She and her college roommate, Sandra Byrne, accepted teaching positions in a suburb of St. Louis. Kathy moved to Austin several years later to continue teaching.
She worked in the Round Rock School System for the rest of her career. Kathy and her husband, Paul, are retired. Well, sort of. For years Kathy has been involved with Therapy Pet Pals of Texas. Kathy started many years ago working with her therapy dog and visiting nursing homes and hospitals.
At some point she began helping in the office and became good friends with the founder of Pet Pals, Katheryn Lashmit. Kathy and her dog, Jillie, still visit nursing facilities. My sister is a member of the board of directors and the advisory council of Pet Pals.
Kathy got me started on becoming part of a therapy dog team. My previous canine companion, Sam, and I got hooked on visiting nursing homes. We worked together until his health required us to stop. My next dog, Stuart, is a registered therapy dog, and he is following in Sam’s path. Stuart “writes” an occasional article for The Southsider Voice.
A few weeks ago I was talking to Kathy on the telephone. She started telling me about “Good Bones,” a television show that she likes on HGTV. The program is about a mother/daughter team that purchases and renovates older houses and resells them. Karen E. Laine (mom) and Mina Starsiak are doing some amazing things with older homes in Indianapolis.
Lyn and I have watched a few episodes and have enjoyed them. The homes that these gals have renovated are mostly in Fountain Square.
The ladies’ business is known as Two Chicks and a Hammer, and you can bet they have a great time doing shows. I recall seeing a truck with that business name on the doors.
When Mina discovers something strange or yucky in a house, she shouts, “Holey moley.”
It is cool to watch these shows because family members of my parents lived in some of the neighborhoods where these homes are located.
Karen and Mina have been renovating Indianapolis one house at a time since 2007. The second season will begin in January. Reruns of the first season are on at 10 p.m. Tuesdays.
It’s interesting that I learned about a great television show based in Indianapolis from my sister in Austin.