Daddy

To my Daddy----I love you!

Office Supplies

This weekend, one of my brothers is here. Our task for these couple of days is to clean out my dad's office-certainly not something I've been looking forward to. Just as cleaning my mom's closet and sewing room were painful for me, I knew my dad's office would be a hard thing to do because it was such an important place to him. But instead, it hasn't been so bad. Don't get me wrong---it has been pretty overwhelming. But, it was so much easier to have Don here to help me. My dad was a super organized person (I can't figure out how that gene seems to have completely missed me) and everything in the office has been carefully filed away. There is just so MUCH of everything! His entire work history of the last 50+ years has been stored up there. Yet, because he loved his job so much, it seems that every nook and cranny is filled with a piece of him---things that have been fun to look through and reminisce about.

We used to get to help him cut electrical logs, glue them together and fold them. Then he used colored pencils to color code the layers of rock, etc. indicating where gas and oil were located.

One of my favorite things in his office (other than the desk chair that my brothers used to spin me in) was the telephone directory. I thought the way it operated was such a neat invention.And both of us remember the leather paperweights used on the drafting tables. And how about these drafting table brushes?! Many of the maps in the map-room were printed on some form of mylar, and the hand-lettering and coloring were done with pen and ink.
There were map pins . . .
a whole BOX full of pink pearl erasers! . . .and every sort of measuring and map tool . All these tools from days gone by . . . I wonder what it is that our children and grandchildren will find special? What tools will be unique and different and remind them of times they spent with us?

Some Days Are Just Like That!

It doesn't happen often to me. I generally am able to keep my emotions in check pretty well. While I feel things deeply, I rarely cry around other people. But, some days are just different. Maybe it is just the fact that there have been too many hard things happening in too short of time. Or just the fact that I sometimes feel overwhelmed by everything that needs to get done and can't seem to make much of a dent in it. Or maybe it's just the simple fact that I miss my daddy. Seems like the past few days, all I've wanted to do is call him and tell him what's going on. So, this evening when my very good friend, D, asked me "How are you doing?" I got all teary. I totally wasn't expecting it---and I really am okay. But, then, some days are just like that!

Thank You's

People have been so generous and I am so thankful for their support. Friends and family have made donations of flowers, food and memorial gifts to our church in memory of Daddy. Finally, I am getting the last of my thank you notes in the mail. Now, I can allow myself to do a few sewing projects and such.

Room Re-Do

There have been lots of changes in the last month and many more to come, but one I've been pondering is a re-do of my office. I need to make a space where my brother will feel comfortable when he comes to visit---a space he can call his own.

Given that my house is not very big and doesn't have much extra space anywhere, this is definitely going to be a challenge! Jana and I have been brainstorming about different possibilities, and so far the best one seems to be to try to convert my current office space into a combination guest room/computer room. If you could see this office space right now, you would know that this is going to be no easy task! Mainly because of all the "junk" that gets stashed in here! So. . . . a complete overhaul is going to be in order.

I want the space to be one that he feels comfortable in and can retreat to while he's here visiting, to listen to music or watch a movie or whatever. But, most of the time, Dan won't be here, and I need functional space in which I can work on the computer, store my sewing stuff, etc.

I really like this bed from Pottery Barn
But, alas, it is way too expensive. So, Jana found this bed on the J.C.Penney website:
This is a much more affordable option and it comes in black which would look pretty good in there, I think. Then, looking at how that room is arranged, inspired me to try out this room arrangement on the Better Homes and Gardens website:
The measurements are a little "off", and I never could get the door and windows placed, but I could use most of the furniture that is in there currently with the exception of the bed. The space would be tight, but I think it might work. When Jana comes in a couple of weeks, we're going to move things around to see if it might work.

Of course, in the meantime, that's all that I can think about. I need to work on estate paperwork, pay bills and of course, finish thank you notes, but what I really want to do is to move some furniture and see what it looks like in here!

Has Spring Sprung?

Spring is here. Well, not officially, of course, but signs of spring are springing up everywhere.
Just a quick walk around the block with Emmi showed me that:
--robins have arrived--wildflowers are springing up in the grass--the quince is in bloom --the redbud trees are budding out in pink,--& just as the pear trees wear the fiery red in Fall, they are now showing off their Spring white--tiny green sprouts are bursting forth on the ends of branches (excuse the terrible photography)
--and that other green stuff is dangling from some branches . . . Yes, POLLEN!!Spring is definitely in the air!

After several days of feeling absolutely rotten, I finally made it to the doctor yesterday afternoon. I was so afraid that he would tell me that I had the flu--which would have made sense considering how awful I felt, but would have been frustrating since there would be nothing to give me to make it better. Fortunately, I have a really bad sinus infection! Hooray! (I guess) So I got a shot and left with antibiotics. It may be partly psychological, but I am feeling so much better today! I made it through an entire day at work and sat outside on the deck for a while enjoying a phone call from Jana and the warm weather.

Despite the gloom of winter and illness and the death of a parent, I'm reminded that spring still comes and life goes on.

Best Friend Therapy

The past 4-6 weeks have been a blur much of the time. Beginning with an emergency trip to the hospital to be with my dad who had a stroke, then endless days in the ICU waiting room and finally a Memorial service. I've tried to jump back into work, catching up on the stacks of meetings and paperwork that I'd put on the back burner. Now, in addition, there are endless tasks to get the estate in order and all of that is complicated by a step-family. So, when I decided that Saturday would be the best day to go down and visit my brother in his group home and take him out for lunch, I also thought that it was high time for some "best friend therapy". After school today, I'm headed down to spend the night with Valine---we're not doing anything really special, but the thought of eating out and then just laying around in a hotel room talking sounds wonderful to me. I cannot wait!

Family

After an incredibly difficult 4 weeks or so, I'm back. My gentle Daddy has gone on to be with my Mama in Heaven. We celebrated his life this past weekend with friends and family. My brothers and even my daughters live away from this area, so it was great to all be together for a while--even if under difficult circumstances. We did pause a while on Saturday to take some family photos, though. Here I am with my brothers (yes, my diet will begin today!) :

And then here's a picture of the grandkids: (this picture is set up by height, not by age)Here's the one by age (with husbands included)---my daughters are so petite that although they are the oldest of the "cousins", they rarely get to stand in the back of any line!