Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Getting in touch with my inner watercolorist with Waterlogue

A picture I took of Fourth Presbyterian Church in downtown Chicago, transformed by Waterlogue

I love watercolor paintings. So when I discovered this handy phone app, Waterlogue, it was a match made in heaven.  

The app transforms simple photos into lovely watercolor paintings.  

I have found that it works best with scenery, and not necessarily people.  It especially doesn't know what to do with lipstick on people, and it comes across as a blob of color on a person's face.

But it's so much fun!  Here are a few more of my creations.




This was my late mother's house.  She passed away in November, and the house has already been sold, but it was the scene of many happy memories.  I think I'd even like to find a way to print and frame this one.



This was a picture of me and my newborn grandson Landon, back in October 2013


This is a picture I took of a pretty house in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, last summer


A floral arrangement in a Longaberger basket on my kitchen table a while back

More about Waterlogue here

Thursday, February 20, 2014

My Mom's Recipes...Tried and True

Going through my mom's things was difficult at times, but there are many things I'll cherish...including many of her recipes.  I'm sharing a few of her favorites here, written in her beautiful handwriting. Some were favorites passed on by other friends and relatives.

  I will definitely be making these time and time again, and I can totally recommend them!

(Click on picture to make it bigger.)

Sherrie's Vinegar and Oil Dressing


Chinese Chicken Wings




Troy Aikman's Chocolate Cherry Cake




I'm participating today in Thursday Favorite Things, hosted by Katherine's Corner!


Thursday favorite things

Monday, February 10, 2014

I miss my mommy. (A daughter's grief observed, three months on)





On the evening of November 5, 2013, I got the phone call that forever changed my life.

It was my son Justin, calling from Texas where most of my family lives.

When I saw his picture on my phone, I expected a light-hearted chat.  But the first thing I heard sounded like some sort of static. I later realized it was the sound of him crying.

When he was finally able to speak, I heard the terrifying words, "I don't have any details, but Uncle David says Momo is unresponsive, and it isn't good."

That was a little over three months ago, and I'm still navigating an ocean of grief.

Sudden

The sudden death of a loved one is different from other deaths. I'm not saying it's worse, just different...in a bad way.

I don't discount or minimize the grief that lasts for years, seeing a loved one waste away slowly, perhaps in pain or not themselves. That's what happened with my dad. The loss is no less of a loss, and carries its own brand of heartache.

But the death of my mother...with no warning, no inkling other than that she was 80 years old and had high cholesterol...gobsmacked us.

 In my father's case, we were able to peruse hospice literature that readied us for the end. We were able to gather around him and say our final good-byes. We were as prepared as one can be for the death of a loved one--which, granted, is never prepared enough.

 But we were able to release him to heaven and not feel sucker-punched.

Peaceful

One thing we cling to is the apparent peacefulness of her death.  She laid down for her usual afternoon reading session that usually resulted in a nap. She had fallen asleep and died of cardiac arrest. No trauma, no pain...she simply went to sleep and woke up in heaven.

And yes, we are so thankful for that. We are completely cognizant of and grateful for the blessings...that she never suffered, didn't linger in the throes of a painful and debilitating disease. We rejoice that she's with my dad and all the loved ones that have gone on before.

But my mother...oh, my mother was amazing, wonderful, everything a mother should be. She was central to our existence. She was the hub around which we all gathered. She was the matriarch. Her unconditional love, her joy, her encouragement, her support, her smile, her faith, her grace--essential to our lives.

An ocean of grief

I said earlier that I'm navigating an ocean of grief.  Some days are relatively smooth and fair, others are stormy and tumultuous.  It's unchartered territory for me, because the pain is much more acute and shattering than was (and is) the grief for my beloved father.

We siblings ask, almost rhetorically, "When will this pain end?" "When will our grief settle down and become manageable?"

The truth is, on any given day, at any given moment, I could cry for my mother.

Sweet friends who have been through the same thing try to give us light at the end of the tunnel.  I look forward to a time where it won't be so raw, so painful to the touch, where tears will be few and far between.

I also look forward to the day that I'll see both my parents again.  If I didn't have this hope, this faith, I don't see how I could carry on at all. How do people do it who don't have this hope?

In the meantime...

I just miss my mommy.






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