Our kitchen remodel today reached the “done enough” stage. I like our updated kitchen and want to start using it. I am glad to see the newly-uncovered oak floors go well with the fresh paint and granite counter and backspash. Lots of little stuff still to do (fixing many paint errors-and-omissions, installing under-cabinet lights, replacing shelves, replacing a sliced window screen, replacing the cabinet muntins…). All the little blue bits of tape in the pictures are where the paint is messed up. However, at this point, we would rather finish that work ourselves. We ran all of the plumbing and appliances last night and found two leaks, but those were fixed today. Some of the work was very well done, especially the cabinet upgrades, and the stone work. I love how the granite pattern behind the stove looks like sand dunes, and how the book matched granite patterns flow into each other. I also like having shelves under the windows. Still, I am happy to have the contractors out of the house. I am also happy to be able to use my new super-fancy laundry folding counter. I figure I spend so much time standing there, I should enjoy how it looks. Our house is almost 100 years old and I expect this kitchen to serve it well into its next century.
Images Copyright (c) 2023 Katy Dickinson. If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right on Katysblog home).
For the weekly opening worship in our class, My Co-Mentor (and husband) John Plocher and I have been using the worship bulletins from our home parish, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. However, that music has proven challenging. Many inmates love and long for music and as a CIC Chaplain, I am privileged to bring in my smart phone and a speaker. But, while the lyrics and music are in St. Andrew’s worship bulletin, few inmates read music and finding recorded music that matches has been a challenge.
Last Wednesday, John had an idea so we tried something new. I wrote the repetitive lyrics for a traditional hymn on the white board and played the music so the inmates could sing along. They loved it and asked to sing all five verses through a second time before class ended! Most of the students are Christian but the seminar also includes a man who identifies as a Messianic Jew. About two thirds of the inmates in this class are Latino and speak Spanish (most also speak English). All are welcome.
Here is the start of the lyrics we sang, from Hymnary:
As I went down to the river to pray, studyin’ about that good old way, and who shall wear the starry crown, good Lord, show me the way.
Oh, sisters, let’s go down, let’s go down, come on down. Oh, sisters, let’s go down, down to the river to pray. [Refrain]
In class, we listened to the lovely recording by Alison Krauss, from the “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” album. Our daughter Jessica Dickinson Goodman not only has a lovely big voice but also a Minor in Vocal Music from Carnegie Mellon University. On Thursday, she and I talked about the challenge of bringing singable music into jail. Last night, Jessica brought over a selection of her song books so now I have more resources.
I am week-by-week revising the assigned TLB chapters, include new material and illustrations, and providing a Spanish translation. I plan to use Hymnary and the books Jessica provided to also create a supplementary TLB section of lyrics that are aligned with the themes of each chapter. So far, the inmates have been very engaged with the new materials. I just had two more students who had completed a prior TLB seminar ask if they can rejoin. So far, so good!
Images Copyright (c) 2023 Katy Dickinson. If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right on Katysblog home).
Temporary Kitchenette in John Plocher’s Office, 8 September 2023
After 26 years in our home, we are updating our kitchen. Our Spanish Mission style house was built around 1931 in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood (Silicon Valley, California). We think the kitchen was last remodeled after the big Loma Prieta 1989 earthquake. The kitchen is large but the layout is fixed by four doors (to John’s office, the laundry room, the basement, and the dining room).
We are keeping the original cabinets because they are solid oak and, while after so many years the finish is trashed, they are good quality, fit well, and are in the right places. We are replacing the pulls, hinges, and drawer slides, so that means rebuilding the drawer boxes. We are also changing two under-cabinet doors to be drawers. The update is limited to those cabinet changes, granite counters to replace the nasty cheap tile, a new sink and faucet, cabinet and wall paint, electrical plug upgrades, and three new appliances: induction range / stove, microwave, and sink disposal. The induction stove meant we also had to buy all new pans. There has been much discussion over microwave placement. John (the fancy cook) says he prefers it over the stove, so we bought a new microwave unit with a built-in hood.
It feels like camping out in our own home. John is patient with the temporary kitchenette we created in his office. (This is overseen by the Moltres Pokemon mural my mother Eleanor Dickinson and son Paul painted when that was his bedroom.) We are doing dishes in the bathroom. My birds are confused by their extended field trip to the dining room, where their cage is surrounded by boxes of china and kitchen stuff. The contractor came by this morning to say that the countertops will be installed tomorrow, and the cabinets and paint will be finished next week. Here’s hoping for that to happen as scheduled!
Nov 2022 John Plocher in old kitchennew kitchen stove, 31 July 2023kitchen backsplash granite slab, 17 Aug 2023kitchen granite shopping, 17 Aug 2023old kitchen 20 August 2023kitchen demolition 21 Aug 2023kitchen after counter removal, 21 Aug 2023kitchen electrical work, 22 Aug 2023kitchen with new backer boards, 24 Aug 2023John Plocher and curious dogs in kitchen 29 Aug 2023bathroom dishes 8 Sep 2023
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I was touched and thankful for the positive feedback about this event, notably this comment by the Correctional Institutions Chaplaincy‘s Chaplain Ra Amen, “The absolute best interreligious training on the topic. The synergism between the panelists and moderator was seamless. The questions and answers allow for a broad range of insights and experiences to be covered. Whether a novice or as one with years of experience, there was much to be gained from the discussion that will serve me well in future interreligious situation in jail or the general society. It was a model that could be use national in jail and prison ministry. I commend everyone involved in putting on this training.” Another comment from volunteer Chaplain Barbara Harriman was heartwarming, “The seminar today was amazing! Your panel was filled with compassionate scholars, including you! It was very impressive and informative. Thank you so much. I’m so glad you made the video accessible. I will share it with others.” I am grateful for the support.
Grateful thanks to the inspiring and excellent panel speakers:
Reverend Liz Milner, Executive Director & Facility Chaplain, Correctional Center for Women, CIC (Santa Clara County)
Sheikh Rami Nsour, Founding Director, Tayba Foundation (a non-profit organization dedicated to serving individuals and families impacted by incarceration, Fremont)
Thank you as well to the friends, family, and colleagues who helped me put on this event. Especially Karen LeBlanc, Jessica Dickinson Goodman, and John Plocher.
Images Copyright (c) 2023 Katy Dickinson. Thanks to photographers, Karen LeBlanc, Joel Martinez, John Plocher, and Barbara Merrill. If you want to receive Katysblog posts by email, please sign up using the Sign Me Up! button (upper right on Katysblog home).
After a lot of thought, I have decided to write about having breast cancer. Mine has been a relatively minor case (“Level Zero” or “Stage Zero” in a measurement system where the higher the number, the more advanced the cancer). I have not wanted to talk about it because I did not want any more fuss than needed. However, now that I have finished surgery and radiation, it feels like not talking about it makes it scarier and more important. I know so many who have died from cancer, and others who are bravely seeking healing with much more advanced cases. My father, Wade Dickinson, had cancer five times. I am deeply grateful for my “Level Zero” circumstances and for the support of my beloved husband John and family and friends during this challenging experience. I feel blessed to to be surrounded by a caring and loving community who have generously advised, commiserated, and celebrated with me during this long process. I am also blessed to have good health insurance for this expensive treatment. The estimated cost for the surgery alone was $112,124.
The kind of cancer I had is called DCIS – or Ductal carcinoma in situ, sometimes described as pre-cancerous or a non-invasive cancerous lesion. The DCIS was in only one breast. The first sign of trouble turned up in a routine mammogram a year ago. There were discussions and rounds of diagnostic tests by the Stanford Women’s Cancer Center. All of that ended up with my having a Lumpectomy in early January 2023, followed by ten radiation treatments.
Something that surprised me about this process was that unlike every other medical experience I have had, cancer seems more of a lifestyle than a disease. During my treatment, there seemed an unstated assumption that cancer was all there was to my life. For example, nurses would repeatedly schedule appointments without consulting me, assuming that I would be available whenever they had an opening. When I said I had a graduate school class to attend, or was teaching a class, or going to work, they were surprised. This seems to be an indication either that most people have worse cases than mine, or maybe they have less to do. Similarly, there was pressure for me to get tattoos (three small blue dots in several places on my torso) to make radiation alignment easier. I pushed back because I have sensitive skin and have no idea how it would respond to tattoo ink, and it seemed inappropriate to make permanent marks on my body for a two week treatment. Again, the nurses were surprised. On 15 March 2023, when I graduated at the end of my radiation treatments, I got to ring a brass bell and the nurses and technicians gave me a diploma and ovation – and a “mybluedots” pin even though I had them mark my torso with ink and tape rather than getting tattoos.
I am still tired and in a little pain from the radiation treatments, and am waiting for radiation burn to appear at the treatment area. I will start taking Tamoxifen (selective estrogen receptor modulator) in a few weeks. I will also continue to check in with the Stanford Women’s Cancer Center nurses and doctors, probably for the rest of my life.
Katy and John Before Surgery, 4 Jan 2023Katy in radiation, 7 March 2023Katy – Radiation graduation, 15 March 2023
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Katy Dickinson, Lee Satterfield, TechWomen 10 Year Honor, 20 October 2022
As 2022 is ending, I have been reflecting on how busy these last few months have been. In October, I mentored the remarkable and inspiring TechWomen Team Tunisia, and was one of the 21 mentors honored by the U.S. State Department – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for ten years’ service to the TechWomen program. (I was the TechWomen Process Architect 2010-2011, and have been a mentor each year since.) Also that month, my husband John Plocher said a fond goodbye to Apple, and started a new job at Ford Greenfield Labs.
Katy Dickinson, TechWomen 10 Year Honor, 20 October 2022Katy Dickinson, TechWomen Honor, 20 October 2022Katy Dickinson, Tunisia TechWomen, 16 October 2022John Plocher with Ford Mach-E
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I am honored to help mentor five TechWomen Emerging Leaders from Tunisia during their visit to the USA. The U.S. State Department – Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs – TechWomen program connects and supports the next generation of women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) by providing them the access and opportunities to advance their careers and pursue their dreams.
So far, our team has spoken online, been to a kickoff event hosted by Twitter at their San Francisco headquarters (I got to wear the embroidered cape I bought in Tunisia in 2015), and enjoyed dinner together at my house in San Jose. We are learning about each other, and working on the project again online, Tuesday night! This term, I am happy to be a TechWomen Co-Mentor with Darpana Pendyala (Hardware Design Engineer, Marvell), and Priyanka Sahay (Director, Product Marketing, LinkedIn).
TechWomen Team Tunisia 2022-09-23TechWomen Team Tunisia at Twitter 2022-09-29TechWomen Team Tunisia at Twitter 2022-09-29TechWomen Team Tunisia with WP668, in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1TechWomen Team Tunisia in San Jose, CA 2022-10-1
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