Crochet Forever!

I enjoy crocheting. Maybe I should write more, but I mostly find myself with a hook in my hand when I have spare time.

I mostly crochet lap robes and prayer shawls for hospice. I also crochet little gifts for family and friends. This year I made a little Amish puzzle ball for my great-niece.

I'm including photos of some of my recent work (which I have been lax about posting here). I make at least 2 prayer shawls every month and often more than that. I know hospice sends out at least 30 of them a month and I try to make sure I'm doing my share.

Strange Discovery

When I was in New Hampshire, I drove through the end of a rainbow and discovered that the air turned a wonderful golden color. So there is gold at the end of a rainbow. It just isn't the kind you can spend.

If you are at the end of a rainstorm and the air turns a shade of gold, then you too are at the end of a rainbow.

Yesterday I made a new discovery on the same order.

You know how clothes smell after you hang them out to dry? They have that wonderful "fresh air" smell when you bring them back into the house.

Well, it takes a long time for clothes to dry on Christmas Eve, even if it's in the fifties and the sun is shining. Winter air just doesn't suck out the water like a summer's day.

I forgot about them until the sun had set. When I brought them into the house, I took a big whiff just to get that outdoor smell - and there was no scent!

Does that mean that the "fresh air" smell is really the scent of sunshine? Are we breathing in the scent of LIGHT?

It's something to think about.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Merry Christmas,

Kathi Linz

2019 Christmas Letter

To those whom I love:

Les started the year with a new job. He likes it much better than his previous position. He is also the worship leader at a church that would have no music without him. He gets to preach there on a regular basis and enjoys that very much. He helps with GriefShare and a local recovery program.

I’m still at the library. It keeps my brain active trying to keep up with all the technology, and answering the patrons’ questions feeds my teacher soul.

John graciously came to babysit my dogs while I went to Florida in July for my mother-in-law’s 95^th birthday celebration. We had a wonderful time and ate our way through numerous restaurants in Sarasota and on Siesta Key. I got to meet the pastor whom I had only seen online before that trip.

         

John also came to visit for Oktoberfest. We walked many miles and had a grand visit. It turns out that both of us bought each other the same t-shirt, except in different colors. He offered to stay an extra day so Les and I could go north for a brief visit with my mother.

       

Angela visited over Thanksgiving and we celebrated Christmas with her the same day. She is planning to marry Cody Lamberg, but hasn’t set a date as yet.

May your holidays be full of joy and God’s best blessings.

Thanks for visiting with me, Kathi

2020 - Never Thought...

I grew up during the Cold War. There were school drills to get under your desk in case of nuclear attack. Like that would have saved our lives!

I was convinced that we would all be gone before I lived to see 30. And once I lived past thirty years, I was sure there was nothing on the other side of the year 2000. Nostrodamus said so.

I remember calling my college love on the day he turned 65 and said, "Do you remember when we weren't going to live past 30 and now you are 65? Happy birthday!"

I visited with my mother on Memorial weekend a few years ago. I remember the shocked look on her face when I said that I was about to go on Medicare. I'm not sure why she was so surprised. After all, she was 89 at the time.

Now it is about to be 2020 - making me think that hindsight is ...

Would I change my life if I could do it over? I've thought about that fairly carefully. The answer is - No. I would do what I did. I would make almost all of the same choices.

My life hasn't been flashy or really special. I have followed my dreams and seen them quietly come into being.

Since fifth grade, I knew I was called to be a teacher. I followed that calling in the classroom for about 20 years. Even when I'm not doing it full time, I still help people find the information they need every day at the library, and I have Sunday school on the weekends.

I had no children of my own, which saddens me on occasion, but I helped raise hundreds of children who still get in touch with me now and again. (I still send out a Christmas letter to MY fifth grade teacher every year. lol)

I always liked writing and storytelling. I've seen some of my stories go into print.

No, I'm not going to climb into a rocking chair and while away the time until I die. Wouldn't that just be boring?!

I'm simply going to have to set new goals. Perhaps more writing. I don't know.

More blog posts would probably be in the list. Watch this space for more to come.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

(Honestly, I hope Jesus comes back before too much longer. Just how bad was it in the days of Noah and Lot? Aren't we getting close to that?)

After the Silent Year

What have I been doing this year that kept me from posting? I have no proper excuses. I could have been typing notices in  my spare time. I really could have.

But... Isn't there always a but?

This year I promised that I would be published again. I thought maybe I would work on sending out articles to magazines. It didn't happen.

However, I did send out a series of my children's picture book stories that a new publishing company is beginning to allow to see the light of day.

There will be six picture books in the Michael series. I have two print copies of Michael and the Not Me's in hand already. Here's the link if you want to look at it.

https://www.penitpublications.com/product-page/linz-kathi-michael-and-the-not-me

or if you prefer Amazon:

 https://www.amazon.com/Michael-Not-Mes-Michaels-Adventures/dp/1951263979/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=michael+and+the+not+mes+kathi+linz&qid=1566825704&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spell

The Not Me's were inspired by my mother - sort of back-handedly.

Being the oldest child of four, there was always at least one child young enough to need nap time in the afternoon. Mother liked it if I laid down at the same time just so there would be peace in the house for an hour or so. I rested in my parent's bedroom so as not to disturb any of the others. I learned that there was a box of old photographs in the closet and I often picked through them looking at pictures of Mother and her sisters and brothers "when they were my age".

One picture had Mother, two sisters, one brother, and a couple of cousins sitting on concrete steps. It was labeled "The Not Mes. They're the ones who didn't do it." Eventually, I had to ask myself. "If they didn't do it, who did?" Hence the story.

This is the photo that started it all. I used this as the book's dedication.

The other photo that makes me laugh every time I look at it is the one with my mother and two of her sisters when they were very young. My mother is the one with the wiggly foot. She has NEVER been able to sit still for very long. Maybe that's why she still weighs around 110 lbs. even at 92 years of age.

I also have seen the illustrations for Michael and the Sock Snake. You know! The one who steals socks out of your dryer when you do the wash.

I'll let you know when that one comes out.

So my only New Year's resolution is fulfilled. How often can a person say that?

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi

Birthday Gift

My coworkers thought about what they could give me for a birthday gift. They're a pretty creative group and they've known me and my habits for a few years now. I'm thinking they know me pretty well. I got a yarn bouquet. lol

The library's summer reading program theme is about Space. That's why we have an alien monitoring our department.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi