the bread! 

Okeedokee, that's it for now. If all goes according to plan, we'll head home very early tomorrow morning--again, avoiding the nearly stand-still rush hour traffic! That's the big city for ya'!

Me on Monday

Well, I'm not exactly starting this day in a fun way! By the time you read this, I will have completed my colonoscopy. This is the first time I had to do--what I was told by my friends--was the very long prep process. Apparently the way my doctor used to do it is no longer an accepted practice. But as it turned out, I think they really over-exaggerated. It wasn't even a gallon of liquid. Basically, I had to take 4 Ducolax at noon. Then at 6 p.m. I had to drink 8 oz. every 15 minutes for one hour. Then, nothing else until 5 hours before my appointment--which was 1:30 a.m. At that time, I only had to drink 8 oz. every 15 minutes for 45 minutes. It wasn't fun to have to get up in the middle of the night and try to stay awake to ward off any problems--luckily it all went fine. To me, this was just an inconvenience. But on the other hand, I'll do anything to insure my good health. 

Since I am writing this in the middle of the night while I try to stay awake, I'm going to just tell you what's happening afterwards. 

We'll come home so I can get ready to go to St. Louis. Since I am unable to go for Janet's "Celebration of Life" on Saturday, (it's our annual family trip--this time to Costa Rica), I wanted to honor her as best I could. 

My sister, Jeanne and I have agreed to make the photo boards. I have gone through hundreds of photos provided by various family members and narrowed it down to 218! I first printed a contact sheet and then set up categories--one for each board. Then I went through, edited, cropped and printed all of the photos, cut them apart and cut off the white edges. Whew! A lot of work. In fact, I have 13.5 hours in pre-planning. That also includes the 10 titles I cut on my Cricut. We need to be ready to work when I get to St. Louis. Hopefully, since it's a matter of putting it all together, I'm hoping it won't be so hard--just time consuming. I guess it depends on how many photos we need to eliminate. 

There were so many times that I forgot that Janet was gone--thinking, "I need to call Janet and ask questions about some of these pictures!" It still hasn't sunk in! It's awful. 

There are just so many things I'm going to miss: Camp Aunt Barb, poker games, sister's trips, scrapbooking and traveling. I'm really sorry to miss her "party," but at least I can feel good that I honored her by helping to put these boards together. She was very particular about how she looked in photos, so I think she'll be happy with the pictures we picked. 

I'll be back on Wednesday so that I can make my dental appointment on Thursday morning. The only thing I have left for myself--healthwise is my mammogram in a couple weeks. Then I'll be good for another year! I prefer to get it all done within a few weeks. 

How about you? Are you up-to-date with all of your health appointments?