I
have to add a disclaimer here, I'm afraid to
edit this at all... When posting the original blog, I added pictures and
found
that when I went to the blog, half of my text and pictures had
disappeared. I
went back and tried to fix it and found that more text disappeared and
some
pictures... I persisted and finally ended up with a very choppy and
disjointed blog, I have gone back again and edited, still not all the
pictures are up, but I'll try again soon. Please bear with me :)
We had the flu, and me with bronchitis afterwards but we survived and I can’t wait until the vaccine is done that isn’t egg based… I thought I would update my blog, and realized that it was time for the blog hop so I decided to combine both my blog and the blog hop, so please keep this in mind when reading.
My blog is in honor of Mom, Lometta, born in January 1925, she is just a few days shy of 88 years old, and spry and chipper as ever.
If you see my Facebook page, you’ll know that before
Christmas, while I was sick for a few days, I was working on a necklace and had
a handful of blue and green beads and thought they were so pretty, I dug
through and found all my blue and green ornaments and voila... here's the tree
I did this year. I thought the colors were good, I love these and it seemed
that they cheered up the place a lot. I painted the kitchen in a very pale
robin's egg blue so it kind of tied in with that since I have a very open floor
plan in the house.
I did start on jewelry for the blog...a necklace and bracelet and
matching pair of earrings and ring (does anyone else do that? I started on the
bracelet and had to work on a necklace because I had an idea, then the
ring... back to the bracelet then to earrings and back to the necklace... then
back to the bracelet!!). I only have the picture of the bracelet from earlier
in the week, working on it. I wanted to set up and take pictures last night,
but... my son had other plans. I love it that he is sociable and has friends.
He is growing up to be such a sweet young man. Anyway, I am seriously going to try to get pictures done later on.
Promise!!!
memories-and-thanks-blog-hop.html
sorry....the link is just above th picture... having so much trouble today...
We had the flu, and me with bronchitis afterwards but we survived and I can’t wait until the vaccine is done that isn’t egg based… I thought I would update my blog, and realized that it was time for the blog hop so I decided to combine both my blog and the blog hop, so please keep this in mind when reading.
My blog is in honor of Mom, Lometta, born in January 1925, she is just a few days shy of 88 years old, and spry and chipper as ever.
The blog hop is for the Memories and Thanks blog
hop, which is to honor someone that has made an impact on your life. I am
excited that today is the blog hop, This hop was started in the memory of
a person that passed away too soon, Marianna , by Lori Anderson at pretty things, use the link
and go by and read about it if you haven't heard the story . I
am excited to see a lot of new blogs, and some of the ones that I really enjoy
visiting. So many new ideas, and things to spring your imagination into full
swing. I so enjoy looking at the artwork that others do. There are so many
talented people out there, so many people that have such a wonderful spirit.
The blogs in this are really touching, there are so many people that are
honored and remembered and loved, respected and cherished.
If you see my Facebook page, you’ll know that before
Christmas, while I was sick for a few days, I was working on a necklace and had
a handful of blue and green beads and thought they were so pretty, I dug
through and found all my blue and green ornaments and voila... here's the tree
I did this year. I thought the colors were good, I love these and it seemed
that they cheered up the place a lot. I painted the kitchen in a very pale
robin's egg blue so it kind of tied in with that since I have a very open floor
plan in the house. |
| Mom with her antlers on Christmas morning 2012 |
This year I
didn't get much done for
Christmas. I had not been able to go shopping myself and didn't get to
take my
mother shopping at all. Actually, I had gone to the store back somewhere
just
after Thanksgiving and never got to go again until Christmas eve… sigh…
We made
do with the little that we had. Mom
spent the night on Christmas eve and Christmas night and we enjoyed the
visit
so much. I made muffins for breakfast, the cranberry and pecan ones that
I always make for Christmas...and we had tamales for dinner and it was
really nice. Mom was excited with presents, even though we didn't do a
lot. I suppose she remembers many years of her
being sick or one of us kids being sick (usually me) at the holidays.
My Christmas present from my daughter was a beautiful diffuser and the
one from my son was sweet, he bought me some bath stuff and he even
bought it with his own money!! Really, I was so happy just to have Mom
with us that it didn't matter if I had any gifts or not, their presents
were just icing to me :) My
son didn't do so badly with the gifts, I had bought his a while back so
he was
not unhappy. He had a lot of fun with his grandmother. They did some
card
tricks and read a bit, listened to Christmas music and sang some,
played some word games and when Mom was tired,
she just napped, and so did my son. The two of them sacked out and the
dogs laying all over the place... it was priceless.
 |
| Mom with my oldest brother maybe 1944? |
It is so
great that Mom is feeling so much
better, and her memory was so much clearer!!!! That in and of itself
was
Christmas present for me. She has really had the hardest year. The
surgery she
had in June really took a toll on her body and mind. It has been slow,
but she
is getting better every day. There were a few times that I thought
she wouldn't ever recover, but as usual, she surprised us all. Usually
she just jumps right back up and
carries on, but this one was different. This time it made me take a look
back and think of
everything she has done for me and been for me. It isn't easy to think
about
some of the times…There is a lot of good times but there are the hard
times, but then this is how relationships are, right?
They have their ebbs and flows, and when two headstrong women are
together,
well… I know that she and I have had issues over the years, but
really... I
love her so much and can't think of what life would have been like
without her.
You know the youngster with bruised knees and strong will, the bumpy
teen years and the very
hard early motherhood years. All the advice she has given me that
sometimes I
didn’t want to hear and all the times that she was really the only
person that
understood what I was going through. Those times have all shaped our
relationship into this unique bonding of hearts.
Mom
has
been through a lot over the years, both physically and mentally. That
she was born in 1925 says a lot. The depression and living in the
panhandle of Texas was tough on it's own. She could tell you stories of
the dustbowl and how hard her mother and father worked. She has
endured at least ten surgeries, all major, and through five babies...
losing
one and raising four of us… my older brother passing away was hard for
her and
losing close family and friends, I can’t
imagine how hard it has been… and the
hardest of all, the death of my father. In that, she and I shared such a
huge
bond. I think that it was unique since I was young and still living at
home. His death was not easy for anyone in the
family, but it had to be the hardest on Mom. Through everything that
went
on at the time I think that she held up through such circumstances was
admirable.
Mom was
pretty young when my father was killed, I didn't realize how young she
was at
the time, but she was. To me she was old and, well, my mom...I guess you
don’t
really realize how old your parents are until you get older… I realized
just how young she was when she went through that but it was years later
when she helped me through one of
the worst times in my life… again... this time when my husband died.
When Greg died I was just a year younger than Mom was when my father died... and my husband died leaving me with a six year old so we had so much there that made us bond even more. I don't know how I could have made it through that time without her. She knew how hard it was to go through this, and she knew to be there and not say anything sometimes, because sometimes you just need someone to be there. I don’t think anyone else knew that, but she did. I don't know how she made it through when my father was killed. I really don't. She has to be the strongest woman I have ever known. I am not saying that it was all graceful for her. There was the doctor that gave her way too many sedatives and there is a big part that she doesn’t even remember, but what she does remember…haunts her even to this day… The reality of it is that she did make it through and kept going and kept surviving and helping and living. Sometimes that is all we can ask, and sometimes it is that living that means the most.
When Greg died I was just a year younger than Mom was when my father died... and my husband died leaving me with a six year old so we had so much there that made us bond even more. I don't know how I could have made it through that time without her. She knew how hard it was to go through this, and she knew to be there and not say anything sometimes, because sometimes you just need someone to be there. I don’t think anyone else knew that, but she did. I don't know how she made it through when my father was killed. I really don't. She has to be the strongest woman I have ever known. I am not saying that it was all graceful for her. There was the doctor that gave her way too many sedatives and there is a big part that she doesn’t even remember, but what she does remember…haunts her even to this day… The reality of it is that she did make it through and kept going and kept surviving and helping and living. Sometimes that is all we can ask, and sometimes it is that living that means the most.
 |
| Mom with my son and grandson 2004 |
The times that
we are allowed to spend with
someone that impacts our lives is sometimes short, sometimes it is long
and we
get to savor the changes in the relationship. Mine with my mother has
been, thankfully, long. Now it is that I am the adult and she is the
child, not always, but it is more frequent now. This has changed our
relationship a lot, but it is a good thing not only for me but
especially for my son. Her living and surviving has made an impact on my
children, my son is able to see the cycle of life, from the beginning
with my grandson to the ending with my mother. This is teaching him (I
hope) to respect life, to cherish it and to love unquestionably. My son
and grandson sat at the hospital with me when Mom had surgery this
summer, they were so good, they were so sweet and patient, and they
hugged Mom so gently and held her hand. I cried when I went to bed every
night, thinking, some day that will be me, I pray that they will be
that kind to me and teach their children to be as well.
My daughter is older and has a son of her own, and really, that my mother is still alive has made my daughter stronger I think. She sees that my mother is a strong woman, that she has been there for all of us and I think we all need that. Just that she has kept going, something like the Energizer bunny... she just keeps going and going.... makes a difference to us all. It gives hope that we all can be like that, keeping active and until this summer, she really didn't slow down. Well... there have been setbacks when she was sick, and days that she didn't want to move out of her chair... but at 87 she has done pretty well. Until the middle of June, she was still driving and coming over to visit and going shopping... though some of her trips were short since she was having problems with her heart. She was still able to be up and around. She has made me realize that there is so much you can do in your life, so much you can live and how quickly it can be taken away from you.
My daughter is older and has a son of her own, and really, that my mother is still alive has made my daughter stronger I think. She sees that my mother is a strong woman, that she has been there for all of us and I think we all need that. Just that she has kept going, something like the Energizer bunny... she just keeps going and going.... makes a difference to us all. It gives hope that we all can be like that, keeping active and until this summer, she really didn't slow down. Well... there have been setbacks when she was sick, and days that she didn't want to move out of her chair... but at 87 she has done pretty well. Until the middle of June, she was still driving and coming over to visit and going shopping... though some of her trips were short since she was having problems with her heart. She was still able to be up and around. She has made me realize that there is so much you can do in your life, so much you can live and how quickly it can be taken away from you.
 |
| home made blueberry muffins |
Mom
spent New Year's Eve
with us also. We had blueberry muffins for breakfast (my son has
announced that he really doesn't like muffins, he wants a new tradition
for the holidays... bacon and eggs...) and watched the Rose Bowl Parade,
it
was very nice. It took me back to my childhood when we would be so
excited that
the parade was coming on. We ooed and ahhhhd and my son was actually
kind
of amazed at the floats and the bands and horses and all the hoopla...
This time spent with her is invaluable for my son... he is 10 now, my
grandson is 8 and the time that they share with her will last them all
their
lives. Maybe they can tell their kids something like..."when I was a
kid,
your Great-Grandmother and I watched this parade together."... That
would
be nice. Really nice.
Then all of a sudden it was back to school and
my son's awards, he got three (I had to add that, I am busting at the seams, I
am so proud of him!) Only a four day week but we were soooo ready for the
weekend! I haven't worked much on jewelry or anything for that matter. I am
still trying to catch up and clean up around the house. There seems to be a
clothes monster that came and dropped off all their laundry in my laundry
room..... I don't know who wore all these clothes. I stayed in pajamas for a
whole week (actually two altogether)... my son as well! Somehow the monster
brought in four beds worth of bedding and a months worth of clothes! So
the whole of the house is a wreck and all I can think of is beading :)
.
|
 |
| Two hearts |
The theme of
the bracelet I made for this blog is "two
hearts" . In our case it is many hearts involved... but to me it was my
mom and me. Two hearts... I started it in Valentine's colors without
really thinking about it, it isn't Valentine's, but it really is a
Valentine's... you see, well, my birthday is
the day before Valentine's day, and for a long, long time Mom celebrated
both
my birthday and Valentine's as one. I know that I didn't appreciate the
hearts
and the pink and white back then, I thought I was being gyped out of a
day of
my own... but now, I miss that... I miss that she thought that I was her
Valentine. She used to tell me every year about my birth... what she was
doing
when her water broke (making Valentine’s cards with my sister) and that I
was
her Valentine's Day gift. Well.... It makes me want to cry right now.
Sooo, my mother was the one all these years that
made an impact on me, she made such a difference in my life... and I want to
honor her for all the years that she was there for me... yes, the rough and the
smooth times in our relationship, because without the rain you can't have a
rainbow, without dark you don't appreciate the light. I hope that she is here for
another year or two, but I have been bracing myself for the past ten years or
so, and after the death of my older brother, I really tried to get my head
around the fact that she might not make another year... Cherish each and every
day. Pretend that this is the last day, say I love you time and time again...
when her memory goes and she asks the same question over and over... be patient
and always remember the rainbows.
memories-and-thanks-blog-hop.html
sorry....the link is just above th picture... having so much trouble today...
Adlinah Kamsir Dream Struck Designs
Aimee Biondolillo Aimee's Jewelry Treasures
Alicia Marinache All the Pretty Things
Andra Marasteanu Handmade by Indra Marasteanu
Andrea Trank Heaven Lane Creations
April Grinaway Brooklyn Bead Goddess
Andra Marasteanu Handmade by Indra Marasteanu
Andrea Trank Heaven Lane Creations
April Grinaway Brooklyn Bead Goddess
Barb Solem Vivi Magoo Presents
Becky Pancake Becky Pancake Bead Designs
Beth Emery Stories by Indigo Heart
Bonnie Coursolle Jasper's Gems
Cassi Paslick Beads: Rolling Downhill
Catherine King Catherine's Musings
Cece Cormier The Beading Yogini
Chandra Leitz Juniper Goods
Christina Hickman Vintage Treasures Jewelry
Chrizette Bayman Bead Soup Mix
Cindy Wilson It's My Sea of Dreams
Crystal Thain Here Bead Dragons
Cyndi Lavin Beading Arts
Debbie Rasmussen A little of this, a little of that
Diane Hawkey diane hawkey
Dita Basu ankarshilpa
Donetta Farrington Simply Gorgeous
Dyanne Everett-Cantrell Deeliteful Jewelry Creations
Emma Todd A Polymer Penchant
Erin Kenny beadiful therapy
Erin Prais-Hintz Treasures Found
Gina Hockett Freestyle Elements
Gloria Allen Innovative Dreams Jewelry
Heather Marston CSW Designs
Inge von Roos Inge's Blog
Jacqueline Marchant Fiddledeedee Jewelry
Jami Shipp Celebrating Life!
Jean Yates Snap Out of it Jean, There's Beading to Do!
Jessica Murray Whimsical Monkey
Joan Williams lilruby jewelry
Jo-Ann Woolverton It's a Beadiful Creation
Joanne Browne josjewels1
Jodie Marshall Jodie Marshall Lampwork Beads Wearable Art
JuLee Wolfe The Polymer Penguin
Julie Bean Blue Pig Blog
Karen Mitchell Over the Moon Designs
Kelly Hosford Patterson The Traveling SideShow
Kim Ballor Vitamin C ... A Daily Does of Creativity
Kim Dworak CianciBlue
Laren Dee Barton Laren Dee Designs
Lea Avroch LA Jewelry Designs
Leanne Loftus First Impression Design
Linda Florian Lily's of the Valley Jewelry & Creative Creations
Linda Inhelder Must-Haves Jewelry
Lori Bowring Michaud Artfully Ornamental
Lori Poppe Adventures in Creativity with Lorillijean
LouAnn Elwell Southpass Beads
Mandi Effron Craft-o-licious
Marcia DeCoster MadDesigns
Marcia Dunne The Alternative Foundry
Marie Covert Creating Interest
Marjorie Savill Linthwaite bennubirdrising
Marlene Cupo Amazing Designs by Marlene
Martha Aleo Ornamento
Marti Conrad Marti's Buttons -n- Beads
Mary Ellen Parker BeeTree by m.e.
Mary Govaars MLH Jewelry Designs
Mary Lindell Mary Lindell Artisan Jewelry
Maureen Connolly Mrs Beadsley's Workshop
Maybeline Tay The Jewelry Larder
Melissa Elgin The Addicted Beader
Melissa Mesara one-eared pig beads
Menka Gupta Menka's Jewelry
Michaela Pabeschitz la mar de bonita
Mischelle Fanucchi Micheladas Musings
Mona Rae Baroody Who Does She Bead She Is?
Nan Emmett Spirit Rattles -- Spirited Earth
Nancy Pedersen Something Heartfelt by Nancy
Pam Farren re-maker
Pam, the Crazier Sister The Crazy Creative Corner
Rebecca Sirevaag Becca's Place
Robin Kae Reed Artistry HCBD
Rochelle Brisson a creative chelle
Sabine Dittrich perlendschungel
Sandi Volpe Sandi Volpe
Sandra McGriff Creative Chaos
Serena Trent All Things Made Jewelry
Sharyl McMillian-Nelson Sharyl's Jewelry & Reflections
Sheila Davis Stone Designs
Shelley Graham Turner Fabric of My Life
Sherri Stokey Knot Just Macrame
Sherry Baun Unicorns Jewels
Skylar Bre'z Brising Beads
Stephanie Haussler Pixybug Designs
Tania Spivey Moobie Grace Designs
Terri G. Blooming Ideas
Terry Carter Tapping Flamingo
Terry Matuszyk Pink Chapeau Vintage Jewelry
Tracy Martin Nutkitten's Jewelry
Zia Parks Anzi~Panzi's Work Shoppe
Zoe Marcin Beads, Tea and Sweets
