May has been a melancholy month for me, beginning with the death of my niece, Kim, on the 4th. Above her son begins to dig the hole to inter her ashes beside my parents and my two brothers in a small cemetery in southeastern Ohio. You may not be able to tell from the photo but it was raining buckets that day (hence all the umbrellas). To the left of Kim's son is his foster father, Christian and to the right is my niece Amy (Christian's sister-in-law).
Our private family services were actually quite beautiful - I found them comforting ... and also elating in that it revealed Kim's siblings to all be spectacular people! I was so proud of my family that rainy morning ... for their caring and compassion and mutual support.
We have been working to sort out Kim's possessions - some to give to family members, some to donate to worthy causes, some to keep as memorials to Kim. There are still things to be donated but Hugh (my son) and I are slowly distributing things. It's inspiring me to sort and de-stuff my own house faster so that's a positive aspect to the sadness, I suppose.
I have taken some comfort in nature this month. My brother and I went for a stroll through the azalea gardens in western Howard County (where we live) earlier this month. I found it soothing and reassuring. I go to nature when I visit 'church.'
I've also been sewing quietly in my room, when I can grab a few minutes, working on two projects that I started earlier this spring.
The first is the Call Me Crazy sew along. I have made six blocks now (out of a total, eventually, of 52?):
The other project I'm nearly done with is the Create Your Own Adventure quilt along being run by the Baltimore Modern quilt guild. Today I sewed in the afternoon with my friends Barbara and Patty (and the Faithful Circle Sewing Buddies via Zoom) ... and managed to trim and baste my final story quilt from this exercise. I'm quite happy with it!
Just to share more of my family here ... I was given a copy of a photo of my parents when they were very young (probably 19 or 20) and first dating, standing on the campus of their college:
:) Linda
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