Wednesday, January 5

Til We Meet Again Thea Marie...


Thea Marie Bauer Littlefield
d. December 31, 2010




Dear Thea,

How do I say goodbye to you? You've been more than my BFF since we were 12 years old. I still remember the first day we glommed onto each other and didn't let go. It was the first day of school in 7th grade. We knew each other in grade school, I can remember you sitting in front of me in the 4th grade in home room. You wore your hair in one long braid down your back, and that horrible Mrs. Merritt would pull on your braid telling you to stop talking and pay attention...
It wasn't until the first day of Junior High School that our friendship really started though. They did things alphabetically back then, we were together in everything that first day. All the same classes, got seated next to each other, shared a locker... I can't remember a time during those first few years we weren't together, or talking on the phone.



Every big "first" was right along side of you... first kiss, first boyfriend, first "real" relationship... sometimes you were the leader, sometimes it was me, but we were inseparable. Even dated guys who were best friends in High School so we could double date for everything...




Remember our theme song? I Am Woman... when that song came out, we got the 45, played it over and over singing at the top of our lungs. Had our picture taken together outside of a women's restroom... read Cosmo like it was the Bible... checked with each other before making any kind of move in anything, then every detail discussed forever afterward too.




This is from a Summer vacation with my family, we were about 14 or 15...






On a Carrousel...



OMG! I think we are 30 in this picture! The Summer before you got married...



The Wedding Reception...


Had to crop this one, whoever took it was looking down my dress, showed everything!



Not a good picture, but the only one with you and your babies...


Wish I had more pictures... this was taken at your Dad's ranch, and can be representative of you riding off into the Sunset...


Until we meet again ♥
Love you always,
Joyce

Saturday, December 18

Year of the Rabbit and Chinese New Year

This morning, I was reading my friend Hanna's blog, and saw her wonderful white rabbit.Hanna's White Rabbit Her rabbit is meant for an Alice scene, but he's truly fabulous and worth sharing. I then headed over to Etsy and saw the front page was a treasury about The Year of the Rabbit, for Chinese New Year:



So by this time, I'm thinking of Chinese New Year, and how it takes me down a road of sentimental journey. During the late 1960s and all through the 1970s, my parents celebrated Chinese New Year with a group of friends and a couple of their siblings. Now that I have finally seen the show "Mad Men" (just this week I watched season 2 on DVD from the library), it makes it all the more fun to remember these events.

The house was decorated so beautifully for the party, all the food and dishes were in the theme... Us children had a special night during the Chinese New Year party too, because we either got to take the TV into one of the bedrooms, or got to go out for dinner and a movie. This picture is from the 1970s, I can tell by my Dad's hair, guys were wearing long curly hair for a while in the 70s. My Mom made these clothes by hand, silk and silk brocade. Her dress was ankle length, isn't she gorgeous?



Here's a little information on Chinese New Year from wikipedia:

Chinese New Year

THE YEAR OF THE RABBIT, 2011

02/03/2011 - 01/22/2012 (Metal)


According to the Chinese Zodiac, the Year of 2011 is the Year of the Rabbit, which begins on February 3, 2011 and ends on January 22, 2012. The Rabbit is the fourth sign of the Chinese Zodiac, which consists of 12 animals signs. The Rabbit is a lucky sign. Rabbits are private individuals and a bit introverted. People born in the Year of the Rabbit are reasonably friendly individuals who enjoy the company of a group of good friends. They are good teachers, counselors and communicators, but also need their own space.

According to Chinese tradition, the Rabbit brings a year in which you can catch your breath and calm your nerves. It is a time for negotiation. Don't try to force issues, because if you do you will ultimately fail. To gain the greatest benefits from this time, focus on home, family, security, diplomacy, and your relationships with women and children. Make it a goal to create a safe, peaceful lifestyle, so you will be able to calmly deal with any problem that may arise.

Beads! Beads! Beads!

I was browsing the art of the Beadweavers on ArtFire a couple of days ago, and made this collection. This particular art is not only very beautiful, it is a skill that takes a good amount of time to learn, and produce this amazing work.

Thursday, December 9

Miniatures in Red on ArtFire

This collection made it to the front page of ArtFire on December 9!