Too Bad... ... So Sad

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Oh Drat!  I'm a little sad to have this glass break.  We received a set of eight of these adorable glasses (each one is different) as a wedding gift from my mother-in-law's neighbor who had them wrapped up for decades.  I don't know how old they are but I like them quite a lot.  I understand why people never use their favorite things, in order to preserve and protect those things, but in another way it is also sad to have favorite things that never see the light of day.  All in all they are just things and it makes me happy to use them... and I do try to be careful with them.  Oh well... no more blue bells.

Our set of eight is now a set of six.  This one broke while I was washing it and the first one was bitten to death by a child a couple of Thanksgivings ago (thankfully the child was not injured).  I had misgiving about a youngster using one of the glasses I like so well, true, but I did not want to offend the parents, and the child did seem to be very mellow.  It wasn't done on purpose... and I have never heard of such a thing so I didn't think to ask if they were a biter.  Everyone was surprised by that one.

Nina Pinckard Fechtner

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I'm still in shock. Today I learned that my friend Nina passed away. It doesn't feel real. I've work with her for every summer for over ten years. Nina worked at the CSUS doing everything for the costume shop. She's amazing. The first thing I learned from Nina was about circular cuffs and the last thing I learned was about fabric flowers... and there is a lot in between.

She was smart and concise with a great attention to detail. Last summer at the Fair she made the overalls for the farmer on the ladder in one of the small window displays (she did most of the figurine costumes) and made tiny clasps on the overall straps and was a little bummed that the size of the brads that she used for the buttons to a bit to large to allow the clasp to actually function as a real one would.

It seems a little wrong that out of the vast vastness of Nina's wonderful work I would pick this to demonstrate her attention to detail.

As a freshman I was intimidated by her because she was so busy and possessed knowledge and skills I could not fathom. Over time I found her to be my friend and a source of information and inspiration. She helped me become a better at my craft. She taught me through her example to not rush and slap a project together (although there are times when that is called for) but to work on improving my skills and that speed will come but quality can seldom be added later. Her costumes looked great on the inside as well as the outside. She was about Quality. I really enjoyed working with her.

When I see pictures of my wedding dress (which is daily when I am home) I think of her. I was planning on making my own and she said she would help me with it. I met her in the costume shop and we started sketching. After establishing a vintage feeling silhouette Nina paused and said "let me see what we have." She disappeared into the room of closets and emerged with a vintage lace dress that they have had for years and never used. More amazingly, it fit. Nina made some slight alterations and sold me the dress for $75 (which she used to take the students who worked in the costume shop to the end of the year drama banquet). I would really like to know how many wedding dressing Nina worked over the years, I'm sure the number is astounding.

I am glad to have known her and sad to think that I won't get to continue to know her better. My heart goes out to her family during this time of unexpected loss.

Katy Spors

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I didn't know Katy as well as I would have liked. I truly regret not making the time to get to know her and her husband Paul better. You always think you have more time. That is not always the case as I was abruptly reminded last week when I heard of her sudden passing. This has affected me more than I might have guessed. She was so nice and so fun and she really did have a light about her-- really, she did, and not just in retrospect either. One of those glowing smiles for sure. The world is a little less bright without her and her smile.

It was a long ride down to her funeral in Indiana and I know that there were many people that would have liked to go but couldn't so I'm glad that since we could we went to support her husband and family as well as to be supported by the others who attended. It was clear that the effect she had on me was shared by so many others. I was told by someone who counted that there were 42 or 43 cars in the caravan between the church and the cemetery-- she was loved by very many I believe because it really didn't take long to love her and feel her friendship. We will also attend her Lansing memorial on Saturday.

I miss her and would like to better follow her example of faith and enthusiasm.

Nero

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This is the last picture I took of my kitty Nero when I was home last summer. When I think of him this is pretty much what comes to mind... my sweetheart snuggle kitty. I already miss him but I suspect it won't fully hit me until I go home for Christmas and he won't be there.

He and his sister, Emily -- who is doing well, have held a very special place for me. They were part of a litter of kittens my sister and I raised since they were three weeks old when their mother went missing. I was a college freshman and had late rehearsals which combined with my sister very early coffee shop schedule helped us feed the pack of six every three hours without it being too taxing on either one of us. Jayna had more feeding shifts during the day but my schedule made it so then she could sleep through the night and go to work.

I often think of those days of bottle feeding the babies. . . especially when they were just old enough to walk and learning to run. . . I called them goslings. This is one memory I would like to share.

When we couldn't watch them they would live in the hall bathroom with their litter box, their 'nest' and other necessities. We kept a night light on. Most distinctly I remember feeding them when I got home from rehearsals. First I would prep their formula and get everything ready in the kitchen then it was time to go get the babies-- my favorite part!

I would quietly crack open the bathroom door. In the dim light I could see a nest of fur and six tiny pairs of eyes all looking directly at me. For a second everyone was still.

"Gooooossssliiinnngs!" is what I would quietly call to them which would trigger the cutest stampede EVER!

They would follow me down the hall to the kitchen where they would be fed one by one starting with the smallest one (another orange boy) working up to the largest ones with feeding the undersized ones in between. I would sit at the table with my legs curled up onto the chair to avoid the over eager leg climbers. As the kitten became full they would form a new nest of fur in front of the refrigerator. Nero was the second to smallest kitten and he melted my heart. . . and he had a way of doing that over and over and over again.

I will always have an affinity for the big orange kitty who loves to snuggle.