Saturday, November 22, 2014

Cabelas, WWII and Supporting Friends

Hello my friends, how is your weekend going?  On Thursday Dayle and I went to visit the new Cabelas sportsman store.  Oh my goodness.. what a place!  I walked in and immediately started snapping photos.. this is the front entry.. for an outdoor store?  Amazing!


And then this is what you see, the main aisle, with stuffed wild animals all down the sides at roof level.. with wood beams and skylights.  And I heard water falling.. and I was drawn towards the "mountain" at the other end...


There were a family of bears...



And majestic Mountain Goats.


I didn't photograph ALL the animals along the way, but there were many!  I reached the "mountain" and it was covered with MORE stuffed wild animals and there was a waterfall winding down.. see that elk?


And big huge bear mid-roar.. 


Mountain sheep, a badger, mountain lion/cougar and a beautiful antelope.  



There were more stuffed animals around the whole building up on a ledge.  Here is a moose couple.


You could walk through a tunnel under the mountain and view two aquariums with fish that you might try to catch if you buy a fishing pole.. :-)


The 2nd one had rainbow trout in it.


We walked around like two country rubes going ooooh and ahhh.. look at that!  I was looking forward to seeing what they had in cast iron cookware.  They had big ones and little ones - and I'm on the hunt for a bigger one than what we have - but I will wait until we find an old one.  The new ones are so rough!  The old ones are smooth.  Dayle was interested in the gun department - during which I waited for him in the snack bar area and caught up on Scrabble on my iPhone.  :-)  We eventually found something to buy, a bag of orange slice jellied sweeties.  :-)  Lunch out and a stop at Home Depot and home.  Fun day.

Now - when I was talking to my brother Rob the other day he told me that our Mother had given him two books that were our Dad's - he kept one and gave the other to his twin sister, Roberta.  It told all about the World War II era of Iwo Jima and Japan that my Dad went through, and his name is in the book.  So, I went on Amazon and found a First Edition of the book and now I own a copy too.. it arrived yesterday.  I am happy that the dust jacket was with it, but it's in delicate condition - is it okay to have it laminated or is that a no-no?


Dayle spent a long time last night looking through this book and telling me things.  I look forward to reading it and learning what my dear father went through.  I have to say that my Dad brought home a Samurai sword and Japanese rifle which we grew up looking at from time to time.. and during a move of my dads they came up missing.. obviously the movers.  Isn't that sad?  Here is the cover of the hardbound book - it's bigger than I thought it would be and quite heavy.



The government apparently sent one of these books to each of the soldiers who served.  I will treasure this book of my father's history.



On to a new subject - I'm doing a CAL (Crochet-a-long) with Sue at Mrs. Micawber blog.  She is very talented and knows techniques I've never even dreamed of.  But thanks to Sue.. and stretching my brain into some knots.. lol.. I know them now.  This is called Limpet Mitts.  See the shell shapes in the lower part?  Those are limpets.  She is going to post the next part today.. can't wait.


And now some sad news. I want to let you know that my friend and the maker of my sterling silver crochet hooks is very ill.  His wife Molly, who is his life partner and fellow artisan, sent me some information that I asked if I could share with you.  From Molly:

"John has end stage pancreatic cancer, and it is in his lungs and lymph system.  At the beginning of June they told him he had weeks to months to live.  He is still up and about and is still coming to the smithy every so often.  He has taught me how to make the things he makes and I will be carrying on the best I can.  I am giving him home hospice palliative care with the help of Hospice of the Northwest.  We feel very blessed to have this time together.  

I have only been telling a few people about this.  I guess it would be nice to get emails of support."

--- my friends, please say a prayers or send your good wishes to try to ease his pain.  I know they would like to hear from you, to wish them well.


Above a photo of John and Molly many years ago and below is John not long ago.


Here is my collection of their sterling silver hooks.  They are like magic to use - smooth, perfect of function, warming to your touch and beautiful.  I am glad I will have these to remember John and think of Molly.  To see their website click HERE.


And so, I am going to pick up my size H silver hook and work on finishing my red shawl today.  By the fire.  Chinese leftovers for lunch.  And life is good.  I hope you have a happy day ahead of you, enjoy your weekend.  ((hugs)), Teresa :-) 

22 comments:

  1. I am so sorry to hear about your friend! Those needles are beautiful! Cancer is such a bitch!!!
    We got a Cabelas here last year. There was one north of Milwaukee that we had been to. That one has all the mounts at ground level. Plus the mountain. But of course that takes up valuable floor space, so I can see why they put them up high now. Plus it is probably easier to keep them in good shape. No one can touch them.

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  2. I will be praying for your friends Molly and John during these coming days. I am glad they have the support of each other, you and hospice to get them through this time. Cabelas looks pretty neat. I will have to check them out after we finish more of the remodeling.
    Wishing you and yours a very blessed Thanksgiving week.
    Blessings, Aimee

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  3. Your photos make me want to go check out Cabela's :)

    From our years having a new/used book store I would advise you to not laminate the book jacket, but you could store the jacket in acid free paper and use acid free paper to make a book jacket for the book to help protect the cover while you are reading the book.

    John and Molly do such beautiful work. I sent them an email telling them what a pleasure it was to try out one of your crochet hooks; and to wish them well.

    I got to go to a workshop from 9:30 to 4:00 today. We made several different kinds of cards and worked some more on techniques for creating texture and color blending on journal pages. It was fun!

    Hope you are warm and cozy and making good progress on your stitching. We are watching USC and UCLA play football :) xx

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  4. I saw your post on facebook about John and Molly. It's so sad and I've had them in my prayers since I read it, he is a true craftsman and your hooks are lovely. I've admired them since you first showed them to me. We have a Cabela's close by and enjoy going to look at the amazing things they have. Their Philly a Steak sandwich is pretty good too. :-)
    Blessings always,
    Betsy

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  5. Re: the book. Talk to your local librarians about what they would do to preserve the delicate condition. It's never a no-no to make something more usable but there is often more than one way to get to the destination.

    What a great opportunity to learn more about your dad.

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  6. Praying for your friends. Cancer is not a good thing, has taken too many people. Interesting book you bought. My daughter looked up where a relative was stationed in France, WWI. We have his discharge paper. Found more writing on the back of it when I took it out of the frame. Interesting what you can find internet wise. Megan even found a photo with our relative in it online. Have a good weeked.

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  7. What an amazing store, I have never seen anything like it. Wonderful crochet hooks, such sad news, they will be in my prayers.

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  8. Nice trip to cabella's and I'm so glad you found the book with your dad's name. I'm so sorry about your friend. When I readyour last post I thought it was funny you got the magazine. I had gotten the magazine this summer n thought about you and your hooks, was wondering if it was made by the same person. I was going to try to bring with me next time we meet. So sad that he is so sick. I hope he saw his hooks in the magazine.
    Have a wonderful thanksgiving my dear friend.

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  9. Such sad news about your friends, I have had them in my thoughts since reading your post.

    The store you visited is crazy, we certainly have nothing at all like that here in the UK!! So happy you have a copy of the book, what a wonderful way to remember your Dad. The CAL looks lovely, I am sad I cant join in at the moment as I am trying to be self-disciplined and get all my Christmas crafting out the way before I go back to "my" crafting projects.

    Have a lovely Sunday, we are getting ready to watch the final Formula 1 race of the season.

    Helenxx

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  10. What an amazing store Teresa, it's more like a natural history museum! Your book is a great find, treasure it. Sorry to hear that your friend is so ill, he must take comfort from his family and friends xx

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  11. Such sad news Teresa, much love to you and your precious friends John and Molly xxx

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  12. Prayers and positive thoughts for John and Molly. I'm very sorry for what they are dealing with. That looks like a very interesting book. I would enjoy it too. Cabela's looks like lots of fun, glad you had a chance to go. Hope you're having a great weekend.

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  13. I love Cabelas! I was to one years ago, and it is so interesting and fascinating there! A person can spend hours in there and not see everything. Prayers for your friends. Those hooks are beautiful! Am going to check out their web site now.

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  14. Laminate!!! Go ahead and laminate. IT will preserve it! So cool
    I sent John's wife a little prayer.
    I LOVE your sterling crochet hooks. I HAVE NEVER!!!
    Santa will be hearing about this

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  15. Prayers to John and Molly for this horrible disease. I looked at their web site and the knitting needles, and oh my, what amazing work. I can hear the yarn gliding over them! Cabella's looks like an all day affair. You certainly live in a beautiful area.

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  16. I'm so sorry to hear about your friend ... what a talent he has! His good work will live on.

    What a store! I've never been to one as they don't have them in our area, but it looks amazing. We like old cast iron too. :)

    Those books are precious. Hard to imagine what those guys lived through. Have you read "Letters from Iwo Jima" and "Flags of Our Fathers"? They each tell the story from opposite sides of the battle. So very sad.

    Thanks for the shout out - I hope you enjoy the rest of the mitt pattern. Let me know if you have any questions. ;)

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  17. What an amazing store Teresa .. and you got some awesome shots on your camera. I'm so glad you have that book - I know it will be a much treasured item in your family history. I was very sorry to hear about John's health problem - cancer is such a horrible thing. I have a couple of John's sterling silver hooks and love them. My thoughts are with him and his family (and friends). xox

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  18. Cabela's is such a fun store. I can't want to go the next time I'm home.

    I'm so sorry to hear of John's plight. My prayers are with him and his wife at this difficult time.

    What a delight to find that book that holds such family memories for you, and phooey on those thieving movers. There's no excuse for stealing family heirlooms.

    And the crochet along sounds like fun! I found a cute little snowman pattern on Craftsy yesterday: http://www.craftsy.com/pattern/crocheting/home-decor/mini-snowman/18408 and it's free!

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  19. Prayers for John and Molly at this time.

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  20. That's a fantastic shop you visited - I've never been to anything like that! I'm glad you were able to get that special book and am so sorry the Samurai sword and Japanese rifle are gone. Those silver hooks are amazing! They must be very special to use.

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  21. Such an amazing store, and you got a lot of great pictures! Love visiting places with you that I would otherwise never see, Teresa! So sad about your friend's illness, such a difficult time.
    Take care, and keep cosy.
    Helen xox

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  22. Praying for your friends....bless his heart that he is still making things. I will keep them both in my prayers. Wishing you a most lovely day sweet friend. :)

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