More on Winona Heise and Mom
After posting the previous article and recognizing Winona Heise as the Coolest Woman on the Planet, I spoke with her daughter Patty and asked if they had any pictures of the painting. Not only did they have pictures of the painting, but of Mom when she gave it to Winona.
The painting of this portrait of the White family homestead was a memory in the making. Mom’s memories were shared frequently over the weeks prior to painting this, and her frustration as I sketched each portion prior to painting it with oils was shared. The mesas that triggered many of the discussions and disagreements are visible during the drive to the site but not specifically from the site. Without them in the painting, the painting lacks distance and personality. With them, a huge portion of southeastern Colorado is replicated and immortalized in the visualization of my mother’s memory of the site.
Mom’s words of description are audible to me now as I remember back to her stories that brought this homestead and country school vividly to life for me, during those days. As so many treasured memories are brought to mind this week, I know many of them will include the stories my Mom, Esther Mulaney, told about growing up on the plains and how much she loved her own parent’s homestead and the home where she grew up before they moved to town when she was 8 years old. 
Many of those stories included people like Winona Heise and her parents who homesteaded west of of Deora, Colorado near Highway 101. Mom often shared stories that depicted homesteads like this one, sharing details about families who lived on the land, during a time when the drive to town (just 40 miles away) was at least a two day trip. Memories of Mom and those stories often take me back along the back roads to home.
Painting from Memory for Winona Heise
Winona Heise with daughters, Peggy and Patty.
Several years ago my mother contracted a painting for her first grade teacher. The painting was of a homestead located on the prairies of southeastern Colorado, built in the early 1920′s.
I was to be the artist that painted the scene.
A long time artist, I’d grown up listening to my mother’s stories and often painting the scenes she described. Some of those paintings were water color, others were oil paintings, adapted from sketches I’d done as she described the scenes, many without her knowing I was sketching. Some, I shared with her, others, I simply put up for sale, or auctioned at various auction events around the country. More often than not, the auctions were for a charity or other fundraising event.
The Coolest Woman on the Planet ROCKS Her World
If the Coolest Woman on the Planet Rocks her World, is her success random, or planned? When I first met Kimberlie King, she was about knee high to a grass hopper and twice as cute, with the buggiest little eyes. Seriously, she had HUGE eyes, for such a tiny little girl.
Then time passed, I moved away, had a family and came home to find little miss Kimberlie married and a mommy to babies of her own. She did all the right things (like me). She’s a blogger, writes for a living and shares her thoughts via paper and pen, like every good Momma should. But, she wanted more. She was looking for some way to use her vast skills to not only add to the family income, but also to build the local economy and grow local business. She found her hole in the wall, a crafty niche she could fill with her skills in graphic design, and computer.
But the best part… She gets to use Social Media to Market her business and drive her business forward. Not just media, but a personally grown and developed network with marketing plan in tact for Global Marketing Strategies that will blow the cap off the local economy. And she’s sharing it with her sisters around the community.
It isn’t always easy to start a local networking group, and most of the time, it takes more work than it’s worth, if you’re doing it on your own. But, Kimberlie isn’t doing this on her own, she’s got leadership, experienced networking directors and skilled business development specialists on her team of network developers. She’ll do great at the head of the team.
Introducing The Coolest Woman on the Planet — Rocking Her World — Kimberlie King!
Sponsored by:
You are Amazing!
Recently a song came out, titled “Crazy Girl” by the Eli Young Band. I hadn’t thought much about that title until I watched the video for the song. Several years back, I was friends with a guy who affectionately called me ‘crazy girl’ whenever I was being silly, or joking with him.
About two weeks after the song came out, I got an email from that guy. The two events weren’t connected, but I drew that line of connection and reminded him of his tag name for me. We’ve laughed a few times over that, both remembering how much fun we had together laughing and enjoying life as ‘not-teenagers-anymore’. The memories are still fresh and alive within us.
The last letter from him came a couple of nights ago. The subject line was “You are Amazing!” and the message inside reminded me of the many ways he appreciated me. Our friendship was filled with irony, bad timing and missed opportunities, but always… no matter how long it had been between connections, reconnecting was sweet.
I didn’t know when he last contacted me in early May 2011 that he had cancer, and he never mentioned it. After I responded to his message, his sister sent me a note the following morning to share that he had passed in the night, before he received my email message. The paths we shared randomly have now collided with destiny and my path will continue with only his memory.
As I look back at 37 years of memories, they pass by in a rush, a Whoosh of time, each moment precious, each memory a victorious celebration of the lives we lived both together and apart. He made a difference in my life and I made a difference in his.
We weren’t soul mates, or lovers, or any of those amazing combinations of friendships that relate in a realm of fluid relativity, just friends who were busy living separate lives and occasionally crossed paths. His ex-wife, nor my ex-husband never had any reason to be concerned by our friendship, yet both accused us of being more than friends. Still, in the wee hours of the night, I didn’t long for him, nor he for me. Laughter, shared moments and a lifetime of appreciating various art forms were all we truly shared, until the end.
His parting words will stand forever in my memory as the words of an amazing friend who gave me what no other has ever given me. He said, “Crazy girl, you’ve got spunk, attitude and the drive required to take you where you want to go. Don’t slow down until you get there! You are amazing!”
I must borrow a line from Henry Fonda in “Yours, Mine and Ours” to respond to encouragement, motivation and his boot firmly planted in the seat of my pants, “Damn the Torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”
And to Grady Houston, “God speed my friend, the shores of heaven are waiting for you! I’ll miss you, until I get there.” To Grady’s family, my prayers are with you. What a life, what a treasure!
The Coolest Bloggers Get Noticed – Here’s Why!
You are the focus of the coolest bloggers on the Internet. Nobody catches on when the blogger focuses on herself, but the minute she looks out and recognizes her audience, bringing them into the blog with questions, information, solutions that wrap their arms around the reader’s problems and answer her questions, THAT Blogger gets noticed!
The coolest bloggers on the Internet don’t play games. They write interesting, communicative articles their readers will enjoy.
Cool bloggers are eccentric enough to invite a variety of readers, but understand that they have to focus on a given niche. They know they can’t please everyone!
Cool bloggers recognize that readers are scattered and busy, they can’t focus on every little thing that’s going on in the world. So, the coolest bloggers focus on just one thing at a time, offering solutions that readers NEED. The coolest bloggers get noticed when they send out answers to questions readers really are asking.
Cool bloggers wrap their solutions in easy to read, short paragraphs, strong active sentences and simple concepts that readers understand. Readers apply these concepts because they’ve got a purpose. Cool bloggers share colorful banner ads on their websites that promote other blogs and websites of interest to their readers.
Cool bloggers connect with their reading public on many levels, but the most important one is the personal connection that lets their readers know they’re safe on this blog. These bloggers understand that the world is spinning out of control and readers are looking for a safe place to rest.
The coolest bloggers write in a natural voice that is comfortable to listen to… they don’t SCREAM at their audience or belittle them into reading what the blogger writes. In fact, most bloggers are so comfortable with their readers that they share intimate details of their lives and enjoy the responses either in comment or via email.
How about you? Are you a cool blogger?
Complex Women – Coolest Women Have Substance
Yes, friends, the coolest women you’ll meet have substance. Not only will they be women of means (not necessarily money) – serious MEANS, but they’ll be capable of carrying the load, whatever the load may be. Recently, this concept has become even more impacted on my mind.
Last fall was a hard season for my family. My mother, one of the coolest women I ever knew, died of cancer in October. Later in the year, her brother passed away, also from cancer. Together with my children, I stood the test of time honored rituals that follow the loss of a parent.
In December, my daughter’s friend lost her husband of ten years to an unknown thief. She stood the test. She’s left with two small boys and the support of family and friends. Everyone lends a hand, but the trauma and shock she’s suffered has brought her to her knees socially. She now understands the value of leaning on others, although she has stood strong, a woman of substance in her own ways, leaning has become a part of her new nature as well.
Tricia is a complex woman. Tricia is a coolest woman. If you’d like to know what makes her complex, cool, and strong, you’ll find that information on her blog, where she posts her thoughts and ideas about survival, making the best of her life, and raising her boys. She’s got a strong survival instinct and substance in her life.
My daughter is a single mom, working to put a life together for her children. She carries the load of parenting her two precious babies without the assistance of the father who chose not to be part of their lives. His absence from their lives has been a growing chasm in their world from the moment he became part of her life. His continued abuse of her spilled over to her daughter in ways that couldn’t be measured by bruises and broken bones. The emotional glut of pain a little girl carries seldom surfaces into the real world.
Brenna is a complex woman. Brenna is a coolest woman. Her efforts to move beyond the basic job to management, upper-level supervisory positions where six figures is likely to be part of her future, fills much of her time, and yet, she still finds time to make her children feel loved, honored and special. She gives them a source of strength that doesn’t come from gifts and money, but rather from time spent loving and holding them, reading to them, spoiling them in ways that only a Mother can spoil them. She gives them herself, her values and her strength. She offers them substance and value.
My friend overcame a birth defect to become a marvelous woman. She was born without part of one arm. Her skills and talents are many, and most don’t notice her handicap. As a matter of fact, she hardly notices her handicap. She’s learned to overcome disability by living well, working hard and using skills she has outside her missing hand to achieve her goals. She surprises many with the depth of character and substance that allows her to go beyond normal achievements and accomplishments to something more. Her substance is an in-borne strength of character that keeps on growing.
Danielle is a complex woman. Danielle is a coolest woman. She allows nature to pre-amble her life, and yet, her source of strength comes from natures bounty, the magnificence of life and the joy of daily newness of creation. Her breath is taken away by the rich colors of a morning sunrise, an evening sunset, or a glorious blossom opening to the sunlight. Her life source is enhanced by nature’s living thrill and sustenance, life bursting forth from the shadows, from the meadows, from the brilliance of merriment that drives power into the day. Danielle is a coolest woman of substance, the substance of life.
These women connect with me on some level, not always on a level that meets my expectation or desires, but ALWAYS a connection. Their cool life strategies and personal substance have inspired, motivated and driven me to heights I might not have achieved without them. They are some of the coolest women on the planet.
Cool Women Go the EXTRA Mile
On special Days at ALCO Store in Lamar, Colorado, one woman stands out as the Coolest Woman in everyone’s memory. Family and friends were welcomed by the bright people winning smile of Esther Mulaney. Residents of the small community, customers of the store and staff all agree that Esther was more than a cashier in the local discount store, she was an Icon of the community. Everyone knew her, loved her and misses her.
“I can’t count the number of people who have called to ask about Mom not being at ALCO anymore. Many of them didn’t know she’d passed away, and others simply wondered what happened,” says her daughter.
This photo of Esther decked out in western garb and uber Chaps and Western Vest for Western Day in October of 2009 brought out the locals in vast array, including Oris George, the wanna-be-cowboy riding the lawn chair in front of ladies wear, selling his wares, cards and story book as a writer. Esther’s every day dress included a pair of fancy Tony Llama Cowboy/girl boots in polished black leather, until she could no longer wear them. She traded her boots and tight fitting jeans for a pair of easier on the feet suede leather boots and jeans that fit a little looser as she shrunk from the affects of an unknown intruder.
Esther found joy in the simplest things, including a ride on this roan stallion, rocking his way across the store on a spring action frame, or even taking a hayride on the wagon … or the 
stick horse that she rode in on earlier in the afternoon. Numerous customers gathered in the store to visit with Esther or to view decorations, or just to come in and leave their cards, received earlier in the week while Esther made certain her many customers received access to the special discounts and sales available on Family and Friends night.
More than that… Esther wanted everyone to stop in and visit during the special events put on by the staff of ALCO Store of Lamar, so she and the staff could share an evening of fun, good food and pleasant activities, not to mention the amazing prizes available on those evenings.
Esther’s chaps and vest were designed for this special occasion by her daughter Jan Verhoeff. Layers of synthetic leather are cut and glued together to make a delightful replica of the real Western Garb worn by many cowboys and cowgirls to protect their legs and clothing from the wear and tear of riding. Esther asked for a somewhat authentic pattern and suggested something with curly cues and other designs. When stitching them onto the fabric didn’t work, she was amazed at the option of gluing two forms of Naugahyde together.
“Hey it works!!! Come look at this!” She said, when she called Jan to come see her outfit before leaving for the store. She was proud as a peacock in her western garb. Loved the chaps and had planned to wear them for the parade in 2010… an event she got to attend at the last minute with her grandchildren from Denver. What a memory!
Photo credits to Danielle Simone.
It’s a Wonderful Life
Over the Christmas Holidays, each year, I have a favorite movie that I insist on watching. In the early years, my kids used to hate it, because I always watch the old black and white version with Jimmie Stewart.
This winter, I struggled with the movie because it’s a movie my Mom and I often watched together. Each year as the movie neared the end, Mom would ask the same question, “Does he get back to his family?” She would often doze off during the movie and wake up at intervals asking about various members of the cast and their part in the movie.
Cleaning for a Reason
This is the COOLEST thing I’ve heard recently!!!
If you know any woman currently undergoing chemotherapy, please pass the word to her that there is a cleaning service that provides FREE housecleaning – once per month for 4 months while she is in treatment. All she has to do is sign up and have her doctor fax a note confirming the treatment. Cleaning for a Reason will have a participating maid service in her zip code area arrange for the service. This organization serves the entire USA and currently has 547 partners to help these women. It’s our job to pass the word and let them know that there are people out there that care. Be a blessing to someone and pass this information along.
http://www.cleaningforareason.org/
Great information. You may not know someone going through chemo, but someone on your email list might.
Expert Author Case Study – Recognizes Coolest Woman
Some days even the Coolest Woman on the Planet gets recognition from the nicest places! EzineArticles.com offers a great site for promoting content and driving traffic, but today, December 2, 2010, they recognized Jan Verhoeff (known to most of you as the Coolest Woman on the Planet)as an Expert Author Case Study.
“The funnest stuff happens when you least expect it, and this is one of those awesome fun things that I just didn’t expect,” says Jan, grinning as we chattered over hot tea and green Christmas frosted cookies in her office. “I’d done the interview about a year ago, maybe even longer back, and forgot about it. When I didn’t notice my interview after a few weeks, I just figured they’d notify me when it did come out and went about my work. It’s been a really long year. Lot’s of things have happened, and now, within a few days, I have a new program coming out, related to Article Marketing. That’s why I’m so excited that they chose this time to release the interview! Within just a few days, my new program will be out and this interview will help drive traffic to the new site.”
New events in Jan’s life recently, include a new Writer’s Group starting up at Solid Grounds on South Broadway in Littleton, Colorado December 14th at 6 PM. The new Article Marketing program coming out in about four days – with a FREE Ebook in the kick-off program. And… maybe the best of all – coming soon – a new business partner, to be revealed later.
Keep checking Jan’s Facebook page for news of each coming event!
