~Paula Francine~
1951 ~ 2008
I open this blog with a little dedication to my sister Paula, whom I sadly & unexpectedly lost three years ago. I miss her with every shred of my being and my life will never be the same without her. But I do not intend for this to be morose or sad. On the contrary, it is a special remembrance of a beautiful girl and happy memories. We went through so much together – we shared it all, the good, the bad, and everything in between – the sweet and the bittersweet. She LOVED collecting, garage sailing, thrift store stalking, and she was darn good at it! And she would have SO loved sharing this part of my life in the store as well as here. We were going to be “old ladies” together. Go to Disneyland without any kids & watch the parades & hear the music and dance with Donald Duck! Buy as much junk as we wanted & not give a dang what the “Big Daddies” thought or said! We planned “trailer” vacations together (she’d finally gotten her dream – her fifth wheel!). And, I think, we would both wear purple with great abandon! So, here is my beloved little sister, Paula Francine. And ladies, if you are so lucky to have a sister please, love her like there’s no tomorrow. And do share your “sister” times with me, be it a sister past or present or a “sister of the heart”
She on the left & me on the right (I let her "borrow" my very cool bike!)
Here she is as I will always remember her ~ smiling, laughing (she laughed so easily) & being goofy! Whata doll!
And, as I will always remember "Us" ~ my little sister who grew taller than me and probably so much wiser too
awww what a sweet post. Hard to lose them, bittersweet to remember.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I was just telling a friend the other day, I want to go to Disneyland one more time, for old times sake, before I get too old to go anywhere ha ha.
So happy you started your blog! Yay!! It looks wonderful, and see? Not too, too terribly hard to figure out? Right? lol... Looks like you have all the basics, and that's all you need!!
And your first follower! :)
ReplyDeleteWell I am so proud of you vickie what good job. And I know the hours of sweat and frustration u put into it. I absolutely love it and what a cute name and picture. Ur way more talented than u give urself credit for. ur blog can only get bigger and better in the future. Love....love....love it. Keep up the good work. Your bff.....goose
ReplyDeleteRanchie! (I guess it's ok to call you that - better than "Atomic"?) THANK YOU so much for being my first "guest" & first "follower" - and I hope not the last, but if so, I'll still be grateful. Now I can come to the Ranch House and hit that "Follow" button like I've been wanting to do. Hope I can keep this half as fun & interesting as you do yours. Hope you'll stop by often.
ReplyDeleteGoose! There she is! My partner-in-crime. And I can say we nearly came to that literally in our younger days - haha! Thanks for all your kind words & I'll give you the keys to the "dashboard" & you can do this with me :- )
Vickie - I am so sorry that you lost Paula. I almost feel as though if I did not have my sisters, I wouldn't even want to be in this world without them.
ReplyDeleteYour sister was the same age as my oldest sister Tina.
I'm so happy to see your blog, and I will be eagerly awaiting your new posts!
Aunt Vickie - What a Special and loving bond you and Mom shared as sisters - one many people may never get to know. Both a sister - and a best friend forever. The picture of you and Mom on your bikes and also the one of you two laughing as adults makes my heart smile. I love the photo of you both in the hallway because you are both SO happy. The picture of Mom waving is also the perfect depiction of her personality - goofy, cheerful, and optimistic!! She was pure sunshine. Although Mom is not here I am happy for the wonderful times you did share together. I remember she would just count the days to come up to Sacramento and go garage sale-ing and shopping with you! I also remember her telling me about Disneyland and taking the 5th wheel to the ocean with NO men for you two to have peace and fun together!! I am certain she would Love to be an active part in your new adventure of the antique store. Know that she is having fun watching over you enjoy these things in life. I am so Happy and Proud of you for doing what you love in life. I look forward to reading you posts. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful, technology savvy, hip, and loving Auntie!! I Love you!!! xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteHeidi Ann! I'm so glad you stopped by (now that I finally got the hang of letting people know how to get here ;- ) I know you would identify with my "sister" post because I can see how close you and your sisters are. That's one thing I love about your blog - that you are together. I wondered for a long time how I might survive & go on without Paula, & really didn't want to. Being in the world without her is a very lonely place, a big, BIG part is missing. But I have so much to go on for (you can see one of those reason's above: my adorable neice who I treasure - she is the legacy my sister left for me & I adore her). Life does go on & tomorrow still comes & somehow we get through. But I do console myself in knowing she is ALWAYS with me, and she let's me know it too! Thanks Heidi. See ya at Gold Country, & here too!
ReplyDeleteMz. Colettee! My beautiful girl. Thank you so much for coming to my "house warming"! And thank you for your beautiful words. As you well know, me & your mom could dig in like a coupla cats but we always loved each other, no matter what. And didn't you & I have a great time looking at the old slides today! I love when you visit me :- ) See ya tomorrow night for Bachelor Pad
ReplyDeleteHey, Kiddo! It was wonderful to receive your email introing your blog. I miss you soooo. I never have enough to say to do one of these things.
ReplyDeleteRegarding your above question about something from childhood. I saved a book. Are you surprised? *G* It was called HEIDI and was about a young girl and her crippled friend. It still touches my heart remembering it.
((((HUGS))))
Beaty
Oh Beaty! I'm SO glad to "see" you! You always put the "sunshine" in my day. And hey, I never thought my life was interesting enough to inflict on the general population on a daily basis! Haha! But since I have this passion & someone gave me encouragement, well, here I am :- ) You KNOW when I'm passionate about something (like uh..reading romance) I can always find something to say. No, I'm not one bit surprised about that book you saved. And I definately remember Heidi. I think I didn't read it but saw the Shirley Temple movie when I was little. I always had tons of books - they were THE great escape & that passion was nurtured by my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Sundquist whose class was held in what was loosely called our library. So I had books all around me all day. And there was the library book mobile that came to school once a week. I loved it on cold winter days & the portable heater was on. Hey, thanks for digging up those memories...or, more fodder for my follies? ((HUGS)) to you Mz. Beats!
ReplyDeleteHow gorgeous you both are in those pics.Made me cry this post I am lucky I still have my little sis wish she didnt live so far away tho.
ReplyDelete