The Yellow Dress

To go with Barbara's eMo: Feeling Pretty

One Year Later – A Father Remembered

Our dad, John Sharp, lived a long life. He was born in 1915 in Oak Park, Illinois, living down the street from Frank Lloyd Wright and the Hemingway’s. He played with Ernest’s brother Lester, even attending one of his birthday parties. He was called Jackie back then.
-He met my mom, while stationed at Camp Phillips near Salina, Kansas. She was the most beautiful girl on the base, Miss Camp Phillips of 1943. They were wed there that year and celebrated 46 years of marriage until her passing in 1989.
-On family vacations when we were little he would never stop along the way always saying, "We need to keep going so we could get there", wherever there was. On one trip we arrived late at night in the abandoned village of Eastport, Maine and had to drive many miles out of town to find a place to stay that night. However in his later years, he took many nice long road trips with my brother, where they got to spend quality time together and he learned to stop more often along the way. In later years he went on many trips to Disney World in Florida with us. On one occasion while he was still in his 80's, my husband took him on the Tower of Terror ride. When it was over he turned to us, with his always great sense of humor and said, “Are you trying to collect your inheritance early?”
-He had a lifelong love of the game of golf and that is where you could find him on the weekends. In his retirement years, he worked part time at the West Nine golf course.
-He loved the music of his era, Big Band and Swing but especially Jazz. Whenever you approached or walked past his room in the Veteran's Home you knew he was in there from the music coming from his boom box. Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong & Ella Fitzgerald were among his favorites and he met many of them back in the day. His favorite song was a little not well known tune written by Carmen Lombardo, Guy's brother called "Coquette"*. He requested it at his funeral. But he loved the new artists too. Harry Connick, Jr. for example and my brother introduced him to Diana Krall. He got to see both of them and Natalie Cole in concert.
-He had many pets through out his lifetime but his favorite had to be his Schnauzer, Schroeder. He even had a little brass plaque made with his name on it that he put on a piece of wood and placed in his garden.
-He had some favorite sayings. At dinner time he would say. “Do you like Lamb? It’s not baaaad.” And “Eat your roughage, it’s good for your bowels”. We would just groan.
He would tell my mom, “There’s a place for everything and everything in its place.” & “Nothing's a bargain if you don’t need it.”
-He had just turned 95 on Friday, August 6th. (13 days before he passed) On his birthday my brother took him to his favorite restaurant, Charlie Browns and then they went out to the current outdoor production at Plays-in-the-Park that he thoroughly enjoyed. He had a day of rest on Saturday and then on Sunday he came to church for his birthday blessing and birthday cake at Lemonade on the Lawn. He had a birthday lunch together with our family and my brother at a seafood restaurant where he dined on lobster tails. Later that day my brother took him to an outdoor concert overlooking the water. He really enjoyed his last birthday.

Fond remembrances by,
Debbie (Sharp) Loeb and John Sharp

*To hear Coquette go to the link and 1:10 into the video Guy Lombardo will begin to sing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPE7H5XcIj0&feature=related

Rules of the Thumb

What's your "Rule of Thumb"?

One of mine:

If I hold up a piece of fabric in my outstretched arm, turn my head to the opposite shoulder,and hold the other end to my nose, it will measure a yard.
Do you have one?
Contribute it here: http://www.rulesofthumb.org/index.php

Operation Paperback

Operation Paperback is a non-profit organization incorporated in the State of Pennsylvania that collects gently used books nationwide and sends them to American troops deployed overseas. Since 1999, they have shipped over 1.3 million books to locations around the globe.

How it works: http://www.operationpaperback.org/help_volunteer.php

First of all, you can make a monetary donation or be a volunteer shipper.

Quick Overview:
1. To be a shipper you begin by registering with them and accepting their volunteer agreement. There is no cost associated with this and your personal information is secure.
2. Once you have registered, you can log-in and request addresses of troops overseas using their automated system.
3. You input the genres you have on hand (mysteries, westerns, etc.) and the system will generate a customized list of names for your use.
4. Label your books and insert either their standard shipping letter or your own personal note.
5. Pack and address your box using the names they provide. Then head to the Post Office to mail your box. It's that simple!

Be sure to read the Frequently asked Questions to see what else is accepted: http://www.operationpaperback.org/faq.php

Barbara, With Her Daughters, Anna & Corinna

Anna, Barbara, Corinna

Dear Photograph

This is a cool website where you:
"Take a picture of a picture from the past in the present."
Can you create one of these?
Make one, tell us about it, and I'll post it.

There are some very touching photos here like: http://dearphotograph.com/post/6958037321/dear-photograph-thank-you-for-everything-we

Check it out here: http://dearphotograph.com/

Step-in Line Quilt

This is a quilt I just completed made from a kit I purchased at a quilt show. I fell in love with the fabric. It was supposed to be a stitch-as-you-go quilt but I forgot that when I started it! Oh well, next time.
(Name of the quilt is mine. It's not the name of the kit.)
It is from: www.fabriccafe.com
EZ Strip Quilt
Finished size: 40 1/2" by 53"