This blog is mostly for my family that couldn't make it to the memorial service this past weekend. But you are welcome to peruse this even if you aren't family - you might find it interesting.
And just about everyone in attendance was wearing Giants colors too. While we were setting up we had the game on the transister radio (but we turned it off when they were getting clobbered 8-0). Aunt Jeanne would have loved it, she had a radio in every room of the house. Well, she wouldn't have liked the part about the Giants losing, even a spring training game.
We all enjoyed looking through her scrapbook which was filled with lots and lots of sailors! There was even one of her "sucking face" (her oldest son's words, not mine) with one named Norman. She and her friends, Irene and May, were young available women in San Francisco in the 1940's, so who else were they going to socialize with? Vi was the wife of Johnny's best friend and the ladies quickly became best of friends. Three amazing friendships that lasted 70-80 years.
Another treasure was her handwritten budget from the 1950's. $50 for rent! $1 for phone! and she put away $10 every month for Christmas. That last one is actually a really good idea, but I'd probably need more than $10. I remember discussing the price they paid for the house about 10 years ago with Uncle John - $12,000! Matthew and I both said in unison "You can't buy a car for that." (note for non-family, it is one of those tiny "our soldiers/sailors need homes for their brides" places that were built in the late 40's and they lived it in it most of their marriage.)
Valjean mentioned to everyone that Aunt Jeanne was always the one adult to come play with the kids on holidays. And she continued to do that including this past Thanksgiving (the 61st she hosted) when she was on the floor playing blocks with my 4 ½ year old. My cousin, Michelle, and I even joked that most of the pictures we could find of her involved her looking at a child instead of the camera. Like these two photos of her with our babies:
We will always have her stockings. Over 400! and the last one she made was just a few weeks before she passed. Hopefully, Barry and Paul can find the pattern and the list of names. Not that any of us have the skill to make them.
A few other things I have that she made: an outfit both my brother and my son wore at their baptisms, a sweater she made for my brother (I think my neice Hailey has the one she made for me) and a blanket she made for Justin.
I might not be able to knit, but I did share her enjoyment for cross stitching. Which is why she gave me the kit to make this beautiful scene. She liked it so much she accidentally bought it twice. The one she made is in her computer room and I decorated my downstairs bathroom around the one I made.
This past weekend was bittersweet for me, learning some things about family members that I hadn't heard about before and sharing my own memories. Some good, some not so good. It made me realize that all families have their "issues" but we could all take a lesson from my Great Aunt Jeanne and love them anyway.
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