Grandmother - Granddaughter Cremation Tattoo - Written by Kerri Parnell

This is my grandma. She was a homesteader, she loved to sew and craft. She used to knit us sweaters every year. My favourite was the pink/peach sweater with a dog on it, it had striped black and white arms.

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My grandma had a cottage on an island at Lake of the Woods, Echo Bay, which could only be accessed by boat. Our small island was connected to a larger island with a small bridge. There was a lagoon, with a canoe. A fire pit on the edge of the island, with a huge rock that stuck up from the water like an iceberg. The kids would race swim to it, king of the rock! On the other side was cliff jumping. There was no electricity, we made toast with metal screens over the stove. Us 4 kids would each bring a friend (8 kids!) my dad would yeIl “everyone to the back of the boat!” so the front bow wouldn’t sink (water has come in)…pitch black on a Friday night. I don’t know how my parents did that time and time again (thank you 🙏). And it was because of my grandma that we were able to experience such a magical place and time.

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The island fostered my homesteading pull, which I lived for 11 years in BC on the Shuswap River. I love the wild, to sew and craft, and to make things with my hands. I know that was passed down from her.

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Ancestry is neat, and lineage unavoidable. I feel great kinship with my grandma, and this makes me happy.

This tattoo was done on 11/11/2023 which = 11.  The number 11 is a portal number.  They say when we notice 11:11 on the clock to make a wish, to remember that we’re connected to the Devine.  I once heard of the 11 described as two pillars, like a gateway to the other side, I like this explanation the best, it reminds me of what’s most important.  My friend said it looks like a pause button which I also love.  A symbol and number, two of my favourites things.  2 lines…so simple, and yet so meaningful for me :) I incorporated my grandmother’s ashes into my tattoo as a reminder that she is always with me.