Buying New Underwear

I bet that got your attention.  I was thinking of this time last year when I was getting ready for my trip to Australia and New Zealand and made the comment to Carole , my traveling buddy  that I needed to buy new clothes.  She said no just take the oldest things you have and leave them on the ship and throw the underwear away.  Buy new when you get home.  That way you have more room for treasures to bring home in your luggage.  The plan sounded good and I went with it, but our luggage was still overweight.  It was the trip of a lifetime and I have such good memories.  Little did I know that in September, Carole would be gone and so many of the memories we both laughed and talked about would be left for me alone to treasure.  Thank you Carole for all the fun and laughter that we shared.

The second person to leave last year was Kathy a quilting friend that I met on the internet.  I flew to Oregon, drove to Bend and stayed with 4 other quilters that I had never met before.  Kathy was one of those ladies.  After a few years, I wore her down and she invited me to come to California and go to Road to California show.  Kim flew in from Oregon and Kathy picked us up at the airport, drove us to quilt shops, fed us and entertained us.  We sat in her backyard and watched firewords at Disneyworld or is it Disneyland.  Doesn't matter we watched them.  She always went to the butchers and got us a special meatloaf blend and we had leftover sandwiches to take to the quilt show.  The last two times I went out it was to go to the Long Beach quilt show.  So many wonderful memories.  Thank you Kathy for all the great times.

 Kathy, Stephanie, Kim, Me

The first person that left was Laura , a quilter from a different yahoo group.  We met at the Indiana retreat I go to every year.  The last couple of years I roomed with her and was supposed to room with her this year, also.  It wasn't to be.  Such a sweet and funny person.  I can still hear her asking "is it just me or do you think that is creepy?"  We would all be laughing so hard we couldn't answer her.  She expressed not liking praying mantis' so of course she was inundated with them at one of the retreats.  The picture below is of her and Pepe.  Bless you Laura for all the memories and laughter we shared.

This post is not really about buying new underwear, but about the memories that come up from just the thought of buying new underwear.  It brings tears and laughter and hopefully will for many years to come.  I treasure all the friendship that these three have brought to my life.  I miss you all terribly.  Who knew that we didn't have more years to share.  So if you have stayed with me this long I want you all to know I treasure your frienship and your memories and your laughter.  May we all have many more years to share.

Happy New Year and go out and buy some new underwear.
Vickie