I have been peeking into some of my late mother-in-law's boxes which my husband brought home from her house, now sold. Her obviously very old handwritten cookbook intrigued me, reminding me a little of my mother's Finnish cookbook.

While my mother's book was a published one, "Omi's" is all handwritten by many different hands in an originally blank and indexed book. I imagine that her mother, grandmothers, aunts, sisters and friends may have written many of these, perhaps for her when she was a new bride, or when she was emigrating to Canada. The handwriting is exquisite and often seeming too tiny to read.

I don't recognize her handwriting in the book itself unless it changed later, though some of the loose slips may be by her hand. Like in my mother's cookbook there are numerous slips of loose recipes and clippings inserted throughout, and some glued in, like the one above with Gothic text. My German is poor, and the handwriting hard to read (even husband has trouble) but I do recognize a lot of kuchen (cake) recipes! Omi loved to bake cakes so I'm not surprised.

Two quick drawings from my art school days recently came back home to me, one of my then future mother-in-law and one of my future husband. She loved these so I had given them to her. They were framed along with another one I'd done of a future sister-in-law. They were hung in every home she lived in since.

Being behind glass, I had difficulty capturing good photos of these drawings. Finally I tried my scanner by taking the lid off in order to fit the frame over the edges. They are still not accurate copies but suffice as an example of my very early sketch work and shall be my record in case one of our daughters wishes to have these. As I've mentioned before, my late mother-in-law's home has been sold and contents are being dispersed amongst family as much as possible. "Omi" was a wonderful supporter of my work, even purchasing several of my prints which have also come back.

a crocheted silk lace piano scarf
made by my late mother-in-law many decades ago
bringing forth memories of it gracing her piano

Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
          William Blake - Auguries of Innocence

the first fallen flower from several on the phalaenopsis
gifted to me by my sweet three months ago

Just when the school year is finishing and many students in Studio Arts have put up their graduation exhibition, the administration at Capilano University in North Vancouver has announced that they would have to make cuts to many programs because of a shortfall of $1.3 million in funding from the BC government. Studio and Textile Arts are particularly targeted along with other courses. Studio Arts is and has been a very well-respected program for 40 years.

Students and Faculty and Friends of the Arts are fighting this very hard. A Facebook page and a petition have been set up which are receiving lots of support but we need much more. I have personally been part of the excellent studio arts program at Capilano and want to help by asking friends and readers to please sign this petition in support of arts education, ALL education, and to pass it on to others.

Here is one very special and supportive comment at that petition:

I would not be writing this letter of support for Capilano University's Studio and Textile Arts Program as an Associate Professor at Emily Carr were it not for the incredible education I received there. Having subsequently toured many art and design schools over the years in the United States and Canada, and having been an external reviewer last year of Capilano's program, I can testify that the program ranks among the best. Simply put it offers a first rate blend of intellectual, material, and technical development delivered by extraordinary faculty in a beautifully equipped, community-friendly studio setting. The program is a major contributor to the high profile for culture and excellence the University enjoys, and its reputation far outdistances its relatively small size. It would be a false economy to eliminate this program as the University's profile would be greatly diminished on the cultural scene, locally and nationally. - Alexandra Phillips of Vancouver

There is a provincial election campaign going on and we are questioning all candidates on this issue. Why are some universities getting way more funding than others, while others are experiencing cuts? Why any cuts to any kind of education? Coincidentally or not, the University is having their decision-making budget meeting on May 14th which is the very day of the election!

Here are a few of the many reports in the news media:

- THE TYEE by Crawford Kilian
- CBC NEWS
- Alliance for Arts and Culture

Thank you for reading and for your support!

ADDED May 3rd: In the Straight: Capilano University needs to hit the pause button on its budget plans, by Reg Johanson. Excellent comments too.

Sunday was spent traveling to the Victoria area on Vancouver Island for my late aunt's 'remembering'... a sweet event, lovingly and artistically arranged by her daughter, my cousin, at her charming lakeside cottage home. Heartwarming stories and memories shared with hugs, laughter and tears. Another wrenching goodbye was to this house which my cousin has to leave soon.

Our own family stayed at my late mother-in-law's house where one sister-in-law has lived for many years after her passing. With her daughter and husband joining us, we had a celebration of their coming first child over a traditional family breakfast on Monday morning. Seated around Omi's teak table with her German china we remembered the many years she used to serve us a similar breakfast. A walk around her lovely garden had me misty-eyed remembering her as she worked in it, as we had to say another goodbye to another home, for this has now been sold, so many years since she left it. (Please see daughter Erika's lovely post about it.)

The ferry ride home is always so very beautiful - the blue skies, white puffy clouds, sparkling waters, lovely islands sprinkled with cottages....

It's taken me a long time to write this and I apologize for the wistful nostalgia. I must be getting old.

I know I've been quiet here lately. We've had a full and wonderful week, first with friends visiting from Alberta whom we had not seen in something like a decade. Then yesterday friends from Victoria came for lunch. The weather was glorious all week as was the garden, most impressive for the Albertans! We are back to rain today.

Tomorrow we will attend the memorial and potluck for my late and dear aunt (as mentioned here), so I've been busy printing a card, gathering old photos of her to scan and print, and writing a few little 'memories' to share and reminisce over with her daughter, grandsons and several cousins.

I thought this image captures some of those deep heartwarming feelings of this week. I've actually used it before in another variation here. (However it is not part of the HANDS series of prints.)

Life should be back to normal next week when I'll catch up with visits and comments at your blogs, dear friends!

looking up, looking under and looking down
while awaiting arrival of old friends
on this beautiful Earth Day

As I've mentioned before, a brand new home has been emerging next door to us. Landscaping appears to now be underway and numerous large trees are flying in! Actually a crane is lifting them off trucks and into their positions around the property. Fascinating to watch! I recall all the planting of very small trees, shrubs and flowers that I did by hand on our place after our renovations many years ago, in simpler times it seems.

Looking away from the above odd scene is a view of a magnolia and camellia in full bloom in our backyard. They were here when we moved in and are now very large.

Instead of going to 'school' aka the print studio, I go through the reverse. Last week I packed up and brought home my completed editions and supplies. To even organize the work to go into the flat files, I had to clean off the table top first, which started the snowball effect. Some prints that had come back from Europe in a mailing tube some months ago had to be laid on top of the grand piano under weights for a week before I could store them.

Then there's the garden with weeds growing even faster than the flowers. Indoors, seeds of tomatoes, peppers and basil are up nicely and needing to be planted into little pots to continue growing in the solarium. The pelargoniums await bigger pots. Houseplants need repotting.

Spring cleaning is having a slow start as we prepare for a visit next week from old friends from Alberta whom we've known since our days in Fort St. John when we were neighbours. It has been many years since we've seen each other so we're looking forward to this!

Some sad news too, with the recent death of a dear aunt at the age of 87. Emails and long phone chats with my amazing cousin who cared for her mother at home the last two or three years. I've sent emails to family in Finland and eastern Canada. Memories are being revisited. We shall have a family gathering in her memory sometime soon.

Yesterday evening's gorgeous sunset brought these words to mind:

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

(from Fiddler on the Roof, of course)

Hand with Bark
archival inkjet print
45.5 x 38.5 cm (18" x 15.25")

In a day or two, I will post the last one (top right). Please check out the Hands link to see the others individually.

My hand goes out to you, gentle readers, with wishes for a sunny, warm and happy Easter long weekend. Hauskaa Pääsiäistä, Joyeuses Pâques, Frohes Ostern, Happy Easter... if that is a tradition for you.

I like to think of it as a celebration of spring with daffodils and pussywillows and tender new green leaf buds. And of course, Easter eggs! Most of our treasured Easter egg collection has been made over the years by our daughters, especially the youngest. More photos of those Easter eggs: Easter 2006, Easter 2008

I am looking forward to seeing our granddaughters' plant-dyed eggs, works in progress...

After scanning a moth and a fly, along with a comment about scarabs, I remembered another insect, a chafer beetle perfectly preserved in resin, a paperweight I think. it was given to me as a gift many years ago. Of course I had to scan this too. I started with just the object but the resin has scratches and imperfections so finally I went back to my technique of 'hand with object' with much better success. Beautiful beetle, isn't it?

Besides thoughts of ancient Egyptian scarabs, which are actually dung beetles, I'm reminded that the Greater Vancouver area has a serious chafer beetle infestation destroying many lawns, including ours. I think our beetle is the brown European one rather than this gorgeous green. The grubs root under the turf, then raccoons, skunks and some birds dig up the patches in search of tasty meals. I must remember to buy and apply some nematodes on it this summer ( I forgot at the recommended time last year).

So that's the story of a beauty and a beast!