Grandma Lena's Influence

I've noticed that my Grandma Lena had a mighty influence on her descendants in many ways.  Food equals love is one of the most noticeable, but there is another powerful resemblance.

No matter who marries into the family, it seems as if Grandma Lena's face is stamped all over her children and on down - at least in their early years.  Eventually we all grow to resemble other family members in some way or other.  Lori now leans towards her Aunt Esther (her mother's side of the family) in profile. 

Grandma Lena - and me at 21

Daddy and his girls at Mount Rushmore.  Lori was 12. 

Kathi looking like Trinity (1955?)



This is our heritage.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  I love what we've been given.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Observations on Picking Up After the Dogs

Observations on cleaning the backyard:

It's easier to pick up after the dogs on a cloudy day rather than a sunny one. 

It's easier to clean on a sunny summer day than one in winter because of the angle of the light.

It's easier to pick up before a rain than after one.

I prefer cleaning up dry, mummified poop or the frozen variety than room temperature or damp stuff.

It's almost impossible to clean on an early spring day or late fall day because one can't look down and also appreciate migrating birds at the same time. Today I watched the sand hill cranes fly and saw a robin hopping around the neighbor's backyard.

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

Comparison

Me:

Trinity and Titus:

I looked for a picture of Uncle Marvin when he was a baby, but couldn't find one.  Titus looks a lot like him.  Titus' father looked a lot like his Grandpa Bob, Uncle Marvin's brother, as a baby.  Then he grew out of it.

Assuming Jesus waits for a while yet (although the way things are lining up according to prophecy, I doubt it), it will be interesting to see how these two little faces change as they grow.

Proud Great- Aunt Kathi



The Last Two Shawls for This Season

I finished shawl number 29.  I started on a lap robe to make it an even 30.  Then God told me that Sharon should get the purple shawl before she goes to surgery on Monday.

So I crammed in the rest of the lap robe and turned it in as number 29.

As I was chatting with the church secretary, she mentioned that she would like a black and white afghan because her office is basically unheated except for a space heater.  Seems like that's a little short-sighted of the builder, but I wasn't part of the planning committee on that issue - or any other part of the building for that matter.

Anyway, here are the last two pieces for hospice this season.

Only 13 rows left to go on the granny ripple.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Nearly There

Back in July, I started crocheting again after hurting my right hand just before Christmas.  I decided to get a little ahead on the prayer shawls and lap robes for hospice.  Our church collects baby blankets for the neonatal ward at Riley's Children's Hospital and the above mentioned shawls for hospice.  We have a service at Valentine's Day when the handiwork is prayed over and sent out to the intended destinations. 

I took a notion to count the weeks from the time I started crocheting until Valentine's Day and came up with 29 weeks.  I figured I would be able to average one shawl or lap robe per week.

Somewhere in there, I managed to wear out the tendons in my left shoulder.  No surprise, as I was turn ing out more than two a week.  During the 29 weeks, I would take off a couple of days here and a week there to rest my joints.  I never picked up my crochet hook once between November 17th and December 15th. 

At that point, I had finished 25 prayer shawls/lap robes, two full-sized afghans, three baby blankets, and a couple of scarves.

After taking a month off, I started craving yarn again, so I tried to fill up my promise of 29 shawls for the church project.  Since I had given 4 of the previous shawls to other people, I still needed to make another 9 shawls or lap robes. (I also made two doll blankets for my great-niece's Christmas present.)

Today I am halfway through number 29.

Here are some of the ones I recently finished.  I didn't take a picture of a turquoise granny triangle or a sage green lap robe.

The yellow and brown one in the upper photo was done in Bavarian crochet.  That is a very labor-intensive stitch and one I won't be repeating any time soon.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi