Dear Brian

How many people are there whom you can say have left no negative memory in your life?
That is what I would say about my dear friend Brian who recently died. He has left
a great and positive mark on me. I never talked to him without laughing at least once or without feeling better for having done so.

Over the last thirty five years he has followed us and kept in touch no matter what has
been going on in either of our lives. We shared all the scares and fears and joys and pains of the issues of parenthood, marriage, health, finances and just plain life along the way. He made the effort to never lose the connection. I am grateful that he felt we were worth that effort. I am grateful to have known him.

I will miss him for the rest of my life.

"There you are!"

I've been seeing many women who are probably my age still in the work force, often waiting tables or clerking in retail. It isn't possible to express the gratitude I have for the life I am able to live now. If I had to list the things for which I am grateful that would be way up there.

Many years ago I started making designer, art-to-wear sweaters. That was back in the 80's when flashy, expensive goods like that were a big hit. I developed my own way of crocheting, not holding the hook in a traditional manner and not following patterns, but building each item as I went along.
It was thrilling to create something lovely, and the fact that others wanted to buy them made it even more exciting.



I was struggling with the residue of menopause several years ago. I tried crocheting sweaters for kids and dogs, just for fun and even put together a website. I now have a great collection that are being used up as gifts for friends and family.



Today I am grateful for the freedom I have to learn portrait painting...something I have always thought was out of my reach. I knew I had talent to capture a person's features and did many felt tip pen drawings over the years. But when I was young oil painting was too expensive, and later I just didn't think of it as a possibility. After taking a portrait drawing class a couple of years ago and doing well, I took a shot at it last summer. It has become one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done. Painting is a very personal experience. I find there are moments when I see what I have done and it is shocking. In learning how the paints and brushes perform it isn't uncommon to come across effects that take my breath away. And there are moments when I am trying to find the person I am painting when they are suddenly there...their essence appears. "There you are!" Nothing compares to that moment.
It is worth seeking and I am unspeakably grateful for the talent God has given me
and the chance to explore it.