My husband was a man of many talents, not the least of which included those of artist.  Chuck could draw, paint, woodwork, and as I found out relatively recently, Chuck could whittle.  This cowboy statue was in our house for several years before I asked Chuck where he had gotten it.  To my absolute surprise, he told me that he'd made it!  While at a family camp with friends Gary & Arlene, Chuck picked up a piece of wood he found while he and Gary were hanging out, and whittled this cowboy out of that piece of wood.  

Chuck had quite a collection of athletic footwear (what my family generically refers to as tennies) and was always on the lookout for a new, unusual or colorful pair to add to his collection.  My nephew, Andrew, had seen this pair of tennies and knew they were right up Chuck's alley.  Andrew saved his money to buy these for Chuck for Christmas 2005, which Chuck promptly slipped on and wore proudly and often!

I have a dessert I make that involves pecan sandies cookies, bananas, a cream cheese/cool whip filling, and is topped off with blueberry pie filling.  Chuck was making a run to the grocery store, and so I asked that he pick up a can of blueberfry pie filling for my dessert I was planning to make.  He returned from Safeway without the pie filling, as he told me that Safeway was out of blueberry pie filling.  I said "Really??...they were out of blueberry pie filling?"  Chuck confirmed again that Safeway was out of blueberry pie filling.  I asked him if he looked in the right aisle at the store, and he assured me that he knew what aisle to look in, and they were out.  I thought to my self, "Well...I suppose it is possible" and decided to use a different topping.  A few days later, somehow blueberries came up in our conversation, and Chuck told me that he hated blueberries!  Then it dawned on me!!  I laughed, and then asked Chuck...."Is that why Safeway was out of blueberry pie filling the other day?"  Chuck responded "Uh, yep".  I don't remember having any blueberry-related foods in the house after that!  

My husband was generous in many ways.  When he was in high school, either a family friend, or someone in his family, lent his car (I think a sportscar of some kind) to Chuck to use for Homecoming/Prom.  The only thing that was asked of Chuck was that he do the same in the future, and he did.  Chuck lent his convertible white Mustang to my oldest nephew, Andrew, for his Senior Prom.  My nephew was just thrilled to be able to take his date to their Prom in Uncle Chuck's Mustang!

Like many couples and families, Chuck and I shopped at Sam's Club on a fairly regular basis.  I always visited the jewelry counter, and had been eyeing a couple of diamond rings, one being about 1/3 of the carat weight and cost of the other.  In December 2006, we were at Sam's club and while I was "visiting" the ring I really wanted (the larger ot the two I was eyeing), Chuck told me that he could not afford the bigger one, but if I liked the smaller one, that he would buy that for me for Christmas, but I could not open it unitl Christmas Day.  I was esctatic!  I waited patiently for Christmas Day to arrive.  I couldn't wait to wear my new diamond ring.  When Christmas morning rollled around, I opened the little Sam's Club box, but instead of seeing the ring I was expecting to receive, I was looking at the ring that I really wanted!!!  I couldn't believe it!  I jumped around for 15 minutes I was so excited.  The thing that meant the most wasn't the ring...it was the trouble Chuck went through to get it for me.  We had put the first ring on one of my credit cards, but Chuck was not a signer on that card.  He said it took him more than two hours to get Sam's Club to credit back my card for the first ring so he could buy the other one.  I just thought that was just incredibly sweet for him to go through so much trouble to get anything for me.  I am wearing the ring he gave me that Christmas in this picture.

Chuck and I "discussed" getting a dog for several years.  He insisted that he would never have a dog again...they were sloppy, they shed, they are a pain to clean up after.  But, in 2009, Chuck had a change of heart, and conceded to getting a small dog.  We researched several breeds, as Chuck insisted that whatever breed we were going get had to be one that didn't shed.  We came accross the opportunity to get a Yorkie and named her Rizzo.  This picture below shows just how attached Chuck was to Rizzo, who he affectionately referred to as a "con artist"...