Author: Debra VanDeventer

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The Blank Page

Adjusting to life in retirement

Steeped in Thought

by Debra VanDeventer

green tea with lemon

a beautiful way to greet

a blank page

That was then….

The alarm wakes me from a fitful sleep at 4:45 am. I roll out of bed, make a potty stop, then a few minutes of yoga to try to prepare myself for the intense day ahead. Breakfast, shower, dress, out the door by 6:30, at school by 7. Adrenaline pumping. Prepared (most mornings) to greet 25-30 energetic kindergarteners, first graders or, later in my career, fourth graders. Done. Click. Repeat. For 37 years. 

This is now….

Sunlight streaming through the slats in the window blinds rouses me from a restful night’s sleep. The days are lengthening and the sun will wake me a few minutes earlier each day. My biological clock adjusts itself to the rhythm of daylight and darkness. This morning’s yoga session is leisurely, breakfast and a walk follows. After showering, I put on comfy leggings and a soft tunic top. Shoes are optional. The tea kettle signals my morning brew is ready. I make my way to my office/studio, open my journal and greet…

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Loose Threads

Pathways to Creativity

In my very first blog post, I showed this picture of my “studio” space I’d designed to support my creative life after retirement. http://seamslikeastory.com/creating-a-space-to-sew-and-write

I’ll admit, I was a young, naïve Blogger(two months ago) eager to impress my audience. One reader suggested it was “too neat to be true.”  I have a confession to make. It doesn’t always look like the photo. You see, my creative life has a split personality.

Different pathways to creativity

I contribute my dichotomy of styles to my parents, Jack and Alice.

Jack liked to have things tidy and organized. If he needed a pencil, sheet of paper, or pair of scissors he knew right where to find them in his organized desk. On the other hand, when Alice got an inspiration, it often took over our household in a flurry of activity leaving an unruly mess in its wake. Dad learned to take refuge in his office when this happened, only peeking out when order had been restored.  Sometimes I’m Jack. I love it when I can go to my sewing pegboard and find my scissors just where they should be, or look at my pattern filing system and take pride that I’d put things back where they belonged. But sometimes, a burst of Alice takes over and I find myself following loose threads.
 I recently had a “loose threads” morning.  It went something like this:

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Stitch up a Memory

Learning How to Sew

Sky and Leaf
By Debra VanDeventer

Spring green Palo Verde leaves sway against the backdrop
of a brilliant blue sky
and a long forgotten memory stirs on the breeze.
A mother’s hands smooth out two pieces of fabric,
sky blue and leaf green.
Not willing to sacrifice one for the other, both are chosen
and a skirt is designed for her child.
Stitch by stitch, mother teaches daughter.
Together they create
a magnificent skirt
born of the mother’s imagination–wraparound, reversible
sky and leaf.

First Steps in learning to sew

My mother taught me to sew.http://seamslikeastory.com/about-debra/ I don’t remember those first steps in learning to sew, but this memory of a  blue and green, wrap-around skirt recently came to mind.

One joy of sewing is the ability to pass the skill on to others. One joy of retirement is you have time to do so. A few summers ago, my (then) eight-year-old granddaughter, Lillian, came to visit for a week. As a former teacher and current sewist, I was delighted when she expressed an interest in learning to sew. Here’s how we began…

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Good Company

Winter Visitors Flock to the Southwest

Midwesterners arrive

Winter visitors flock to your house when you live in the Southwest. That’s when Midwesterners droop and lose their color. Two weeks ago, Ed and I hosted my siblings and siblings-in-law. We had a fun packed weekend of food, drink, hiking, and sightseeing. A niece dropped by and camped out on the sofa one night. My brother and sister stayed an extra few days.

“If we have to work from home, we might as well work from your home,” they said.

 We were happy to carve out some home office space to accommodate them. They left on Thursday and returned to Chicago just in time to experience another round of severe winter weather.

The crew arrives from Georgia

Two days later, just enough time to wash sheets and towels and restock the fridge, my son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter arrived. They escaped wet and cold Georgia to spend their week-long winter break with us. We enjoyed another fun week of hiking, dining outside, after-dinner games, and s’mores around the fire pit. 

Peace at last

Today the house is quiet. All our company is gone. They’ve returned to their other lives, Ed and I will return to ours. How quickly we revert to our familiar routines. I’m a little sad as I tidy up the house where bits and pieces of the last two weeks remain.

Outdoor chairs scatter around the fire pit.

A half finished puzzle is left on the dining room table.

https://www.newyorkpuzzlecompany.com/products/cacti-cactus

A post-it note and fabric scraps hang out near the wastebasket in the sewing /guest room where I helped Lillian make an apron for herself and we attempted to make a dress for her fashion doll.

(We discovered Grandma does NOT know how to make doll clothes. This accounts for most of the fabric scraps.)

Lillian models her new apron.

Smears of flour, water, and egg are glued to the kitchen floor after a night of pasta making.

 Suddenly, I’m not in a hurry to sweep away these reminders. Good times. Good memories. Good company.

Threads of thought icon

Threads of Thought:

We live far away from some family members so we try to make the most of the time we have together. How do you stay connected with family and friends who may not live close?

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