i want to be like Cliff

when i'm 75 (and hopefully sooner...) i want to be like Cliff. I met him last weekend through a friend of a fellow resident who goes to church with Cliff. he took 5 of us girls sailing for an afternoon on the illinois river/lake peoria in his 24 foot sailboat, giving each of us a chance to steer, sharing about sailing, kayaking (he does that too), his faith and his experience of the LORD Jesus in His life. i hope i get to spend more time around this active, youthful, wonderful, joy-filled, godly, reminds-me-of-my-grandfather-ly man. thank you, Cliff!

seeds

so i've had a little box called "Basil Mini Pot" for years. maybe 3, 4 years... ever intending to actually open it and plant the seeds and grow my own basil. i've moved it from my first apartment in Omaha (on Cass) to the Glen Arlo and then to Julie's house... it somehow made it through the nearly 2 years at Julie's house and became a part of the many boxes that joined me here in my own, new house in Peoria, Illinois. it was unpacked, put on my kitchen counter, and left there for me to see daily for several weeks. one day last week i was seized with "i must just plant these stupid seeds!" and stop toting them around from house to house.
skeptical that these small seeds in a plastic packet would actually grow now, after 3 or 4 years, i followed the instructions, put them in their "Mini Pot" and left them on my window sill.

AND THEY GREW!!! little sprouts, pushing up soil, still able to spring to life after years in a plastic packet - without nourishment, light, attention, soil, water... their potential remained.
this gives me hope somehow. that seeds planted in my soul, and not attended for a while, are still capable of growing and bringing forth life with even the smallest amount of overdue attention. may it be!

the transformation

here are some pix of the new look on the inside of my house... enjoy. (sorry about the arrangement of the photos)

a new look

so the blog has a new look! ... for a new season, a new state, a new town, a new job, and all of the news that goes along with such. and just because. sometimes we need things to be changed around, spruced up. so here it is.

my first day of school...

or rather, residency!!
"Hello, I'm Dr. Venable" is getting more and more easy to say after the first few days. at first i kept thinking - i feel like i'm pretending to be my grandfather. but i'm wearing the long coat and the pager and the name badge that says "Katherine Venable, M.D." I've been working with/watching a dermatologist named Dr. Swaminathan for these first 2 weeks, i had my first clinic this morning where i see my "own" patients. My first call night will be next friday, when i work in the hospital and actually admit patients who are sick enough to need inpatient hospital care. that will be a little scary, but i'm looking forward to it. this is such a privilege!