Category: Life

Look Up!

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn LifeLeave a comment
img_4709-1

I just returned from my morning walk.  It was a rather cool 27 degrees, but the fresh air was great.  With my headphones on, I would normally listen to an audio book.  Today I decided to put my music collection on shuffle and see what songs came up.  Great idea.  It seemed like God was really wanting to calm my inner thoughts.  

A song by one of my favorite artists, Lauren Daigle was the second song to play. I have loved “Look Up Child” since it was released.  If you have not heard the song before, I encourage you to click on the link and enjoy it.

My plans for the rest of the day are to dust our bookshelves and then do some sewing.  I hope everyone finds an uplifting way to spend their day.  Comments about how you are spending your day are very welcome. 

img_4710

A New Norm

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Family, Life1 Comment

Vacation in Palm Springs, that is where I am supposed to be this week. That is obviously not where I am.

We decided last Thursday to cancel our trip. So, I am at home.

I originally thought I would be able to spend the week pretending I was already retired. Well, that hasn’t happened either. With the rapidity of change in our lives, I spent the last couple days on-line looking up information to help keep my office safe. Over the weekend, my partners and I made many decisions, including limiting treatment to emergency patients only.

So, I can now settle in to my week off. And, it looks like I will have more time off over the next few weeks.

Since I am, by nature, a planner, I have decided to make a schedule for myself. First thing each morning I am planning to get my 10,000 steps in either by going on a walk or using my stair stepper. After my walk, I will do a bit of house cleaning and organizing. After that, my crafts will be my therapy for dealing with the stress of these times.

I realized that these changing times can make all of us feel stressed and anxious. So, after my walk each day I will post an inspirational quote and a short message about my plans for my day.

I encourage my readers to add a comment about how you are spending your day or something uplifting and encouraging. Your comments may help others cope with the new norm we are all settling in to.

 

Vail – A Winter Wonderland

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Food, Life, TravelLeave a comment

Okay, so I really prefer warm weather vacations.  However, having just returned from a week in Vail, Colorado, I will have to admit that the area was breathtakingly beautiful.  I hope to someday return in the summer to see what the mountain landscape looks like without all the snow.

Vail Village is a charming place, with cobblestone roads and picturesque ski lodges. Throughout the town are dozens of sculptures, wall murals and lighted decorations. My first day I spent about two hours walking around Vail Village, Lionshead Village, Cascade Village and Golden Peak.

This was our first week-long vacation in almost ten years where we were not staying someplace with a kitchen.  This meant no grocery shopping, no cooking and no dishes to wash! With restaurants abounding, each evening we selected a different place to eat.

  • Lancelot Restaurant – great weinerschnitzel
  • Almresi – here we had Austrian Hutessen – beef cooked on a flat-iron at the table, kind of a cross between grilling and sauteing
  • Up the Creek – awesome Arugula salad and Tortilla soup
  • Fall Line – the tastiest filet I have ever had!
  • Alpenrose – great German restaurant (forgot to take photos of the food here).Alpenrose

Not being a skier, I took my snowshoes along and went on several long walks.

My first trek was a guided walk through the Ford Botanical Gardens.  This walk was only about 2 miles total but was very educational. The naturalist gave some insights into the trees and plants that grow in the area.  Even though the average annual snowfall in Vail is 169 inches, the area is considered a high desert.  Due to the dry air, the snow sublimates rather than melts.  So, the amount of water available to plants is limited.  Even so, there are many lovely evergreens making the winter scenery prettier than in Minnesota with our deciduous trees.  110

On my subsequent snowshoeing walks, I headed each direction out of Vail Village.  The Gore Creek runs through Vail, so I followed the creek west one day and east the next day.  Each day, I walked for just under two miles and then headed back to the village.

For my final walk (without snowshoes), I rode Gondola One up the hill and then followed Gitalong Road and Vail Village Catwalk back down.  This path, with a few treks to get closer to some wildlife, was just under six miles in length.  Luckily it was downhill.  Unexpectedly, the downward movement made some of my muscles rather sore.

On my excursions I saw lots of wildlife as well.

We stayed at the Gasthof Gramshammer, which featured classic European ski lodge architecture.  Between a 2am fire alarm going off, the room thermostat stuck on high (we slept with the patio door open), and a constant humming noise, it was an interesting place to stay.   

Free Hugs

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Baking, Cookies, Family, Holidays, Life1 Comment

It’s wond’rous what a hug can do.
A hug can cheer you when you’re blue.
A hug can say, “I love you so”
or, “Gee I hate to see you go.”

A hug can soothe a small child’s pain
and bring a rainbow after rain.
The hug! There’s just no doubt about it,
we can scarcely survive without it.

A hug delights and warms and charms,
it might be why God gave us arms.

Hugs are great for Fathers and Mothers,
sweet for Sisters, swell for Brothers.
Chances are some favorite Aunts
love them more than potted plants.

Kittens crave them. Puppies love them.
Heads of State are not above them.
A hug can break the language barrier
and make the dullest day seem merrier.

No need to fret about the store of ’em.
The more you give the more there are of ’em.
So stretch those arms without delay, and
Give Someone a Hug Today!
From – The Serious Teddy Bear

Happy National Hug Day!

img_4437

2020 is Finally Here

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Life3 Comments

SMILE

As a pediatric dentist, I have come across all kinds of patients and parents.  Most of the families I see are truly delightful to work with.  Some of my patients are so sweet and kind that they make me really happy that I had chosen this profession.  Still others provide a daily dose of humor that makes me laugh so hard that I have tears in my eyes.

Most parents express their appreciation for the care we provide to their child in some very challenging circumstances. However, occasionally a parent can make my job very difficult – overindulgent parents expecting miracles as we treat their “little angels”.  These parents provide no discipline at home and then expect the trip to the dentist to be like a trip to Disney World and are disappointed when their overprotected child cannot cope when having treatment done. Their disappointment comes out as anger towards me, the dentist. 

About five years ago, I had a week filled with parents like this.  By the end of that week, I was exhausted. That weekend, I came to the conclusion that I did not want to do this job forever.  To give myself a mental lift, I decided to settle on a end date, i.e. my retirement date. Taking multiple things into consideration, I thought I would aim for five years.  Being the summer of 2015, this meant I would plan to retire sometime in 2020.  Thinking a bit more about it, I settled on Monday, November 2nd.  My first day of work with Dentistry for Children and Adolescents was November 2nd, 2000.  So, this date would mark the twentieth anniversary of my starting with the practice. Twenty years in the year 2020 just sounded right.  Over the past five years, when dealing with difficult parents, thinking about this date has been my way of coping.

Well, today marks ten months, to the day, of my selected retirement date.  My office manager asked me to write a short letter to distribute to families over the next months as they come in for their dental appointments. Today, I put pen to paper (or rather – fingers to the keyboard) and wrote out that letter.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

For the past twenty years, I have been blessed to work with my amazing partners and staff at Dentistry for Children and Adolescents.  During those years, I have had the privilege to provide dental care for your children.  It has been a pleasure to have developed professional relationships and, in some cases, friendships with the families I have treated.

Over my life, my career has taken a few “turns in the road”, starting with teaching and research at the U of M, to private practice where I have enjoyed guiding patients to having the best dental health that is possible.  Looking ahead, in November I will be transitioning to the next phase of my life.  What that phase will involve has yet to be finalized.  I have many hobbies and interests, some of which I have highlighted in my personal blog (ericksonsheirlooms.com).  If you want to follow along with what I am doing, please do so. I have other ideas that I may pursue as well.

Thank you for your confidence in me over the years.  I wish you and your children all the best in the future.

Sincerely,

Pamela R Erickson, DDS, PhD

While I will enjoy the next ten months as a pediatric dentist, I look forward to the freedom that retirement will give me.

The end of a decade

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Family, Holidays, Life, PetsLeave a comment

It’s the last day of 2019 and the busy holiday season is nearly over.  Since I am not someone who normally spends New Year’s Eve at a party, I am relaxing in my craft room and reflecting upon the last year.

The highlights of our year were put together into a short slideshow and interactive crossword puzzle that was sent to family and friends as an electronic Christmas card.

 

As seen in the video, it was a busy year filled with many happy days.  There were, however,  some sad days as well.  As previously mentioned, my father passed away a few weeks ago.  Earlier this year, we also said good-bye to cat, Squigglez, and then a few months later our little yorkie, Duke.  These two pets had been in our home for many, many years.

Reflecting back on the year, I have had some fun family adventures, started a new hobby and completed many projects, some of which I have not written about.

It always seems a bit overwhelming to put into words what I have done. Recently, I mentioned this to a friend.  Her comment was that I should do smaller, daily blogs – briefly writing about what I did each day.  I said I thought this might be a good idea, but I worried about annoying everyone by overloading their inboxes. So, that idea will wait for some future date. 

Looking ahead, this next year is expected to be an eventful year.

My prayer is that your year will be happy and healthy!

All Things Grinch

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Baking, Candy, Cookies, Holidays, LifeLeave a comment

Last December during a longer lunch break, I walked by a uniform store. Glancing in the window of the store, a couple items caught my eye.  Displayed high on one of the walls, I saw long sleeved red scrub jackets.  On another display below the jackets were bright green scrub pants.  When I saw them, it made me think – Grinch.  When I went into the store, I discovered that the displays were not directly adjacent, it was just an illusion created by looking through the window.  That visual image, however, gave me a creative idea for work, so I purchased a red scrub jacket and a pair of green pants. I have worn both of these items at work, but not together.img_4295 Now that the Christmas season is here, it was time to put them together.

To create the costume, I designed an digital embroidery pattern (using Art and Stitch) based upon a Grinch face in a child’s coloring book.  The face was embroidered onto green fleece and sewn, like a visor, inside the front edge of a pre-made Santa hat.  To complete the costume, I even found matching green gloves and red Poinsettia shoe on Amazon.

Wearing the costume at work has proven to be a good behavior management strategy.  For the past week, I have had great patient and parent cooperation, even with patients who have not been good in the past!

img_4307A few days after I made my visor, I was shopping at Target.  When walking past the boy’s clothing section, I noticed some green gloves that were the exact shade of the fleece I had used.  Since I had excess fleece, I purchased two pair of gloves and made a couple Grinch hats.  To complete the winter wear sets, I embroidered a triple heart (because, according to the story, the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes), and made neck warmers.  I will be donating these two sets of “Grinch Gear” to the Hats and Mittens collection next year.

For holiday fun, I decided to make some Grinch treats to share at work and with my sons.  Here are a couple recipes:

img_4303

Grinch Shortbread Cookies (makes 36)
1 cup  butter, room temperature
1 cup granular sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup Gluten-free flour
1 cup  Almond Flour
green food coloring
Red Jolly Rancher candies

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.

Beat together butter and sugars until creamy.  Add vanilla, egg and food coloring and mix until creamy.  Whisk together flours and salt.  Gradually mix dry ingredients into batter. Chill for at least one hour.  Roll out dough to 1/4″ on a lightly floured surface.  Cut out a larger heart with a small heart in the middle.  Place a Jolly Rancher in the middle heart hole.  Bake for 10 minutes. Cool completely before removing from parchment paper.

img_4304

Grinch Fur – aka Haystacks (makes 36)
12 ounces dark green Candy Melts
12 ounces vibrant green Candy Melts
1 1/2 cups peanuts
12 ounces Chow Mien Noodles
Candy Hearts

Directions:
Place Candy melts in an 10 cup microwave safe  glass bowl.  Microwave approximately 2 minutes.  Stir well until all pieces of candy are melted and blended together.  Stir in peanuts and Chow Mien Noodles.  Place by spoonfuls onto waxed paper and top each with a candy heart. Refrigerate until set.  Store in an airtight container.

Grinch Poppers (see my original post 12-22-18)

IMG_2778

 

Go Rest High On That Mountain

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Family, Life2 Comments

IMG_2193aJust over two weeks ago, my father fell and suffered a major head injury.  This injury ultimately led to his passing on November 21st (view his obituary). The rapidity in his decline was not expected. My dad had several major health incidences over the past years (cancer, heart disease, strokes, uncontrolled diabetes, etc) from which he always bounced back.  Having been through so many of these, his quickly succumbing to the effects of the fall was very surprising to me.

As I prepare for his memorial service today, I have been reflecting back on my years with him.

Growing up, my father was not an easy man to live with.  However, he did have a large impact on the person I am today.  As a child, I would often retreat to a hidden quiet spot in the basement of our home to avoid his unwanted words and action.  In this space, I would try to be as quiet as possible and thus kept several books, including some of our encyclopedia set, to occupy my time. My time was spent learning new facts and information, which ultimately helped me succeed in school.  To this date, I don’t think my father every knew that I had a hidden spot high on the storage shelf behind several large boxes.

As a high school junior, my father’s personality contributed to my decision to graduate from school a year early and attend college as a seventeen year old.  There were many things that my father had said and done that were inappropriate.  My life’s goal was to personally and professionally excel and make my own path that would be different from the path my father would have preferred.  College seemed an excellent way to accomplish this.

While in graduate school and for several years after graduating, I pulled away from my family, focusing instead on my career and raising my own children.  The things my father had done were wrong and I wanted no part of it.

However, as an adult, I have learned that we all have the ability to live a lifestyle of forgiveness.  The depth of forgiveness we have received in Jesus can be the foundation for our own love and forgiveness. In order to love to greater depths, we must continuously reflect on God’s overwhelming forgiveness and mercy to us.

In Him we have . . . the forgiveness of sins . . . Ephesians 1:7

I realized that I cannot change the past.  But, I could forgive my father and create a new future for us. So, over the past ten years, I have rebuilt a relationship with my father.  Our relationship was not a strong father-daughter relationship. But, I did love my father, spent time with him and will miss him.

 

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

On By Erickson's HeirloomsIn Life, Quilting, Scrap Quilt, Volunteer3 Comments

As most of my friends and family know, I like to try new ideas for quilts.  Many of these are made and then given away to charities.  Last winter I learned that the charity I had been donating to changed their donation policy.  In order to donate an item, I needed to donate one for ever person living at their housing location. That meant I needed to make 24 quilts before I could donate them.  That would be a difficult task for me to accomplish.

Fortunately, last December while watching the evening news, I  saw a news article about an organization that made beds for children who do not have a bed and are usually sleeping on the floor.  When I learned I needed to find a new place to donate quilts to, this organization came to mind.

SHPSleep in Heavenly Peace (shpbeds.org) is a national organization “dedicated to building, assembling and delivering top-notch bunk beds to children and families in need”.  I went on-line to learn more about the organization.  What I learned was when the beds are delivered, the children are also given a mattress, pillow and bedding (including a comforter or quilt).

This, I thought might be a good place to make quilts for.  And, since the beds are for children, I could make all kinds of fun kids quilts! After contacting them, I started setting aside quilts to drop off.  A few days ago, I delivered the twelve quilts that I have made this year.  Hopefully there will be a dozen kids who enjoy these quilts.

Many of the quilts I have already written about in previous blog posts.  But, here are a few photos of the ones I have not already posted about.

A flannel quilt (front and back):

Another flannel quilt (front and back):

An airplane quilt:Twin

Diamonds:Blue Baby Quilt

Patriotic Bargello:Attachment-185880

If any of my friends have quilt tops that they would like to donate, I will gladly quilt them on my long-arm machine and donate them to SHP for you.  Just contact me.