Losing Dianne

 I guess I knew that Dianne was not doing too well.  We haven't physically seen each other for many years and yet spoke online almost every day through Facebook, messages or phone calls.  I remember thinking about a week or so ago that I hadn't heard from her in a while and "I need to call"....  Then last night as I was cooking supper Jerry said "Listen to me.  I'm trying to tell you something!" .. sigh .. "Dianne Nash has died."  I couldn't catch my breath.  

I met Tom and Dianne Nash around 2005 at a Ranger Reunion in San Antonio, TX.  Their daughter Kim had died just a few months earlier and while they were as upbeat as they could be, the sadness was palpable.  We liked each other, but it was not an "instant bond" thing.  Then as time went on and we came across each other on facebook and talked via messenger and phone calls, we became friends. 

Tom and Dianne would take trips to New Mexico almost every year and the year we built our new house (2011) in Sherman, TX they made a special effort to stop to see us.  

We had just moved into our new home and had barely emptied all the boxes.. lol  It was so fun to have them with us.  Out to dinner, shopping in the antique stores...Tom going to Jerry's coffee klatch with him.  They only stayed one day and left the next morning, but what fun.  

Over the years we followed all the fun, the pride in our husbands, the Ranger reunions, the Ranger newsletter, sharing crafts and books...Tom wrote poetry and we had a shared interest in certain kinds of books.  Jerry edited the newsletter and Tom was President of the Ranger Association...both spent a lot of time encouraging all their buddies and helping with VA paperwork. What a team they were.  

Tom died in 2021 and left a hole in our hearts..and now Dianne.  Sleep well, Dear Friends. 

Look What I Found!

Back in 2003, my sweet DH and I attended a reunion of the LRRP Rangers in San Antonio, TX.  What a time we had!  I met some of the most wonderful people I have ever known. Fun, fun, fun!  One of the other wives and I wandered off down the River Walk and came across a guy sitting out in the sun doing pastel caricatures.  I just had to do it.. ;o)  And a couple of days ago I came across this stashed in one of the guest room closets.  I love it...lol  Just as he was finishing up, Karin was standing there hurrying us up... poor guy did a great job anyway...

Odds N Ends...

I bought these little chatzkies...the bird and the vase... at the reunion auction. I just wish I knew who brought them..! I will have to ask Uncle Bobby if he remembers.





We've been working in the shop. DH bought a router and yesterday made a perfect circle faceplate for a clock. He is thrilled! and me too, of course..lol Today will be the true test... oak. More on that later....

I decided to try my hand at pattern weaving.... just not in too big a way at first. This pocket weaving was just the right size and worked out fine. This kind of weaving is not nearly as hard as I thought. The next one will be on the rigid heddle loom and will probably be a wall hanging.

It's been raining a bit here in North Texas. A little cloudy today and cool. Hope it stays this way for a while.....

Happy Labor Day

Well, it's that cool down time of the year again. Lovely and green but with cooler mornings and evenings.

The reunion was wonderful. My sister Leisa was there looking lovely as usual. (She's a Mary Kay Consultant!) There were people there that I had not seen since I was "knee high to a grasshopper"... as my dad would say. Aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins and on down the line...lol There was just not enough time to spend with each one...Seems like I got to see everyone and visit with no one...ya know what I mean? But will surely try to go from now on...lol

I'm sorry to say (but not...lol) that my diet went on hiatus for the day. Uncle Harry grows paw paws and his wife Sue made some wonderful Paw Paw bread that was luscious. He had some seeds and I sure enough missed getting some...sigh Uncle Bobby made Vinegar Pie and that right there shot my diet for a week. Do love that stuff!! Aunt Elva said that her grandmother (Great Grandmother Angel) always made Vinegar Pie.... did not know that. Saw my cousin David (whose father was my mother's brother and his mother is my grandmother's niece... figure that one out..lol) for the first time since our kids were small and let me tell you that I almost fell off the step when I heard his youngsters call him Grandpa... All in all a wonderful day... just way too short.

Reunion Eggs & a Clock

It seems like forever since I have posted...and I guess it has been. It seemed a good idea to skip a week of going to Tulsa to the chiropractor. Some days I think it is helping and other days not... Mostly not, I guess, if I really want to be honest about it. I think I am in deep denial about carpal tunnel in my wrist and elbow because that would mean a drastic cut in all the things I really like to do... Anyway, one way or another we will find out soon.

Time is drawing near for the family reunion. I have not been for so long that no one can remember the last time I went... that is too sad. Anyway, we will be going this year. There is always an auction on Sunday afternoon to help pay for the newletter and things and everyone who wishes can bring something to auction off. These are what I have been working on for the last couple of days. This afternoon I will finish the stands and then all that will be left will be to let the finish cure a bit.

This clock is the first project nearing completion since we started back to work in the shop. This is one of DH's designs and it is now waiting in my workroom to have something painted on the bottom of pendulum area. He really wants it to be my little snail and mushroom (I really am going to have to give that little doodle a name at some point!) but I haven't figured out yet how to spread it across the area without making it look like a caricature cartoon... That will be this afternoon's second project...

It'a a little cloudy outside this afternoon, but nothing in the forecast about rain...as if that means anything here in Texas..lol The workmen are back and working on the shop trying to finish it up at last. It seems that the rains took so long to stop that it has been forever ... then the contractor had problems of his own. Sure hoping this is the last bit of that job... sigh

I hope everyone is having a good week. Hugs...

The Sun Is Out!

The sun is actually shining for the first time in a week. The unending gray days seem to have had an effect on everyone's mood... mine included. It has been several days since I have blogged. I guess it was just brain blahs... I have not worked on any crafting, sewing (or much of anything), but this sunshine seems to have lifted our spirits. And all the rain forecasts for next week have been totally changed to sunshine...wowww!

Our plans have changed and it looks like we will not be going to the LRRP/Ranger Reunion this year. It seems the older we get the more little health issues come up and "the best plans of mice and men are often set awry." We will miss seeing everyone this year... the laughing, the camaraderie.. but there will be next year in San Francisco.