IT'S  SUMMER!

I can't believe that I have not posted

since last Thanksgiving.

Our household was so upset at that time

that I guess I should not be surprised.

Our Joan was in the hospital and very ill.

She's well on the road to recovery now and

we are so grateful  

 I spent most of the winter just

resting up for spring!  Mom's got

some great "upside down" pictures of me.

Our deck has been cleaned and mom has

planted an "herb" garden.

This consists of two large planters filled

with herbs.

1.  This is a brand new pot and it sure is
2. pretty.  She put it on a stand so I would stay
3. out of it.  It has chives, basil, parsley
4. and oregano planted in it.

This is closeup of the herbs,

They are really growing fast!  Mom says that 

she will start cutting and freezing some

of them pretty soon so that we can have

them all winter in our soup. 

 This is the pot of basil only.

It has four different kinds in it.

The one closest to the front is

lemon basil.

This is the one that I like to eat.  I only do it when she is not looking (lol)

I got caught with a leaf in my mouth.

She just laughed!

 She also planted some lovely flowers,

She has petunias, begonias, vinca vines and

lots of other stuff on the deck.

It sure does look pretty.

We have our morning coffee and most

of the time our lunch on the deck.

So far this spring and summer I have only found

one snake and one baby toad.

That toad sure hopped a lot.  I showedhim/her 

that I could hop just as well as it could.

I hopped every time it did!

Guess that all the news that's fit to print!

We will be celebrating Christmas

on July 27th.

I can harly wait.

I need to rest up so I can be in

top form.  I'll let you know how

Christmas turns out

later

IT's ALL ABOUT RUGS!

Some little time ago (3 years) Beth S, the president of our ATHA Chapter told me that

she had a rug that had been hooked many years ago by a lady that had passed away.  

It was to be a wedding gift

for her daughter, who is now in her

seventies.  The wedding was a long time ago!

Of course, the rug was unfinished and

Beth,  who does mostly primitive hooking

wanted some help with finishing.

The rug finally made it to my house

and I was "hooked: on finishing this rug.

It was an early Pearl McGown

design called "Patrician. number 714."

Obviously an early pattern design.

This rug really spoke to me and this is what it

told me.

The lady that hooked this had had a

lot of experience hooking rugs.

Her technique was impeccable.

The back of this rug is as beautiful as the front.

My guess is that it was hooked in the

late 50's or 60's.

The rug is hooked in soft pink, 

dull green and a soft mauve background.

The background material is "off the

bolt" with nothing done to it.

In addition, the rug told me that

the burlap was getting stiff and dry.

Now, for the finishing of the rug!

All four corners need to be finished.

As you can see all of background of the corner and part of the design need to be finished.

I lucked out in that years ago I had

bought a bolt of the mauve background

color from Dorr and I still had some.

A perfect match!

This is what 3 of the unworked corners looked like.

When I looked thru my stach of old

wools I found a Colorama Swatch,

dyed by Leona Cook, the orginal owned

of Colorama.  Pink, and also a perfect

match.  How lucky can you get?

Beth tells me she has the green

wool in a closet full of "stuff" and will get it for me.

Close up of the center of the rug.

As you can see, the colors are very soft.

It is a beauty!

I can't wait to finish this project.

Hopefully it will be a Christmas present

for the daughter.

As for Eloise and me, we are in the dye

pots and coming to the end of our

teaching season.  Looking forward to a

relaxing summer.

Quote of day,

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, courage is what it takes to sit down and listen.

Winston Churchill

Doris and Els

1. 
   

THOSE WERE THE DAYS . . . . .

   WOW - it's been so long since I posted I'm not sure I still know how.  I hope all of my friends and reader's are still out in cyber land and will enjoy this post.
   Much has happened in out family since I last blogged to you.  I will go into that another time.  What has sparked me to do this report is this wonderful little poem I received from a friend in North Carolina.
   Since a lot of us are growing older I thought you might enjoy this trip down memory lane.

THE CLOTHESLINE

A clothesline was a news forecast. To neighbors passing by.

There were no secrets you could keep. When clothes were hung to dry.

It was also a friendly link, For neighbors always knew

If company has stopped on by.  To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets", And towels upon the line,

You'd see the "company table cloths", With intricate designs

The line announced a baby;s birth, From folks who lived inside,

As brand new infant clothes were hung.  So carefully with pride.

The ages of the children could so readily be known.

By watching how the sizes changed.  You'd know how much they'd grown!

It also told when illness struck,  As extra sheets were hung,

The nightclothes , and a bathrobe too, Haphazardly were strung.

I also said "on vacation now."  When lines hung limp and bare.

It told "we're back!" when full lines sagged.  With not a inch to spare.
New folks in town were scorned upon, if wash was dingy and gray.
As neighbors carefully raised their brows, and looked the other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past, for dyers make work much less,
Now what goes on inside a home, is anybody's giess!
I really miss that way of life, it was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best,  
By what they hung on the line.

I can still remember the first time I hung clothes on the line for my mother.  I hung the sheets "upside down" - OH MY what would the neighbors thing???  I loved the goo old days and hope you did too.

  Eloise and I wish everyone of you are well and happy.  I will try to keep this blog updated and stop being so lazy.  Until then keep hooking!!
Doris

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

FROM MY MOM AND ME

My tummy is so full!

With love from:
Doris and Eloise

IT'S TIME . . . . .

TO START HOOKING CLASSES

It seems to me that I have spent

a good portion of the summer getting ready

to teach this fall.

The hooking and wool room has been

re-organized and cleaned.  I have been going

thru many reference books looking

for interesting things to share with my

students.

I found this poem that I want to

share with you.

DAD'S OLD BREECHES

When dad has worn his trousers out

They pass to brother John.

Then mother trims them round about

and William put them on.

When William's legs to long have grown

The trouser's fail to hide 'em'

So Walter claims them for his own,

and stows himself inside 'em.

Next Sam's fat legs they close invest,

And they won't stretch tighter.

They're turned and shortened, washed and pressed,

And fixed on me . . .  the writer.

Ma works them into rugs and caps,

When I have burst the stitches.

At doomsday we shall see (perhaps).

The last of Dad's old breeches.

Anon.

Hope all of you are ready for the fall season with it's glorious colors and delightful weather.

Keep those hooks moving!

Doris

IT'S OVER

SUMMER

Where did it go?

I think it sped by when I wasn't looking

There are some wonderful and some not so wonderful 

things about living in Maryland.

The wonderful thing is what happens here

in the summer time.

 Vine ripe tomatoes.  Sweet as sugar.

Then there are the ones we pick before they are

ripe.  Those tasty green tomatoes.

Breaded and fried in bacon grease.

some smoother them in cream gravy,

not me!  Just bring on the tomatoes.

The next to arrive on the scene is our

juicy white and yellow corn.

No sugar added to these ears - they are

already sweet as sugar and

deep enough to really sink your teeth in.

 Then around Memorial Day the piece that 

no one can resist!  Those beautiful blue crabs come

onto the scene.

What great treasures the Chesapeake Bay

offers to us!!

What does one do on a rainy Sunday

in the summer?  They go to Gilligan's

on Pope Creek in Southern Maryland, of course.

 It was raining cats and dogs several Sunday's

ago when our whole family went for a crab

feast.

 This has become the family's choice

of a place to celebrate any occasion that summer

brings to us.

We were celebrating granddaughter Vicki's

and husband Curtis' anniversary.

 Here are some things you should know about Gilligan's.

It is approximately a 2 hour drive around the Washington Beltway and down Route 5 into Southern Maryland.

In addition to crabs, they have the best spiced shrimp that

I have ever eaten.

The drive is very scenic and it is an

"all you can eat" menu.

These handsome crabs came home with me.

My hands are still sore from picking them.

However it sure was worth it.  I made 14 Crab cakes

and have them stashed in the freezer.

Ah, Blue crab in the winter.

The say children do not come with an

instruction manual.  However, it is my belief

that every child born in Maryland  comes with

instructions on how to pick crabs and a

road map to Gilligans.

Hope every one has had as great a summer as I have had.

I'm sure Eloise will be reporting on her summer

as soon as the computer is free.

Quote of the day:

Beautiful young people are an accident of nature, Beautiful old people are a work of art.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Until next time, take care.

Doris