Memories

Well it has been awhile but I am back and ready to share some more.

I was walking through the house very early this morning about 3:45 AM, yes very early! And I was thinking about my life, remembering and recalling the good, the bad, and the ugly! It is mostly good and I think I was in this frame of mind because of several things that have happened recently.

A dear friend of mine and I are involved currently with an event that is going to take place next week and she asked me yesterday just how long I have been a part of it, I thought about it and realized it had been 24 years! Golly gee, it should make me feel old but honestly it seems like just yesterday that I got involved.

This triggered my thought process as to my family, my marriage and our business through the years. My how the years have flown by.

My husband is now a Grandpa and I get to enjoy his fantastic grandsons, two really neat sons and one super daughter in law with him. I am blessed to have my Mom and Mike's parents still a part of my life and I have many great nieces and nephews. My siblings (four sisters and one brother) continue to amaze me through their work ethic, great parenting skills and the ability to survive many challenges which have been related to health, business and even horrendous family issues. I think that is a hat's off to my Mom and Dad. And daily I continue to remember my wonderful Dad who is now in Heaven, he is missed greatly by all.

My marriage is now in its 23rd year, it seems like we just went to Gatlinburg to make our vows and yes as my Dad has said marriage is like driving through the mountains; many ups and downs, some straight and some curvy roads and eventually you come out on top to a road that leads you to the future with your spouse. I think about this and find it neat that we drove through the mountains to get married. And yes we have driven these marital roads and continue through the mountains, ours is a unique marriage because we are together almost 24/7 through our love, business and our most valued involvement with God. Mike is studying and is currently a Deacon in the REC Anglican Church, with the goal of becoming a Priest eventually and serve the children of God. I am blessed and proud to be a part of this (and don't think this portion of the road has not had its curves and ups and downs).

We continue on with our Photography studio and it too is full of memories and we continue to preserve memories by capturing images that will last a lifetime! It is an ever changing business with the introduction of digital imaging and the influx of many self made photographers, it is my hope that the art of photography will not be lost because of this.

We brought to life in the past year a new entity THE McCLURE GUESTHOUSE, and it is also full of memories and will continue to make memories for the guests that stay. In the past year there has been a couple that got engaged, numerous senior and wedding portraits photographed, wedding nights for newlyweds and family gatherings. There have also been dinners, bridal & baby showers some meetings and a wonderful grand opening event. The home was built in 1872 and we restored it to share a bit of history with the community. I loved the home the minute we viewed it back in the late 90's and purchased it within 30 minutes of viewing it. After moving out we determined it deserved to be renovated for the future. And for people to enjoy and make memories.

I guess you can see why I was up and had this going through my mind,and yes there are so many more thing I could write about but it would be a book. I am looking forward to a great 4th weekend coming up, our SPIETH daughters are coming home for the annual 4th gathering, we have been getting together for about 12 years and we love it and them and all of their families which includes spouses, children and main squeezes! Yes all around us through many challenges in the past, present and future ( I am sure) you can see there are memories and yes they most generally are blessings! I challenge you to think of your memories and relish them, and have a great day!

They Call Them Grands, Because.....

......I have been thinking about this for awhile, there are many reasons they call them grands: silly, busy, true, happy, sad, curious, sassy, sneaky, pensive, rowdy, secretive, joyful but most of all loving.

Grands can be all of these and bring such joy to our lives. Our two grandsons Emery & Lynden are all of the above and so much more, we are blessed. A few weeks ago we were going to take them to Church with us and Emery was actually excited to go, however the weather in Evansville deemed a cancelled service Soooo we played hide and seek in the studio and of course took their pictures (a surprise for Mom and Dad, I thought till their "Grand"pa Mike posted them on Facebook),

Such fun we had, then a trek to get ice cream, alas our local DQ is closed due to a fire in January, so we headed to Lawrenceville to the Dairy Dee, when we got there it too was closed, so we headed to Vincennes to Lics. After a quick stop at the Christian book store it was on to get ice cream. Emery wanted a chocolate cone and a Chocolate chip shake and Lynden got a dish of vanilla and a gummy worm. He loved the gummy but did not want the ice cream, can you believe it? Too cold I guess.

Back at home they got out the few toys we keep and they always love, (as I recall my childhood, toys at my Nana's were few but oh so special! And we fought to open the small cupboard they were kept in and retrieve them for playtime at Nanny's.)

Then it was time for supper, I opted to fix ham and Belgian waffles and when served, I was told that you don't eat breakfast for supper...well excuse me! Needless to say they did eat it and then horror of all horrors we made them watch the Miss America Pageant (Mike wanted to watch, only because Rush was a judge.)

Then time for jam-mies and an attempt for them

to get to sleep. Emery crashed but Lyndy cuddled with Grandpa Mike and fell asleep. Grandpa Mike liked it so much that it was there Mommy & Daddy found Lyndy when they came to pick them up. The look on Grandpa Mike's face as he held his "grand"son was great.

I recall growing up and being a "grand" and loving all my grandparents so very much. They shared with me so many things....scrambled eggs with ketchup, how to iron, real egg shampoos, how to set a table for a formal dinner, candy corn, coconut cake, how to have a large family gathering in a small space filled with an enormous amount of love, snuff, smiles, hugs, teasing, games, walks, the love and true belief in God, yes I was a "grand" because of them.

And you know Grandparents are 'Grands" too and with our "Grand"children it really is GRAND!!!! I can't wait to share and learn and Love because of them!

Moving On

Our "Surrogate Spieth Daughter" is moving on from Olney this week. And we will sorely miss her. She has been an important part of our lives for the last 11 years. My how time flies! She entered our lives as a candidate for the RC Fair Queen the summer before her Senior year in high school. Then she had us take her Senior pictures and Mike had an instant liking, especially when she "talked" about her passion for President Regan and the Republican Party. Then we asked her to work for us and she came to work for us through the work study program at school. I had to grade her and always gave her the best grade. She tolerated coming into a business where we actually had adult "mean girls" that tried to get her out, and it did not work, the three of us were able to blow them off. Jealousy is an AWFUL emotion for sure! And very difficult for a teen to have to deal with, when there was no real reason. She continued to work for us weekends when she went to college...thank goodness and also introduced us to her great friend who also became a wonderful employee thus the "SPIETH DAUGHTERS" were born! Her birthday appropriately is on the Fourth Of July as she is a little firecracker! And since the summer of 1999 we have celebrated with her. Last year was an exception as we had to photograph the wedding of another "daughter" in Pennsylvania. [She tried to come, but found it to be difficult with an 8 month old son.]

The summer of 2001 she tried for the RC Fair Queen again and got First Runner Up this was enough ammo to try a third time and thus in 2002 she became Queen. Mind you Mike made any girl that has worked for us and tried for the crown walk many miles in their pageant shoes in our studio, so he likes to think he helped. And she took herself and her speech the "third times the charm" and competed at state and became MISS ILLINOIS COUNTY FAIR 2003. We were so proud, many people at state thought Mike was the "proud papa" just taking many pictures and you know he was, in a certain way.

At the end of her reign she was busy planning her wedding to her Knight in Shining Armor, and he is a gem. On Valentines day 2004 she became his bride in a lovely wedding at Starved Rock State Park. As their life together evolved she taught at her Alma Mater from 2003 through the first semester of the the 2009 year. They blessed their families and friends in 2007 with a wonderful son named Bo. And he is a joy!

But now their life is heading up the road on a new path. They are having twin girls in September and this week they are leaving Olney and moving to a town near where they were married. I will be selfish and say how sad I am to see them go. We have had many wonderful visits with Bo this past year and he is comfortable visitung the studio. And even though I did not see or talk with Jamie every day, I was able to drive by her home and send her my thoughts and prayers and love daily as I looked at her house knowing she most generally was tucked inside.

Moving on is a part of life and I did it back in 1972 when I came south to Mattoon and as the years passed continued south to now be in Olney. Jamie has said it is not that far away but it is, she won't be just down the road, she will be WAY UP THE ROAD. Miles between are difficult, but thru the internet and phone calls we can be in touch. I will really miss knowing she is not near, I guess she is more than a surrogate daughter.

I will miss you so very much, but I am sure you will always be a part of our life. So I won't say good bye, I will say See You Soon! And also, thanks so much for being a very important part of my life! All these memories and many others with you will be treasured forever! And I am certain there will be more.

SHOP UNTIL YOU DROP?????

Shopping, is the great American pastime and it is what keeps this country ticking. Although at times lately, the ticking is slow, it continues and perhaps as the batteries are replaced or recharged shopping will get back on track.

For me lately, I think I am helping to recharge the batteries. Furniture, curtains, linens, bedding, dishes, pots, pans, glasses, cutlery and so much more! Whew, I can not wait to stop! Sure wish when you opened a venue such as ours, we could have had a housewarming shower, I think opening gifts would be so much more fun than shopping day in and day out. I can not believe I feel this way, but I am ready for the Guesthouse to be complete, yet I keep thinking "oh, we need this or oh, we need that".

We have tried our best to shop locally to help our community's economy, but sometimes it just is not here, thus we have made trips to many antique stores throughout the area, looking for just the right piece for this room or just the perfect picture for that room.

This evening we took a quick trip to Vincennes, for fabric for some cushions Mike's Mother, Nancy is going to help with. Mike and Jim (his Father) went with and as we walked through the store the cashier commented that our "menfolk" looked as if they were tired of shopping and yes they were!

Last Saturday Nancy and I went shopping for bedding, linens, and kitchen things. We had a blast, however Nancy did comment that spending money was getting to her, tell me about it. We laughed, when we took our carts up to the front of the store and the clerks eyes about popped out, when we asked if we could leave the full carts up front and take additional carts to fill. They asked if were we opening up a hotel and we told them "uh, yes sort of". As we continued shopping I overheard one clerk say "well, I have made my quota for the day". So glad to help!!

I am so happy that Nancy & Jim have come up from Dallas, but two weeks is not enough time. They have some pretty good ideas for bits and pieces to add to the house. And Nancy knows her antiques! They will head back home on Monday. Sunday is Father's Day and we will have the first dinner at the McClure Guesthouse. I can not wait and it will be, just one more lovely memory we have in this very special home of ours. And soon, we will share this home with many, so they too can have good memories.

The McClure Guesthouse is almost complete, we will have our Grand Opening in July. The OLNEY ARTS COUNCIL is going to help us as we host an Ice Cream Social on the Lawn along with tours and a bit of the history of the 1872 McClure Home, given by Arts Council Members. Watch for the announcement and come and make your own special step back in time, memory!

CAPTURED

I suppose you think I am going to write about something, someone or myself being captured. Perhaps that is right. My way of capture is with one of my cameras. I have been fortunate in the past 31 years (oh my that sounds so long!) to capture thousands of people, numerous animals and a multitude of nature and scenic photographs. I think that calling this a "job" is unfortunate, because I enjoy this aspect of my "job" immensely. Of course all of the nitty gritty details to accomplish the delivery of the product we create is tedious, however the end of it results in such satisfaction.

The art of Capture is such fun and very thought provoking. Creating the image can and usually does take planning, the best part is the actual capture and end result, a photograph which creates a memory, that can touch your heart. At least that is my intent.

When a disaster takes place (tornado, hurricane, flood, fire) and you may see on the TV the people affected, many say they were able to save their photographs or perhaps they lost their photographs. For me this shows that these images they saved or lost were so very important, a preservation of a memory .

In this day of Digital photography capture is so much easier, however it is making people comfortable. It is essential to get a hard copy of the image because......

......a camera can break, be lost or stolen. A memory card can fail and because of the newness of digital imagery saving to a hard drive, CD or DVD may not be permanent. Please make sure to get a picture you can hold in your hand, frame or put in an album. It will then become a permanent memory for you to share with the future. Please do not wait, because any of the above can happen at any time!

OK enough lecturing. It is such a joy to see peoples faces when I present their photographs to them. My husband is very gifted as a photographer I suppose you could say it is in his blood, being third generation and all. I am so lucky to have learned most of what I know from him. We are fortunate to be able to Capture Memories for others, in our Studio literature we call it "Memory Insurance" and I really believe it is.

We connect with many people at the time of the loss of a loved one. They need a picture of their loved one for the funeral or for themselves. I am sorry for people at this time in their life. However, I am thankful we can give them this memory we have created. To be able to see a little glimmer of comfort when I give them their photograph lets me hope that they will be able to get through this very sad time, a bit easier with this picture of their loved one. And because of the photograph, the memory will be with them always.

I have many photographs of my Dad at work and at home, often I look at them for comfort, encouragement and even advice. The picture is a piece of my Dad and I am so happy Mike captured him for me, such a treasured gift!

I am sure you all are thankful for the pictures you have, to keep memories, yours forever.