Puschens

Our one of a kind Pucshes are all handmade by us, they feature leather soles lines with sheepskin and crocheted tops accented with deer antler buttons.

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email: info@wildcountrygardens.ca

My Puschens Story

My Puschens story started October 30, 2013 the day Mike Palmer; my father passed away at the age of 89. Two days later my mother; Isabel Palmer suffered a massive heart attack. She was hospitalized at the time with grim results due to the damage to her heart and the fact that she lost her husband of 62 years.

The days after were a challenge, as Mom was showing signs of dementia and her heart was very weak. It was decided that she would not be able to return home. She was in the hospital for approximately 2 months awaiting placement in an extended care home. My sister, brother and myself stayed with Mom pretty much night and day, not willing to leave her side at this trying time in her life.

And so starts my story of how the Puschens came about. Each day we would sit with Mom and talk about all that happened in our lives over the years as her long term memory was still very good. As for her remembering if she ate lunch or needed to go to the washroom that was not possible.

On a regular basis my sister would mention that she loved the slippers I was wearing, and for the hundredth time she said how much she would like a pair. I was not willing to give up mine so Mom suggested we make her a pair. This became our mission of the day why not make her a pair, between the three us I’m sure we could figure out a pattern. We went to the local second hand store to see if we could find the supplies we would need to make the soles for slippers. We found a fake sheepskin jacket that we felt would work great for the soles. We then went off to Walmart where we purchased the wool and supplies we would need. We then set to work coming up with a pattern for the slippers with a sole made of sheepskin. Between my sister and I were able to come up with a basic pattern that we felt was going to work. We planned to make her a pair first and after much work and brainstorming we finally had a pair made with a pattern that worked.

Mom was so pleased that her girls had come up with a pattern and she of course took full credit for our ability to design and make the slippers. We continued to make the slippers and made several pairs of different sizes and as we made them we kept the patterns of the sizes future use.

Christmas was coming soon and Mom was sad as she didn’t have Christmas gifts for the family. She was not sure how she was going to be able to do her shopping that year as she was not able to leave the hospital yet. Hence she came up with the idea that we would make slippers for all her family kids for Christmas. We meaning Mom, my sister Bernie and I, after counting all the family she wanted to make slippers for, the total needed was 30ish pairs.

Mom really couldn’t crochet any longer as her memory of how to crochet was gone due to her disease. But at the end of each day she would ask how many pairs did we make today and we would lay them out on her bed for her inspection. She was always so proud of our progress.

Being in the hospital meant that there were nurses, cleaning, cafeteria and general hospital staff coming and going from her room each day. We started getting orders for the slippers and before we knew it we had orders coming in daily. By the time Christmas came we had made over 40 pairs of slippers and were making money. Mom was beside herself with joy that we were making these beautiful slippers and that we were selling them. Each day she would ask how many slippers did we make today and would smile from ear to ear at the results.

Mom was then transferred over to an extended care unit where she lived out the last few months of her life with her family at her side each day while still crocheting slippers.

We learned so much about her in those last few months. She loved our dad with all her heart, he was her only love and she missed him with all her heart. We always knew her family was very important to her but it was so special for us to learn how strong her love for all her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and husband truly was.

The last week of her life she was surrounded by four of her great grandchildren, her eldest granddaughter and three of her children.

There was not a day that went by in her last 5 months that she didn’t say how much she missed and loved Dad or she would ask “What do you think your dad is doing now?”.

On March 31, 2014 at the age of 83 Mom joined the love of her life and it was pronounced that she passed away of a broken heart.

I continued to make slippers and have been making them now for 6 years. Each pair is still made from the love for my Mom and I’m sure she is still keeping track of how many pairs I’ve made.

I attended a seminar recently and was told that my slippers deserved a name and that is where the name Puschens came in. My very good Brenda who is a friend that moved here from Germany loves my slippers and has always called them Puschens, this is a German name for house slippers. Being as Mom was of the German decent I felt it was the perfect name for my slippers.