Welcome!

paula2 This is my personal home page. Allow me to introduce myself!

I like to spend my free time reading science fiction & fantasy, knitting, and going to college hockey games. I love to travel by train. I enjoy many types of music, including celtic, zydeco, folk, electronic music, early jazz, and even circus marches! My favorite time of the year is winter.

I'm married to Erik Biever, who patiently taught me to skate, and shares my love of winter, reading, college hockey and train travel. Erik works for the University of Minnesota Libraries system as a systems specialist.

By trade, I was a programmer analyst/business analyst for the Minnesota Secretary of State's office. I retired in November 2011 and am now directing my attention to discovering and developing meaningful activities for seniors with dementia. My Dad passed away in April 2011 after suffering from Lewy Body Dementia and it was difficult to get him involved in activities in the assisted living facility where he stayed because they did not appeal to his sense of purpose and need to be important. Instead, he was increasingly involved in a complex delusional project in which he owned numerous enterprises. I was able to get him interested in several activities that he could do by himself or with his PCA, but it was difficult to find resources and ideas. I now have a Facebook group called Meaningful Activities for Seniors with Dementia which offers a place to post ideas, resources and research about this subject. I hope to get personally involved with assisted living facilities and caregiver groups in the near future to explore what works and what doesn't. This is a field that has lots of room for development.

I also am involved in creating my own knitting patterns. I love art deco and designs by Erte' and also like incorporating fantasy elements into my garments. I take a long time to work out my ideas - which is something I'm hoping I can improve on.

I have had a personal web page since 1994, I am updating it now to reflect my current state of affairs and interests.

Here are the catogories I've set up for this site:

Family:

Family will include the following sections:

Items to distibute: This section will have information and pictures about items that belonged to my Dad and Mom, who have both passed away. I still have many items from their house stored in our attic and basement. I will be posting photos and updates to help family members decide what items they want to keep, and to make sure everyone is informed about who has what items. I will also record items that are being donated.

Thoughts and Dreams:

My thoughts and ponderings about life will be put forth here for your bemusement. I'll also have a section here called "There Oughta Be' in which ideas about things that should exist but don't yet will be discussed. This idea has been kicked around for many years so I'm hoping to have some fun with it.

Creative Life:

This section will have information about various creative endeavors I am involved in - knitting, craft and art work, classes and workshops. I'll have links to Ravelry and other sites where my work will hopefully be displayed in the near future.

I will also include my zine, Remnants, which explores the inner life involved in craftwork and creativity. This zine was published back in 1990 - and I still hope to publish Remnants #2 here at some point!

I hope you enjoy your visit here!