Memory Monday #52

     Here is it is almost 4:00PM and I just about forgot Memory Monday!  I am still relating a few memories of high school...I loved high school...but I don't necessarily want to relive it!
     Another school event we all enjoyed was Homecoming.  Football was King in Illinois too...not just Texas.  In fact, I think Friday Night Lights could take place in any state, in any small town.  Our team was really good at that time.  The coach had been there forever; he and his wife were also in my mom and dad's "social crowd".  Coach Smith (yes, really Smith...not just an alias for my blog.)  reminds me of Tom Landry...the famous Cowboys coach...in demeanor and looks...not that I even knew who Landry was then, but living in Texas for many years...I do now!
      But Homecoming wasn't JUST about football!  We had Spirit Week; we had a parade with floats in which all high school clubs had an entry; we had a Homecoming Court and a dance!!

Our little float that won a big prize!!

     My Junior Year one of our favorite teachers let us decorate his CAR!  It was a VW Beetle...one of the very first..and we made it into a little airplane. It is hard to see that this is to be an airplane from this picture...I think maybe by game time, where the floats were parked around the outside of the football field, the wings may have fallen off!  But because it was so unique and original, my group...I think Drama Club....won first place

The front of our little float with our # 1 sign!

      Of course, the fun was in the getting together for nights before hand and decorating the floats in secret!  No one was to know what anyone else's float looked like until the day of the parade! Someone's dad would let us use his garage...or one of the businesses around town who had a large space...would loan it to us for a couple of weeks before Homecoming.  And every night, we would gather our creative spirits and come up with a float!  Usually they would be a flat bed pickup or a wagon pulled by a pickup. Oh, the fabulous concoctions that could be made with crepe paper!    

     On the day of the parade, everyone would meet at the school and line up...the band, the floats, the "Queen" candidates...and we would drive slowly the few blocks to the square, slowly around the square, and back to the school!  Because our little airplane was somewhat fragile, several of us walked along beside it to help hold the wings up!!

     In the first picture, I am the tall one...third from the right...and notice...no glasses!!!  My friend Barbee is across from me in the middle on the left.

      Fun times had by all!!

Our Beautiful World-Rainbows

     This week the topic for the photographs for Our Beautiful World is "Rainbows" and I just happen to have a couple of pictures I have taken of rainbows!!  Doesn't every one?  Rainbows are just one of those wonderful, awesome apparitions that everyone loves!!!

Outside my daughter's apartment in San Francisco-2007

Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls- 2002

Memory Monday # 51

     Now I am a Junior in High School!  I have been dating some; many of my friends began dating much before I did. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I was a bit socially immature...which was not a major problem, especially for my parents!!
     My best friend, Barbee, was quite the opposite!  Whereas I loved spending time outside, riding  bikes, playing with my dog, etc. she was always mooning over the movie star magazines and dreaming up some heated romance!  By the time we were Juniors, she had been madly in love at least three times.  She insisted I join the ranks of the teenage angst. She had a grandmother in a nearby town whom we would go visit occasionally. Barbee's grandmother Meemee, was the epitome of grandmothers! She had the most beautiful white hair; she was short and slightly plump and adored Barbee who could do no wrong in her eyes! So she became my  Meemee too!
      When we would go visit Meemee, it was usually in the summer when we were out of school.  The small city she lived in had a pavilion in the park where the teens would go to hang out...dancing and live bands.  This was pre-heavy metal days...most of the music was dance music like our parents would have; concert-type music.  When we would go out there, Barbee would insist I take my glasses off (pre-contact lens days, too)...the phrase "boys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses" was on her mind!!  So not only was I rather shy about the whole dating thing, I was also now blind as a bat!!
     

Me without glasses! 

and with glasses!!

   These pictures are actually proofs taken for our Senior year book, but they were the only ones I could find that showed so well the with and without!! Oh the things we let ourselves get talked into.

     

Our Beautiful World

     Several months ago, before my husband got so sick and I put everything on hold, I had been posting on a blog "Our Beautiful World".  This evening, I was looking at some of the blogs I have followed and came upon this one again. I really enjoy it and decided to rejoin them...such lovely photographs!  Each week there is a given topic and all the entries of other bloggers reflect the topic of the week.
     This week the topic is "Green"...in honor of March and St. Patrick's Day.  I have a few "Green" pictures myself so enjoy! And be sure to click on the link I have given you to see a whole lot more!!

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Chicago River St. Patrick's Day

Chihully Blown Glass-Dallas Exhibit 

Green quilt blocks 

Aurora Borealis 

Banana Tree-Hawaii

Happy St. Paddy's Day

     I almost didn't get St. Patrick's Day blogged about!  Being Irish for real (at least one fourth) I love the lore of the day and all the songs and traditions surrounding it.  And being brought up Catholic, anything Irish really hit home. Most of our priest were from the Emerald Isle..some with a very strong accent! I remember our choir in high school would sing all kinds of Irish ballads during the week of the 17th of March..."The Wearing of the Green", "Danny Boy" etc.  and I always felt a sense of personal pride!
     Of course, these days everyone is a little Irish on St. Patrick's Day!  Two of my favorite cities celebrate in a big way.  Each have rivers running right through the middle of the city and they both dye their rivers green for the occasion!

River in Chicago, Illinois

River in San Antonio, Texas

     And...one more item I just heard on the news today...the St. Paddy Parades in some of the cities are being boycotted by some pretty big names for their not allowing Gay Pride entries in the parades...that is huge in my book!!!  And about time!  Drink more Guiness, everyone...they are one of the companies who have withdrawn their support of the parade in NYC!

Memory Monday# 50

 

Courthouse....Pittsfield, Illinois

      A big festival in my home town each year was the Fall Festival.  My town is the county seat with a beautiful courthouse in the middle which created the Square.  There is an extensive lawn area all around it with large maple and oak trees.  All around the square are the shops, many of which are still there..banks, bakeries, dress shops, shoe shops etc.
      The Fall Festival took place in late September/ early October.  One of the high lights was the crowning of the Fall Festival Queen!!  Every girl from age 14-18 could participate.  Each would have a sponsor...one of the shops around the square.  The contestants would wear a ribbon with the shop's name on it; a stage would be built on one side of the square; an emcee would introduce each girl as she came up on the stage, posed briefly for the audience then went down the other side.  After the introductions, a group of judges from the Chamber of Commerce, I think would select "Miss Fall Festival of 19 ?? !  This would take place on the first night of the Festival...a Friday.  The next day, there was a parade with all the contestants riding on the back of convertibles!

That's me...always the clown!

And here we are...riding in our convertible!

The front seat beauty is my best friend, Barbee....who married a guy named Ken!!!

     All weekend, there would be booths set up all around the square.  Every organization in the county would have a booth...either food or crafts or a game of some kind.  And they would close off one side of the square so they could run "the jalopy".  Some guy had souped up an old open air car so it would jump and hop and make all kinds of weird sounds.  The kids loved it!!  All small town entertainment!!  But FUN for all!!!

     Oh, and my mom made my formal!!  Such a great mom!!
   

Goodbye????

     Not goodbye..see you later!  Wednesday, we had a memorial service for my husband of 50 years.  One of my daughters who blogs, just posted her thoughts on the day which was beautiful so I will link you to her blog and won't go into detail on mine... http://abbaquiltingqueen.blogspot.com/
     It had been great weather all week...even in the 80's on Tuesday!  Then came a cold front that night and it was in the 50's with a really STRONG wind on Wednesday!  And the National Cemetery where we had the service is up on a hill. But it was a sunny day and a brief service so no one suffered too much!
     Dick served in the Air Force when we were first married and, although he did not choose to make a career out of the military, he was proud of the uniform and the pride in country that comes with it which increased through the years. So when we began to reach our "Senior" years, we looked into interment at the National Cemetery near Dallas.

Where my husband's remains are

It is a lovely place, not too far from us.  We had also opted for cremation years ago, and Dick, with his fabulous woodworking talents, had built beautiful boxes for both of us to hold our remains.  The cemetery has columbariums for placement of cremated remains. 

This is not his exact location but a pic of one of the columbariums.

     We had a private, by invitation only, ceremony. These were the people who were our core support during the whole ordeal...and several family members...Dick's sister and brother, and three nieces were able to attend from out of town. We then went back to my condo area which has a really nice "clubhouse" room to be used by residents for occasions, and served a BBQ luncheon for all. 

    Then that evening all the family members came back to my condo and sat around sharing memories and eating leftovers!  My daughters and I had made trays of cookies...about 15 dozen cookies!!  Laughing until our sides ached!  Dick would have loved it!!!!

   

Memory Monday #49

     The summer between my Sophomore and Junior years in high school a drive-in theater was built...kind of out in the country.  The guy who had it built was also the owner of the two theaters in my home town...I'm sure the decision of location had to do with placement between two towns of similar size.

      Previously the closest drive-in was about 30 miles away...the Clark Drive-In was about 15 miles..so as you can imagine..it became a popular hang out; for dates and just carloads of kids pulling in.  There was night a week that was called Dollar night...no matter how many people were in the car, it was One dollar!  Back in the '50's, there were no seat belts; no limit to the number of people you could have in a car, so we really packed 'em in!!  And of course, the teenage hormones were raging so the place became known as the "Passion Pit"!!  

     And obviously, this picture is not from the '50s as you can tell from the movie advertised on the marquee!

     This was also the period of time when most of my classmates turned 16 thus could get drivers' licenses!  So along with the drive in theater, cruising the "strip" in our home town was also a popular activity.  Very few of us had our own cars, but we were able to take turns getting a parent car.  Many of the boys had their own cars, especially if they lived in the country and played sports or had an after school job...they needed their own transportation, but I can't think of any girls who owned their own car.

      I was pretty fortunate in getting a car from the family...my older sister was older than I, so by the time I was 16, she was away at college..and my little brother wasn't old enough to drive yet. And my parents trusted my driving more than some of my friends therefore, I could get the car pretty often.  Gas was about .25 cents a gallon, so we could all chip in .50 cents, and get three-four dollars worth which would be enough to nearly fill the tank!

Creative Crones of studioQ Are Back!

     Actually the studioQ gals never left...I kind of left them for awhile.  But I am happy to report they are well and creative.  I went to a meeting last week for the first time in about four months and found they can carry on without me!!
     I think I wrote about our new challenge a few months back, but to refresh...a member takes a turn picking out a picture they like and then going to a paint store and picking out  4-8 color chips they think define the colors in their picture.  Then they give each member the same chips and we have to go home and create a quilt or work of art of some kind with those colors.  A couple of our group work better with paper and found objects than with fabric which is ok with all.
      When I started, I decided to journal each month with the picture that inspired, the color chips, and the fabrics I pulled from my stash to use. So far, this is what we have done.

My Journal

Challenge #1-Color chips on Left/ fabric on right-fish from picture

My quilt for  #1

and Challenge #2:

The Picture from Bethany 

My journal entry-again chips on the left and fabric on the right.  Bethany told us we could use black or white.

My Quilt for # 2- I want to do some heavy duty quilting on it.

Challenge #3 from Beth:

Picture taken by Beth's daughter-close up of dew on a flower!

My journal entry-chips-left/fabric-right

My quilt for #3

And Challenge #4 by Lynn:

I haven't put these into my journal yet. Lynn had just returned from a trip to Scotland and was influenced by the Cairns piled around so she presented her chips to us as such!  Clever girl!  But these are the fabrics I have chosen to work with...am eager to get going on a quilt with them..I have my idea just need the time to do it.