Becky

April 10

Have you ever known anyone that sparkles? Becky has a contagious laugh and a stellar smile. If you know her, you probably love her. She is an amazing aunt and grandmother. I know her niece and nephews, and they have always adored her. Becky is an an artist so we share a love of color and art. What I really like about her is that she is a GOOD person in the grand sense of that word. She has a generosity that is extended to everyone. She supports, defends, and celebrates all of the people who are fortunate to count her as friend. Who wouldn’t want her to be in their cheering section? I don't think Becky ever has to check to see if her sparkle is still working. It is and I love it!

Margie

April 9

Margie was my husband’s aunt. She did not have any children of her own. Margie was mother to her four younger sisters and numerous children of friends and sponsored families.  My sons adored her. She had bottomless pools of love to dip into and scatter among all of us.  Margie was a physical therapist so she spent a fair amount of time volunteering at Child Haven, a center for autistic children. She enlisted others into her service, as she was certain you were capable and available to do as much as she did. Once she invited me to her home to help her with a crewel rug she was working on. The  project had been in a basket by the fire place for at least 20 years.  She brought me to the window and pointed out the elderly couple sitting in their living room across the street. Being it was 10 days before Christmas, she said “we need to decorate.”  She promptly opened the front door, grabbed the wrapped plate of cookies I had brought, and marched me across the street. We put up a tree and wrapped some packages while the couple ate cookies and sang a few carols. When we returned to Margie’s house, I asked her about the rug and she said “oh that? another time.” 

Valli

April 8

Valli is a super girl. She is a wife, mother, grandmother, and now, a great grandmother! She has lived all over the country following her husband’s piloting career. I met her when we both landed in Denver. She is an accomplished award winning painter, a consummate reader, and seeker of truth and knowledge. As an advocate for women’s physical and mental health, Valli never stops searching for better answers. I find her to be one of the most engaging people I have ever met. Her talent for embracing life as it comes each day is worth emulating. Recently she and her husband have returned to her Michigan roots. From her lakeside home, she has a beautiful and peaceful environment with more time to paint and study. It is my loss to no longer see Valli at monthly art critiques , or be my partner for regular museum visits, but I know she is happily enjoying the water and being home with family. I hear she has a kyack!

Peg

April 7

This is Peg. She is a wife, mother and new grandmother.  She is a talented watercolor artist who paints flowers, gardens, butterflies and bees, sprinkling her signature fairy dust on her paintings, making you love them. Her paintings are featured in greeting cards, fabrics and all sorts of gift products. She is an author, with a bestselling Inspirational book- “Imagine the Life You Want to Live, Then Live It”. Peg is my soul sister. We met through a phone call and then began sharing a booth at trade shows. We are of the same age, from the Midwest and with deep Catholic roots, and from the beginning of our friendship we just knew each other. She has a big smile with bright eyes and gives you her full attention when she talks with you, unless she is looking at her beloved grandbaby in her message box. She writes and sketches in her journal more than me. Now that we no longer travel for our trade shows, we will need to create an event that let’s us meet up again!

Betty

April 6

Betty and I are sisters from the heart. When we met, we immediately knew we were kindred spirits so we did what girlfriends do – we opened a shop together! We had more fun in that shop than is probably allowable, but it also created a bond that is immeasurable. Over the years we shared joyful celebrations as well as great family loss. She is a humble person with a generous heart- finding opportunities to do wonderful things for others without ever saying a word about it.  Betty is a wife, mother and grandmother. She is also a true Cardinal baseball fan, which also makes her a kindred spirit to my son, Kevin. Red is her signature color during baseball season. From April through October I have to check the game schedule to determine if I will be able to reach her.  Even though our shop is gone, we carry on our friendship, easily picking up where we left off from our last visit.