And so it Is .....

The past few days have been so long .... I have gone to bed with Pat on my mind and when I awake my first thought has been "did he pass in the night." This morning I got the call, his wonderful daughter in law Jana called at 10:00, he passed early this morning ... 3:30, my mom passed at 3:00 am. There is something about the 3 am hour that is conducive to death. I will have to investigate.

Wednesday morning I called the hospital to check on him, he was very agitated and refusing any and all medications and food. His only desire was to have water. As the day drew to a close he was quiet and resting and slowly slipping away ... so I thought. Thursday morning I went in to see him about 10:00 and he was awake, alert his family was there at his side and he was being evaluated by Hospice in order to return to his home. Before I left I gave him another hug and a kiss and told him who I was, he was so excited to have me there ... we both cried. I received an email from Jana late last night explaining they had finally transported him home, there were a few problems with his oxygen but he was finally settled in his own room, with the quilt I had made he and Dee covering him he was resting quiet.

Jana received the call from Hospice in the wee hours of the morning that he had passed. He was finally in a quiet space, in his own home and made his passage from this life to the next. I am confident the his "spicy" his term, wife was waiting  for him hollering "what took you so long Pat, I've been waiting forever!" 

As I have said before, my own dad passed away when I was just 29. Pat had become a surrogate father to me and grandfather to my two kids. He will be so missed, he is the last of a dying breed in my life. 

Farewell sweet man, farewell ....

Another Goodbye ....

I guess I should be getting better at saying goodbye but I'm not. Honestly, I think I'm getting worse. After a relatively quite and uneventful long weekend I was up bright and early this morning and out running errands. I went on line to check my emails and had a message that caused alarm. It read "Pat's in St. Judes, he's not doing well, can you come." I immediately went over to see what had happened. I had spoken to him just last Thursday and he was all fired up over a stocks issue and was sharp as a tack in our conversation.

 

When I walked in his room he was searching for some water and frustrated with a buzzing machine. You know how hospitals are, there is always something blinking or buzzing. I was alarmed at his appearance, tubes going in and out, monitors attached to his chest, forehead and fingers and he was so thin. Once things got in control again I found out he had been brought in last Friday due to shortness of breath and his heart was pounding out of his chest. At 93 years years old Pat is done fighting the battle. His wife, Dee passed last November and he told me she's waiting for him to get there.  Pat is legally blind and very hard of hearing, I'm sure life doesn't hold much interest for him any longer. It doesn't make it any easier for those he's leaving behind.

 

By the time I left his entire family was there to meet with Hospice for an evaluation. Fortunately for me I had a nice long visit with him and an opportunity to say my good byes. He is one of the few left of a dying breed of men. He was one of the "Greatest Generation."

Americana Decoration Day!!

Good Morning and Happy Memorial Day! This is my official day to decorate with the Red, White and Blue, my favorite decorations of the entire year and they are up the longest ... from now until after 9-11. I have only begun ... it will take me a few weeks of tweaking to get it just right! I hope you enjoy my little photo journey and get inspired to add some Americana spirit to your own home!

 

 

I hope you enjoyed my snaps of Americana! Have an awesome day.



A Memorial Tribute .....

As Memorial Day quickly approaches the TV has been saturated with WWII movies, Veterans and other various specials. Once again I found myself thinking about my own family and their contribution to the US Military. My great-great Uncle Phillip Geiger served in the Civil War, every year his grave is marked by a group of veterans who remember those fallen from the Civil and Revolutionary wars. My grandfather served in France during WWI where he received the Bronze Star for being wounded in battle. My dad served in the Pacific Theater during WWII and was assigned as part of the clean up after the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan and my Uncle Leonard who served in Europe primarily after the war had been declared over. I am sure each of these men had ideas as to why they were there of which I will never fully know. However, I do know they were proud men and proud to serve their country.

 

My Dad ... he looks so young, innocent and handsome! My son looks like my dad, sad they never got to know each other.

His collection of battle ribbons and the flag that draped his coffin at the time of his burial over 30 years ago.

And finally his military bugle. He blew Rivalee and Taps every morning and night ... I'm so happy I have it has a fond memory of his service to our country.

Don't forget to say a prayer for our men in service and a silent thank you to those that served to make ours a great nation ....



93 Never Looked so Good!!

Oh what a wonderful day. I presented a Longaberger party today for  a long time customer, Barb. Along with the party we also celebrated her mom Jewel's 93 birthday.

 

Isn't she just precious! Jewel is a sharp as a tack, perfect hearing and an amazing sense of humor. She loves a party .... especially when they are for her. She is holding a Mary Jane candy, these are very old school and hard to chew! Since they are one of Jewels all time favorites Barb had them on every table, no way could I chew on one, I'd pull the fillings right out of my teeth!  Both ladies loves flowers, vegetable gardens, wild birds and their back yard. IT was just a perfectly beautiful Spring day, perfect for a Longaberger garden party!

May is Americana month for the Longaberger Co. Just last Monday Longaberger announced the return of Woven Traditions pottery being made in America ... what a perfect time to celebrate the Red, White and Blue!

Barb set an Americana table ...

 

We served Chicken Divan, Olive bread and a delicious Strawberry - Spinach salad ... oh so yummy. Pictured are Jeannie - Barb;s daughter, Barb and her sister Janice who is visiting from N. Carolina. Her accent and "southern" sayings are a hoot!

Look at Jewel go!! She had no trouble blowing out her candles. I made her favorite cake - a spice cake with cream cheese icing. I baked it in the new Longaberger Flameware Braiser, it came out absolutely beautiful. The entire cake came clean out of the pan, our new cookware is so awesome!

As a special treat Janice and Barb made everyone a bag of home made Carmel corn! Oh my, it was the best I have ever had!

Barb's husband Harry even got in on the celebration. He used his computer skills to make these tags to tie on each bag of Carmel corn, so cute!

Three generations of Nickson women ... Barb, Jeannie, Jewel and Janice. These ladies absolutely adore their mom and grandmother. With the care they give her I expect Jewel will be here well into her century mark!

My favorite picture! Jewel got the giggles and we were lucky enough to catch it all on film!

Happy 93 Birthday to a very special lady!

 



Getting Some Quilting projects Completed!

I always feel so accomplished when I finish a project. My long arm quilter, Susie called me this week to let me know she had finished my quilts. I'm always an eager beaver so I was there the next morning to pick up my goods. I finished putting the binding on two table runners and took a quick picture ... or two to share with you!

 

I possibly have a buyer for both runners! However, if they don't sell I think the Americana one will live at my house!! That is the problem I have with making things to sell, I never want to part with them when they're finished!

This little Uncle Sam hat is the second in a series made by the Longaberger Co. Last year they issued a larger version of the same styled hat. I just love the miniatures and think it looks so perfect with my runner.

I love Americana decor' and this time of year. As Memorial Day approaches I start getting the itch to pull out the Red, White and Blue. Today, May 23 is my dad's birthday, had he lived beyond 55 years he would be 87 today. He is where I get my love of Americana and my patriotism. He served in WWII and NEVER had a harsh word to say about this country. No matter which President was in office he gave his unwavering support. I miss him terribly and find it so hard to believe he has been gone 32 years. In his memory I began my decorating today.

Love you dad ....



An Engagement Celebration .....

It is official .... Tiffany and her fiance' have selected a place for their wedding and a date. Joe and I hosted an engagement party for the two of them on Sunday. It was such a wonderful day, several of my long time dear friends were here to congratulate the two of them as well as our family priest Father Kelly. Fr. Kelly turns 85 years young today and will be departing for Ireland soon to spend 7 weeks with his family on the emerald isle. He received strict instructions from Tiffany to take care of himself as he needs to be the officiate at her April 6, 2014 wedding. Fr. Kelly has been in my life since I was 13 years old. He baptized my father as an adult, married myself and the father of my two children, baptized both of my children, and sadly buried both of my parents. He was so pleased that Tiffany asked him to be the priest to marry her ... and so was I.

 

Joe and Fr. Kelly enjoying a chat

The happy couple keeping the good padre on his feet!

A view of the Pacific Ocean from the Wedgewood San Clemente Reception site ... such a beautiful location.

As you may recall Shawn proposed to Tiffany with these beautiful shoes and her ring tied to the shoe. The theme of their engagement party centered around "A pair of shoes can change a girls life!!"

The tables were set up ....

 

It All Began with a Shoe ....

A gallery of engagement pictures ....

Antonio and his portable taco cart! Oh my gosh these were so good ... chicken, pork and carne asada soft tacos with beans and rice, and I didn't have to cook! Woo Hoo

And for dessert, a delicious Tiffany blue cake, yum, yum

Tiffany and Shawn, the happy couple.

 

 Tiffany and Donna, her confirmation sponsor and good friend to the family.

Misty, Tiffany's maid of honor - Shawn and his best man Jeff.

 Captain was our youngest guest, 9 months old and just an adorable little boy. His daddy is the best man!

Gayle has been part of Tiffany;s life before Tiffany was a twinkle in my eye. McKenzie center and Rick with Shawn.

Is this little red car just the cutest ever!! Our wonderful friends Penny and Bob drove this to the party and I was so excited to get a picture of the kids with the car. Tiffany had to fold her legs up like an accordion to get them into the drivers seat! This is a 1929 Ford, people were just a lot smaller in those days?

It was such a great day with long time friends joining us to congratulate the kids on their commitment to a life with each other. Thanks for coming!!



A Day in the Life of the Amish ...

Finally, a morning we were able to sleep in! We boarded our bus at 9:30 am and after my morning stop at McDonald's we were headed on down the highway headed for Hershberger's Truck Farm. This is always a favorite stop for the ladies and I couldn't let them down! Besides a huge selection of pastries, candies and produce they also have an elderly Amish gentleman hovering over a huge black cauldron making fresh kettle corn! As soon as our bus door opened the smell of popping corn floated inside, even if you're not hungry you're soon ready for some kettle corn! Also on the grounds is a petting zoo, Amish buggy rides, hand made toys, and purebred puppies for sale .... no, we didn't bring any home with us!

 

This McDonald's was just a mile down the road from our hotel in Sugarcreek! Now keep in mind I wasn't the only one with a Micky D's addiction! Paula was in need of a Sweet Tea, Teri wanted a Diet Coke and a couple other gals were in need of some Frappe's!

 

A yummy Vanilla Iced Coffee! It's so tasty it made my green braids curl! Woo hoo!!

This is Saturday morning going through the heart of Berlin. Traffic, traffic, traffic! And they think California has traffic jams, at least we don't have to tangle with horse drawn buggies!!

 

See what I'm sayin!! An Amish traffic jam! It was Saturday and this is the big day for the locals to get out and do their shopping, visiting etc ....

Isn't this so cool! The buggies are all lined up in front of a store very similar to a mini Walmart! Check these fellas out, they even have a shopping cart to load up the buggy. Here's a bit of Amish fact, do you see that most of the buggies have an orange marker on the back? The 3rd one from the left does not. The Amish have ordinals, a pecking order of sorts. The lowest order are called the Schwartzentruber Amish. They do not use the orange markers as they were not used in the old times. The man in the darker straw hat is a Schwartzentruber as well. This ordinal paints their homes white and barns are red. They have only dirt driveways, pump their water by hand, wood burning stoves, the women wear only black and use straight pins to keep their clothes together. No buttons, no zippers.

We had lunch in a level 6 home which was very modern in appearance but still no electricity, later we visited Mary a level 1 Amish and the difference in the way they lived was shocking. The schwartzentruber Amish are very strict and automobiles are not allowed on their property. However, because Mary has two handicapped boys she weaves baskets, sells eggs, makes bread and jellies to assist in paying for their special needs.

Caleb is one of Mary's sons. He was working hard in the chicken coop when we arrived. He was as interested in us as we were in him. Caleb suffers from mild retardation and has very noticeable motor skills issues. He is a product of the level one Amish marrying to close genetically. So sad.

 

After enjoying a delicious meal at the Amish home of Sara Hershberger our Amish guide Jonas took us to the back roads, far off the beaten path of the tourists and shared his "Holmes" county. One of our stops was a first for me! We visited the original home of Jonas Stutzman. Jonas was the first Amish to come the Ohio and settle in Holmes county.

Here is the Stutzman family home just as stood over 200 years ago!

 

 

 After winding through narrow, rolling roads that we needed to share with many Amish buggies we finally made it to this quaint quilt shop. These quilts were amazing, all hand done in true Amish style. The prices were quite hefty so I don't think any of them made it on our bus. These were all done by  level one Amish women with no assistance from a sewing machine! Yikes, I can not begin to imagine!!

After we finished our day touring Holmes County it was again time to head south to Columbus to our hotel. As we passed the beautiful green rolling hills of Ohio we saw so many Canadian Geese. They were on their way north as the Canadian cold weather is slowing warming. Many of them had goslings and they were so darn cute and fast. I tried to capture a picture but just couldn't do it! These geese mate for life, the Drake and the Gander hover closely over their brood and chase anything off that tries to get to close. These beautiful geese are not to welcome to the locals ... they are very noisy, messy (poop everywhere and don't clean up after themselves) and many time wear out their welcome by staying too long!

 

Well, we are all home now with only pictures and fond memories of our trip.



Ohio Tour Day #2

Day 2 found our motor coach winding through the hills of Holmes County as we headed south to visit everything Longaberger.

Amy and I on board the coach greeting our guests and readying for departure!

By 8:45 am we pulled into the Retired Basket Shoppe to begin our shopping expedition! The gals has specifically requested a visit to this shop ... Amy and I aim to please so stop we did! After departing with large sums of money from our wallets our next stop was the Longaberger Crawford Barn to weave some baskets!! We had two brand new gals weaving for the first time so I was sure to hang around and capture a few photos.

Look at the concentration on Ms Marie's face ... she is determined to learn how to weave.



Look at her go!! She is already weaving like a pro!!

 

Our second newbee is Ms Teri!! Teri is a long time friend of Amy's from California. She had such a great time on the trip and absolutely loved weaving her very own basket. Her weaver is really giving instructions!!

 

Here are our only mother/daughter team this trip! Front is Emma and back is Gloria. These to are such a hoot and experienced Longaberger travelers. They have both made the trip a couple of times in the past. It was great having them join us again.

In January 2013 Tami Longaberger announced Project Eagle. What this is, is a commitment to bringing the line of Woven Traditions Pottery production back to the United States. She projected a year to 18 months for this to occur .... little did she know that by May 20th, next Monday they would be participating in a Ribbon Cutting ceremony in Buffalo, New York to open the very first ever Longaberger pottery manufacturing campus in the United States. Woo hoo! More jobs for Americans!

Sitting dead center in the Longaberger At Home shop is this huge flag made of Red, White and Blue Medium Market Baskets!

Another display of our pottery and the steps and tools it takes to create them ....

Back in 1896 Daddy John Longaberger supported his new bride, Carrie Longaberger by weaving "Ware" baskets like pictured above. The original ware baskets were woven from Maple and Oak with steel reinforced up straps.

On the back side of the flag is a map of the United States .... I placed a star in the spot where I live and will be hosting a picnic in June. If you are interested in joining me just drop me an email at baskets4anita@aol.com!!

Like the message above says .... Join Us (me) in bringing Jobs back to America!

 Tomorrow we tour the back roads of Holmes County with our guide Jonas!!