This afternoon, on a sunny, summery first of July,  Mama’s spirit left this earth peacefully.  After deepening dementia over the past years and a more rapid decline since early February, her passing is a loss and a blessing.  I’m guessing about now she is in a joyful reunion with her Mama and sisters, whom she often asked about in recent years (tho long gone, she’d ask if I had heard from them and how they were doing) and then with my Papa and half-brothers (who better be telling hilariously funny stories about Daddy!). I miss them all.

This is the last photo I took of Mama, just two days before Mother’s day this year.  A print of it was on her windowsill in her line of sight from her bed.

Mama and me, May 2011, at the Courtyards dining room, Quarry Hill, Camden, Maine

Hospice had thought she might go some 10 days ago, but they didn’t count on mama’s strength of will.  For a frail 92 year old, she was still her determined self to the last.  On Monday, the man thought she might not last the night…. but I was able to visit her again every day since including this morning a few hours before she left.

I am so eternally grateful that a place in the dementia nursing care facility didn’t open and that she was able to breathe her last at Quarry Hill, the retirement community in Camden.  They have independent and assisted living, dementia care, and a small nursing wing.  She was able to die surrounded by her paintings and beautiful oriental rug and pretty things, but best of all was the kind, gracious and thoughtful care from the staff on 3rd floor (assisted living, 2008-2010) and in the Courtyards (dementia care) since last July.  I always used to be freaked out by such places, and now I know that goodness happens there and there are so many angels walking amongst us.

Mama was a pretty amazing woman, born back in 1918 in the tiny town of Powell, Wyoming.  Her mother was determined that her four daughters and one son–in the Depression mind you–would go to college.  And Gramma made that happen–in part by opening a kitchen to fix breakfasts and lunches for college students in Buckhannon, West Virginia, where all the girls attended college.  Mama finished her degree in three years, but her yen to travel was stymied by World War 2.

Mama, circa 1942/3, before she was my mama!

At the end of the war she entered the military and worked as an Air Control Tower Operator at Anacostia, near Washington, D.C.   Students got to pick assignments at the end of the war by class rank; she was second in her class, so she picked the farthest away spot on the list:  Tokyo!   So in 1946-47 Mama lived and worked in Japan with the Occupation Army.  She fell in love with the people and the country, and that stayed with her for the rest of her life, as did her love of travel.  For the next 20 years she lived overseas (and met my Dad working at the US Embassy in Quito, Ecuador), and even after they returned to the States she still traveled when she could.

Mama used to say she wanted to travel by yak in Nepal, and we all laughed, trying to picture mom in her mink, pearls and Ferragamo shoes atop a yak!  So in honor of Mama, the next time you pass a jewelry store admire the fine jewelry.  And if you like shoes, enjoy browsing (Mama’s taste ran to the Ferragamo’s so my preference for Birkenstock’s, sneakers and Dansko’s was a keen disappointment to her).  Despite our many differences, Mama did what she thought best, she worked hard, and she always tried to get the best for me, her only child.  So hoist a glass of your favorite drink (white zin, hot tea with milk, whatever) to honor strong and smart women everywhere.  Here’s to my mama!  Now I’m going to find another kleenex and give thanks for a Mama who believed in me. And I in her….

Take joy where you find it! This day I was walking near the harbor and Camden Falls.  A couple walked by with their (obviously!) well behaved black lab.

"See how nicely I carry my leash for my humans?" What a sweet doggie!

If this had been Widgeon, he would have been doing the Indy 500 around the parking lot and up the alley to the main street!

Folks often ask me where I get my ideas, and I invariably reply “everywhere.”  Design ideas are all around us…it is just a matter of learning to SEE them!  Here’s a good example.  I was walking in downtown Camden, and spotted this door:

And doorknob:

WOW…what incredible design work!  Take a motif like that and enlarge, revise, adapt…. that’s how you start!

Early June...things were starting (at long last) to green up. Remember the snow and how that fence was buried in it?

Just a quick peek at the arrival of late  Spring and summer at the new house…

Some of you may recall (from the dim past) that I was fixing up a space in the basement of our new house (we moved in early February…four months already!) to use as a studio.  I blogged about it here in February and here in late March and here also in March and here about the display walls.  Well…. we are nearing the end of the fixing up of stuff.  The last major project was installing sliding design wall-closet doors along one side wall which conveniently had NO windows, doors or whatnot in it.   Since the room is large (about 22×22 feet….honestly larger than I need but that’s what size it turned out to be when two weird smaller rooms were combined), losing 2 1/2 feet on one side wasn’t a big deal.

The wall on the left is the space that became the closet....

The closet is loosely organized into three zones:  teaching, art supplies and quilt storage (from near to far corner).

When I proposed this to our contractor, I had thought something like the rigid foam insulation boards (which I’ve used successfully in the past as a design wall–used the last ones nearly 7 years and they are still doing fine) mounted on plywood panels (both 4×8 feet).  John realized that the plywood would warp, so  he did some research into a more stable but not-costly alternative.  He found some 24″ wide hollowcore doors and figured the cost for glueing two together on a long side to create 48 x 90 inch panels, mount the foam core onto that, and then I covered them and he hung them from sliding tracks.

Some of the doors plus the leftover pink bits from the panels behind. Notice the wood above: John nailed boards to create a strong "top" from which to hang the doors.

The back side of the first two doors that I "upholstered" to show the two (looks like one) hollow core doors used

One of the closet doors on my work table to be upholstered. John framed out the doors with 1x trim to contain the pink insulation board and keep the edges crisp. Here I am layering up batting over the front, sides and top of the door. Notice the electric (!) staple gun...yes, electric....it is my best friend forever!

At the bottom, I didn't want the flannel covering etc to drag or make the doors balky, so I used an upholstering trick. I used strips of cardboard to staple the flannel to the bottom edge. When turned up the edge is crisp and doesn't pucker or ride up.

Covering up the gray cardboard with white posterboard. Wasn't gonna do that at first, but after doing the first one I hated the shadow effect, so I took out the staples and added the poster board (which is white and hides the gray shadow line). On the left there is white batting; the cream flannel I used (sheets from Lands End) is to the right. The flannel will be lifted up over the cardboard strip and stapled in place.

Flannel pulled up over the door to the top, stapling and trimming

The doors....in place! Hallelujah all that ugly distracting clutter is HIDDEN!

With the first stuff uip on the wall. From left to right, the table runner version of my Balinese Garden pattern (STILL waiting to be quilted), a piece for the Coastal Quilters Challenge, and my Frayed Edges challenge piece for our library show in July. More about the latter two items coming --soon I hope!

What I find appalling is that the closet is FULL!!!!!! I even had to store a few things (like the photography light stands seen in the photo where the doors are up but don’t have anything on them) elsewhere.  My excuse is that about 14 feet of the closet is used for either business (storing teaching materials and supplies, books and patterns for sale) or quilt storage.  For the latter, I’ve got an idea and hopefully that storage method will be a blogpost by the end of July…….depends on (the lack of) available time!  That’s it for now…. just a few more things left to make this my quilty home!