Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Happy Valentine's Day!


My sweetie and I on May 13, 2006, the day I received my Master of Science in Library Science degree from the University of North Texas.


© Amanda Pape - 2024 - e-mail me!

Sunday, February 4, 2024

Dad Would've Been 95 Today


My dad, Frederick Henry Pape (1929-2017), the family dog Lucky, and his uncle and godfather, Walter "Walt" Francis Pape (1900-1975), outside Fred's family home at 2093 W. Lunt Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, about 1944 - so 80 years ago. 


© Amanda Pape - 2024 - e-mail me!

Thursday, January 4, 2024

Treasure Chest Thursday - More Handmade Ornaments - By the Kids and Me!


This is the last post on my Christmas tree ornaments for this holiday season - we're still in the Twelve Days of Christmas, and my tree and all my decorations are still up!  

I *think* my daughter made these two snow people from popsicle sticks - maybe at school, maybe in Girl Scouts.  It's possible my son made one or both of them.  I'll have to ask them and see if they remember!



I'm pretty sure my daughter made the next three Ojos de Dios (God's Eyes), probably in Girl Scouts. 





 I may have made this last one, since I was one of the troop's leaders.   It was made with a single piece of variegated yarn (dyed with more than one color).



© Amanda Pape - 2024 - e-mail me!

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Treasure Chest Thursday: Ornaments From Mom and Dad When the Kids Were Young

When my children were young, my parents sent a couple of Santa ornaments for our Christmas tree.  They appear to have been made from salt dough, and coated with something clear and shiny to preserve them.  I have passed these on to the kids.




© Amanda Pape - 2023 - e-mail me!

Thursday, December 21, 2023

Treasure Chest Thursday - Ornaments Made by the Kids

My daughter Diane made a LOT of things with pony beads and plastic lacing cord in the 1990s, all at home.  Here's one that works as a Christmas tree ornament:



Unlike his sister, my son Eric did not make any ornaments outside of school.  Below are some cinnamon dough ornaments made with cookie cutters sometime in elementary school.  The scent was lovely.



As much as I'd like to keep these ornaments, I just don't have room on my small, three-foot tree.  The kids, now adults, have their own trees, so I've passed these on to them.


© Amanda Pape - 2023 - e-mail me!

Thursday, December 14, 2023

Treasure Chest Thursday: Ormaments Made by / Of the Kids

The first of these two Christmas ornaments was made by my daughter Diane in 1995, and also includes a photo of her:



The second ornament was a gift for my son Eric's first Christmas, and I added a photo of him that I took in December of that year:



I've passed both of these ornaments on to the kids.


© Amanda Pape - 2023 - e-mail me!

Thursday, December 7, 2023

Treasure Chest Thursday: Ornaments Made by the Kids, 1994

On our road trip this past October, I gave my children most of my Christmas tree ornaments, especially ones that they made.  I did keep a few back, for the time being.  I don't put them on the tree - instead, I hang them on the fireplace screen (we don't use our fireplace), along with some other special decorations on the hearth and mantel.  Both of these ornaments were made in 1994, when the kids were 8 and 5 respectively.






© Amanda Pape - 2023 - e-mail me!

Thursday, November 30, 2023

Remembering Mom - It's Been Four Years

Four years ago today, I lost my mother, Geraldine Margaret Guokas Pape, to the effects of nonfluent/agrammatic primary progressive aphasia, a form of fronto-temporal degeneration, at age 91.  I still miss her.  This photo was taken May 28, 2016, at a high school graduation party in Austin, Texas, for her youngest grandson. 


Geraldine Margaret Guokas Pape, 1928-2019, on May 28, 2016


© Amanda Pape - 2023 - e-mail me!

Monday, November 6, 2023

Remembering Dad - It's Been Six Years

Six years ago, my father, Frederick Henry Pape, died rather suddenly at age 88.  I still can't believe it's been that long, and I still miss him.  This photo was taken May 28, 2016, at a high school graduation party in Austin, Texas, for his youngest grandson. 


Frederick Henry Pape, 1929-2017, on May 28, 2016


© Amanda Pape - 2023 - e-mail me!

Tuesday, October 31, 2023

Happy Halloween - Fifty Years Ago!


Halloween skit in 1973 at St. Agnes Academy, Houston, Texas - cropped from the 1974 Veritas yearbook.  That's me in the middle in the dark clothes - I think I'm supposed to be a tree (I'm in the process of pinning leaves from the bag on myself).  The bird standing at the left is Frances Rauer, next to her is Mary Lang, on the other side of me is Marie Carl, and my good friend Audrey Beust is seated on the floor, facing the camera.


© Amanda Pape - 2023 - e-mail me!