August 28, 2009

Cajun Corner – Vol. 1, No. 14 – AUGUST 28, 2009

Bon Jour! Welcome to Cajun Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.

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This past weekend I attended the Splash Party at my friend, Sharon’s, home. This is an annual Nereid party that lasts from Friday to Sunday. One of my dear friends told me that she had never seen me so relaxed. Of course, Sharon has a fabulous house with a gorgeous view of the Sound. She has a salt water pool complete with waterfalls, tiki bar, and all of the amenities. When you are with this wonderful group of ladies you never run out of food or drink. Anyone would be relaxed. I returned home on Sunday with a nice little sunburn and a smile on my face. What did we do? The rule is: whatever happens at Sharon’s, stays at Sharon’s. Sorry folks.

Monday was bookkeeping day for me. George stayed outside most of the day and asked permission to enter the house. It wasn’t the bookkeeping making me grumpy. It was the Quicken program. And it was my fault. If I’d stay on top of the bookkeeping on that program, I wouldn’t have to re-learn it every time I decide to work on the books. Poor George.

Monday evening we received a call from a neighbor asking us to join them at his house for a flower opening party. We have actually been awaiting his Night Blooming Cirrus to bloom. They only bloom at night. When they are ready to bloom it takes about 2 hours and you can actually watch the flower bloom. By morning the flower has died. The usual neighborhood crowd appeared. We had food, conversation, and music, as we watched the flowers open. Our neighbor, Buddy, and his brother, Kenny, both play guitars. Buddy and Patrice (another neighbor) have both been in bands at some time and have beautiful voices. Another neighbor, Rhonda, actually sounds like an angel when she sings. When we all get together to sing, I’m always the one that’s flat. But, hey, I have other attributes.

Tuesday evening several of us went to bands on the beach which has become a ritual for us. We bring a picnic dinner, drinks, and listen to a different band each week, right on the beach. I do believe that I live in paradise.

Wednesday night is, of course, Social Committee/Mental Health Night with my girlfriends on the beach. One of my new friends on the beach has started a business and is trying to get name recognition, like me. We are considering creating a business group on the island to network with other businesses in Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach. In fact, we are meeting tomorrow to discuss this new group.

At the Splash Party last weekend, a friend of mine who used to sew custom drapes and other high end sewing for decorators, told me that she charged about $600 for the size of roman shades that I may make for my other friend with the valances. She said that she would charge $100 per yard of material for whatever item she was going to make. Similar to my charging $1 per 1,000 stitches for embroidery. From what I saw on the internet for custom roman shades, she’s not out of the ball park with her pricing. I guess I’ve never been in need of someone to make shades or curtains for me and just never realized the cost.

All of that said, I will be more than glad to make baby blankets, roman shades and whatever you like, as long as you don’t go into “sticker shock” when I tell you the price. Of course, they are hand made, and made in the USA.

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

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One day, Boudreaux had a sign in his yard that read "Boat for Sale."
Pierre came by and said, "Boudreaux ... tell me sometin ... why you got dat sign in dat yard dat say 'Boat for Sale'? Mais, you ain't got no boat!"
Boudreaux replied "Mais no I don't got no boat, but see my car over dare by dat sign?"
Pierre responded "Mais yeah I see dat car."
Boudreaux then said "And see my trailor over dare by dat sign?"
Pierre said "Mais yeah I see dat trailor."
Boudreaux said "Mais Pierre, dey boat for sale, wats de matter wid you!"

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French phrase of the week: crotte (n.f.) [KRAWT] 1. turd. 2. (Figurative) disagreable, nasty person.
Now don’t get offended by this French word. My mother’s pet name for me was “tit crotte.” (Tit means little, as in petite) Actually, that was better than my grandfather’s pet name for me. That’s for another day and another lesson.

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This is from my friend, Courtney:
They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot & then once a day it was taken & sold to the tannery.........if you had to do this to survive you were "Piss Poor". But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn't even afford to buy a pot...........they "didn't have a pot to piss in" & were the lowest of the low.

(I find the above especially interesting because my maiden name was Poor. When I was little and visited family in Georgia, yes, you guessed it, I lived at the Poor House. The nuns at Mount Carmel in Lafayette always made us put our sweaters and coats in the back of the class and we each had a label with last name first. Mine was Poor Peggy.)

Here is Planetpals top ten list of ways to PRECYCLE:

1. Bring reusable bags to the store with you. Cloth or paper will do!
2. Buy Large Quantities. If you buy products in bulk or in large sizes and quantities, you can put them in smaller containers as you need them and this uses less containers.
3. Buy products with the least amount of packaging or none at all. Items packed in multiple containers may look nice, but they are a waste!
4. Buy products packed in recycled packaging. If you have to use a container, it might as well be green. Additionally, you help support green corporations. (Important: make sure you look for the recycled symbol)
5. Don't buy disposable items (plates cups, pens, diapers, batteries, etc.) They only fill the landfill more.
6. Buy less paper towels and napkins or none at all. Use cloth ones!
7. Buy long life and concentrated items (batteries, bulks , etc.) This saves on packaging as well as product.
8. Don't purchase styrofoam. It contains polystyrene, which is the most difficult material to break down in our landfill and is considered a hazardous waste.
9. Buy items in cardboard. aluminum, steel, glass, and plastic containers marked 1 and 2 ( They are stamped on the bottom 1 and 2). These containers can be recycled more easily.
10. Read labels for ingredients. Stay away from chemicals that harm our plant and animal life and poison our land.

Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list.

C’est tout, mes amis

Peggy Henshall
Cajun Stitchery
(850) 261-2462
cajunstitchery@yahoo.com

P.S. You are always welcome to stop by and look at all of the new catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.