February 17 at 8:00am She loved and hid and stockpiled and enjoyed chocolate, Dark CHOCOLATE was her favorite...EVERYTHING.... Chocolate
OPIUM PERFUME
WINE 
COFFEE 
TRAVEL of any sort 
Elisabeth Arden Discreet Pink #01 LIPSTICK 
THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the Movie 
She loved music classical and jazz
THE LAST MOVIE i TOOK HER TO WAS "OUT OF AFRICA", she much preferred being out in it, traveling, or telling some "where to go" she had a list of hidden treasures in the northwest. 
Hamburger GRAVY AND MASHED potatoes were a favorite, 
 Riding in the front seat, NOT THE BACK was her travel mode. 
Decorating the Christmas tree was a production, getting the tree was an adventure. 
She loved her wine until she forgot she loved it :( 
 COFFEE - BLACK cream in later years, 
 COMFORTABLE SHOES, 
SCALPED Oysters Geneva's mimeographed receipt from the war years. 
Her children- all of them fully and with reservation SOMETIMES, sometimes not... she had standards. 
Her grandchildren without question, she loved and admired.
Birds and watching them, traveling to see them and later; sitting quietly in her room at Guardian Angel in the yard out her window. 
Road trips anywhere or just a car ride was a requirement until the last. 
Holly's sweatshirts, soft strechypants and nylon nighties. Christmas carols, she knew all the words. 
Pecan cake & Betty Kenney and Christmas Cookie making 
PEANUT BUTTER AND DILL PICKLE SANDWICHES - and often to be know as the "SANDWICH Queen" by Bob 
OMELETS FOR the "BREAKFAST SHE DID NOT EAT"

Her favorite saying when frustrated with us or herself was "I am going to cut my suspenders and go straight up" I never understood it until I had Kids... 

SHE NEVER DIED HER HAIR SHE NEVER LOST HER TEETH 
She played Bridge, she play golf with a 9holers at Liberty Lake and the 18holers when she got better at it. 
While all of her friends were retiring she was still raising her youngest child and always fit all of it in, it was her style. 
She wore a ponytail and long hair for many years, Bob love long hair. 
She did not wear cowboy boots, ever... that I remember. 
I never saw her ride a horse. I never saw her wear cow boy hat. She like boating not camping, camping was way too much work, but she did it with a smile and knew we all loved it. 
I think she preferred cats to dogs; especially Siamese; Remember Mrs? She broke her tow kicking at her to get her to come out from underneath the big oval dinning table when we lived on Trent.
She was Fearless and Critical; she was Loving and Constructive and she was always your Friend. She spoke plainly and minced few words and could be a bad-ass mama-bear. She often let you hang yourself "with a new rope" but would never let you Drown.
We loved her long and well... I am sure each of you could to add to her "favorite things" Please do....  ps.  I attache the last photo I took of her... 

Erin Charlene She hated it when people didn't like surprises. She would say "Oh well, Erin, I am not telling you" and if she learned that you collected something she would get you 250 of those things. I remember her perfume, I think of her every time I pass by the counter at the mall. She always had a purse and it was fully stocked with things anyone ever needed. She always had a map. She had a big ass car phone before anyone I knew, but she would say it was only for "emergencies". The first time I ever heard "You've got mail" was from her AOL account. She loved her family fiercely and bragged about them to anyone that would listen. She always had a bowl out for stray animals. She could tell you all the stubborn parts to her children, as well as their accomplishments and what they were best at. She could tell a story, a very long story, but she was great at painting pictures of each trip she took with the taste of the food, the smell of the air and the people she met. Thank you for keeping her spirit alive. xoxoxoox

Mom really loved Seattle. Years before this picture was taken, when I lived in Portland, I remember taking the train to Seattle to meet her there -- just so she could spend the weekend walking around Pike Street and picking up some chocolate at Dilettante’s seconds shop in the Central Area. Mom never missed a visit to the chocolate shop when she came to Seattle. Funny thing, now I own a house three blocks from the corner where Dilettante had that seconds shop for all those years.

After I moved back to Seattle I would have her over to my house regularly. This photo is from the last time she was able to make the trip. Her memory was getting pretty bad at that point. So in order to make it to me safely in Seattle, Kim took her to the airport in Spokane, right to the plane’s gate, and I met Mom at her gate in Seattle. Kim told me later, in Spokane, when they asked Charlene for her ID, all she had was a few other bits. She asked, "Why in the world would I need my driver’s license if I am flying to Seattle on a plane??!” LOL.

The airline still let her on the plane.