Momma

Mary Oostenbroek    The last months have been full of introspection as my mom struggled through her last days. She lived to be ninety-three years old. She always reached out on special occasions and every member of the family could count on a knitted touque or sweater on our birthdays in the years when knitting was her passion.

Recently, I’ve been digging deep into the long-ago memories of my formative years. I happily recall the joyful times, of which there were many. Mom took great care of us, and my parents were the envy of most of my friends. She worked so hard to provide for us. I thankfully remember how she encouraged my art career in those early years and the decades since. I’m thankful for a loving mom and a wonderful childhood. I’ll miss her.

Primed shoe

The Old Woman’s shoe is now mostly primed and ready for more paint next week. It won’t be long until it is ready for shipment so the kids can enjoy it in the Storybook Land at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch in Nebraska.

Pumpkin inside

It was a tight fit, but today we stuffed Matt inside the pumpkin so he could apply the concrete and then sculpt it to a perfect finish that mimicked the inside of a carved pumpkin. Applying upside down concrete mud is always challenging, but a curved ceiling in a tight space is doubly so. It was a lot like scraping out a real pumpkin. Matt, of course, was up for the challenge and did a fabulous job. He also applied the concrete to the window and door sills and the twisted pumpkin stem. Next week, the crew will do the outside skin, which will make it ready for us to weld the armature for Peter the Pumpkin Eater. Stay tuned as this piece quickly comes together…