Category Archives: Home & Family

August 7, 2011 · 12:58 pm

My Daughter is Married!

Jessica Bride

My daughter Jessica married her High School sweetheart Matthew yesterday at Mount Madonna Park near Gilroy. The bride was lovely, the groom was handsome, and the 125 gusts had a delightful time. Jessica wore my first wedding dress (ivory raw silk) with a river pearl necklace from her Grandmother and me.  Matt wore a tuxedo with white vest and tie. The mothers read two poems:

Before, during, and after the ceremony, there were hundreds of formal photos. Then, everyone ate food and cake and was happy and  silly…  The couple will live for their first year in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania while where Jessica will be a 5th Year Scholar at CMU.  Jessica was graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with honors in Ethics, History & Public policy (that’s one major). She will finish her minor in Music and focus on her Arabic during the coming year. Matt just was graduated from William & Mary with honors in Computer Science and Public Policy.

Jessica and Matthew . Jessica and Matthew

IMG_7406

Images Copyright 2011 by Katy Dickinson

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August 4, 2011 · 5:12 pm

End of Intern Season

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven…

Huawei Intern Lunch

Working in R&D for most of my life, my year sorts into professional seasons.  Early Spring is when I submit presentation proposals to the Hopper Conference, then I attend GHC in the late Fall. Winter is the time to look for interns, late Spring is when they arrive for work, and now is the time for interns to go. This Summer, I was delighted to host a gaggle of interns here at Huawei in Santa Clara, one of whom actually reported to me.  Three were shared TechWomen interns, and one was my son-in-law-to-be, who reported to someone else. All have now gone on to new adventures. We miss their ideas, questions, and energy: it is way too quiet around here…

Huawei Intern
Huawei Intern
TechWomen at Huawei

Images Copyright 2011 by Katy Dickinson

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August 3, 2011 · 1:11 pm

All things are ready, if our minds be so

My daughter Jessica’s wedding is in three days. 125 people are joining us in a lovely State Park on Saturday to celebrate the happy union under the redwoods. I am sure there is much which we have forgotten or neglected or mislaid but I trust in King Henry V: “All things are ready, if our minds be so.”

The Holmes and Dickinson families got together on Sunday for a pre-wedding pizza dinner, check-in, and games night. We played Munchkin – a fun game based on Dungeons and Dragons with silly cards such as

  • Curse! Duck of Doom (“You should know better than to pick up a duck in a dungeon”)
  • Swiss Army Polearm
  • Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment
  • Nasty-Tasting Sports Drink
  • Pantyhose of Giant Strength
  • Squidzilla (a monster)

We first played Munchkin when we visited Jessica last year in Qatar. Several of her professors at CMU-Q were addicted to the game.

Holmes Dickinson Game Night . Munchkin card game

Paul and Matt went together to get their hair cuts earlier this week (supervised by Jessica).  The soon-to-be-brothers-in-law look very handsome.  Last night, Jessica and Matt and I went to Costco to buy two shopping carts-full of wine, beer, champagne, sodas, and bottled water for the wedding reception.  Jessica has given us a written timeline (15 minute intervals) for The Day Before the Wedding and The Wedding Day.  I do not expect everything will go as planned but all will be well at the end.

Wedding Shopping at Costco Jessica Matthew . Wedding Shopping at Costco Jessica Matthew

Images Copyright 2011 by Katy Dickinson

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July 31, 2011 · 1:35 pm

Ladies’ Wedding Tea

Jessica's Wedding Tea

My daughter Jessica is getting married next week. We are mostly ready for the big event (125 guests). Yesterday, she and I went back to the tailor’s for another sash fitting, bought her two party dresses, and went to the florist. John and Paul went to the grocery store and the bakery.  Sinead (the Maid of Honor) and Jessica baked cookies when we got back.

Last night, we held the Ladies’ Tea for the senior women in Jessica’s life to celebrate. The gentlemen of the family were invited to go elsewhere.  The younger ladies are getting together for a bachelorette party next week.  All of the guests brought their favorite treats. We had cakes and cucumber sandwiches and rosemary bread and cornbread (with honey) and tarts and biscotti and lavender ice tea and hot teas and wine. The table decorations were the wishes tree, wedding favors, and love poems with ribbons to be given out at next week’s big event. My favorite was the almond cake with marzipan frosting in the shape of a gift box with a big bow (from Flower Flour bakery and florist here in Willow Glen, San Jose CA).

Tonight, the families of the Bride and Groom meeting for dinner and board games at our house – to check in and make final plans.  We usually play Settlers or Hearts.

Jessica's Wedding Tea . Jessica's Wedding Tea

Jessica's Wedding Tea
Images Copyright 2011 by Katy Dickinson

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July 16, 2011 · 6:57 pm

3 Beautiful Old Typewriters

Remington Portable Typewriter

In 2009, I wrote an entry about the old Remington Portable typewriter pictured at the top of my blog page. I recently acquired two more, an L.C. Smith & Corona Super Speed from a garage sale ($10), and an Oliver Standard Visible Writer (appropriately olive colored) which was a gift from my mother. All three are now part of my office in WP668 (our backyard caboose).

Typing this on my Apple MacBook Pro laptop, with its sleek compact design, makes me think again how far the mechanics of writing have come.  The  function of these three 80-year-old machines is the same but the designs are very different. I find them interesting and beautiful.

I learned to type on a portable typewriter. Now, many of them are being dismantled for their beautiful parts and sold a bit at a time on Etsy* and at craft fairs to those who like the steampunk look. As my husband says, before something gets to be antique and valuable, it has to survive being old and worn out.

* Etsy currently has 3,948 listings for handmade items such as rings, pendants, cuff links, and earrings which mention “typewriter keys”

Oliver Typewriter

Smith Corona Typewriter

Images Copyright 2011 by Katy Dickinson

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July 16, 2011 · 5:44 pm

Last Harry Potter Movie

Harry Potter 7 Century 22 San Jose . Harry Potter 7 Century 22 San Jose

I went with family and friends to see the last Harry Potter movie last night. It was dark and sad but with a marvelous battle at the end. My kids love J.K. Rowling’s books and have read each of the seven Harry Potter stories many times. My son listens to recordings of the stories regularly. For the last fourteen years, our whole family has awaited each book and movie eagerly. We have several copies of each book, some in more than one language. In 2003, when we took a family trip by Amtrak train from Chicago home to the San Francisco Bay Area, we had to share just two newly-arrived books among the four of us. I think I achieved a personal best by reading Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (870 pages) in a day and a half.  I am sorry to see the end of new stories about our favorite boy wizard.

Harry Potter Jessica 2000 . non-English Harry Potter books

Images Copyright 2000-2011 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher

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July 13, 2011 · 7:24 pm

Van Gilder Glass – 3rd Home

Walter Van Gilder stained glass panel

My Great Grandfather was Walter Van Gilder, a glass maker.  You can read my 2009 blog entry about his home at 1007 Circle Park Drive, Knoxville Tennessee. I own several engraved and picture mirrors made by him but I think Walter Van Gilder’s best work is a stained glass panel (about five feet wide) which until this morning was over the door of my parents’ house in San Francisco. The panel is lovely but in deteriorating condition, so I asked Architectural Art Glass expert Vince Taylor to remove and fix it. Vince has created three stained glass panels for our house in San Jose and he does beautiful work. Once the lead has been replaced and the frame restored or replaced (depending on what is possible), the Van Gilder panel will be ready for its next hundred years. Ours will be the third house it has graced and we look forward to welcoming it home later this year.

Image Copyright 2011 by Katy Dickinson

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