Purple Paradise

Thank you for the sweet sentiments on the passing of my grandma. I am still in a bit of a stunned fog, but reminiscing of the wonderful memories eases the sorrow. Part of my sorrow is that I wished I had made more visits as an adult. Always thinking there is time to do that.

Make the time. :)

 "By love they are remembered and in memory they live." 

                                                 - on a card I received.

I had mentioned working on Love Never Fails; I was stitching away on my travels and the sentiment really rang true during this tough time for our family. 

Love did not fail us. 

With it almost finished in time for our anniversary in April I think it will also carry an extra deeper memory when I see it.

Having some fun hooking my mug mat project. 

But I need to get it wrapped up PDQ!

BECAUSE!!!! In two weeks I will be shoving off on my very first, EVER, cruise!! The Navy Girl wanted to do something special for her 25th birthday...with her mother! Lucky ME! Sooo; me, the Navy Girl and my best friend are headed to the Eastern Caribbean on a seven day cruise. I never imagined that I would go on a cruise and feel very fortunate that we can do this amazing trip together! Wow! There is a lot to do to plan and prepare for a cruise. We are going completely casual with all beach excursions. All three of us need this excitimg trip and can't wait to create amazing memories with my daughter and best friend.

My GF is a supreme cruiser so we were lucky to have our very own personal cruise coordinator. She has sent us fun care packages, including a countdown calendar. 

Somehow a purple theme evolved. I had a lot of purple already in the suitcase when this came in February. Hahaha...my Purple Paradise Caribbean Cruise.

And she provides us with weekly cruise tips; one of my favorites;

       Karri's Cruise Tip #13: The toilets on the ship are vacuum driven. This means you should not flush while sitting on the crapper. If you must flush while seated, at least make sure there isn't a tight seal created between your butt and the toilet seat. We don't want to have to call maintenance to pry you off the commode with a crowbar. Oh my goodness I just about fell out of my chair at work when we got this one!! Hahahaha! You know we are going to have a BLAST!

My suitcase is ready!

Need to get on that hook. Have a Super Sunday folks!

P.S. Trying to keep up with commenting on all y'alls blogs; some days are better than others. Thank you for your kind words in return. :-)

Going home... Family Strong.

The call came late Tuesday night, March 4th that my Grandma Pat in West Virginia was in the ICU. With more details learned on Wednesday I was heading home EARLY Thursday  morning. All of the family came home; from Wyoming, Louisiana, Alabama, Virginia, New York, North Carolina and Maine. We traveled two hours one way from Maryland to Winchester, Va. to visit my grandma.

On our way we pass through Harper's Ferry which is a special place to all of us, so we took a few pictures along the way.

We had an amazing day on Saturday. Grandma was her feisty self, recognizing all of us and cuttin' up with everyone. We had strong hope after this terrific day. Her situation deteriorated Sunday and Monday. I had to return to Maine on Tuesday. My 78 yr old grandma, grampa's second wife and love of his life, passed away peacefully on Wednesday morning, March 12th, with family by her side. We are so grateful for the time we had with her on Saturday and Sunday. We all have special and fond memories of this tenacious woman; may she rest in sweet peace.

My grandfather, who is 90 yrs old, is a strong, salt of the earth man; it has been so hard to see him so sad and tired. My mother has been staying with him at The Farm in West Virginia. We are so appreciative of her staying with him to help get things in order and keep him company. Eventually she will head back to Wyoming.

Me, Grampa, my brother

Grampa's kids

The Three Granddaughters

My brother, mommy and me

Three generations 10 years apart; 

my mother, her sister, me, my cousin, my daughter and my cousins's son

It felt good to be with all of the family for those five days, reminiscing, laughing, crying and hoping.  It gave us strength and peace.

My husband and I were trying to make it back for the service this weekend but Mother Nature was in a winter fury. We got almost 20 inches of snow on Thursday. It was too much weather from here to West Virginia. I will cherish the blessing of being able to be there for her on Saturday and Sunday.

I did some stitching on Love Never Fails during my travels. I did some planning out for a hooked mug mat for a swap. I will share pictures in my next post.

It has been a long and weary week. May everyone have a peaceful and productive day.