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It all started with a few of my art sisters!  As we sat together chatting about what inspired us, the other artists that have played a role in our inspiration,  and our own mortalities, I  decided to have a small open house in honor of our past loved ones.  It sounded like a great idea, and we all agreed we need to celebrate life more often!  The next morning, my husband and I had a discussion about what we could do to make this a fun party.  He offered to take the evening off from his band rehearsal, and suggested we make luminaries for the walkway.  I loved it, now we were both getting into it!  That is when the skull frenzy started, and for about three weeks I lived and breathed skulls!  By the time they were finished the count was four large skulls, and nine little ones!  Now what?  Over the last few weeks, you have seen pictures of the skulls that have been created, and every minute of it was fun.  At one point my friend LaRetta came over to help create some of the skulls!  That was a huge help, since getting burned out seemed to be looming in the wings!  There are still about two skulls that haven’t been worked on, and my guess is that they will just have to wait until next year, “Oh, am I glad I’ve mellowed over the years!”  There was a time when almost finished wasn’t an option, but not any more, now I’ve learned to enjoy everything in its own time.  “Life is too short to stress over anything, Don’t worry, be happy!”

Thursday morning was devoted to last-minute shopping,  the afternoon to cooking, and putting out the luminaries.  The house started to look just like I had envisioned, we were scampering all around, getting last-minute decorations in place, and creating an altar for the pictures of deceased relatives.  Soon  our company would start arriving, and the fun would begin! …………………….

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With everything precisely where we wanted, food on the table, fire pit, and heater  lit, candles flickering all over the house, our guests started to arrive.  One at a time they came in to join the celebration, some bringing pictures for the altar.  In observation, there was a fair share of four-legged furry loved ones represented tonight also!  Grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, friends, and furry babies  all remembered here, and we were celebrating how blessed we were to have them in our lives.  It was a happy occasion – no tears, that time had passed,  now we were all here for our first Day of the Dead celebration!

Thank you to Tony and LaRettta Zamora, Margaret Davis, Ann Maioroff, Maxine Custer, Dann Nielson, Karin De Baay, and my dear, and dedicated husband Les, for making it a success!  I’m sorry some of you were busy with prior obligations, or not feeling well, but there will be a next year, and it will be just as much fun, maybe more!   See you then…..