Our Loss

It is with the utmost sorrow that my sister and I have to let people know that Mama passed on this evening less than 24 hours after entering hospice. She was diagnosed on the 21st and passed on the 1st. We are still stunned at how fast all of this happened.

It was a peaceful passing and she looked like she was sleeping without pain.

We played Rod Stewart; Blood, Sweat and Tears, The Who, Pasha an

d Guns n Roses. Yep, she had interesting tastes. I read from Khalil Gibran and talked and talked to her.

The staff at the hospital and the hospice were great and treated her well and us with respect.

She was visited by administrative people, workers and people from the senior center where she's been going several times a week. They all commented how bubbly and friendly she was, even when she was in pain. Everyone adored her and are going to miss her.

Jackie and I are shattered and feeling numb.

Mom didn't want a funeral or viewing. Her wishes were to be cremated. Jackie and I are going to open her Facebook page to everyone and we will send a link and ask that everyone post thoughts, prayers, remembrances and wishes. We are probably going to go to the center and spend some time with the people there and share with them.

Kathlene Sue ****  (nee, ****) was 71, born and raised in the Ozarks of Arkansas, she loved the mountains of any state (she hated Florida because it's flat). She was an enthusiastic Red Hatter, a Leo to the core, and the most amazing woman we have every known. She had friendships that lasted years that went beyond "best friends" or "friends" - people became family. That continued here in our new home. She was strong but allowed herself to be vulnerable. A voracious reader and highschool dropout, she took her GED decades later and scored within the top 5% of the country and was quite proud of that and went on to take some college courses.

Her joy, though, was people. She was drawn to customer service jobs: either as a bartender, waitress, cashier/manager or bank representative (loan officer). Becoming disabled and unable to work was a blow to her. The Red Hat group in CA was a godsend and the senior center in our state here the same.

One of the main decisions facing my sister and myself - what to do with over 1,000 turtles of various kinds? Btw: one will be traveling with her. Mom's first tatt was a turtle, the other was a rose for a deceased friend.

Thank you all for the prayers, positive energy and support. Jackie and I will need those for a bit longer. Most everyone knows how close the three of us are. One of the sides of the triangle is gone.

We ask that no flowers be sent to us. If people would like to contribute to a charity in Mom's memory, please contact us.

Slow Down

We're slowing down on the house for a bit because of recent health issues with by myself and my mom.  We're working on deep, indepth cleaning with our fantastic cousin coming for Thanksgiving from a naval base in Florida.

I have a little dreidel.....

How could I resist camouflage dreidels?  Inexpensive price didn't hurt either.  These will be nice in my start-up collection of dreidels and I got the candles for my Hanukkah menorahs.

Floor Progress

We obtained more tile (planned on getting more after the car repair - which cost more than anticipated. We hope to finish to the wall at least this one wide path. Then work to tile the rest of the family room.

The floor before the tile

In progress

Doors Progress

You can see how the wood burning of the stencil design is coming along.  I will wood burn the design on both doors, sand a little and decide if I'm going to stain the doors or not.  Stain and/or varnish, put the trim on the doors and hardware and hang them.  Hopefully

Bookcase Doors

I started a new project (aside from house upkeep and car issues)

My bookcase in my room doesn't have doors and I want doors. Solution - make them.

I got a half sheet of thin plywood, cut lengthwise in half.  Stencil a design on the boards and decide what to do after that.

Final stencil - large design on the outside, smaller on the inside and NOT centered.  Trim also picked out

I had the idea to drill out the solid circles in the pattern.  I then took a dremel and finished the edges of each drilled hole.

Next came the decision whether to drill out the lines down a level in the plywood or wood-burn the design along with the drilled holes.  A test showed that the wood-burning is the way to go.

So, now comes the LONG part of the project - wood burning the design

Then will come the sanding and staining

Then the trim work

Then hanging them (already have the hardware purchased)

Thrift Store Finds

A new thrift store/antique shop opened near us and when Mom and I went in the other day one of the ladies said: "Oh the turtle lady! And I have a menorah for you!"

Awesome!  I also found a nice brooch with the Chai in the center.  Love thrift stores!

Also had fun explaining the differences between a Shabbat menorah and a Hanukkah menorah