Auntie Nettie's Attic Merchandise 2012 - March

One of the unexpected consequences of getting older seems to be the fact that time must speed up after forty. I just took a long blink and March is over! Of course, I don't seem to be blinking all that much. I have been staring, dry-eyed, into the screen of my computer while I trying to deal with database issues for work. All this computer work leads to eye issues, and to headaches, and not-so-quiet mini "episodes." Granted, you can't really see/hear my "episodes" in the office, since we are all having them, but still. ... Work is eclipsing much else, so it's amazing that I managed to deal with personal issues, like laundry and oh, I don't know, grooming.

However, scanning my personal scheduler, my on-line calendar, and my crafting journal, it seems I was able/not able to also do the following in March, despite working late, working at home, working at home for an entire weekend, and just working.

~Sadly, I missed my professor's retirement celebrations at my alma mater -- due to logistics. Times like that, I really wish I had a car. To that end, I have signed up for Zipcar. Now I have to find the closest locations, and call and profusely apologize to my professor;
~Too much stress and too much stress is causing physical ailments, like the headaches. And having my back seize up on me. Do you realize how hard it is to do things like mix ingredients, bend over to the oven, when your back is spasming? Don't find out.;
~Lots of baking for the IT Boys, and to be frozen for later;
~Had lunches, regular and working, with colleagues;
~Had dinner out with Christine;
~Attended a funeral for one of the most courtly gentlemen (a former trustee) I ever knew;
~Got my quarterly haircut, and apparently an unintended once-every-15-years-hair-makeover--that I'm still seriously ambivalent about (Everyone LOVES it. I hate it!);
~Suffered through bizarre weather and awful, painful allergies, and, most importantly;
~ Got to go on a Girls Getaway Weekend to Avalon, New Jersey. I can't say thank-you enough to Christine and Amelia for the planning and execution of this weekend. You will get to read more about that later.

I also managed to craft the following:
 

ANA 2012-22: Little Black-winged bird
(Mystery yarn, buttons, and batting)

ANA 2012-21: Little Black Owlie
(Leftover yarn and batting)
(as of April 2012, no longer available, gifted)

ANA 2012-23: Soft Lilac Baby Blanket
(Skein(s) of Bernat Softee Baby yarn, acrylic)
(as of May 2012, no longer available)

ANA 2012-24: Fuzzy Easter Bunny
(Balls of mystery tapestry wool and gifted skein of blue fuzzy yarn and batting)
(No longer available, gifted)

ANA 2012-25: Brownie The Easter Brontosaurus
(Skein of Caron Simply Soft, batting, and buttons
(No longer available, gifted)

ANA 2012-26: Silvery Spiral Scalloped Scarf
(2 Skeins of Feza "Dali" yarn, Color 334, mohair, poylamid, lurex, and acrylic)
(no longer available, gifted)

ANA 2012-27: Harvest Colors Fancy Scarf
(2 skeins of Tahki Select Scoop, Color 008, polyamide)
(as of June 2012, no longer available, gifted)

Still in Progress:

2010: Multi-fibre, multicolored bane of my existence

2011: A) Chenille scarf

B) Mint Green Baby Blanket in the same pattern as ANA 2012-23

The etsy.com shop is open. No nibbles yet. I'm a bad marketer. Honestly, it's just as well that no one was hopping on the bunnies and birds so far. A) I was never home to mail them, and B) The Easter Bunny Auntie had a hare-brained idea to gift some of these to her nieces for Easter. Hop on over and see what's up.

P.S. You can always just contact me for prices, updated availability, and sizes.

P.S.S. Re: photo quality, some of these were taken with Ms. Ruby Nikon, others with my camera phone or the camera that's part of my iTouch.

Letters from Roa S - April 9, 1995

I'm finally done cataloging, transcribing, and archiving my grandmothers' various letters to me ... the ones that I had the foresight to save and survived various moves/purges. I wish I could travel back in time and admonish my younger self to treasure this correspondence. To see a relationship of such importance summed up in such a small amount of paper is so bittersweet--especially now that I have enough "wisdom" to put some perspective on my life and theirs, and to realize how more I value them, their time, and their advice.

The timing of this missive is poignant, especially given the events of this week, a mere nine years later.

4-9-95

[Ogden, UT]

Dear [Granddaughter],

At last I have to send a card so I’ll write a little note.

We are having snow today its having a hard time to see what it should be doing. The sun was out a while ago. They have been saying we would have snow it looks like the mountains has got quite a bit this afternoon. It’s also cold.

Jerry [my aunt] is doing lots of things she is getting [illegible] up ready for Cindy’s [my cousin] wedding doing flowers for people & making porcaline[sic] dolls she made a little boy doll for Cora [my other aunt] its Kavin[sic][Cora's companion, now husband] he got her one for Xmas they realy[sic] were cute.

Cindy & Dan [Cindy's husband to be] came down & the kids just left they were going to the store Jerry cut DJ’s [Cindy's son] hair. We don’t get to see them very often. Cindy has worked a lot of 10 hr shifts & they are trying to buy a house. The kids go to day care at 3 o’clock & Cindy picks them up when she gets off work. I hope things go OK for them.

I’m glad your Dad is going to get to come and see us. It will seem good I know I call to[sic] often but I get low some & when I don’t feel so good it helps to talk to someone else. I’m doing a lot better. I should go back to work but I guess I’m not quite ready yet.

I’m glad you are happy with what you are doing. I wish someone could help Jed to find something he would be happy with, then it would take the worry off your folks.

I’m watching Sound of Music the Music is so nice I think I like this as well as any show I’ve seen.

Aunt Teddy [Roa's sister-in-law] leaves for England for a month on Tuesday (quite a lady).

Don’t work to[sic] hard & have a good Easter.

Love
Grama

Driving and Spring Cleaning down Memory Lane

As I get older, it seems that time and my memories are starting to play tricks on me. Time seems to be speeding up, while I am slowing down. Just as I’m ready to think about the past, my memories are starting to recede. Trying to remember dates from my personal timeline is difficult. You know that saying on the rearview mirror: “Objects may be closer than they appear?” Well, I never was good with driving in reverse.

For the last few years, as Easter approaches I remember the very difficult holiday weekend we spent in Utah, with all the events leading up to and surrounding Grandma Roa’s funeral. It does strangely appropriate that this important family event happened around Easter – with all its symbolism of rebirth and resurrection.

Since I couldn’t remember the exact date, I spent part of this past Easter weekend sorting through and organizing the piles of letters and materials from my grandmothers. I found the obituary and funeral home program relating to Grandma Roa and verified that it was only six years ago.

On the one hand, I thought it was fewer years than that, and on the other, it does seem longer. Perhaps because so many things have happened to me and to the family since then?

I do think there was something poignant in Grandma passing on Easter weekend. LDS/Mormons do not have the pageantry around Easter like some faiths, but we do but great stock in what the holiday is all about: sacrifice, remission of sins, resurrection, and reuniting after periods of separation. The emphasis for us in on Easter Sunday, not bunnies, candy, eggs, or 40 days of something followed by a Fat Weekday.

As for this “gray sheep,” I worshiped this past weekend with and in Nature, and with a personal spring-cleaning ritual, bringing me closer to the Spirit of Elijah.

Although it may seem like forever to those of use here on this plane, I do believe that we’ll have a chance to see our loved ones again. Now that I’ve been rereading all of the letters and advice from my grandmas, I have more questions for them now than I did growing up. Between being young and busy, too reticent to dig too deeply into family histories, and falsely believing that there “would be time for that later,” I missed too many opportunities to find out things. I look forward to having the opportunity to talk freely with my grandmothers Ollie and Roa, hug my grandfathers Jack and June, and meet my great+ grandparents, not to mention my great-aunt Rachel, and to finally meet my namesake.

I hope you’ll bear with me over the next year or so, as I post various recollections of my grandmothers, their letters to me, some of my letters to them, and ponderings on their passings. Hopefully this will be a jumping off point for other family members to chime in and fill in more of the family history.

Won't you walk with me a while?

Young Trendsetters Streak Their Hair With Gray

According to a New York Times Fashion blog, I'm not old ... I'm a young trendsetter. (Click here to go to the multi-media site.) I am a bit dubious of this, though, as it was posted on April Fool's Day.

If they aren't being sarcastic ... that's just excellent news. I was about to go out and buy some Kool-aid to dye my hair in Easter Egg colors, but now I don't have to worry about it. I can just tell people that I'm a trendsetting fashionista!

Retroblog Easter 1982

Easter 1982

These are some ways our family makes Easter a special day.

~ has a special family night and talks about why we celebrate Easter

~ made cards and letters to our grandparents and other family members.

Other things our family did to make Easter special this year.

I won this at a Easter Party. Most spring looking Egg - 9-10 yr olds.

Happy Easter,

from this still-10-at-heart!

Retroblog April 11, 1982

Today is Sunday April 11th 1982 Time 5:07 pm

Today was Easter. I got presents for Easter insede of candy. I got 3 books, some paper, and a latch hook kit. I had a talk today I didn't do it. Mom had a talk too. She did hers. My church class is bad. My dad has to talk to them.

A note about why our family got presents from the Easter Bunny instead of candy: It was found that between the sugar and all the artificial concoctions that they put in the Easter Candy, it was not a pleasant time in our house. A memo went out the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Great Halloween Pumpkin, the Birthday Fairy, and Santa's Elves, that we were only allotted so much in the way of sweetened consumables. I was a bookworm, so I was delighted to get more books! I think I remember that this year the books were from the Black Stallion series.

I can't remember why I didn't have to do my talk. Usually the "kids" went first, so I should have. Maybe there were too many testimonials about the reason for the season.

Also, please note that my goody-two-shoes-ness was apparent quite early. Narcing out my church class because my dad was part of the leadership? I blame the Easter Bunny and his evil candy for the naughty behavior.

Guess what was found in the stash with the journal? The remnants of one of those latch hook projects! I finally got rid of it after almost twenty years. Off it went to the Salvation Army.

Easter Bunny and his Peeps

Here there. It's me. The Easter Bunny. I thought I would say hi!

I know you haven't heard a Peep out of me in a while.

Since I am an artifact from the '70s, I needed to hide out in my den for a while.

My "peeps," aka my "step-bunnies", and I have been gearing up for the holiday.

First we decided to chill out at the beach
and to gear up for some polo.

We had a "hole" bunch of fun!

Some-bunny decided to ruin it all for the rest of us, though, when they started playing in the pool without adult supervision.
The Shushing Librarian happened to stop by to scold them. She told dire "tails" of what happened to bunny peeps when they didn't behave around liquids.
Something about Peeps drowning in cups of muddy water and being devoured by blond giants that sounded like Minnie Mouse? It was a scary cautionary "tail" indeed.

Anyway. Happy Easter. I'll let you know what the rest of my Peeps are up to after our busy day.

What the Peeps did on Easter

On Easter Morning, the Peeps got up early to look for the arrival of the Easter Bunny.Then they got dressed in their finery to join the Easter Parade.

Here they are are on their Easter Bonnet./span>Then, it being Easter, they went to church.After services, they went home to watch the documentary about Peeps on CBS' Sunday Morning.

Good morning Mr. Osgood.

Did you know that many people use Peeps to make art work?
Did you know that some companies have Peep mini-diorama contests?

Here are some of the installations.

The Pink Room

Andy Warhol's lost PeepArt more PeepArt

The winner -- The Lost Tomb of thePharaoh Peep The program always ends with a sun-burst.

Here's one sunny side up -- with a holy Peep.

After the fascinating program, the Peeps decided to hang out, get some sun, and listen to some tunes.

They also planned a trip for later this summer.

(caramoor.org)Then they boarded a train, where they had to deal with lovebirds in front of them making annoying PDAs.At the zoo, they saw very familiar creatures.

Finally, after an exhausting holiday, many of the Peeps went to sleep, and dreamed of lovely beaches in Greece.But some Peeps had horrid nightmares ....

The End.