A Celebration Of Life With A Big Side Of Sunshine

Near 80 degrees today and absolutely brilliant.

Our good friend Helen Smagorinsky passed away some time ago and we have been waiting for over two years to attend the celebration of her life.  You would have loved her!  The most kick ass woman I have ever met and boy, were we on the same page.  After a career in teaching, she decided she wanted to become a painter and soared as a folk artist

What a beautiful human being, inside and out.

We have known Helen and Mel for decades....

and can't say enough about her beautiful work.

Here she (Gigi) is with her granddaughter Shaina....they were best friends.

We have gotten to know many members of her family over the years and they were all here today.

Helen faced her death with grace...planned this party and wrote her own obituary.  The last two words in it were VOTE BLUE! We have learned so much from her.  See what I mean about being kick ass?

Mel did a heck of a job holding this party in her honor and people came from all over the place to join him.  Even his cousins from England.

I knew right away, that the food was catered by Shaina's husband, Mike.  Outstanding as usual.

Loved seeing so many friends that have been kept away by Covid.

The world would have been very different if Helen had become our President!!!!

She told Mel if anyone wore black today they were to be kicked out.  Guess who wore black!

Helen and I were on the same committee that raised $$$ to bring more public art to our community.  That's when we really spent a lot of time together.  We even raffled off dinners that were prepared by the committee members (for big bucks).  When Helen was in charge of purchasing the ingredients for appetizers, we always knew the cost was going to be way over budget!  Back in those days, she was doing some serious entertaining on her own.  More recently she would always tell me she was no longer cooking, and when we dropped of veggies from our garden...she knuckled under.

What a party.

Helen would have been pleased.....

Back at the ranch around 4 and did some mowing before Jenny arrived to check out the barn roofs and ponies at 5.

Sent Jen home with some daffodils and went out later than usual

to tuck in Seamus and his horse.

My buddy was felling the heat!

Night all.