Miss Ya B :(

I've tried to post this a couple of times over the weekend but honestly the words just didn't come, the time wasn't right. After a day or so has passed I feel able to put some words here in memory of my design team member, fellow scrapbooker, and most of all my friend... Beverley Todd, who I simply called B.

December 23rd Beverley suffered a brain hemorrhage, which turned into a massive stroke. She was rushed to hospital and died on the 24th. In keeping with Beverley's caring and giving nature her family donated her organs, knowing that she gave some families hope and happiness this Christmas really uplifts me, and helps deal with the loss.

It's been almost exactly a year that Beverley has been on my card sketch team. I remember her application email vividly as she jokingly threatened to cease making cards altogether if she didn't make it, and that would be my fault, lol. That was Beverley always making light of situations, injecting humor and making you smile. After a few emails back and forth over the next month, it became apparent that we were alike in so many ways. She'd email to pick my brains regarding design teams or scrapbooking, we'd end up veering off topic and discussing other things and found we shared so many common interests.

When I started my green/gardening blog earlier this year I thought no-one would visit, but there was B encouraging me. She told me that she was also doing her bit for the environment, that she wanted to grow vegetables, live more sustainably, and she eventually started her own blog to document her own journey. It's strange to think that cardmaking brought us together yet so much more made us friends!

We were forever bouncing idea's off each other regarding green living, gardening, our dreams of living on a little small holding where we could live off the land, be sustainable with solar panels etc, and even though we lived 8000 miles apart we shared the same dreams, the same passion and the same drive.

We were both vegetarians which meant we should have shared recipes, only she didn't like foods too spicy/hot, and for me, the spicier the better =) I'd call her a wuss and she reply with some remark which would have us both rolling about laughing. Her sense of humor just had me cracking up every time!

I'll miss her emails every week, with her latest creations. She'd email me with her cards telling me that I was either awesome/evil depending on whether she'd struggled with the sketch or not, lol. She just had a way of lighting up the conversation, and I so looked forward to her emails. You could always be guaranteed of some witty comment :)

I thought I'd share again her card from mid-December. When she emailed this she told me she was taking a couple of weeks off from the sketches to tend to family stuff, which at this time of year is understandable. Little did I know that this would be the last email I'd receive from her :(

"warm wishes" by Beverley Todd

My thoughts go out to her family, especially her husband Adam and her four boys. I am so sorry for your loss. B will be deeply missed by all who knew her in the crafting community. I personally will miss her terribly, but I am thankful that I knew her, thankful that we shared so much in common, and thankful that I was able to call her a friend.

Miss ya B!



D