Our family is heartbroken

I haven't blogged in awhile because I've been so heartbroken I just couldn't do it.   

Not yesterday, but last Friday, as I was fixing lunch for my Shug and a friend that was visiting us, a friend we haven't seen in years,  I got a phone call. 

It was Mom and she said she has some bad news.

And peeps, I have a lump in my throat just writing this. 

Remember this picture....from my last post....

From just two weeks ago.....

Well the man that took this picture was who Mom was calling me about.

Greg.

He passed away, unexpectedly, in his sleep.

No..I thought...it couldn't have been him.

We were all just together, celebrating birthdays.

And I was just telling my neighbor ladies about his bucket list. 

How could it be him?  He LIVED life!  He had a bucket list!

 You know, how you just think for a minute....just for a minute, that you want to turn back time.  Not too far back.  Just a week ago.  When you asked him to take that picture.  You wonder why you didn't say, "okay, now let's me and you take a selfie!" 

or "OK now smile....I'll take your picture."

Or how about, "are you feeling OK, you seem quiet tonight."

Because he was always telling a story a two, and that night, he didn't.

You see, Greg came to every birthday celebration, every holiday celebration, and most events he was invited to, if he wasn't on a trip somewhere.  He went to dance recitals, soccer games, and golf matches that his Grandaughter (my niece) played in. 

We were JUST all together. 

How could this happen?

I just wanted to turn back time to say Good Bye.  I don't remember telling him good-bye. 

I just want it to not be true.

This is a picture of him....

The honorable Judge Caldwell.

But I never knew this man.

Here's the man I knew.

WE knew.

At my sisters and her husband's house

(this is her husband's Father by the way, her Father-in-Law)

on Christmas

 At our house one Christmas Eve...

(it didn't matter if we were all at our house or my sister's or our parent's house, he was there)

 After the Easter Egg hunt at our house one year, opening his eggs, celebrating Easter with our family.

You can barely see the plastic necklace on him that he got in an egg!

Dancing with the rest of us to the Oui game on TV.

 Playing a silly game on Thanksgiving and wearing the drumstick headband,

because my Sister said you had to wear the drumstick headband, that she made.

Playing silly games on Christmas Eve

Hanging out with the family at our Independence Day celebration.

Or playing more goofy games on Christmas Eve...

He's the one in the Santa shirt!

  

Making a Christmas Ornament, for the special family tree, one year on Thanksgiving Day because that's what we were doing.

Not watching the game.

(even though the guys wanted to)

And smiling about it.

Always smiling.

 Here he is sitting with Dad in St. Thomas.  Probably telling a story or two.  He was definitely a story teller.

And he could sing.

Oh boy, could he sing.

The first time I heard him sing was when his, then three year old, Grandaughter wanted him to sing karaoke with her on stage when we were all in St. Thomas for a wedding.  So he did.  They sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

But afterwards, peeps, he sang....

"What a Wonderful World"

I always think of him when I hear that song, and I always will.

Yep, we knew the man that could sing.

I didn't know he could also play piano and harmonica, but he could.

We knew he was a judge, because he married my Sister, to his son, all those years ago.  It was their wedding we were celebrating that week. 


And that week, we all became family. 
And those two men in the picture above.  They not only lost a Dad, they lost a buddy.  Because he was also a fisherman, a golfer, and a hunter, which they all did together. 
He was actually with his son's family in Colorado, and him and his son were going Elk hunting the next day.  But it wasn't to be.  He didn't wake up.

  I could show you so many  more pictures, and tell many more stories, but I won't.  If you've followed my blog, from the beginning, you've seen him.  He's always at our Family Gatherings that I'm always showing you.
And perhaps his granddaughter, who is now 13,  said it best...

or my Sister.....

I'll blog again....when I feel like it.  Keep our family in your prayers.  We have his "Celebration of Life" on Monday.  And the man did CELEBRATE LIFE!

Cindy

October Birthdays!

 Aha!  That got your attention didn't it!  The plan was to have all kinds of "Fall Foods" to celebrate October birthdays.  Cinnamon Rolls, Donuts, S'mores, Chili, margaritas....

Margaritas?  

Well my Sister got this new Margaritaville machine for her birthday, back in August, and needed to use it.  Look...no hands...and if I didn't have to drive I would have had more than one!  Dessert didn't work out the way we planned, but it was delish, as was the chili.  We had a gooey peanut butter/chocolatey dessert, rhubarb pie, and cinnamon rolls.

And we celebrated birthdays.

My Shug turned 59!  Poor guy is still wearing a non-weight bearing cast, which, just between us, I think is bearing some weight.  He's a little tired of it all.

And Sarah, on the right, in the next picture, turned 13.  My nieces are teenagers and older now.  This is one of my "transitions" I was talking about a few posts back.  It's hard peeps, when they grow up, and don't want to snuggle and hang out anymore!  And, I mean, they're teenagers, so who wants to snuggle with them anyway right!  LOL!  In all seriousness, I do feel like I'm getting a taste of Empty Nest Syndrome. And my traditions are changing...which is even harder.  My hope is that those traditions have created wonderful memories for them to cherish. 

Here's a quick story....

One time I had the Granny Bee's over, when I lived in town.  One of them admitted that she only came to see my house!  LOL!

 One of them asked me where my boys were and I said, "they are in school right now, but you do know they are not really my boys, right?"  She said she did not know that, because whenever she saw me outside of Granny Bee stuff they were always with me. 

Then, another lady said, "What boys, I thought you had girls?" 

So you see, I really did spend a lot of time with them.

The boys I used to watch are driving now. 

The girls have all grown up. 

I'm adjusting.

 

And this is a picture of me with my nieces and nephews.  Which we did happen to get when we were celebrating Saturday evening.  Finally!  It's been awhile since I've gotten one, and this was the only picture that turned out good, out of 13! 

 But wait...this post isn't about me!  It's about October Birthdays!

My Shug, My Bro, My Bro-in-law, and my niece.

This is last years picture.  I didn't get many pictures this year.

  And here we all are sitting outside watching a movie.  My Sister ordered an outdoor movie projector and it was a lot of fun. 

 Very cosy by the fire. 

 Have a great day!

Cindy Bee

Crafts, Flowers, and Wine! What could be better!

Today I am joining Amy at Love Made My Home for Five on Friday.

ONE

I have been going through boxes in the basement. 

Making piles.  

Donate/Trash/Keep. 

And in doing so,  I have been finding all kinds of memories, including these owls.  I will probably find all kinds of stuff to show you as time goes on.  The room is big and the basement is FULL!

I remember cutting this pattern out of wool, making kits, for the Winter Woolen Workshop or Ornament Extravaganza.   Many of you know, we no longer have these events as our Granny Bee, Beth, passed away over a year ago.  However, I think of her this time of year because

1) she loved winter, and

2) our group was always gearing up for the holiday season at this time of year. 

These owls were going to be kits to sell at one of the above mentioned events.  I miss these events like crazy.  Tonight is First Friday in our town and I miss going to it and hanging out in Beth's studio.    So, I decided to finish the owls myself.  Maybe I'll make a fall bunting, or just put them in a basket.  Either way, they are bringing back memories of good times with good friends.

(I'll post pics when I finish them)

TWO

 The following pictures show you the rugs, bags, table runner that I wove this summer.  I don't think I ever did a post on the cabin at the fairgrounds this year, or last.  We have a pioneer village at our county fair and our spinning group (as in spinning wool/cotton etc. into yarn) has a log cabin in the village.  We have three weaving looms set up in that cabin, and we demonstrate spinning and weaving during the fair.  When the fair is over, if there is any warp left on the looms, then we take turns each year weaving the end of the warp.  This year I felt privileged to weave the warp. Are you all confused at this point?  Oh well then...just look at the pics!!!

 The warp is the thread that runs up and down (red stripes in below picture) and the weft is what you weave back and forth. 

 See how differently the projects look by using a different weft with the same warp.

 These are not finished.  The ends need tied on all of these rugs.   I will show them to you again, after I finish them.

 This is a table runner made on an entirely different loom.

 Long rug for in front of our couch, but on these hardwood floors it slides all over the place!

THREE

 EEK!  Our garage has been invaded this year and this was a gift from my sweet little dog the other night!

 This mouse was a great reminder to get entrance reducers on my beehives.  See the entrance to the hive below. 

In the winter months, I do not want mice, yellow jackets, wasps, and who knows what other critters getting into my hives.  So I reduce the entrance.  The bees can easily still come and go, but they can protect this opening a lot easier than they can the bigger opening above.  And mice cannot fit into this opening.

FOUR

 I love flowers in our house. 

 They make me happy. 

My Shug threw a bunch of zinnia seeds over in an area by the pond and they are looking fabulous!

 I love using herbs for greenery (filler) for the flowers.

 So, when I entertained my Wine group neighbors....I had flowers on the tables, I made some yummy muffins (recipe was on facebook) and I mixed some candy corn and nuts in a jar.  Easy Peasy!

 One of them brought this bottle of wine!

 Look closely, it is covered in chocolate!

 It had an outer cellophane bag, over the chocolate.  It also had an inner cellophane bag over the bottle.  The chocolate was between the two layers of cellophane.

 You just pull on the cellophane to get the chocolate off of the bottle.  How cool is that?  And the chocolate was yummy.

FIVE

Now is the time to buy some Hyacinth bulbs.  You can plant them in your yard now for a spring bloom.

 

 Or, do what I do. I put them in a paper bag and put them in the crisper drawer in the refrigerator. (not the freezer)

  

In about six weeks, the bulbs think they have gone through winter, and if you bring them out and put them in a hyacinth vase, they will bloom!  It's a lovely way to have a spring pick me up in the winter months.  And their scent....is heavenly.  One of my faves.

So, go buy your hyacinth bulbs and put them in a brown paper bag in the fridge.  I'll walk you through the next step in a few weeks.

Cindy Bee

PS.  Visit Amy's blog to see what others are up to.  Click here!