old friends meet at last...

I know that sounds confusing.

This morning I had the privilege of meeting a couple of wonderful women, one of whom I've been friends with for a while now through the sensation that is Social Networking.

Remember Dorene and the Lady Ta Tas? 

Well Dorene's sister Deb and I have become friends though this blog and through Facebook. We had a few  common interests:

1.  The first and most important one is that we both love Dorene!
2. Another bond between us is that we both make jewelry and "own" our own cottage industry. She creates glass beads that are wonderful miniature sculptures. (she also teaches the art of glass lampwork at her studio in Eagle River, Alaska) 
3. We also blog - Deb writes about Dorene's journey through her battle with breast cancer, called Life Updates for Dorene.

Dorene's birthday is this week, so Deb and their mom, Dianne (who also lives in Alaska) decided to come down to help her celebrate. I knew they wanted to meet the Lady Ta Ta friends (so sorry Vicki was gone) as well as a few other neighborhood ladies, so I hosted a little get together so we could all meet.

A couple of highlights were....

Barbara's amazing muffins and breads (she sells them to coffee houses around town) - sorry there are no photos - I was all jacked up on muffins and forgot to take pictures!

Deb brought a little gift for each Lady Ta Ta. I will let the pictures speak for themselves...

Thank you Deb for this lovely gift that came from your hands.

And from your heart...

Deb, Dianne, Dorene and moi.

...and for loving your sister like you do.

We, Team Ta Ta, thank you from the bottom of our...

xoxo

p.s.: Vicki yours is on its way!!!!

Lady Ta Ta...part two.

Well, we did it!

We had a marvelous day walking with loads of wonderful folks.

And I've got the pictures to prove it...



survivors



our survivor Michele





Barbara couldn't help herself - warming up the crowd



 

Michele and Vicki ready to go...

 and they're off!

 Barbara and me



loving the paparazzi...

Team Ta Ta







Lady TaTa....walking for a cure.

So two days ago my friend Michele emailed me to ask if I wanted to walk in the local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

Michele is a breast cancer survivor.

This disease has profoundly affected her, and she knows how much it has also touched my own life.

You see, back in June, I started walking daily with another friend, Dorene, who has struggled with breast cancer for many years.

Dorene and her beloved Sadie

She thought she was out of the woods, but two years ago a routine scan revealed her cancer had reappeared.

In June, she went through a procedure where it was discovered that the cancer had moved into her lungs.

Dorene was told to walk every day to keep her lungs strong and to keep them from filling up with fluid.


And I needed to lose weight.


Since early June, Dorene and I have rarely missed a day of walking. We started just walking down to the corner and back - we are now up to an hour a day.


Some days she doesn't want to go - and some days I don't.


Sometimes we talk about the disease, but we usually talk about our families, the weather, our beloved dogs (we're both nuts about our pups!), and anything else that friends usually chat about.


Recently it has become more of a struggle for Dorene, and she has been forced to miss some walks.

You know, I didn't know Dorene very well when we started our daily routine. She was a neighbor (who I happened to like a lot) in need of a  friend.

She is now an important part of my life.


So when Michele asked me if I wanted to join in our local event I jumped at the chance to support ANYTHING that might put an end to the disease that was robbing my friend of years of her life.


But.....


We needed a team name.


My husband Dennis came up with Lady Ta Ta....brilliant.!


We needed team shirts.


Time to whip out my new toy....


A picture is worth a thousand words:

I came up with this design.
 I put both front and back on one screen to save $$$ and time! (I taped one off while I printed the other)



burned screen...



ready to print!




back first...

 

back

 front



ready for Team Lady Ta Ta!

 A couple of other friends asked to join our team - Barbara, who has become a second walking partner, and Vicki, another supportive friend.

Tomorrow's the big day!


Stay tuned for pictures of this wonderful event....

Thinking of my our friend.....

with so much love....