Hand Portraits

 Holly Matucheski : Hands of  a Quilter

Nurse, Mother, Daughter, Wife, Gramma, Gardener, Reader

A few year's ago, the Hospital where I work celebrated Nurse's Week with Hand Portraits.  Many people didn't want their pictures taken, but they were perfectly ok with having their hands photographed.  Hands do the work; Hands do the caring.  It was a very moving display of so many nurse's hands. 

A few years ago, I saw a beautiful photography display at Evergreen, a retirement community here in Oshkosh.  They had beautiful black and white hand portraits of some of their residents.  Often with a moving quote.  I loved this display, and wanted to capture some of the hands in my family that I want to remember ...  So at Christmas this year, I took a few pictures.

Gramma Pickles - Violet Smitmajer

I love her red fingernail polish, and the sparkles!  Her ring-finger is missing a knuckle from when the cow kicked the shovel she was holding in the barn ...

Frank Matucheski - being goofy

Rosita Matucheski's Hands

 Ray Matucheski's Hand

 These are my hands, full of cranberries!

“Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by.”  

-- Carl Sandburg 

My own hands again, with currants from the back yard. 

Teacher

Here's another one prompted by Story Corps' National Day of Listening : Debi Thomas skating to George Michael's "One More Try" way back in 1988 at the Calgary Winter Olympics. This was her Thank You to coaches and teachers in the exhibitions after she won a Bronze medal. The expectation back then was that she would win Gold. So this was kind of an apology and a disappointment. Looking back, it was phenomenal, marvelous and heartfelt.  Hindsight is 20/20, right?

"The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to him his own." -- Benjamin Disraeli

There are several teachers I want to give my heartfelt Thanks to : Mr. Harry Cramer, David Olson (DO), Anne Lundin, Doug Johnson. You, too, Dottie.  You all made a difference in my life, and I'm glad you were part of it. Thank you!

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Mr. Harry Cramer, my old Latin teacher in Antigo High School. He looked ancient even then in the 1980s, but he always had a smile through the wrinkles. What a great sense of humor he had. You had to have a sense of humor to wear the horrendous ties he wore everyday to school--they were a talking point. He made learning Latin painless with the help of cartoons and where the characters "clamat OW!' and "amat mel." 25 years later, I can even still tell you what that means. (Victor yelled ow! after hitting his thumb with a hammer (or some such). Anna loves honey.) He and his wife, Mrs. Cramer offered me my first regular job as a clerk in the local book store Mrs. Cramer managed : Book World in Antigo, WI. I tended to go there anyway because I was interested in books and song lyrics ... I guess they were looking for a kid who would be interested in the nature of the work.  I was.

Mr and Mrs. Cramer organized trips to Greece and Italy regularly for the Latin Clubs. My mom and I got to go on the trip in 1988. What an experience that was for both of us. My mom had never been in a plane or left the county before that time (me either, for that matter).

Mr. Cramer also introduced me to the Holiday Folk Fair in Milwaukee that I love so much. Back in the day, the Language clubs used to take a 5-hour bus trip down to Milwaukee the weekend before Thanksgiving for the Folk Fair -- 3 days of ethnic foods, folk dancing, and crafts from all over the world. It was love at first site for me! With a name like Matucheski, I could never deny that I was Polish, and the Poles were the butt of many Polish jokes in that neck of the woods. Well, the Polish stand at the Folk Fair Bazaar had the most beautiful wooden boxes and painted eggs as Christmas Tree ornaments for sale, crafted in Poland. Here was concrete proof that the Poles made a contribution to the world, and made beautiful things. The Folk Fair is still a fall tradition for my little family. I was saddened to hear that the Language Clubs no longer make the annual trek from Antigo. The Folk Fair was one of many gifts Mr. Cramer gave me.

Mr. C. developed Parkinson's Disease in his later years. Last year when I was home for Christmas, the phone rang. It was Mr. Cramer, who had accidentally and serendipitously dialed the wrong number--ours. It was good to catch up with both him and Mrs. Cramer that day.   I'm thinking of you, Mr. C!

Bread Labels from the Heart of Yorubaland

In 1993, I spent the summer in Nigeria, West Africa, with a group of college students on a Fullbright Intensive Group Study Project to study the Yoruba language and culture. We were based in Ile-Ife, the cradle of humanity. ;-)

All over the neighborhood where we lived, people had cottage industries selling soap, or bread, or soda pop, or mop strings, or pottery, or any other number of things ...



With a dozen students, we ate a lot of bread that summer. I started collecting labels from loaves of bread. I was intrigued by the names and creativity of each label. It was all home-made white bread--every one of them tastey.


Ok--The Ezekiel Bread is from the Madison, WI, area, but it was so much the same spirit that I kept it with the bread labels.

A few years ago, I was looking for these and couldn't find them anywhere. LOST. This week, a small box toppled down and there they were : FOUND!

These will now be properly scrap-booked with my pictures and writings from that summer.

Have a Little Faith in Me - Kurt Browning

Mmmmh-Mmmmh-Mmmhh! This was my introduction to John Hiatt, before I knew who John Hiatt was.

I love that this video is recorded in an empty practice rink. It goes to show how much practice time and effort "real" skaters put in. Kurt Browning makes it look so easy. That footwork sequence is really difficult. And those beautiful deep edges don't happen without a lot of practice, and some magic skates!

Enjoy!

Kurt Browning's Crash Into Me

Kurt Browning is one of my all-time favorite skaters. He's like Gene Kelly on ice! Makes me want to get up in the early morning dark to go and skate tomorrow morning.

And what a great song! This one always makes me smile. ;-)

Thanksgiving 2011

We celebrated Saturday-After-Thanksgiving at our house in Oshkosh with family and friends--lots of food, my "new" $5 rummage sale China (Thank you, La Voisine), and these glorious cranberries.

Wanna know what we DO with these cranberries? Try this recipe.


Unca "Rainbow" Ray, My Mom and Dad, Seth, Rosita, The Family Jage, and Rieko the exchange student from Japan. We had a houseful with a cheery fire and a full table. CL even got up early to put the turkey in the oven by 7 am. My Mom and Dad experienced round-abouts for the first time. I guess we should have warned them about the changes to the area roadways ... Oops!


Unca "Rainbow" Ray


My Dad with a Beer and a Broccoli (What a goofball!).

Thanks to Doug Johnson, Art Professor at UW-River Falls

Professor Emeritus, Doug Johnson. Photo from here in 2008.

Prompted by the Story Corps National Day of Listening where you Thank a Teacher, I am honoring Doug Johnson, Professor Emeritus in Art from UW-River Falls.

I have to give this guy credit. I took two classes with him while I was in my early college years at UW-River Falls around 1990. His Art 100 was not just the usual art appreciation class where you look at lots of slides of great art and discuss. He actually had us all purchase Craypas and good paper so we could MAKE some art of our own in all the styles we were studying. Each week, we had to show our stuff, too, for a critique. I had no idea how liberating that would be! In high school, I had creative and talented friends who were in all the Art classes, but I was on the college prep track, so no time for art classes. Sigh! Thank goodness Art 100 was REQUIRED in college. And thank goodness, I took Doug Johnson's class that pushed us beyond merely appreciating art.


Dog in the style of Nabi (circa 1990). This is the only piece I kept from those days. One of our dogs laying on a hunting jacket.

Doug Johnson encouraged us to really press the color into our paper. None of that wishy-washy pastel stuff. We had to be "committed" to the piece. He didn't want to see any of the white paper showing through. ;-)

My last spring semester in River Falls, I took a sculpture class (I had learned the year before that it was impossible to take heavy and serious classes in spring--Try writing a paper on nuclear war while the apple trees are blooming, and you're in love! The two are not compatible!) Anyway, the creative classes took an investment of time, but not memorization--it was a different kind of learning where we really got INSIDE of the lessons-- for which I am grateful. I still have the sketchbook from that class, though none of the sculptures.

I don't know that he ever made it big with his art. He was the kind of guy who--if he dropped a pottery sculpture on the way in to the gallery, and if he liked the way it broke apart on the floor, he'd fence it off and make it a display. Now that's rolling with the punches! I think for him, it was more about creative expression than making a lot of money.

Doug Johnson made me promise I would take more art classes, even if it wasn't my major. He saw some potential in me. Now, it's 20 years later. I doubt he'd even remember me. I would like to say "Thank you for the encouragement in those early years." I have taken more classes and made more art since then. "Making stuff" has become an important part of my life. Some of it is tracked and recorded on my Sweet Leaf Notebook Blog.

You made a difference in my creative life, Professor Johnson. Thank you! Happy Thanksgiving!

Steve Jobs on TED : How to Live Before You Die

This man's passing really moves me, as I write this on my MacBook Air (The first computer we ever had at home in the 1980s was an Apple IIc. The first computer I ever bought myself was an Apple, after I graduated from college.)

Steve Jobs learned some valuable lessons in living with a life-threatening illness. Deep down, I think he knew this stuff before the illness.



Steve Jobs, you changed the world for the better. Thank you.
Rest in peace.

Sunset at Chreokee Marsh

Cherokee Marsh is one of my absolute favorite places on this earth. It is sacred ground for me.


Walking the path back to the water, we can see glimpses of the sunset through the trees.


When we get out to the dock, we have the perfect view to watch the sun set.
And watch the fish jump--it's their feeding time.






Back when I lived in Madison, and went out to the Marsh several times a week to watch the sunset, I always had this lantern to light my way back to the parking lot. It's dark after the sun goes down! This little lantern was indispensable. It lit my way on many dark nights.

A Grand Day Out in Madison

Sept 17 - A Perfect Day with my Sweetie in Madison, WI. We woke up and Oliver had already done some of his work and biked off to a friend's house to spend the night. Nice to have an older kid who can manage himself.

We (the adults in the house) "drove south" to Madison for a grand day out.


I got a start on my album of Wisconsin's Barns. This one is on Hwy 26 (I think). Someday these will all have crashed to the ground as people stop farming.


We got to Farmer's Market in time to see our old friend, Tom Brantmeier, who was there selling garlic and herbs, veggies and fresh pears. CL worked for him on the farm in Monroe for a time back when we were courting.


We got to Farmer's Market too late to get any cheese curds or bakery, but this colorful pepper stand was still up. Love the reds!


We did get some of this delicious pesto from The Renaissance Farm stand before market closed. Even brought an insulated bag to keep it cold until we got home. Yum!


After 15 years, we still like each other. ;-)

We had a nice lunch from Johnson Public House Cafe (decent warm hard-boiled egg sandwich, a salad, and an almond croissant) eaten on the shore of Lake Mendota. We watched a guy move across the water on what appeared to be a surfboard, but he was treating it more like a Gondola. He didn't fall off, and he made good progress, which makes me believe this was not his first attempt at it!


Then we headed over to St. Vincent De Paul's on Willie St. to see what treasures we could find. I got a couple of "new" sweaters -- one is a real wool cable sweater from Ireland. Bring on the snow and cold! I'm ready for it. ;-)


Also got a copy of One Thousand Splendid Suns for a mere $3. This book has been on my list for several years. Now that I have a copy, there's no excuse NOT to read it now!


This is the bag they put my St. Vinny Treasures in. I loved it! From Madison, WI to Fairbanks, AK. Multi-Culti and green, too!

After the St. Vinnie's adventure, we stopped at my friend Bob's house. He's a remarkable person with remarkable interests. Including an incredibly green thumb :


Bob's whole back yard is a lush and beautiful garden (No, I don't think he owns a lawn mower). We could see a little hummingbird flitting around among the flowers.

Bob wasn't there when we arrived, but he knew we were coming and he left a note on the front door for us ...


... and a big jar of his golden honey. Yum! He keeps honey bees to "work" the neighborhood gardens. A jar of Bob's honey is always a special treat! Thank you, Bob!


This is one of Bob's chickens. He has some real chickens, too.

Off to Hubbard Ave. Diner in Middleton for dinner :


They are known for good ol' traditional food done well (like biscuits and gravy, or fried chicken, and especially pie). Tonight I had a BLT, and since I didn't have to set a good example for Oliver, I actually had the French fries. ;-)


CL had the White Chicken Chili with cornbread-- along with some of my dinner. You don't think he keeps that boyish figure by ordering just a cup-of-soup, do you?


And then of course, dessert! It's all about the PIE at Hubbard Ave. Diner.
"You can't eat your green beans until you've had your pie!"
This is the apple pie a la mode. Yum!


Cherokee Marsh at sunset. This was always the BEST light show in town. This is absolute bliss for me--Heaven!


Then, of course, the reason we came to Madison this day. Hiatt gave a decent concert playing some of the old favs (Through Your Hands, Have a Little Faith in Me, Drive South ...) along with songs from the new album. We think it was his daughter Lilly Hiatt who opened for him. Looks like she's a chip off the old block! It's always good to see old friends!

What a perfect day!

Maggie Apples

Maggie is my beloved 2nd-hand Newfie. She loves apples.

We had a Honey Crisp apple tree in the back yard, and she considered it HER tree. She likes to pick her own apples right off the tree. She was also known to push up against the trunk to shake an apple loose. She didn't like wind-fallen apples; She wanted a fresh one. Then she'd lay down for a leisurely chomp.



Last week, the little apple tree blew over in a wind storm. The trunk broke about 3 inches from the ground. It was heavy with apples, and it just toppled over. I finally got the tree cleaned up and removed on Labor Dy. For several days this week, CL reported that Maggie would stand over the broken stump at 10 am, looking directly at him and bark her protest that her apple tree was gone. Yes, she noticed it; Yes, she missed it.

She's a great communicator when she wants to be.

Oshkosh Farmer's Market

This summer, the Oshkosh Farmer's Market moved from the parking lot at the Courthouse, to Main St. downtown. They block off the street for several blocks for the market on Saturday morning. What a great idea! The whole town seems to turn out for it. We usually bike in together as a family.

One of the attractions is Pie on the Porch. They raise money for historical restoration on The Morgan House here in town :



And the Blueberry Pie IS good! They serve the pie on real china plates, with silver forks, and cloth tablecloths, and real flowers on the tables. It's a classy affair for a street cafe!


Me and Oliver downtown.


Oliver in front of Russian Sage.


I liked the color display at this stand. ROY-G-BIV!


Yummy Plums! Time to make the dumplings ... except the plums all disappeared before I could get out the flour and boil the water. We also bought apples. I got a whiff of cinnamon and ginger last week, and knew someone would be selling apples this week! Time for apple pie and apple crisp and ... and ... and ...


Skies above market.

Black Hawk Hot Dog

I don't consider myself a hot dog eater, but these dogs at the BlackHawk Music Festival in Mt. Morris, WI, are DELICIOUS! So in July, I ate my annual "dog."

Linden Blossoms

The Linden Trees are in bloom! I caught a very pleasant whiff of that unmistakable perfume this evening, and I knew it was time again -- All I had to do was look up at the trees nearby.


Linden Blossoms


Linden Tree Leaves, also known as Basswood (so you might recognize it when it's not in bloom).



Grappa Eddie Smithmajer

Great Gramma Smitmajer (Eddie's mother)

My Grandfather (Eddie Smitmajer for those long lost cousins in The Czech Republic) said his mother loved Linden Blossom Tea. When she found a Linden tree in bloom, he would help her pick the blossoms in July, which would then be dried in a warm oven for this mild tea all year round. When he realized we had a Linden tree behind our barn, I went out with him to fill a brown paper shopping bag with the sweet blossoms. I don't know how much tea he actually drank, but it was a nice memory. For years after that, I had a huge jar of those dried blossoms.


Tonight I made a fresh tea from these little beauties. My husband says that his Grandfather in France also had great reverence for Lindens. His family had a summer place in the country, complete with an orchard, Linden trees and bees. CL would go there to get "hunny and money" at Mailly. Another reason I married this wonderful man!


Image from here.
Linden flowers make the BEST honey. If you know a beekeeper with Linden trees nearby, they will keep the Linden honey "under the table." You have to ask for it. It's in short supply and they typically don't leave it out for general sale. Linden flower honey is always a special treat.