Tony

Tony and I spent lots of time together after Patti went to college and while his Dad was doing lots of traveling for Rockwell. We had the house to ourselves often.

We ate out and went to some movies. It was during this time when I bought a ten-speed bike. Tony rode it home for me because I had never ridden a bike that had more than one speed! Then Tony taught me how to ride the bike. I really enjoyed that bike. I had a route I rode on a regular basis.

It was time for Tony to apply to colleges. A recruiter from Rose Hulman Institute of Technology visited Marion High. Several of the young men in high school were invited to a dinner with the recruiter and several Rockwell engineers who had graduated from Rose Hulman were there. Tony called the recruiter "Snow Doc."

Tony was sold on Rose Hulman and he applied there. It was where he really wanted to go to school. He also applied to Iowa State in Ames. He was thrilled when he got his letter of acceptance. He received several scholarships, including one from the local Masonic chapter.

When September rolled around, we loaded Tony and his stuff and set out for Terre Haute, Indiana, where Rose Human was located. It was a men's college at that point in time.

He was pretty homesick so we visited several different weekends during the year. I also attended one of the musicals in which Tony had a part. That was fun.

His major was electrical engineering. His first roommate partied quite a lot - Tony cleaned up after him several times. Before too much time passed, Tony changed roommates.

He was active in the Rose Hulman Glee Club; they toured one year giving concerts at Marion Methodist, the Kansas City Christian Church where his uncle and aunt, Bob and Inez Smith attended. They made several other stops on that tour.

Tony said he was told the sophomore year was the hardest. He said he found each of the last three years was the hardest!

Patti

Patti graduated from Marion High School. She chose to attend Buena Vista College in Storm Lake. She auditioned for a music scholarship, which she received. So she packed up to go to college.

It was about a five hour drive. We loaded up the car and the four of us headed out.

Patti's Dad had become a fan of country music. It just happened to be "Loretta Lynn weekend" on the radio station. We listened to many hours of music with a Loretta Lynn song being played every other song.

It was many years before I could listen to a country music station - and I still don't want to listen to Loretta Lynn!! Enough was too much for me!

We got Patti moved in to the dorm. She had a double major in vocal and instrumental music.

We left her there and drove home. We were about ten minutes away when I cried. Tony couldn't figure out why I was crying.

It was hard to let Patti leave the nest. That time comes to all parents, however.

I visited the campus for Mother's weekend. One of the other mothers from Marion drove.

I also visited Buena Vista to see the musical "Guys and Dolls." Patti had a singing part. It is a really fun musical!

Patti transferred to Coe College in Cedar Rapids for the last two years. It was nice to have her back.

She practice taught instrumental music at Marion High. It was fun to watch her direct at one of the concerts.

The Latest Bracelets

I am sorry I haven't been doing much blogging. I decided I would add some of the latest in bracelets so you can see what I am doing.

The single bracelet is made of Swarovski crystal aurora borealis cubes and some antique-looking bead caps. The cubes were ordered for another bracelet I wanted to try. I tried it and didn't like it. So I decided that, since I have always liked these bracelets, I would make myself a bracelet. I like it very much.

The photo with the two green bracelets are "sidewinders" made with Czech green firepolished beads down the center. The each of these bracelets have different small Czech beads on the edges. The lavendar bracelet is called a "helix bracelet." It is the second one I have made.

The red, silver and black bracelet is made using seed beads and a square stitch. It was my first attempt at designing this type of bracelet. I learned some things and will make another, making use of what I learned on the first one.

The third picture (regardless where it is on the page) has a bangle bracelet and the aqua bracelet is a spiral pattern using several sizes of seed beads. I like it and plan to make another one in different colors.

I tried my hand at a triple spiral. It doesn't spiral exactly correctly. So I am going to have to try another bracelet to see if I can figure out what I did wrong.

That's it for this time. Tune again!

A Reason, A Season.....

Someone said that people come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. We've all wondered about this at one time or another. Probably many more times than once, over a lifetime.

Son Tony came home, after visiting the home of a new friend Jim and told me I really needed to meet his new friend's mother because she was really, really nice.

I took his adice and became acquainted with his friend's mom. Nancy was really a sweet lady.

Our families became friends and we spent some time together for several years. Jim was a year older than Tony and Jim's sister, Dawn, was probably four or five years younger than he was.

One Thanksgiving it snowed and ruined this family's plan to go out of town. So we packed up our dinner - turkey, potatoes, gravy and all the trimmings - and took it over to their home.

When we first got acquainted, Nancy was in remission from cancer. As the years passed, the remission went away. The cancer was back.

I was working half days so I visited her every afternoon at her home. When she went to the hospital, I stopped at the hospital every day after I got off work. Chuck would pick me up and we both visited her.

We went to visit Tony at Rose Hulman College in Terre Haute, Indiana, for the weekend. We had a good visit with Tony and his friends.

While we were away, Nancy passed on Friday evening. The funeral was on Sunday. We were driving home that Sunday. It was difficult to find closure.

So a reason - a season?

Family Dinners

Wednesday evening we attend "Food Court" at our church. Some of the women of the church prepare meals from September through May. It is a nice meal and only costs $4 for adults.

This past Wednesday, Patti and Michael brought 6-year-old Lynsie and 2-year-old Teygan. The girls' Mama, Jessica, joined us. The food was good and the fellowship was wonderful!

This brought back memories of Sunday family dinners at home when I was growing up. It was always a time to catch up with the happenings in my brothers' lives.

Mom provided good food and we all joined inthe fellowship and fun. My brothers liked to tease me, especially when I was a teenager. They made comments about any boyfriend I had at that time.

When I went away to college, the regular family dinners became more sporadic. Brother Bill moved to Colorado, Dick moved to Arizona and Bob moved to Kansas City, I believe. Then when I started teaching school, we moved to Junction City, Kansas. So these family dinners usually happened in the summertime.

Those family times then , as these times now, give us all a chance to make wonderful memories.

Lampwork jewelry

My first work using Melissa's lampwork beads. I also used Swarovski crystal, Czech pearls and seed beads. I made this one for me.

I am posting this because the creator of the lampwork beads is having a contest. Who knows, I might win something!

Christmas gifts 2010

Top is a gift set for Jessica. Second from top a gift set for Lisa.

The necklace below is another gift for me (from me). The set below is mine made with lampwork beads and Swarovski crystals.

I find joy in creating and giving beautiful jewelry to family and friends.