Photo Challenge Day 10: A Childhood Memory

When assigned a task that involves memories as a teenager or child, it's hard for me to think of something suitable.  I don't always remember things before I was about 20, and there are plenty of reasons for that.  There are, however, some things that were constant enough in childhood that memories of their presence (if not memories of specific instances) are clear.  And so when given the task of photographing a "childhood memory," there was one item that stood out to me.  I knew what I needed to photograph.

My blanket.

When I was born, my great-grandmother made this blanket for me.  As I got older, I realized that she made a number of similar blankets for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren until we either grew too numerous or she grew too tired.  My sister has a blanket, also made by Great-Grandma, but it is different: pinks and squares much smaller, not a long, perfect nap sized blanket of children around the world.

I love this blanket.  When I went away to college, this blanket came with me.  It, along with another blanket my mother gave me for college, have followed me everywhere.  They are old and tattered, but well-loved.  The people in this blanket are missing pieces of hats or jumpers, but the seams are still solid, a miracle after so many decades.

Perhaps this blanket is one of the reasons I quilt for new babies.  I want them to know that someone loved them -- or even the idea of them -- so much that the love was poured into something timeless, something they can keep forever.  And after all, everyone needs a nap blanket.

The phone works both ways...or does it?

Last week I came to the conclusion that I would need to allow my relationship with The Cougar to end.  And although the twelve-months-ago me would have argued vehemently against this relationship ever ending, the last week me knew it was the right thing to do -- just not how to do it.  How does one pull out the cords from lives that have been completely intertwined for years?  (Sometimes, I wish that life came with a life's-messy-problems-seam-ripper.)  After a bit of thought, a bit of talking with an amazing woman I really respect, and a bit of input from Honey (who tends to remain very grounded, especially during my flighty moments), I decided that the best way to let this particular tapestry by The Fates dissolve would be to just not initiate anything on my side of the friendship.

Today I realized that I haven't heard from The Cougar in over a week.

I'm not sure what that means on her end, but I think that it means that my policy of not initiating -- not making sure she has someone to talk to after work, inviting her over for meals, making sure things are taken care of and she has the support to get through life -- is working on my end. The tapestry is dissolving before my eyes.

I have decided to let a quote attributed to Dr. Seuss be my motto in terms of this relationship: Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.


For me, it truly seems over, although I imagine there will be a state of flux for several months at least. (Of course I imagined that last week and look at how that turned out, so maybe I'm through the flux already.)  This is one relationship where I will still be able to look at old pictures and smile and laugh because the memories are good.  It's just that sometimes memories are not enough to keep something moving in the right direction. And sometimes, when on life's journey with a friend, it's okay to look at a fork in the road and decide to go in separate directions.

I read a quote on Pinterest recently and the quote really resonated with me (I wish I knew who wrote or said it): At some point, you have to realize that some people can stay in your heart but not in your life.


So bear with me for a while as I get nostalgic. Learning to let go is a lesson I have not yet mastered, but it seems that every year I get a chance to work on it a bit more.

Random Ramblings

Honey has the camera this week just in case Austin, Texas, provides an opportunity for some good pictures.  (Can we say "More inspirational greeting cards!"? I knew we could! :-)  It is, perhaps, a good thing that the camera is gone because it means that I can't get too sidetracked by finding new projects to do when I should be working.  It does, however, mean that I can't post my own photos as I blog.

I thought about forgoing blogging for the week, but then a better idea surfaced.  Why not just talk about a few things I like?  Maybe find some matching pictures?  Yeah.  That's a good idea.

The feeling of nostalgia struck me again this evening when I was putting a few things away.  I saw a picture of me and Honey from ten years ago -- our engagement picture.  Has it really been that long?  Sometimes it's hard to imagine a whole decade has passed (or just about -- June will be the official engagementversary).  For the first six years or so we did not spent a single night apart.  Then a marketing position called, complete with travel, and we got used to spending time apart.  We also got a dog.

Lotus made the house seem less empty, something our herd of cats didn't quite do (even though I love them with all my heart).

I miss my Honey when we're apart.  We often joke that we're Nick & Nora Charles.

I do believe that this gin-swilling, crime-fighting duo was actually me and Honey in a previous (albeit imaginary) past life.  Confession: If we ever attended a costume party, we'd be Nick & Nora. (Yes, Carrie, I know this is no surprise to you! :-)  Since we don't tend to circulate in areas where costume parties are the norm, I am content to just dream.  And decorate our theater room in Nick & Nora prints. (<-- That's confession #2.)

We watch The Thin Man (and the other films in this 1930s and 40s detective series) several times a year.  That's pretty incredible for a couple who doesn't really watch films at all!  We just love this story and the way the couple interacts.  It doesn't matter how many times I've seen The Thin Man, watching it again...and again...and again...makes me happy.  That is why when I first met my two youngest furry babies, I knew what their names would be: Nick & Nora.

What better name for two adorable black and white kitties, right?  (I have other furry babies, too, but let's focus on this story today.)  And now every time I see them I am reminded of the film that Honey and I adore, something that makes us happy.  (Yes, I'm aware that's a bit obsessive.)

There is one other film that brings nearly the same enjoyment: the 1956 classic The Court Jester.

It took years for me to convince Honey to watch it.  Perhaps that was because I compared it to The Princess Bride and said that in my mind the two movies were quite similar because they were cheesy and poked fun at other films and were very funny and fun to watch.  Honey did not originally like The Princess Bride (that has changed now, but it was a long battle!) and so the idea of an old musical that could be similar was not initially appealing.

That resistance seems so long ago now.  Honey loves this movie and sometimes suggests it to me because I love it, too.  In fact, it's a film that my whole family loves.  That is one of the reasons why when a number of the siblings decided to get similar or matching tattoos, we decided on the Purple Pimpernel.  (Watch the movie!)

I do love tattoos, although I only have a few (including tattooed eyeliner -- best tattoo ever!).  My latest was a lotus flower:

We chose it for its symbolism, but it is also special to me because it reminds me of the best dog in the whole world.

Can't have too many pictures of adorable babies, right?

Now I am considering my next tattoo.  I keep thinking that I can't just have something for my dog and nothing for my cats.  So I am thinking that I should perhaps get a tiny paw print on my chest, over my heart.  We shall see.  But I feel it's time for a little more ink.  Maybe that's the way I'll celebrate when I'm finally done with this dissertation.

Using Mod Podge reminds me of Grama

A few weeks ago, toward the end of January, I bought a box of Christmas ornaments on clearance for around $0.35.

I couldn't resist the price and knew that I could think of something to do with them.  I just didn't know what at the time.  What would I do with green ornaments?  I don't tend to decorate for the holidays since we're always on vacation at that time, and I don't use this shade of green for anything.  And so the ornaments sat for a while.

They sat until I was digging around in my fabric box looking for something to finish another project and I came across some scraps of colorful, sheer-like fabric.  A woman I know was going through her dress-making stage and gave me all of her scraps for my quilting projects, but this material was just not suitable for quilting.  It was too pretty to just toss, even if the scraps were small, so I hung onto it hoping to find a solution.

That was when I remembered my grandmother, "Grama," and her love of Mod Podge.  When I was very young she took a cardboard reindeer mold and showed me how to mod podge Christmas fabric onto it to create a decoration.  That was fun.  I wonder if I could do that with ornaments...

I removed the gold cap and used my little finger to hold the ornament as I brushed it with Mod Podge.

Yes, my fingers are always covered in spray paint.

I took a piece of scrap fabric, about 4"x6" or so, and cut it into tiny pieces (small piece work well because they wrap around the ball a bit better).

I placed each small piece on the ornament and covered it with Mod Podge.  The pieces of fabric overlapped like a collage.

It took a while, so I only made three...for now.

One of my brothers asked why I was doing this because it seemed like a waste of time.  I said "Some people like this sort of thing."  He was too little to remember all of Grama's Mod Podge projects, so I don't expect him to understand the sentimentality of such a project.  It was fun for me.

I used Mod Podge for another craft this weekend, one that I've been meaning to do for a long time: make  coasters.  I had leftover tile from my chalkboard coaster project that I made as Christmas gifts for a few people.  (I was really obsessed with chalkboard spray paint in November and December, but that's another story.)  Using the tile, pretty paper, Mod Podge, and some Anita's Polyurethane Sealant, I set about making some coasters as gifts.

Many people in BlogLand create coasters.  If anyone has discovered the secret to keep the paper from bubbling, please let me know!  I think I only achieved that about 50% of the time and have no idea why some coasters bubbled and others did not.

Regardless, it was a fun and easy project, even if it took a long time for things to dry between coats.  If they really turn out, then I'll add them to the gift box in the closet -- I always need a small supply of gifts on hand. One never knows when one might suddenly need a gift!

I'm linking here:

Flew-Wa-Ditties and The Great White Beast

For several days, the weather-guessers have made dire predictions about a late-season freak snowstorm hitting our Valley area the end of the week.  We all knew not to hold our breath -- we've been lied to before about snow.  We live in the Pacific Northwest, which means that we don't see much snow.  The exception was a snowstorm two years ago that dumped massive amounts of snow and shut everything down for a couple weeks.

This was still early on in the snowstorm of 2008-9.

Snow can be bad here because we're not prepared, but what makes things really treacherous is the ice.  I think we'll have plenty of that tonight because our current snow is melting but the prediction is we'll be well below 20 degrees tonight.  Icky!

Last night I had to pull another long night in a series of long nights, staying up until 2AM to make a deadline for an editing job.  At 2AM we did not have snow.  When I got up at 6:30 this morning, this is the sight that greeted my tired eyes:

We live in a hilly area and it was icy enough this morning that today was officially a snow day.  Perhaps the rest of the country is sick of hearing that, but for me it was great -- a cancellation of meetings, a time to get caught up on work and maybe even get a nap on this first snow day of the year.

Nora and I both like the view from the front window.

This view is why we bought this house.

Nora is fascinated by snow.

As I sit and type, the snow is slowly melting because the sun is out.  It is beautiful.  And it does make me wonder if we will actually have more snow as predicted.



Yesterday I called my sister to bemoan the fact that every time I hear we may have snow I get my hopes up only to have them dashed.  The weather-guessers really have no idea what's going on, it seems.  This makes me miss my grandpa, Bumpy.  If there was one thing that he knew, it was weather.

Bumpy was a funny old man, always teasing, bringing donuts "for the kids," working long hours in his yard (until he was too old to continue that).  He had his own vocabulary -- whatchamacalits, flew-wa-ditties, doo-wa ditties, fahaberdauberfaber, weather-guessers, wingnuts and dingbats.  He also had his own turn of phrase, like "Believe it or else."  "Or else what, Bumpy?" "Or else don't believe it!"

 We called him Bumpy because one of my little sisters couldn't say his name or say "grandpa" when she was little; she called him Bumpy and it stuck.  It's hard to think of him as anyone else; as hard, in fact, as "putting rollerskates on a mosquito."

If we ever wondered about the weather, Bumpy would let us know what to expect.  He would explain the weather patterns -- sometimes, if we were good and nice and paying attention -- and he was never wrong.

Yesterday as I read countless weather reports I found myself wishing that my Bumpy was here because he would tell me if the weather-guessers were right.

Bumpy passed away eleven years ago.  Of course I've missed him over the years -- especially when a big storm threatens to roll into town and I want to know what will really happen -- but I find myself more nostalgic than usual right now.  This could have to do with my Grama's recent passing.  With the two of them gone, it's the end of an era.

And while they both were old and sick and had memory issues and we all knew it was time, our memories of them in their prime are still alive and well.  In our rough childhoods filled with many unpleasant (and downright unhappy) memories, Bumpy and Grama were the highlights of our young existence.  It is on days like today that I wish we could go see them, have a snowball fight in the backyard, and come inside to drink Ovaltine and have toast. (Hmmm, is this where I get my obsession with toast?)

Grama in the 80s 

Bumpy in the 80s (I think)

Bumpy and Grama, I miss you.