Monday Memory # 20

     Although I no longer had my ol' pony to "ride" around, I had a lot of bike riding ahead of me.  The only thing was...after living out in the country on gravel and dirt roads, I had never learned to ride a bike!  So here I was...seven/eight years old...Springtime..Easter as a matter of fact and everyone in the neighborhood could ride but me!  I didn't even own a bike...and this was before "training wheels bike" days.  I am not even too sure bikes came in different sizes.  The only differences I remember was the "boy" bikes and the "girl" bikes.  Can anyone tell me why there was a difference?  I'll tell you next blog if you don't know!

"Girl" Bike

"Boy" Bike

     I guess the Easter bunny felt sorry for me, because on Easter morning of that year, as we were outside hunting for our eggs and baskets...we came upon a brand new girl bicycle!!  Now I never questioned how a bunny rabbit could have possibly gotten a bike into my back yard...I was too excited to consider the logic of the moment! And..wow..that was one big Easter present!!!

Me and my bike

     I didn't learn to ride immediately...I remember my dad, my mom, and my cousins all trying to help me with the balance thing and it just wasn't working.  So one day, I just went out by myself and decided by hook or by crook...I was going to ride that thing!!!  And I did...one of the many lessons of life...sometimes you just gotta' do it by yourself!

     Years later, I did question how the Easter Bunny was able to deliver such a great gift..come to find out, my dad was quite the barterer.  Many times when he would have an auction, someone might not be able to pay in cash for an item, so daddy would trade something they might have in exchange for what they wanted... one of his recent sales before Easter resulted in his getting a "girl" bike in a trade...with me in mind when the opportunity came up for him!


   

Memory Monday #19

My mom-Mary Dale Carnes Venable 1915-1994

    My Memory Monday..a day after Mother's Day...is to honor a wonderful woman who helped make me the gal I am today.  My mother, whom I have mentioned many times, and will continue to, was the true epitome of the "mother lion".  My mom was a very intelligent, personable woman....she herself never had the opportunity to go to college although she would have dearly loved it; but I grew up with not thinking "if" I go to college...but "when" I go to college.  My mom and I often clashed when I was in the teen years, but looking back...we were also very close; she and I  thought so much alike and had similar senses of humor!  My mom was a bit of a feminist before the word was invented.  She was not overt or pushy, but had a quiet strength about her that showed me one can accomplish much in one's own way!  I feel, and hope I have instilled this in my daughters, that one needs to stand up for one's beliefs and be compassionate without being too aggressive and annoying.  Thanks, Mom, for being...well...MOM!

     

 My mother-in-law-Dorothy Mae Shirley Dodds 1918-?

     And another mother I want to pay homage to is my mother-in-law.  Dorothy raised three pretty great children.  She again is a very intelligent lady who didn't go to college, but she saw to it that her children did..if they chose to. And I see the qualities that my husband of nearly 50 years has that reflect a background similar to my own.  These were instilled in him by his parents.  And this sweet lady has also been the "mother lion" in her children's lives and in her own quiet ways, is a force to reckon with!  I have learned so much from Dorothy; she has such a grounded philosophy and subtle sense of humor, I love to spend time with her.  And she gave me a pretty darn good partner!!!

Bead Journal Project for April

I know...it is May...but I just finished my April Bead Project...so here is my post for it!  Maybe I will get May done before the end of May...but no promises!!  My inspiration for this month was my irises...they never fail to be an attraction in the spring!

My Iris Garden

So here  is my Yin/Yang for April...I now have three towards my finished product of 12 with a focus center..making 13.  (I skipped February, but will get back to it!)

April Bead Journal Project

Memory Monday # 18

     My dad wasn't one to go on vacation very often....he felt and probably justifiably so...that he couldn't be gone from his business.  He was an auctioneer following in his father's footsteps...and the primary owner of the Community Sale Barn.  Sale barns offered very important services in farming communities so he felt an obligation to always be available.  I'll tell some "auction" tales in  later blogs.
     But a memory I have which I think must have been the summer after we had moved back to town was of a family trip...mom, dad, Judy (9) and me (7).  We drove North...(Pittsfield is about in the middle of the state..Illinois and to the west side..Pike County).  I have a memory of driving through Chicago very early...just at dawn..on a Sunday..and the city seemed deserted...very eerie even to my seven year old mind. (Remember this would have been in the mid 1940's so traffic any where would not be anything like today!!)
      Then we drove through Kalamazoo...a city I thought was just in a song...my dad liked to sing popular songs.  I Got a Gal in Kalamazoo!  was a Glen Miller tune (see on youtube) he really like to belt out...and I was excited to see the town with the funny name really existed!  From there we stopped to visit some friends in Racine, Wisconsin...then on North eventually into Canada.  I am pretty foggy on the chronological order of the whole trip, but I have spot memories.

Me...in the North woods

    I have a memory of us stopping in a park area for a picnic lunch...my dad and I heard, of all things, bagpipes playing!!  So we wandered through the woods and came out on a whole band of bagpipe players!  All playing; all in Scottish kilts and attire!  I love the sound of bagpipes to this day...and the memory of that North woods forest on a crisp cool day; coming across such a rare scene always comes to mind when I hear them play.

The Scottish Bagpipers

studio Q Meeting for April

     This month our meeting was a little different.  We met at the Doss Heritage and Cultural Center in Weatherford, TX.  The Doss is a beautiful building that houses/hosts many cultural venues...artistic, historic, Western, etc.  The exhibit we went to see was the fiber art works of Katrina Wright.  Please check out her website to see her art!  It is really very cool!!!

Brochure from Katrina Wright's show

          After visiting the Doss we went to lunch....of course...then went to the Clark Gardens....another beautiful place to visit that is west of Weatherford, TX. The Gardens were the private property of the Clarks from 1972 until they made it into a non-profit organization and opened up to the public. There are many acres of just gorgeous flowers and trees, water features and art, and even a delightful miniature train setup with great miniature models of buildings from around the county.  I had not been there before but do want to return seasonally as it will change through the year.

Resident Swan

Parker County Courthouse in Weatherford

Memory Monday # 17

    So....here we are back in town...I don't remember too much about the move...but the house we moved into... (which would be home to me for the rest of my time living in Pittsfield)...was also just a block from the school where I attended the second grade....except a street over.  The school took up a block...the front facing my old home in the little apartment street; and the back of the school was on a street a block over.
     I did have to give up my pony; my kitten had already run away; and we were somewhat reunited with our Border Collie, Fuzzy.  While we still lived in town, Fuzzy took a real liking to an elderly couple who lived across the street.  They would feed her and let her in the house.  She would spend more time with them than with us, so when we moved to the farm, Mom talked us into letting the Morelands keep her as they had really become attached...Okay..trade a pony for dog!  Sounded good!
     Being only seven, I was pretty flexible..ready for another adventure...I quickly became acquainted with the kids in our neighborhood and I could walk to school!  We were often "tardy" to school when we lived in the country.  My family, especially my mom, was notoriously late where ever we went...school, church, etc.. So my teacher was delighted that I would be so close to school and not be late again!  Wrong!!  I was still late...I somehow could take a LONG time walking that block.  Not that I didn't like school, but there was so much to see on the way! Puddles, rocks, trees, birds....!
     And there was "Uncle" Jack's store...Uncle Jack was a tiny little old man who lived in a little house across the street from the school.  In his front room, he ran the mini equivalent of a 7/11 without the gas pumps.  He sold soda pop, penny candy, chips, etc.  And he had the most marvelous miniature stone village in his back yard!!  It was his hobby to create these miniature buildings...I thought they were just magical!!  So whenever I could get away with it, I would have to go over there to see the fairy land he had created!

Miniature stone village

     This is not a picture of Uncle Jack's village, but it is very similar in technique. I wish I did have a picture of his little town, but I do have a clear picture in my mind!

Aloha!!

     Last week my daughter, Andrea, took her daddy and me to Hawaii!!   Andrea had reservations at a Hilton Resort and invited us to join her.  Hawaii was the only state we had not visited and had thought we probably wouldn't make it....being so far and would take a lot of planning.  So when she came up with the  plan a few months ago, we decided it would be a wonderful opportunity to visit our 50th State....especially on our 50th anniversary year!!
      We had a wonderful time...saw many fantastic sites!! We first flew to Oahu and spent the night so we could we could visit Pearl Harbor the next day.

the Missouri and the Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor

On the Arizona...Tree of Life window and list of  men serving on ship 

     Then we flew to the Big Island, and spent the rest of our trip there on Hawaii!

View from the balcony of our room at the Hilton

Lava Lava Beach...loved it ...one of my favorite places!!

Pu'uhonua o Honanunau-the Place of Refuge

     A National Historical Park where we learned a lot about the original peoples of Hawaii!!  An archaeological find that had been reconstructed....very neat!!!

A green sea turtle at Lava Lava Beach...we saw several of them...my new animal passion!!!

We took tour to the Observatories on Mauna Kea...very COLD!!!  but beautiful!

Dick and Andrea did Zipline.....

....while I visited some neat historical sites and did a little shopping,

We did the traditional luau....very fun!!!

...and our last tour was to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park..daytime

.....and same volcano...Kilauea Caldera....at night!!!

...and we walked through a lava tube!!

     I took over 900 pictures...so you can see these are just a sampling of a wonderful trip!