In Memory of Sharon

Arrangements have been made for Sharon/Kalona.  Please see this link at the Porter Loring Mortuary website if you'd like to read her Memorial Page:  In Memory of Sharon.  Also included is the information for the service schedule.

We loved the black and white photo of Mom and Dad that Karen took recently.  Mom posted the original picture here when she was chatting about "This and That.".  It is a beautiful picture of Mom and one of the most recent we have of her so I wanted to give my heartfelt thanks to Karen for taking that picture.

Jason, Dad, and I met yesterday with the mortuary.  They are taking very good care of us and of Mom.  We are pleased with their exceptional service and attention to detail.  We chose to put the celtic cross on Mom's grave marker.  It is very fitting for her, don't you agree?

Sincerely,
Kelly

Jesus, I Trust In You.

Dear family, friends, and readers,

Here is Kalona's daughter with a guest blog post:

With regret I am writing to let you know that in the early morning hours my Mom passed away in her sleep today.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

You may know her as Sharon, or Kalona, and maybe her handle as "Irish".  She was a November baby and grew up in Oklahoma and Kansas.  She completed elementary and high school as well as two years of college before she married my Dad.  They raised three children and enjoy the love and laughter of eight grandbabies.  We will miss her and will be celebrating her life and passing at a rosary and then a traditional latin mass held by Father Moses of Jesus.  Details of the day and time of the ceremony are pending.  I want to thank everyone for their continued prayers and for the outpouring of love.

Sincerely,
Kelly

Mini Crochet Owl

Hello again, this is guest blogger Kelly.  My mom wanted me to post a picture of the hand crocheted little owl that I made.  Reece named her "Mercy", which we thought was a wonderful name.  So, without further ado:  Meet Mercy!

  

If you are interested in crocheting this little owl there is a free pattern on Bunny Mummy's blog:  Easy Crochet Owl

Just An Update

Dear readers,

This is Kalona's daughter, Kelly, acting as a guest writer to give you an update.  She is hanging in there and surrounded by family and loved ones.  Today I shared with her a new album called "Music for Sound Healing" by Dr. Mitchell Gaynor.  We are listening to it right now and it's making her smile - she is enjoying the songs.  She loves music so much and as soon as she saw Reece this afternoon she wanted him to listen to it as well.  He was just in here loving on her and Sandi and Great Gran just came by to visit.

I just asked her if she wanted to send a message to her blog readers and she said, "Tell them I love them and I'll be praying for them."  She also said, "It's amazing how you make friends on-line."  And she smiled.

Our Crocheted Flower Garland

Love the bright colors!

They were fun to make.

Tomorrow I'll show you the darling little owl Kelly crocheted.  He is so cute!

She also made the cheery dragonfly in the window

Thrift Store Finds

These are some prints I found at the thrift store a few weeks ago.  They are numbered, signed prints by an artist named Mollie Jones.

I was going to use the frames, but once I got them cleaned up, I liked them, so Kelly hung them for me.

Mounted Sun and Moon Dolls

Kelly took some great pics of my dolls in their shadowboxes. It was hard to get pics of them in the boxes--there was always a glare--but you get the idea in the third picture.  Not sure why the jet black of the background turned out gray in the biggest box

We've hung them on the wall in my bedroom, and I love looking at them.

Another one down on my bucket list.  :o)

Thanks, Kel!

Hard Days and Bucket List Progress

The past couple of days have been pretty rough.  Yesterday I was very weak, slept nearly all day long.  Better today, but not as energetic as I'd like to be.

Kelly brought me some polyester fiberfil and embroidery needles, and I took the "pocket sleeves" off some of my old yukata on Sunday.  Yukata are called summer kimono because they are very casual and soft and cool for summer.  They are always blue and white in color, and have classic Japanese designs and flowers.  I only used the big square pockets on the sleeves, so there is still a lot of fabric left for other uses.  Kelly ironed them for me, but I need some bigger embroidery needles because I want to use the whole strand of floss in the hem.  So she will bring me some big ones.  

We hung our crocheted flower garland and it's so pretty and cheerful on my window.  The colors match the beads in the beaded dragonfly Kelly made, which is also in the window.  

Kel downloaded some pics of the dolls we mounted for me, but they don't really show the shadow boxes, so I think we'll try to get some more pics of those.  I have some pics to download from my camera and phone, too.  Everything is such a hassle.  I can't just get up and get my cords to download stuff.  Someone has to bring it to me.

I got an email from Fr. Moses, who will celebrate my Requiem Mass.  He answered some questions I had, and gave me some good advice.  He is such a wonderful priest.  Please pray for him.

Live Cam of Alaskan Brown Bears

I've been enjoying this live cam of Alaskan brown bears on the Katmai River.  Thought some of you might like it, too.

http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/river-watch-brown-bear-salmon-cams

Come Saturday Morning

Hope you're having a great weekend.  My days seem to kind of run together, so it's hard to remember what day it is.

Ron is mowing the grass out back, the girls were in the pool at 8 AM, but they've gone with their daddy to get chicken sandwiches now.  

I had another weak day yesterday.  My BP was only 60/40 at one point.  I slept a lot.  But it's back up today, and I feel better.

Ron brought me some Cheerios with fruit and coffee for breakfast, and I'm keeping a close eye on my sugar levels.  Guess I'm having chicken for lunch.  :o)

I think Kelly is coming over today.  I untangled the embroidery floss that the girls messed up yesterday, and I'd like to start on the handmade pillows I want to make.  I can cut them, but need Kel to turn under the hems and iron them down for me so that I can stitch them.  I'll also need some polyester fiberfil.  

I'll have to update my bucket list in a day or so.  Haven't done much, but some bits are getting there.  Happy weekend, dear ones!