At the Shore

                                                                     At the Shore

   This is a magical place,
   a place where water meets the sandy shoreline,
   and on a sunny day, the water glistens like millions of rippling diamonds.

   On a cloudy day, the water looks murky, and shadows crisscross the water 
   and shore.

    Sunny or cloudy, the shoreline is best for meditation and re-connecting with
    one's innermost self. At the shore of any body of water, I am immediately 
    plunged into my inner world of thoughts, dreams and future plans.
    What causes this sudden shift of gears? Why do we tend to slow down
    at the shore?

    Nature envelops us, and our thoughts begin to be seen reflected against a         larger backdrop,giving them more perspective.

    Some people may find their peace in the mountains, or on a remote bike trail, 
    camping trip, or resort, but for me peace, joy and tranquility are found
    where water meets the shore.


~Kathy~

By Kitchen Light...

                                       By Kitchen Light


        Same, yet different;
        the lighting, colors and mood,
        this space where so many meals are created,
        brings my mind back to an earlier time,
        and a hallowed place...
        my parents kitchen...600 miles north of here.


        It must be the ambiance,
        an undefined feeling,
        a deja vu experience of the heart.

        
        The lighting, recessed,
        The wood, light in shade,
        The music, soft classics,
        The food, gourmet.
        But these are all externals, and yet,
        each of them in their own unique way
        plays a different heart-string, and when
        plucked all together, the effect creates
        a crescendo of thoughts and feelings
        that come racing through me,
        bringing back with them
        memories of meals, conversations, laughter and tears.


        Same, yet different;
        take away just one element,
        and the effect of this place upon me
        may have gone unnoticed.


        It's funny how the heart has
        such a specific memory.

~Kathy~

        

Grandma Dear

       
                                                         Grandma, me and baby Matt
                                                                 (taken in Chico,CA 1986)                                                             


                                                            Grandma Dear


   I met my adopted grandmother in the fall semester of 1975, while I was a nursing student at CSU, Chico. The student-run CAVE (Community Action Volunteers in Education) organization was seeking a volunteer to read mail to a woman in her mid-70's who was legally blind. It just so happened that I had some extra time on my hands, and was looking for a volunteer opportunity in the Chico community.

  From our very first brief meeting, there was an immediate and natural connection. Martha, or Grandma, was from Hamburg, Germany, and spoke fluent German and English. Her German heritage reminded me of my Germanic roots on both sides of my family. 

  Grandma was an artist, who in her younger days had gone to art school in Pasadena. The walls of her small Chico apartment were decorated with her acrylic and woven paintings. Now that her vision was relegated to shadows, she created woven paintings on a loom in her spare bedroom. She would occasionally sell some of her art at local craft fairs.

  Grandma was well-read, and she loved classical music and healthy food. Long before the organic food movement, she only purchase the highest quality food and dairy products. One of my favorite memories is sitting at her kitchen table, enjoying a bowl of fresh peaches topped with plain yogurt and raw brown sugar. 

  My volunteer commitment was to visit Martha once a week for about an hour, and read her mail to her. Soon, Grandma and I were out and about, shopping, eating at local restaurants, and going to local plays or concerts.

  Over the course of four semesters, Grandma and I became the best of friends. She taught me more than any nursing textbooks ever could about caring for the elderly. Grandma's wisdom, knowledge and wonderful sense of humor added a special dimension to my college days. 

  Looking back at my time with my adopted Grandmother, I know that I received far more than I ever gave. After I was married, my husband and I went up to Chico several times to visit Grandma, and to introduce her to our growing family. Sadly, Grandma passed away peacefully in her sleep in 1990 at the ripe age of 89.

~Kathy~

    
                      Acrylic flower painting given to me by Grandma
                      as a CSU, Chico graduation gift
                                

To have and to hold...

                                      To have and to hold....


   It will be a long time, and perhaps forever, before I am able to again witness a wedding as beautiful and memorable as our daughter Meghan's wedding ceremony. Every wedding ceremony is beautiful, and every couple adds personal touches to the ceremony and reception. These touches communicate uniqueness and thoughtful preparation for the serious undertaking of marriage. 

   Meghan's wedding ceremony was special for the usual reasons, but there was the unity of the couple, and their spiritual development and flourishing that came through into all the readings, songs and prayers of the ceremony, giving it a mystical element, which resonated with the divine presence of God.

  ~Kathy~

Tulle and Lace

                                        Tulle and Lace



  Lately I am wrapped in a fog made up of tulle and lace. These are the quixotic materials out of which I will create a wedding veil. This should be a fairly straightforward project, but because of a few non-negotiable elements, it has become a bit more difficult. 

The problem I encountered was that the width of the lovely embellished lace didn't conform to the required width on the cathedral veil pattern. So, tulle has been my savior material, and the lovely lace will be the trim, and decorate the bottom of the veils' train.

This veil, once completed, will beautifully accentuate the gorgeous lace wedding gown that our daughter will be wearing. I'm just relieved that there was a solution for this challenge!

~Kathy~

sewing doll clothes, Knitting and Life Lessons...

                           Sewing doll clothes, Knitting and Life Lessons

  
 Lately my craft projects have leaned to creating things for the smallest among us, which is babies and American Girl dolls. These tiny knit preemie caps, miniature knit leggings, and bathrobes are fun and quick to make, but they also have lessons to teach me. 

  One of these lessons is that small things take precision, because mistakes stand out much more in a miniature craft than in a large crafted item. This is difficult for me, as precision is not one of my strong points. Yet, I am learning to take the time to finish seams properly, or weave in the yarn on a finished cap so that it doesn't unravel. 


  Another lesson that creating small things for the smallest among us has taught me is persistence. Persistence is also not one of my strong points, but since small crafts tend to take less time than sewing or knitting for an adult, I tend to finish the item, rather than start five things at once, only to finish none of them.


  I have also learned that there is a singular and personal joy in completing a project, big or small. Something about having followed a pattern correctly, and having the project actually turn out like the picture on the pattern is it's own reward. Seeing the smile on the face of our granddaughter when she gets these small gifts is the icing on the cake!

~Kathy~

Lifelines...

                                                              Lifelines...


  So many things connect one person to another, but one of the strongest connections can be family history. With this connection comes a link to the past, as well as to the future. A shared family history can bring to life inherited traits, similar interests, and forge a bond with family members from past generations.

  Twelve years ago I began a quest to search out connections to my maternal and paternal roots. I spent hours at the local library,on the Internet, and scoured the phone books from every state in the union for my maternal and paternal surnames. Then, I wrote letters to these individuals, asking for any family history information that they would be willing to share with me. The result of my letters was mixed, but I did receive two treasures....one was a book on my fathers' family line, and the other was a phone call from New York from my grandfathers' step-brother.These two gems led me on in my quest to discover all that I could about my fathers' family line. 

  Yesterday, I began searching through several binders of collected family information....birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, pictures and other memorabilia. Often, right after a birth certificate would be a death certificate, and it brought to me a sense of nostalgia mixed with melancholy for the reality of the brevity of life hit me. Here before me in these documents was a life lived between the date of birth and the date of death...with so much happening in between. Maybe it was coincidental that I was sifting through these documents on Ash Wednesday, when I was reminded of my own brevity of life.

  Yesterday I discovered details about my parents wedding that I never knew, and wouldn't know except for a newspaper clipping about the ceremony. My mothers' colors were green and white, and her bridesmaids wore mint green dresses. One of our daughters is getting married this spring, and her colors are green and gold, with her bridesmaids wearing green dresses...connection!

  I have decided that I have too much interesting family information to keep it to myself, and so my goal is to organize it and form it into a book. This book will then be given to my family members, and passed on to future generations to keep the connections going. 

~Kathy~

                                     
                                Joliet Township High School (Joliet, Illinois)
                                   (where my parents met and fell in love)

                                       University of Minnesota (Twin Cities)
                                        (where my paternal grandparents met
                                                  and fell in love)