Monthly Archives: May 2008

Meeting a New Old Friend

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FINALLY, we were able to catch up with Karen, the editor of Cotton Spice quilting magazine!

As you may have heard, we were supposed to meet up on the first Wednesday of our trip to Missouri, but, ummmm, somehow my blondeness mystically migrated to Karen and she temporarily lost her mind. 🙂 – she got the weeks wrong and needless to say, we were hunting for a hotel room at midnight that night because Karen wouldn’t answer her phones.  It did occur to me, only for a minute, that perhaps Karen didn’t want to see me – but, I quickly got over that when I received her embarassed, apologetic emails the next morning. 

After all our fun in north central Missouri, we planned on returning to Joplin, and perhaps the second time around, we’d be able to meet.

Sure enough, our reservations at the Cotton Spice hotel were on the books and we were loaded for bear, once Mike (Karen’s husband) gave me directions on how to find their home.

And it’s just as you would picture it, were you trying to see what Karen is like in real life – a quilt hanging on the wall of every room …. and a lovely chef to boot!  Thanks Mike, for the fabulous meal! 

Believe it or not, we took no photos together.  Karen and I mostly sat in her sewing / knitting / computer room, yakking away and ignoring everyone else.  hehe

I was able, though, to snap a few photos of Karen and Mike’s beautiful flowers, which were enjoying a touch of sunshine after some pretty rough storms:

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And meeting Karen was just like meeting and old new friend.  It was amazing.  We just picked up where we’d left off in emails, and visited like we’d been friends forever!

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Just a little tease to you quilters, I got to sleep under the quit that Karen had designed and made, that was featured in the  American Patchwork and Quilting 2005 Calendar!

Friends for Life

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We saw many old friends on our Missouri adventures this past week, friends that I’ll have for life, even if we don’t stay in touch so much.

The girl on the left is my niece, brother Jeff’s daughter, Kayla — named after me (my middle name, anyways)…and the girl on the right is Cody’s (my nephew) sister Sadie.  I guess they decided, when my brother Tom divorced Cody’s mom, that I didn’t want to be a part of Sadie’s life anymore – because I rarely heard about her.  But, I’m her Aunt Tammy in my mind, and I always will be.  She’s a lovely girl and I hope to keep in touch with her, in the future, to continue a relationship:

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This is my oldest daughter and Aunt Jan.  Not really my aunt, but way closer to me than most of my true aunts.  Aunt Jan was my beauty school teacher when I was 19.  Lovely, lovely lady, and so special to me!

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This is Marilyn and myself.  Marilyn was getting her Master’s degree when I was getting my BS at Mizzou (way back when) … Marilyn used to come to the bar where I worked and we hit it off, she then worked for me as a waitress at the bar for a bit.  When she left and moved to take a real job, she had a baby – and I got to hold her little one when she was a mere month old.  We’ve sporadically stayed in touch over the years, and she came out to Utah to visit us once.  Most importantly, she’s one of the few of my friends who my husband really enjoys talking to – both of them are ag folks!

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There were others, of course, that I visited with – but, didn’t get photos of.  But, it was very nice to re-connect with all of them.  And to remind myself that the relationships we build in this life are all we have – it’s our way of giving and receiving love — far more important than so many other ‘things.’

Pictures Never Lie …

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Got to be time to get the clan together for photograhs with the graduate.

Here’s myself, Cody and my youngest brother Jeff:

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And then they made me tell the truth.

I’m the shortest member of my family, at a none-to-short height of 5’8″ — I made brother J switch sides with me, so I looked more in-line with those tall people:

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And the Graduate Made his Aunt Tammy Cry

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There were 12 students in my nephew’s graduating class.  Yes, 12.  I begged my niece, who graduates next year from a school with a graduating class of about 1000 to change schools before I had to attend hers.  hehe

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And during the part of the ceremony where the graduate presents his mother with a flower, he shyly did that …

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and then he gave one to his maternal grandma…and walked to the end of the row and gave his Aunt Tammy a flower.  And his Aunt Tammy cried… 

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because it dawned on me … he’s the only male child from my dad’s lineage, to carry on the family name … his dad is in prison … his dad and his uncle (my youngest brother) never graduated from high school … my older brother, who loved Cody to pieces, died in 1997 and was unable to attend this momentous event, the relatives who raised my two younger brothers didn’t bother to even show up to the ceremony or send well-wishes … he’s joined the navy, and looks SO MUCH like my dad did, when he was in the Navy.  It really hit me that I was so damned proud that Cody lived through that horrendous car accident in 2006, and was able to walk across the stage….and that I was able to travel up to Missouri with my oldest daughter, to share in such a blessed event.

Way to go Cody – you’ll always have a piece of your old Aunt Tammy’s heart!