Sewing and Knitting

                                           

                    Lately I have been doing quite a bit of sewing and knitting, which has 
             been very enjoyable. My plan is to sell some of my creations at 
             the local senior center, and donate the proceeds to a charity.
         
             The majority of what I have sewn is for little girls-pj's, shorts,and
             dresses. I am not a perfect sewer, as I do make small errors at
             times. Creations by Kathy is my small, home-operated business.


             Knitting is much closer to my heart than is sewing. I know this because
             when choosing between the two crafts, I always choose knitting.
             For me, knitting requires less thinking. I can knit while watching the 
             news, or Jeopardy, and not drop stitches. Knitting is relaxing,
             while sewing is more stressful. Perhaps this stress is tied to my 
             earliest memories of sewing in middle school, where I ripped out a 
             zipper 20 times before getting it right. Only with my fathers help
             was I able to make some sense out of following a pattern.

                                            


             I learned to knit the same year I learned to sew, which was
             7th grade. Above are the knitted cotton baby washcloths 
             with different designs on them that I have been working on
             for the past few months. 


             Knitting relies on a different skill set than sewing does. Sewing is 
             very precise. Sewing is also somewhat mathematical, with fractions
             meeting you at every seam. I really don't enjoy working with 
             fractions in a precise way. 


             Knitting on the other hand, is a bit more forgiving in terms of 
             reading the pattern and carrying it out. A dropped stitch can
             be a catastrophe, but other minor errors can be hidden. I like that!


             Both knitting and sewing come from the heart however. They both
             take time and thoughtfulness. They are both expensive crafts, but
             because of the effort involved, they are priceless gifts when given
             away.    
  

Fruit Picking and Summer Memories

            There is something quintessentially summer in picking fruit. It brings
            back to me treasured memories of childhood-hours spent roaming
            forest and field. These were the two special places of my childhood
            years. In the forest, we discovered the differences between the 
            seasons in tangible ways-the colors and textures of leaves, the habits 
            of squirrels and birds. In the field behind my childhood home we   
            discovered milkweed and wild strawberries. 


            Every summer I would scour the field in search of the best strawberries 
            to bring home to my family. If I was lucky, I would find a 
           "jackpot" which was a large cluster of berries together. The smell of 
            these sweet berries is still with me, as is their distinctive taste.   


            Nothing from my childhood so reminds me of summer,
            nothing from my childhood so resonates with
            memories of carefree summer days. James Whitcomb Riley's poem
           "Barefoot Boy" is the closest literature has come to bringing me back
            to the sights, smells, sounds and feelings of my childhood in rural
            upstate New York.

Teaching Writing

       Teaching writing to students was most enjoyable, and very challenging! It

     involves taking a process that comes naturally to me, and formulating it

     into words that demystify the interior under-workings of good writing.

     Teaching writing requires laying a foundation of understanding. The words and 

     concepts are often foreign to students. Taking what for me is an almost 

     intuitive process, and shining a flashlight on it, and breaking it down into its

     component parts in order to communicate it intelligibly to others is not easy.

     Yet, the whole process can be deconstructed, and communicated. However,

      something can be lost in translation...and that something is the writer. 

      Formulaic writing is missing the essential ingredient of the writer's unique

      personality and perspective. This must shine through the words on the 

      page, and be communicated to the reader, otherwise, what is on the

      page comes across as dull and flat.

     In teaching writing, how do teachers get beyond the fundamentals, and

     transfuse the capability to inject personality, passion, and a uniqueness

     all their own into a students' writing? I don't have the answer to that 

     question, even after teaching writing to different levels of students for

     several years.

          

Summer Reading List

                           
                               Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.


  In the last month I have given away over 50 books, yet I still have six bookshelves that are overflowing with books! I gave away many English textbooks that I got for free, along with about 25 books with religious themes.




Here is what  I am currently reading, or plan on reading in the next few months:


Critical Care: A New Nurse Faces Death, Life and Everything in Between by Theresa Brown, R.N.


* The author has a Ph.D. in English, and taught writing at Tufts University
   for three years, before she went back to school for her BSN. Teaching, she 
   says, "held little personal meaning for her."


Some Assembly Required:A Journal of My Son's First Son by Anne Lamott


  * I've read many of Lamott's other  nonfiction books-Operating Instructions-
    about raising her newborn son Sam as a single mother.
    I also really like Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. I used
    this book with several of my writing classes when I taught English.


Priestblock 25487: A Memoir of Dachau by Father Jean Bernard


* This is a fascinating first person account of the experiences and conditions
   of this concentration camp in 1941-1942. 


As I Lay Dying: Meditiations Upon Returning-On Facing Death and Living Again
by Rev. Richard John Neuhaus


* This is the story of one person's encounter with death, and what he learned. 
   "Neuhaus draws on philosophy, psychology, scienc, poetry, literature and
    theology to examine his journey back to life."


The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson


* I am interested in this book because it is well written historical fiction, that 
   relates to a paternal relative who was an architect who worked on the 
   World's Congress Auxiliary Building for the World's Columbian Exposition
   in 1893 in Chicago.


The Snow Leopard by Peter Matthiessen


* I found this book while at a used bookstore in Mendocino. It came highly
   recommended.


My Life in France by Julia Child


* I started reading this book while on a train from the small town of Beauvais
   (one hour north of Paris), to Paris. That was 2 years ago! 
   It is delightful, as you become charmed by Julia and the development
   and education she went through to become a top notch chef.


Appetite For Life by Noel Riley Fitch


* For the reader who wants a much more detailed autobiography of Julia Child 
   than My Life in France provides.


As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avis Devoto edited by Joan Reardon


* A must read for Julia Child fans! 


    

Working with Eggs

              Eggs can be tricky to work with. Today I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen, and every time I
              looked at a recipe....it called for eggs. I cracked close to 18 eggs in my kitchen today!
              Eggs are finicky and temperamental.They have a mind of their own. Often, if left to their own
              devices they will rebel...like the boiled egg that blew its lid, and the cooked yolk poked its head
              out of the shell.

              I have a love/hate relationship with eggs. I love how symmetrical they are. I love how white
              or brown the shell is. I love the sound that cracking the shell makes. I love using a whisk on
              egg yolks. I love how versatile eggs are.

              I hate plain scrambled eggs. I hate eggs unless they are mixed in with other ingredients.

             One of the signs of an excellent chef is a light, fluffy souffle. I'm not there yet, and may
              never get there...and that's o.k. I lack a full appreciation of the humble egg, and until
             I have that, eggs will continue to challenge my confidence in working with them.

Life Lessons from the Ocean

                                                                   Kathy at Half Moon Bay


     Life is like the ocean. It has periods of calm, and then tremendous turmoil. The    
     waves seem to wrestle with each other on their way to the shore, like siblings
     fighting over a toy.


     There are some lessons to be learned by meditating on the ocean. Much as
     treasures are tossed onto the sandy beach from deep beneath the surface
     of the sea, so too, if we pay attention, there are gems of knowledge and
     understanding that this jewel of nature can convey to each one of us.


     The ocean, by nature, is constant, yet ever changing. There is a certain
     rhythmic pattern created by the waves that is transmitted aurally and visually. 
     It brings us back to our beginnings, and resonates within the deep recesses of             
     our being.


     This drumbeat of nature mimics the heartbeat of the mother, heard as it was/is
     through layers of fluid.Is the auditory nerve the earliest formation of the   
     embryo? This primordial-like connection with the ocean can be traced back
     to the womb. The earliest connections are the strongest, and are the ones
     we seek out. The comfort that the ocean's sounds provide have no equal.
     The connection within, that was forged long ago, soothes the spirit.