Happy birthday, Bill!

Today would've been my stepfather William "Bill" Thayer's 84th birthday. He passed away many years ago. I had two stepfathers, but Bill was the only one who counted. The first one was nothing short of evil.

Anyway, I wanted to post this in remembrance of Bill. I wish you could see Jon and Britt now that they're grown up. Love and miss you!

For those who would like to send condolences to Lyn Goodnight's family

Hi, everyone. I talked to Nate today, who was Lyn's fiance. If any of you would like to send sympathy cards in the wake of Lyn's sudden passing, here is the mailing address (*please note that the name of the town in the graphic is incorrect. The town is spelled 'La Veta.'):

Nathan Juhala
PO Box 943
La Veta, CO 81055

Thank you for all your kind thoughts and wishes for Lyn's family during this time of grief. There is no info on a service at this time, but when and if that is made public, I will post here.

One week after her passing: ten things that remind me of my mom

Today marks a week since my mom Shirley passed away after a long battle with Alzheimer's. I've lit the candles on her remembrance altar every day the past seven days. Many thoughts and memories have drifted through my mind. Today I want to list ten things that remind me of my mom and the friendship I had with her. I'm so very grateful she raised me (I was adopted) and gave me an interesting life that included being a military brat and traveling throughout the United States and overseas. In fact, that's how I ended up in Colorado! I love you, Mom! Herewith, the ten-item list:

1. Siamese cats
2. Small dogs (esp. poodles & chihuahuas)
3. Juicy Fruit gum
4. The smell of lipstick (her purse smelled like lipstick and was stocked with Kleenex)
5. Her homemade pizza; in fact, her incredible homemade cooking!
6. Her CB handle in the '70s—Wonder Woman.
7. Red. It was her favorite color!
8. Ice cream. She LOVED it!
9. Long John Silver's. When I visited her in Oklahoma, we usually picked up food from LJS. Mainly because we both loved it and there's no LJS restaurant here in the Springs. Hush puppies—yum!
10. Virginia. The place she was born and, despite all of her travels, the place she always wanted to come back to.

Of course, there are many other things that remind me of my mom, but I wanted to share several of them today. Those of you who knew her will probably recognize some of these things.