studioQ Feb/March meetings

     I had missed a few of our studioQ meetings...my little art quilters' group.  We are at 10 or 11 now...and have decided to keep it at that number at least for now.  And we are continuing with our Color Chip Challenge!  Now this is a "no pressure" group, so even though it was discussed and decided upon to do this challenge, there are some who for their own reasons are not always participating.
     I do want to show the projects of those who are usually doing the challenge of the month...

Beth's picture inspiration for her color chips

On left are the color chips-on right, my fabric choices

Kay's Challenge

Rhonda's challenge

My challenge

The above were shown at our February meeting.  The next set were from our March meeting and the challenge was given by Lynn.

Lynn's color chips and my fabric choices to go with the colors.

My color challenge for Lynn's color chips.

Our Beautiful World-Bloom

      With the hopes of Spring in the air after a most brutalwinter everywhere, the Our Beautiful World photography group has chosen the subject "Bloom" this week. I love taking pictures of flowering plants, trees, the whole nature thing so I am having a bit of a problem deciding which photos to post!

      Bradford Pear trees are one of the first to bloom in this area...sometimes a little early! The Bradfords are beautiful, fruitless small trees...blooms early, lovely green leaves all summer then the most gorgeous bronze and reds in the fall...a wonderful treat for any landscape.

Bradford Pears 

Close up of Bradford Pears

      With my recent move from two acres to a condo in the city, I have acquired a patio area which is MIINE to do with as I wish (within the confines of the HOA guidelines)!  So I took out (or rather had my grandson do the digging) several in ground shrubs, hauled in a lot of river rock for the beds, and put in large pots.  I had about six pots from my other home and added to that number.  At least here in the city, I can attempt to grow flowers!  In the country, everything I tried in that line was just deer food!  And although I loved having the deer around, it was a little expensive to feed them those tender shoots!!  Begonias seemed to be a favorite!!
    With that said, here are a couple of pictures of my blooms!

Part of my little city garden!

   Other attractions later in the spring will be the irises and the crepe myrtles! And Texas would not be the same without the state flower..the bluebonnet which grows wild almost everywhere!

Texas bluebonnets

Crepe myrtle

Irises

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.

Memory Monday #48

     After taking off for awhile on my blog (see previous blog), I am returning to my "Memory Monday" blogs! At last writing, I was a Freshman in high school...my Sophomore year was pretty uneventful...we moved into a new High School...my older sister's class was the first class to graduate in the new school.
      Pittsfield Community High School became the home to not only kids from Pittsfield, but we also absorbed a couple of other high schools which closed down and came to Pittsfield. In the case of one school, their principal became a assistant principal at the new PHS.

Pittsfield Community High School

     As small schools were unable to keep their doors open, this practice of combining areas into one school became pretty common. It was hard for communities to close their schools. In farm communities the schools may have been their main pride and source of  belonging.  So when students had to be integrated into a new school, sometimes there was a bit of a clash of "us" and "them".  Usually after a year or two this feeling of separation would dissipate.
     Our school  logo was an Indian head and our team name was the Saukees.

PHS logo

     As today, sports were very important...we had a killer football team, and off and on good basketball teams.  We were one of the largest schools in our immediate community..graduating approximately 100 students a year!  The Sophomore year of high school is kind of a gray area for most teens...at least in my time.  We weren't the green freshmen; most of us couldn't drive yet...not 16; nothing too outstanding!  But we still had a lot of fun!

I am back!!

 

  I just posted a draft that I had written on Christmas and somehow never got posted! It has been a very difficult two-three months but everything should get back to a somewhat normal routine...without my best friend.  I have always wondered when people would loose someone and say what a relief it was! But now I understand! It is no fun watching the one you love just melt before your eyes...Dick had a very rough, but not necessarily painful, last couple of months...and on February 12, 2014 at 12:15AM, he drew his last breath with me and our daughters at his side.  It was a very peaceful passing from this world into the next...I feel his presence with me every minute and I know he is at peace and watching over us!
     We were enrolled with a hospice group...Vitas...and they were wonderful.  If anyone reading this is in my similar situation, do not hesitate to contact one in your area.  And with their help and my wonderful daughters' and terrific friends' help and support, we were able to keep him at home until the end of this life. Such a comforting way to experience such a dreadful but inevitable  part of existing.
      We (our girls and I at Dick's request) had his remains cremated..we had no formal ceremony or service; no visitation for "viewing"....we will have a very private service with family and close friends at the National Cemetery here in Texas...he served in the Air Force so is eligible for a spot there! What he didn't know, but would approve of, is that we are going to make several trips around to some of his favorite spots and leave a little of him behind! It will be the "Dick Dodds Farewell Tour"..with t-shirts and all!!
     Our son-in-law had coined a phrase for us...Members of the "50/50 Club"... because we had celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary on December 29 and we, as of last spring, had traveled to all 50 states!!  We did car trips to all but the last one...Hawaii..we couldn't drive there!!
     So I am back...I have put my life on hold...I have not written on my blog for months...I have not attended any social or church functions for ages...I have not created anything in my studio...but now I am ready to reenter my old live albeit without him....as I know he would want me to.

Merry Christmas!

     This is our first Christmas in our new digs.  We moved in about three weeks ago..or at least I did.  My buddy, best friend, husband was in the hospital, then a rehab facility receiving physical therapy to regain the strength he had lost through bouts of chemotherapy. As we had scheduled to move, to begin renovations, etc. we had to go ahead with our plans even though he could not be a part of it all.
      We have "downsized" from about 3000 square on two acres to a condo in the city...although we loved our "country" home, it is time to move into another phase in our lives.  We feel very lucky to have found this condo...it it a perfect size...has two rooms for bedrooms downstairs..one of which will become my studio; the other our bedroom which has a large closet and a medium size master bath. There is also a half bath off the hall near what will be my studio....and a nice sized living room/dining area/ and kitchen which we have totally renovated with new flooring, new cabinets, countertops and appliances.
     I am still in the process of unpacking so haven't found all my Christmas stuff for this year..and really didn't have the energy to decorate all out even if I could have found it! But decorations do not make the season...the people do and we are fortunate to have both of our

Memory Monday #47

      Another high school memory...Freshman year. A tradition which still goes on today is prom.  Prom has taken a bit of a different meaning now, but when I was a kid, prom was a "going away" party/dance, hosted by the Junior Class in honor of the graduating Seniors. It was in the spring...underclassmen could come by invitation of a Junior or Senior.  The Junior class would choose the theme, decorate accordingly, etc. Even the Prom Queen was a Junior...(Homecoming Queen was always a Senior).

(Not my prom, but certainly could have been...we all looked just like that!)

      Prom took place in the town's largest building...the American Legion Hall.  After the hall was decorated by the Juniors, tables set up, the Queen's throne/dais decorated, snack table set up..(the moms would usually make all the snacks)..the prom attendees would arrive.  Juniors would have spent days decorating..and some nights! Then the day of prom, everyone was a tither with anticipation...no one but the Juniors would know what the dance looked like...and that evening as the attendees came in, many of the townspeople would line up to see everyone in their formal attire!  Then..another tradition, after the crowning of the queen, the band would strike up a song to which all the dance participants would line up in a promenade led by the queen and her court and their dates. After the promenade, the townspeople would leave and the dance would proceed.

     The year I was a Freshman, my sister was a Junior...so her class was hosting the prom.  One of the nights the Juniors were supposed to be decorating, my gang was having a birthday party at one of our houses.  Several of my friends were dating Junior boys who were also at the party...sometime in the evening, the Junior girls all showed up to drag all the boys away to help decorate!

    One of my friends' boyfriends drove a Jeep...and he had left it there while going to decorate...my friend and two others who dates had also gone to help decorate, decided to take a little joy ride in the Jeep! (Of course none of us were old enough to drive..legally!) So the three of them crammed into the front....I decided at the last minute to go along and jumped in the back!

Again..not the actual Jeep, but very similar!

     She gunned off...me hanging on for dear life bouncing around in the back!  We roared out to the edge of town...turned around then came roaring back...I doubt if the vehicle could go over 40 miles an hour...but at the time it seemed pretty wild!  The house where the party was sat on a large lot with a long gravel driveway.  The driveway ended in a circle around a group of trees.  As we came down the drive, we "zoomed" around the circle..once...twice..then on the third time...going a little faster each time, my friend lost control..we went crashing through the wall of a garage/barn next door!

     By then the guys were back from helping decorate...and our CRASH! certainly brought out the entire neighborhood!  The guy who owned the house next door was not very happy with us wild teenagers!  I guess by today's standards, we would have been considered real juvenile delinquents, but again, small town...everyone knew everyone...we were just lucky none of us were really hurt!  We really learned our lesson!  Sometimes innocent fun which turns into disaster can be a real life experience...none of us were ever involved in anything so stupid again!

    I think if I remember right...none of us went to the prom that year!!!  The Junior girls won that event over the Freshmen girls!!!

   

Our Beautiful World-December

     Again... November was a bit of a "month to forget"...and I didn't get the last couple of posts for the "Our Beautiful World" blog.  This week (which is about over!) the word is December...what is December like in my part of the world!

December 6, 2013-outside our new condo in Ft. Worth

Icy Holly branches

Winter visitors at our previous country home-2012

    December in North Texas can be very unpredictable...on Wednesday of this week, the high temperature was around 75 degrees...yesterday (Thursday) a front came in and by afternoon the temperature was in the 30's...today (Friday) the high was 25 degrees!

     My first picture was taken this morning outside our new digs!  I don't remember when the second picture of the holly was taken, but is typical of the kind of weather we get in winter...rather fierce but also short-lived...by next week, the weather will be in the 50s again!

     And the last picture is our little deer friends who would visit us frequently all year 'round...although I love watching them..I am looking forward to being able to grow flowers in pots outside!  The little rascals would eat every tender green plant we would try to grow!!!1

Memory Monday # 46

    After having a pretty hectic month of November...I missed a couple of weeks of memories, but I am a little more settled now and am ready to continue the saga!!! My last memory was about Junior High..seventh grade specifically.  The eighth grade wasn't much different..but then came HIGH SCHOOL!!
     Freshman Year:  I was still somewhat socially immature..not really into boys yet, but did join in on the "fun" of dating somewhat.  My best friend, Barbee, (we met in fourth grade and the friendship continued on) was much more socially mature than I...she started dating earlier and would often drag me into double dating, etc.
     There was a dance in the winter where the girls invited the boys...the guy Barbee was dating didn't have access to a car always so she coerced me into asking a friend of his, so we could double date.  He was nearly as shy as I was so it was a pretty quiet date as I remember.
     I ran around with eight to ten girls...we would take turns having slumber parties...usually around our own birthdays..although one of my friends developed the "half-birthday"...six months after one's legal birthday...thus squeezing another party in!!

A slumber party...we really weren't stoned..just goofy from lack of sleep!

In the above picture, I am lower left...I have no idea what was going on with the log..but I am sure it was hilarious!!  We would all bring bedrolls with pillows and blankets...the hostess would supply all kinds of snacks...if one had a date, she would come at the appointed curfew of the hostess's parents..and oh, the giggling and fun we had!  And of course, there were always a few who were going steady...and those who were breaking up!  Oh, the heart ache and angst of being teenagers!!

     Music was always a big part of slumber parties...and we played it at top volume..until a parent...usually a dad would tell us to quiet down!!  And yes, we were Elvis fans...this WAS the fifties!

A favorite!

...then Elvis had to make movies and ruined his image to me...he really should have stuck to just singing!

      We had so much fun...and alcohol and drugs were never part of our lives..an occasional sneaked cigarette perhaps....all of our parents were big smokers...no one thought anything of it back then.  Just look at old movies and tv shows of that era..everyone smoked!