I have really enjoyed working on this page other than her insisting she needed more leaves than I had started with. I've been a little hard on myself for not being done by the end of October (which has been my biggest BJP fear all along), but I decided I'm not going to rush just for the sake of getting it done by the end of the month. This project is just for me and I want to cherish all my pages at the end of the year.I named my October page "October Glory." Every October, I always think of Nana, my maternal grandmother. I have so many wonderful memories of her. Her name was Marion, and she was born on October 31st, 1906, in Mandan, North Dakota. She married Papa on March 16th, 1931. She died March 19th, 1981, three days after their 50th Wedding Anniversary. She was a lovely person and always a "lady" in the truest sense of the word. The tree in the first picture is one of three maple trees we planted in our yard years ago. It is one of two in our front yard and it is a beautiful tree called October Glory.
The picture I chose is one of my favorite pictures of Nana when she was young. I don't have very many pictures of her, but this one was most appropriate for fall. Forgive some of my photos, as I took pictures of the original snaps I have. We had a fire in our home years ago and the heat and smoke damaged most of our older pictures. The tree is stitched with vintage brown Charlottes and 15/0 bronze and moss green seed beads. The glass pressed leaves are small, 6 x 10mm, and the pebbles in the road are stitched with smoky quartz chips.
She was a mother to a son and daughter, and a Nana to two grandchildren...my sister and I. We were always close and spent a lot of time together. We became even closer after my parents divorced when I was 12.I REMEMBER...
* how beautiful she was inside and out
* how she lived her life with compassion, kindness, and love
* she always had a dress and apron on when Papa got home from work
* she was a wonderful cook and loved to entertain family and friends
* she loved to garden, loved roses and flowers, and was President of the Alameda Garden Club
* she was a Daughter of the Nile and volunteered time to many charities
* she loved to sew, knit, and needlepoint
* she was a wonderful wife to Papa
I REMEMBER...* hugs and kisses
* being spoiled by her
* games (Tiddlywinks & Candy Land), story books, and color crayons
* loving her home and how it always smelled so good
* getting to spend the night
* watching Lassie, The Wizard of Oz, The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, & The Jolson Story
* walks to the park and dime store
* baking cookies
* her candy dish and a little bird in a cage that when wound up would move and chirp
* hamburgers at Yaw's and Green River's, ice cream at Farrell's, and shopping at Lloyd Center
* loving to snoop at all the old stuff in the attic and basement
* dressing up in her clothes and jewelry
* trips to the beach
I REMEMBER...* her unconditional love
* her being always gracious and fun
* cereal or a warm baked chicken sandwich in the evening for a snack
* two trips to Palm Desert, swimming, and long walks picking huge grapefruits & lemons
* many dinners at Ringside
* being so grateful to have both Nana & Papa at my wedding (Papa lost 40+ lbs so he could fit into his old tux and walk me down the aisle)
* Mom, Sissy, and I throwing Nana a big 70th Birthday party
* helping them move from their one and only house to an apartment in Portland
* surgery and hospital visits when Nana found out she had uterine cancer that had metastisized to her bones
* helping Nana shop and run errands when she was sick in my VW bug
* being at her home, by her side with my Mom when she left us
In reflecting, I realize these memories and her love are the legacy she left and it is something precious to me. Her strength and values ran deep. While she was beautiful on the outside, she was full of love and passion on the inside. I am grateful for the memories I treasure and the love and patience she always showed me. I loved and adored her and miss her dearly.She is a fragment of my life that lies within my heart...
