Closing the circle

My family is not very conventional. I actually like that about them most of the time..especially since I am no longer a teenager whose entire social standing is based upon the embarassment or lack of it caused by our genetic relations. So, anyway, last Friday, we closed the circle (so to speak) of our mother's side of the family.
My brilliant, excentric, exotic, unusual, overbearing Aunt Jo was laid to rest last Friday.
As one of my other aunt's noted, Aunt Jo was a feminist before feminist was cool. She lived larger than life and resembled a bag lady, an professor, a feminist, an aetheist, a budhist and an aristocrat all wrapped up in one. So a conventional visitation and burial would not do. We put our heads together and came up with a celebration of life last Friday. I made a great fall bouquet and put together a unique collage of photos (thanks to my great scrapbooking friends in St. Louis!). I also put together a nice program and invitation. Matthew did his usual great project manager job of working with the funeral home and all of those great admin tasks. Dan and Jim pitched in by going through her things.
Bottom line: we held a fun, interactive and brief service at Holy Cross on Friday followed by a brunch where the Queen loved to hold court...Denny's Restaurant in Bloomington. The skies opened up once we were all safely ensconced in Denny's ...drinking coffee and laughing and talking. The best line of the day was from her friend Jolene who noted she was "outrageous"> Indeed!
In truth, that day was the best gift Josie has given us all in a long time. Josie brought us full circle. Now, let's hope she is not fighting with my mom and grandparents..I hope they're playing checkers and listening to the radio together.

Finally Home

Rita is so happy...and we all know that when Rita is happy..EVERYONE is happy. She stands inside the glass door and looks out at me. She jumps on"her" king sized bed and rolls around. She races up and down the living room.....she looks at me like...Thank Goodness we are HOME, mom..."

Boxes, stuff all around, furniture not in place. Doesn't mean a thing. Rita knows she is at home :-)

Getting Back to (Ab) Normal...in Bloomington!

Fall in Illinois is typically a blissful time. Sunny days but warm....not hot....falling leaves, the smell of cookouts and backyard bonfires. So, this fall has all of the usual fall sensory experiences...and heat of 88-94 degrees per day. Unbelieveable!!

So, of course, we had to move -- AGAIN -- during the heat wave. It was better than last time but still ....hot. And it took 7 hours!!! (I am seriously considering more downsizing...for everything except my scrapbooking supplies of course..)

I'm getting to know the folks at U-Haul on a first name basis and becoming quite adept at maneuvering a truck through through the streets of Bloomington-Normal.

At any rate...we are (mostly) now in one place..a new home where Rita can happily run through the house, sniff the grass in the backyard and look through the door at her mama.

Sunday Morning

Today was one of those rare days at home. The morning started a little cool, slightly sunny, leaving starting to turn, light breeze...I love autumn!

It was a PERFECT Autumn Sunday morning:
- a pot of coffee made with my usual mix of Starbucks, Kroger Columbia and Vanilla with creme' brulee' creamer.
- The Sunday Pantagraph, the Chicago Tribune and tons of flyers
- The door open, watching the neighborhood walk by
- Rita sleeping on her pink leopard blanket behind my knees
- a day of football behind us and one more on the horizon

We need more of these sleepy, sunny Sundays ...really relaxing, recharging and enjoying life!!

The Front Porch Fly Catching Dog

The past month has flown....or rather not since the heat wave dragging most of the country down (except Texas which is drowning...I think that is the Alamo that just floated past us on the Illinois River...). So the month has flown as fast as it can in 98 degree weather with a 105 heat index. For like 20 days straight. (And yes, people still ask me how I made it in Texas....good lord people even Texas has ice tea, beer and air conditioning....!!).

Anyway..I digress. With all of our changes we had some time this summer to experience the joys of the front porch and neighborhood coffee. Shella and I had long ago discovered how much we loved to drink our coffee together on the decks. But it is hot and sunny even at 7 a.m. in the summer so that wasn't working. During our garage sale planning we discovered we could drag our lawn chairs outside in front and have our coffee out there. Rita loved hanging out with her peeps and we all chatted, drank coffee (or diet pepsi) and scanned the garage sale ads.

During this blissful time we discovered a special talent of Rita's....Rita is a fly hunting maniac. She has a laser gaze which can apparently work for things other than treats. She will stare down a fly until it gets close enough and then -- I kid you not -- jump in the air with jaws that would frighten that ole shark Jaws himself. Then she chews the fly and licks her lips satisfyingly.

She does not have so many flies at the new place. But I know if things ever get tough we can count on Rita to be a fly catcher and bring home the ...er...flies.

Moving - Part I and I

yes. the moving saga continues. Because moving, in my life, never seems to be a one time, pack some suitcases and the dog and move on kind of thing. For one thing...I got too comfortable. I collected holiday decorations and crafts and scrapbook stuff and ....well stuff. And I threw a lot of it into my guest room and basement. And now i have to clean it out while I am moving.

So last Saturday I hired two strapping young junior high boys (and bribed niece number one and her boyfriend) to help me move. ALl of the furniture and a trucks load of boxes disappeared into a storage space. The MOST WONDERFUL BLOOMINGTON FRIEND EVER Cheryl AND her two kids locked themselves in the basement and packed for four hours. Cheryl -- in her role as move coordinator -- then coordinated the loading and unloading of the second 24 foot truck with boxes.

I drove the truck...just like a big mac daddy truck driver. (Christi says I have a career as a truck driver if I ever want to give up my day job.)

Now the first space is full and this week I am finishing up the loading of the second space. Saturday I get to move into a new, more compact space with a few things while I try to divine my future....

Oh yea...and maybe catch up on some scrapbooking!!!

St. Louis Photos