With the 90th birthday of my Mom having come and gone, I find myself thinking about her more and more each day.  I try to remain positive, but I find myself cursing the passage of time.  For it seems that in a blink of an eye life has passed.  There is so much that my mom has given to me; my creativity, my spirit of independence and adventure,  my deep ties to children and grandchildren, and my fighting spirit….these legacies she has left me.  And yes my stubbornness as well.  In looking back at my blogs I found this post and wanted to share it once again.

Seems the older I get the more I am inclined towards being sentimental.  On a recent visit to my mom she passed on to me her enormous collection of knitting books and patterns.  While I was delighted at the time, as I began to look through them and see patterns of items she had knitted for her children and grandchildren a sense of loss kicked in.  As I have spent the past weeks looking through issues I imagine what it was like for her as a young mother.  I can see her receiving each new issue and wonder how she carved time out of her busy schedule raising eight children to enjoy it.  I imagine the joy each issue brought as she found things to ignite her imagination and creative spirit.  I view the issues from the month and  year I was born and see her heavy with child dreaming of this new baby and what special things would be knitted.  And I am bittersweet, as in passing these to me she is stating that her time for this has passed and she needs them no more.  And my heart hurts at the cruelty of time.  I cannot imagine thoughts of my mother without those including her spirit of creativity.  She is never without needles in hand; the rhythm of her needles and the hum of the sewing machine are mirrored in the beating of my heart.  And tucked away in the treasure chests of her loved ones are beautiful hand knits and exquisitely sewn dresses.  These patterns span two generation; my grandmother and my mother and now they come to me.  While they are treasured and will be passed down to the next generation, the greatest treasure is the spirit of creativity that has spanned those generations and continues to do so.  I see my mother and my grandmother in my grandchildren as they sit, hunched over the sewing machine or a pair of needles, mouth scrunched up in concentration and so serious about their business.  And although my eyes may be misty, I smile, knowing that the gift of creative spirit flows on. 

Here we are in matching clothing made by my mom.  She would by fabric by the bolt.  We had so many matching clothing pieces like this.  As the family grew she just made more pieces.  This was prior to my last two siblings.  I am so in awe of what she accomplished!!  She was the most amazing seamstress!!

Time passes but life continues and so must we.  Summer is always a busy time as it is when we have a flurry of activity and visitors!  Becca made a quick visit as Matt came up for a job interview!

Baby Matt took his naps in my sewing room.  He was delighted when he awoke and no one was there and all that fabric was just waiting to be pulled off the shelves.  He looks pretty proud of himself!

Unfortunately I had to work but Gramps took the kids off to Enchanted Forest.  They had never been there before and had the best time!  They got the best face paintings!

I gave into my yearnings and bought this awesome Kitchen Aid off QVC at a great bargain.  (Yes I adore QVC thanks to my bestie Mia!).  It arrived the same time as Becca and she promptly broke it in.  She made a cake nearly every day…chocolate, carrot cake, coconut, and red velvet!

And YES he got the job and he took it!  They will be moving here in a few weeks and be living with us temporarily until they can find a place and get settled!  Its gonna be tight but we have already decided how we will rearrange the house to fit everyone in….

Of course I didn’t miss any yard sales.  Mia and I got out the week end before Becca arrived and cleaned up on more thrifty goodness!

Lots of holiday decor…I’m always a sucker for holiday items!

I seem to always fall down the collection rabbit hole.  I found the first two pieces last year at an estate sale and then here was another piece at a current estate sale…what else could I do but add it to the other two pieces!

Not quite sure what this was but I found it so beautifully hand crafted and exquisite and for $1 I just had to bring it home.  The lady who was selling it said it was handmade by a local artist but could not remember his name.  Isn’t it just lovely?

One of the benefits of living in a community that has an awesome Art Fest is that it is not uncommon to find amazing pieces at estate sales…..and generally at bargain prices.  I found these two beautiful watercolors.  I am slowly building a nice collection.

This piece was very interesting, it is a letter and has the story of the piece on the back.  I loved it even though it does not quite fit my decor.

And of course yard pieces.  I love adding bits here and there throughout my yard!

Becca and I took the kids out one week end and it was pretty much a dud.  Of course the kids loved it and found lots of toys.  When we were ready to give up we stopped at one last place and I found this darling Hummel!  And at $8 it was a steal.  This is a collection that will eventually find its home with my middle daughter.

I consider it such good fortune that collectibles are no longer desirable which has driven the prices down and made them affordable.  I love to surround myself with lovely pieces and now that they are affordable I can do just that!

I may be biased but I think my daughters are all so amazing!  They are all smart, talented, and beautiful.  I am so proud of them all!  But I must do a huge shout out to my middle Erica!  She just completed her PhD in psychology.  She is a neuropsychologist!  I have watched her on the journey as she has struggled to survive on little to nothing, raising a family, working in her field, and completing her studies.

I am just so proud of her!  I will be headed to Cali to see her hooded at the end of August and of course to spend a week with the grands!

Christina is also returning back to school as well!  She just got promoted to the head of her department at the Soil and Water state agency she works at and decided she would benefit from a degree in her field.  I know she will excel!  And big news, I also decided to return for a second Masters degree.  I will begin my study in Mind Body Medicine in the fall.  I’m a bit apprehensive about writing papers again but excited to push myself to continue to learn and grow.  Erica tried to convince me to go for my PhD……

So there are many changes coming; Becca and family moving in and back to school. I’m going to be one busy granny for awhile!

Two days after Becca left Christina arrived with 4 Sweet Peas!  We are busy on our adventures which I will share on my next blog!