Gladiolias from my garden :)

Arn't they beautiful!! My first glads!

The things that make me smile....

Many things make me smile, but its the times my kids surprise me with their tender hearts that make my heart smile the most.
Today as we were sitting on the beach, I looked over and saw this in the making.
I am so blessed.

Learning to blog.....

I was told by someone who hopefully knows, that I should keep 2 blogs, one for non pottery related posts and one for pottery related posts so this is my blog for non pottery related posts.

I guess it makes sense because it will keep things nice and clean over on the pottery blog. :)

Here I plan to do whatever pleases me.

My first post here is not going to be short... and sweet but it will get better. I lost my father a year ago yesterday, I miss him dearly he was a great father. He had a long life and he and my mother were married many years so I know when he was ill and his health was failing he wanted to stay but knew it was time to leave. I miss him but know he is where he was ready to be.

At his service a young woman spoke about my father in a most loving speach about how she was first afraid of him but her mother told her he was one of the nicest men, and not to be afraid of him. Earlier that day she herself had found out she had cancer and still came and made it to my Dad's funeral and spoke, I don't know how she did that. I was so touched when I found out what she had been through and still managed to come to the funeral for us and speak so kindly about my Dad.

It has been 2 weeks now since her memorial and I am still sad. I could not speak at that memorial like she did for me at my Dad's, her sisters did speak and brought back more beautiful memories for those of us who grew up with Hilary, I have known her all my life, and she was a part of my identity. Her whole family was. We grew up together, did birthday parties and played games nightly like "kick the can" together and after leaving our childhood homes we were entwined at a distance, we sat together when we seen each other at a neighborhood gathering or funeral, we always stopped to talk if out and about and we spotted one another, always a hug, always a quick update on our families, I trusted her so much that 20 years ago she babysat one of my children. She was a great mom to her kids and a great substitute for me when I needed one. We had real unspoken love for each other and each others kids even tho our lives had moved on past childhood.

It seems so unfair that she is gone, unable to be with her 4 beautiful children and her grandchildren, my heart is just broken right now, she was only 51, its just not fair. I know nothing is going to heal this, its just a hole that I am going to have to live with. I will miss her till I am also gone and that is just the way its going to be.

So there it is my first blog post of a personal nature. This is who I am, and here is where the muck of life and the joys will get posted just so the pottery blog won't get mucked up.