French la Vie

I am Judy Wilcox

I am a procrastinator.

 

 

When this pandemic hit, I decided as long as I was going to be isolating at home, I might as well dig into the numerous projects I’d been putting off for years.  I made a list—clean closets, drawers, cabinets, and the storage area which hasn’t been tackled for, well, let’s just say a very long time.  I cleaned the hall closet and a few drawers and lost interest.

 

 

I have other confessions to make as well.  I make Santas using old quilts, vintage fabric, laces, and fur.  I have 2 racks of old fur coats which were given to me or I bought at garage sales.  My production has slowed considerably in the last few years so my inventory doesn’t diminish.  When the furnace man comes I have to explain why I have so many fur coats lest he thinks I am the Imelda Marcos of fur.

 

Something else I might as well tell you is that I am a “hooker”. 

 

 

I hook rugs from strips of wool.  It is a primitive craft and there are many women in my city and state who “hook”.  There are “hook-ins” drawing people from our area and other states.  Last fall my horse rug won first place.  It is adapted, with permission, from a painting by Jenny Foster.

 

My son when he was young and Bertha the Writer 

 

I am such a procrastinator that our cranky, old Basset Hound, Bertha, took over writing our Christmas letter the same year that the H.W. Bush’s dog published a memoir.  When no one in the family stepped up to pen the letter, she took it on.  It came at a price as she points out our shortcomings throughout the year. I don’t care I am just relieved that the letter is not my problem.

 

Montana

 

our home

 

I am involved in several groups which, until COVID, took me out of the house almost every day.  It means I get to spend time with friends and, if I’m truthful, I don’t have to spend the day doing housework.  I’m involved in 2 book clubs, 2 rug hooking groups, a quilting group (I don’t even quilt!), a random acts of kindness group, a church fellowship group, a birthday club, and a writing group who have been writing our life’s stories monthly for 12 years.  I also knit hats for cancer patients.

I have given up most volunteer boards but still, serve on a board at the University of Nebraska Medical Center which is a leader in infectious disease.  35 years ago when I had 2 kinds of cancer, I decided that my priorities were family and friends.  If I have housework to do and a friend calls to go to lunch, I choose the friend.  That probably explains why the storage room is still in its deplorable state and why the paper is taking over my office.

My Grandson.

 

My Family

 

My husband, Ross, and I met at Nebraska Wesleyan University and have been married for 56 years. We both grew up on farms near small towns and we both attended one-room schools for 8 years. We have lived in Lincoln, Nebraska since college.  I taught high school English and Spanish until our son was born and Ross was a banker.  We love to travel and spend time at our cabin in Montana.  Our son, Andy, and his wife, Christie, are both attorneys though both are working in other fields.  Andy is a commercial real estate and small business investor.  Christie is head of human resources in a bank of over 900 employees.  They have one adorable son who is 6.  Some of our friends have great-grandchildren, but we procrastinated in that area too. Our son was born when
I was 35 and he, following our example, became a father at 37.

 

I have read Corey’s blog for years and, being a Francophile, live vicariously through her adventures.  It’s the first thing I read every morning.  I was happy to meet Corey 2 years ago when we spent a month in Provence. 

Here’s to another 16 years of blogging, Corey.