Ann, Dear Friend

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful Moms out there that take care of everything. You are appreciated and LOVED!!!

Ann was like a Mom to me. She was a terrific mentor and my best friend!

Pictures at Trey’s 40th Mardi Gras Birthday Party at Sugar Land Marriott

I met Ann in the ladies’ restroom at work one day. It was circa 1999. I had admired her from afar for several months. She was an older, striking woman with beautiful suits and gorgeous legs (a woman can notice these things, too!). We struck up a warm conversation and were best friends until the day she died, February 8, 2017.

Ann was living and working in Houston, Texas and would travel back and forth to her home in Pensacola, Florida when I met her.

We were attached to each other. I cannot describe it. I don’t think I will ever meet another soul like her. She was a surrogate Mom, best friend, and big sister all rolled into one. She didn’t hesitate to correct me if I was wrong or going down the wrong path. And, I taught her things that she was too embarrassed to ask other people. Ann was raised to be a good Catholic girl.

Ann’s Talents

Ann was a talented Interior Decorator. She knew all about color, and scale and life. She would tell me the colors that I should be wearing. Wear the red lipstick. I wonder what she would say to me now that I’m letting my hair grow out gray?

She was a fantastic cook. She could make ramen soup turn into something yummy. She could make frozen pizza taste great – I followed her outside to see her pluck rosemary from the nearby bush and place it on the pizza. Try it! It’s fabulous. She made foil meals when we were on Sherman’s Troller. She cooked these fabulous hamburgers with bacon, avocado, and shrimp. She cooked well and made it present well too. Put your green salad in a green bowl and see if it doesn’t present better. This green bowl is similar to the one I own.

Water Skiing

Ann taught me to water ski on Clear Lake in Houston, Texas. Ann and her close friend, Sherman, were so patient, loving, and kind. Sherman laughed. Ann laughed. I laughed. We laughed. It was a great day!!!

Dallas Market

What a feast for the eyes! Imagine a city block wide and 14 stories high of shops – home décor, furniture, Christmas; art; dishes, bags, more art, food samples, beach décor, etc. Anything you could think of for the home, it’s there. And this is all the new stuff that may not yet be out in the retail market. We never made it to the clothing mart.

My beautiful dining room chandelier was purchased at Dallas Market.

<<pic here>>

I recently attended Dallas Market with my sister, Becky, it’s not the same without my friend, Ann. She was so good at directing me to what works and what doesn’t. Admire, but keep walking.

<<Dallas Market pic here>>

Sailing

Ann exposed me to sailing. I won’t say taught as we needed more time. In 2004, Hurricane Ivan came into Pensacola, Florida and destroyed Ann’s 36’, “Sparkling Burgundy” sail boat, and was never replaced. I remember crossing the Pensacola Bay Bridge and seeing these white metal poles bobbing up and down in the water. There were hundreds of boats lost and the only thing the eye could see were the masts. It was complete destruction.

I remember seeing Ann’s boat all by itself on a sand bar. We could have easily boarded the boat and rescued anything that was of value. The water was clear, but the water was deemed contaminated as the sewage plant was at 30’ above sea level and Pensacola had experienced a 32’ surge. The plant has since been moved further inland.

One day, it was just the two of us day sailing and she told me to turn the wheel port side hard. I did. I had turned it too hard. I had proceeded to turn the wheel so hard that I made the chain jump off of the rudder. We were dead in the water. At least until a fellow motor boat crew came to the rescue. Ann laughed. I laughed. We laughed. She was absolutely fabulous at turning a negative situation into a cheery, positive, funny situation.

Apartment Move

There was the time that Ann helped me move out of an expensive apartment into a less expensive apartment, but, I would now have left over funds to actually decorate. And, decorate it, we did! Blue pleather sofa from Sherman. Two side chairs that my work was going to throw out. With Ann’s encouragement, I painted the back of the bookcase yellow (I KILZed it when I moved out). In the living room there had been a red brick fireplace – was visiting a neighbor (the neighbor’s taste ran country, but she had painted that red brick fireplace black). I needed that. I found a huge mirror at Sam’s for $150 and two posters from Ikea. One of them was a Kandinsky poster that we cut in half. Then we painted the frames black and framed all three.

I still have these hanging in Adam’s hallway. And my precious yellow curtains from IKEA. Ann spotted these in IKEA one day. I was hesitant. Really, yellow curtains? Was that a good choice? Oh, my friggin’ Gosh!! They were perfect. They were happy. They were just what I needed! They eventually bleached out from the sun, but I loved them until their dying day and by the time I moved into my Cat Springs home, I had to get new yellow curtains. Ann laughed. I laughed. We laughed.

Ann stated that I needed some kind of large art to go over my blue pleather sofa. I didn’t have funds for a canvas. What did we do? We stretched one ourselves. Ann was incredibly handy like that and smart and full of joy. You must remember that this was a time that my eldest son, Joseph, was living with his father full time and his father would hide my son from me. I needed joy and sunshine. Ann helped me bring joy and peace into my life.

I present to you: Eye of the Storm

This is the canvas Ann and I stretched and painted:

A New Love

Ann lost her husband, a daughter, and a sailboat all within a 12 month period. It was the first time that I witnessed her break down. She was devastated. And yet, she pulled her self together and prevailed.

After the loss of her first husband, she told me once that she was scared to death to date. Later she told me that she was having so much fun dating and had no idea it could be such a blast.

Then one day, she told me that her and Pete were getting married because Pete had knocked her up. She was in her 70’s by this time. She married, and lived in Gulf Breeze with her wonderful husband, Pete, until death stole her away from us.

Lessons Learned

Ann taught me to stick up for myself – that I have a voice too. I always knew she had my back. She is sorely missed and I think about her every day and wish that I could speak to her one more time.

Stolen Purse

There was the time that my purse was stolen out of my car. This purse was very special as I had saved up for it and at the time was the most expensive Coach purse that I owned. I was devastated. When I arrived at work the next day, I had a couple of nice folks offer me money to make up for the loss. I turned their kindness down. The money that was stolen from my bank (a check written for $1k cash and cashed) and from the credit cards would be replaced. It was the purse that was such a loss. Well, Ann came into my office and we left work immediately. She took me to pick out a new lipstick. It had been stolen too! A girl always needs her lipstick. I laughed. Ann laughed. We laughed. She made LIFE better and kept me from thinking about the negative. I LOVE HER!

Lost on I-10

There was the time that I drove 9 hours (Houston, Texas to Pensacola, Florida) to visit with Ann on a Friday, left Sunday to return home, only to realize that I was almost to Jacksonville, Florida. I had driven the wrong way. I had been so engrossed with a book on tape that I didn’t notice at first that I was going the wrong way. The signs driving East have musical notes on them and all of a sudden didn’t look right. This was back before GPS, you younger ones. So, I called Ann. She laughed. I laughed. We laughed. She tells me to pick her up on the way back through and that she will ride with me back to Houston. She would meet up with her longtime friend, Sherman. Sherman would take her to the airport to fly back home. We arrived into Houston on a Monday morning at 7am. Just in time for me to drop her off and drive into work.

Beach House Search

Ann always knew that a dream of mine was to own a beach house. Something on the water. In Florida. She gifted me my first ever beach house:

Ann & Pete helped me look at beach house options for two years. They did an incredible amount of legwork, but enjoyed the hunt. Finally, in November 2015 DH and I found our piece of paradise, The Great Escape.

Spring Branch, Texas

There was the time that I met Ann in Spring Branch, Texas. Her only son (he has 7 sisters) owns a beautiful home in the Spring Branch area. Ann was there to help him decorate. This home has two fireplaces that extend up into the second-floor bedrooms. This particular time, Ann was decorating one of the master suites. She was painting a picture to hang above the fireplace. She had chosen to paint a pretty landscape that you would see right outside of the windows.

She had asked me if I could tell where she had just painted more branches. I could not tell. She was a gifted artist.

Ann, the Artist

While we were laughing and working, Ann tells me a story of painting poodles in her client’s bathroom as a college student. Her professor knew how talented Ann was and he knew that she would be finished in less than five minutes. Ann’s professor advised her to stay in the bathroom for at least an hour even if she completed the project in five minutes. I can only imagine Ann drawing something like this:

Ann’s Apartment in Houston

There was the time Ann was working here in Houston. She had rented a one-bedroom apartment. It was beautifully decorated – of course! This is Ann I speak of. She lived on the first floor and there was this man on the second floor across the way that always seemed to be peering in on her. She didn’t like to close her blinds/drapes. Ann didn’t want to feel like a caged animal. So, what did she do? She purchased a Boston Fern and hung it with a chain just long enough to block the nosy man’s view. This was brilliant! This was Ann.

There was the time in the same Houston apartment that an intoxicated man walked into her apartment claiming it was his home. Now, Ann grew up leaving her front door and cars unlocked. She never changed this. So, the intoxicated man walks in, sits down and begins to yell at her to get out. There was no cause for alarm. He wasn’t threatening her. He was just blitzed out of his mind. The man finally left. Ann laughed. I laughed. We laughed.

Hurricane Ivan

There was the time Hurricane Ivan hit the Emerald Coast of Florida and Georgia Power came in to assist. Georgia Power saw Ann and I working in her front yard and handed us each a cheeseburger from Wendy’s. Georgia Power had driven in to help the local power company get the power lines back up, so the electricity would be restored. We had been working in Ann’s front yard picking up branches and such. We worked our buns off that weekend. I had never witnessed first-hand the destruction a hurricane leaves behind. So much devastation. It’s like a war zone. All of a families’ belongings stacked up 10’ high for the garbage truck to haul off. It’s crazy to see at first and then it makes you weary.

Ann had lost her Navy pilot husband, her beautiful daughter, Jackie, and her beloved sailboat all in one fail swoop – within 12 months of each other. She persevered.

Bee Gees

There was the time I came in to help her set up her new surround sound. She loved the Bee Gees (I will always think of her every time I hear one of their songs) and we purchased a Bee Gees music video CD. She loved it! When she was on her deathbed, I played her the Bee Gees from my phone. She sat there transfixed (I could only imagine the thoughts and memories running through her head) listening to them all. I thought about it later that playing “Staying Alive” might not have been the best song to be playing. I laugh about this now. I sure hope she is looking down and laughing too.

Ann Taylor

There was the time Ann took me to Ann Taylor to purchase new clothes. Oh, how I wish we could do this one more time. She was brutally honest and would tell me if this color or that color was wrong. “No, Kathy, you need jeweled tones.” Unlike the sales lady who would tell me that everything looked great. The sales lady kept trying to butt in and finally I told her to listen to whatever Ann said. Ann laughed. I laughed. We laughed. The sales lady made a great sale that day and I had clothes that complimented my hair and skin tone.

Ann was excellent at putting the whole outfit together.

Yellow Gladiolas

There was the time that I drove in, so Ann could help me with a yellow flower arrangement in my dining room. In 1999, I had purple shag carpet, six red parson’s chairs, and a clear glass table. It needed yellow gladiolas to go on top. I drove in just for that. So, she could help me. So, we could visit. So, I could laugh. So, she could laugh. So, we could laugh! I still have the clear glass table at The Great Escape.

<<add yellow gladiola pic here>>

Gig Harbor, Washington

For a few summers, Ann and Pete would rent a cottage right on Gig Harbor, Washington. It’s incredibly beautiful during the summer. I enjoyed seeing the Boston ferns protruding out of the rocks. The cottage was a one-bedroom home, so I was able to stay at the guest quarters of the owner’s house. It was a couple houses down the road. In the mornings, I would walk to where Ann and Pete were staying. Ann had encouraged me to pick the blackberries. They were delicious and I ate as many as I could as I made my way over to Ann’s cottage. One of the things that I will always remember from this visit is that she fixed my hair like a Mom would do.

The Great Beach Escape

There was the time Ann was helping me decorate The Great Escape. She had just staged the balcony.

This is the pic:

As she was walking back inside, she tripped over the edging of the sliding glass door and fell onto the living room floor. She thought that if she rested there that in 30 minutes time she could shake it off and keep going. Not this time. She had broken her hip. So, she is lying there and we are still decorating my condo. The Fire Department shows up first. She has them talking and laughing. They tell her that at least she has a nice view while we all wait for the ambulance. When the ambulance shows up, they have to wrap her in several bed sheets. Ann stated that she has never been bound up before. They laughed. Ann laughed. I laughed. We laughed.

Paramedics Arrive

As the paramedic‘s wheel Ann out the door on the gurney she looks up onto the ceiling and tells me that I need to paint by the vent. She never stops decorating. At the hospital, Ann gets checked in. Her surgery would be the next morning. We are waiting for her son to arrive. While we wait, I pull out of my bag: a tape measure, a hammer, and an ice pick. All very suspicious if you didn’t know what we were working on. Throughout this whole ordeal Ann laughed. I laughed. We laughed.

<<add tape measure, hammer, ice pick pic here>>