Friday Fill-in #83


1. If I could travel back in time, I'd go to 1906 Scranton, Pennsylvania -- or 1886, Blaina, Wales -- that is a tough decision.

2. Give me liberty or give me death -- uh, no, already been done -- give me money or give me power!

3. I am listening to a program on the History channel about the 1906 San Francisco earthquake/fire.

4. Somewhere, someone is thinking something.

5. I'll always be 15 years old in my mind.

6. My idea of a good time includes my family -- well, and tamales and beer.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I am looking forward to watching a movie (something I have been trying to do for days and days), tomorrow my plans include a family reunion in Elk, TX, and Sunday I want to read but I will probably be working on an upcoming baby shower.

Unconscious Mutterings #287


1. Memory: loss, childhood, song
2. original: special, first, rare
3. exclusively: special
4. listings: telephone directory
5. bucket: Hyacinth, lard, Bucket of Blood -- a 50's "b" horror movie
6. knight: in shining armor, England
7. dusty: my house
8. choice: a good thing
9. sunlight: happy
10. change of plans: inevitable

Friday Fill-Ins

1. I believe whatever doesn't kill you -- doesn't kill you!

2. If you are good at something -- you should try to make a living at it.

3. Why so --depressed?

4. Something is out there, it's ---coming to get you!

5. If my life were a sitcom, it would be titled Dazed and Confused Housewife

6. Sitting on my back porch I see -- a lovely little yard, some hanging baskets, some bird feeders, a bird bath and a cute metal gazebo called a "folly".

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I am looking forward to getting a good night's sleep if my children will PLEASE quit partying with the bridal party, tomorrow my plans include a trip to the museum and some posh mall I have never been to and Sunday I want to see Chrissy and Doug get married!!!! Yay!

A Stitch In Time
























My interest in textiles, fiber art, quilting, needlecraft began a long time ago, sometime before the age of six. My mother, grandmother, "other" grandmother and great-grandmother all had a hand in nurturing this natural-born fascination I had with handwork. I think it must have come to me about the age of 5, all at one time, because each experience I had with some aspect of the needle arts/handwork transpired about that time.

The first thing I remember is wanting to embroidery. So, my mother went to the five and dime -- Winn's in San Antonio -- and bought me a pair of pre-stamped tea towels and the proper needle and embroidery thread and a wooden hoop. I remember working on them, getting tangled up and never finishing them. I kept them, with the intent to finish them, until I was grown and they somehow disappeared after a house fire.

About the same time, I was completely taken with my "other" grandmother's (Granny) crafting skills and would wart her to death about including me. I was especially fond of watching her weave potholders on those little red, metal looms with those awful nylon loops. Finally, one day, she told my mother to go to Winn's and get me a loom and she would teach me. My mother did and Granny did and to this day I still love those looms. She would also cut old sheets into strips and macrame them about coat hangers and make wonderful padded hangers. Some of these still exist -- I have two or three myself. I know how to do it and one day I will make more. Granny isn't my real grandmother, she was my aunt's mother-in-law, grandmother to JLSHall and they all lived across the street from us. I, however, claimed her as my own.

My own grandmother, the one Joy and I share, did gorgeous crochet and was an excellent seamstress. She made costumes for Joy and me and she even produced two hand-made baby dresses for my children. She decided she wanted to learn to knit so she and I went for knitting lessons and a place called "The Knitting Bowl" at the local mall. I can't knit or crochet and apparently can't learn. I got frustrated, she didn't, I gave her all my supplies and then I gave up.

My great-grandmother, Granny Giles, was a pioneer quilter. She made utility quilts for everybody in the family on a quilting frame hanging from the ceiling. Her sisters, Lura and Ella made beautiful appliqued quilts. This is where my love of quilting and fabric began.

One evening, while visiting my Granny Giles, she and my grandmother were piecing quilt squares by the dim light of a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling of an old, victorian house. I wanted to learn. They gave me some tiny patches, a needle and thread and let me go. When I was done and had received the appropriate praise for my accomplishment, I decided I wasn't done. Fishing through the drawer on the treadle sewing machine I found some rick rack and sewed it around the edges of my square with a tail hanging off. Well, it still wasn't done so, after more searching, I came up with a jingle bell -- the kind we used to sew into our petticoats at Christmas -- and I sewed it on to the tail of rick rack and pronounced it finished. I kept it for years, until the house fire and it, too, disappeared. But, my interest in quilting didn't. Over the years since age five or six, I have dabbled in all sorts of needlework and have loved all of it. I prefer hand quilting to machine but my hands aren't cooperating. I love cross stitch but am now working "in hand" because
the same contrary hands balk at trying to hold on to hoops. I have tried my hand at "art quilts" and have even produced an ACEO quilt. It doesn't matter to me, though, as long as I am doing something with needle/thread/fabric.

Reader Rantings --"The Bumper Book"




In my opinion, reading is, by far, the best pasttime. It is portable, if you read in the daytime it doesn't require electricity, you can read as long as you want or stop when you want -- not subject to network programming schedules and definitely NOT preempted by a "special report" and, if you use the public library systems (which we all should do), it can be free. What more could anybody want in the way of entertainment?

I was a voracious reader as a child and young adult and my love of reading was "inflicted" on my children because I began reading to them the moment they were born. We would visit the library every two weeks, tote home armloads of books and read and re-read our favorites.

One of my favorite books was "The Bumper Book" by Watty Piper and illustrated by Eulalie. It was published in 1946 by Platt & Munk. To my young eyes, this was the most gorgeous book imaginable. The illustrations are very old-fashioned, rich, colorful and interesting -- the more you look at them, the more you see. The stories and the verses are familiar and can be read over and over again.

This book is, sadly, out of print. It can be obtained, for a pretty penny, on Ebay but I found a copy at our local antique mall. I just felt that our Moochi would lose out if he didn't have a copy of this book so I searched until I found one. I think I got it for a reasonable price (define reasonable!) of under $50. It was in pretty good shape and I was pleased that I was able to find it.

I have read the book to Moochi several times and while I think he enjoyed it I know I did! Everytime I read the alphabet verse I get tickled and I still know "Christopher Robin" by heart -- such wonderful memories -- every child should have them!

So, the next time you are looking for a special gift for a child, try to find a copy of "The Bumper Book". It might not be perfect anymore but that worn cover will just be an indication of how much it was loved and used by a child before.

Happy 18th Month Birthday To You!

Today is Moochi's 18 month birthday! He is the cutest little guy and we love him so much! He is really growing up so I am including a more recent photo, too. However, the most recent photos are still on my camera -- NOT MY FAULT -- I am upgrading my OS, well, my computer genius son is, and I can't put anymore photos on right now. In the first photo he is just a couple of months old. The second was taken in this past spring.


Moochi is an absolute joy! He is all boy, a bit of a roughneck and the loviest and cuddliest little thing you could want to be around! In case you are wondering about the nickname Moochi -- that is my nickname for him. Nobody else calls him that -- just me.

Sunday Evening -- Remembering San Antonio


It has been a long-standing tradition in our family to stop by the bakery on our way home from church on Sunday afternoon. Our purchase would be our dessert after Sunday lunch. We visited many bakeries through our married life. The first photo is of a donut shop on Fredricksburg Road close to Redeemer Lutheran Church.




The second bakery is by far our favorite and most frequently visited. It is Los Cocos on West Avenue. They have the most scrumptious Mexican pastry, always fresh and the proprietors still remember us after all these years of being gone. When we visit San Antonio there are a number of regular stops and Los Cocos is one of them. Next time you are in San Antonio, check it out -- not the most gorgeous place in the world but I guarantee you, you won't ever notice once you taste their products.

Thank you Miss Elizabeth J

Thank you for the quick delivery of my ACEO's and the nice note. I hope you enjoy your trip, especially your visit to the American Girl's store. I purchased these ACEO's because they remind me of my cat, Rollie. I have added them to my ACEO collection so that when you are famous, one day, I can say I have an original Elizabeth J! Have fun, stay safe!

Unconscious Mutterings -- Week 286

1. flicker -- candle, light, electricity

2. styling -- gel, tools

3. episode -- serial, soap opera, fainting

4. sexier -- Liam Neeson

5. studious -- serious, college

6. mushroom -- sautee, pizza

7. 8 minutes -- Huh?

8. bald -- Kojak, Yul, eagle

9. immunity -- flu shot, healthy

10. sectioned -- orange

Wii


For anyone who might be interested -- there is not a Wii on the planet. Well, not for purchase in a store at any rate. You can get them on Amazon.com but you can't just go get one. I am bummed. The sports package with the bowling and baseball is great fun. The duck shooting is fun too but I guess I will just have to wait. I can see myself being one of those people camped out at the door of Target waiting for the doors to open so I can charge in and fight for my game console.

Bummer.

The Secret of Roan Inish

You know how there are some things in life you just know you are going to love? Like spring and fall and good enchiladas and great movies and a drive in the country? Well, my DVR is on that list. I always liked my VCR and the first one we had was fantastic -- easy to program, etc -- and the last one we had was, well, not. So, when we acquired DVR, I just knew I would love it and I do. I go through the tv listings and program away and there is always something to watch. With that said, however, I had to delete all my "Baby Borrowers" because that show is just too painful!

I digress.

Last night, A was at his bosses house for a yearly shindig -- spouses not included -- so I was home with my frozen pizza and DVR. Not a bad combo, if I do say so myself. So, I went flipping through my line up and settled on a movie that I had seen in the bookstores but wouldn't let go of the cash to buy.

The movie is "The Secret of Roan Inish". It is the story of a little girl, Fiona, who is born on the island of Roan Inish and whose mother dies with the birth of her younger brother. During the course of the movie, the baby drifts out to sea in his cradle, the family leaves the island, the father can't cope with the loss of his wife and child and Fiona is sent to live with her grandparents who had also left Roan Inish due to lack of work. Life on the mainland, Donegal, Ireland, is steeped in folklore and beliefs and Fiona learned them all and believed in them. She is also fascinated by the seals that inhabit the waters around the area. On a trip to the island with her grandfather, Fiona bonds with the island and also discovers that the island is not completely deserted. As the movie progresses, Fiona learns the secret of Roan Inish and she and her cousin set about reuniting her family with their beloved homeplace and opening up the secret.

I won't tell you the secret but I will say that it has a very happy ending. I didn't know what to expect from this movie but it is delightful. The setting is beautiful, off the coast of Ireland. The actors, unknown to me, were very good. The story was endearing. A bit of reality, a bit of fantasy, it held my interest and I will probably be buying it for my DVD library because it is something I would watch again.