Cajun Corner – Vol.
4, No. 12 – March 30, 2012
Bon
Jour! Welcome to Cajun
Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.
ΘΘΘΘΘ
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This past weekend we took a trip to Tampa to
visit our son and his family. My
daughter-in-law graduated with her RN degree.
I cannot even express how proud I am of her and the whole family. This is the first time that George and I were
able to visit them at their new home.
They actually live in a little town called Wimauma, Florida, on the
outskirts of Tampa. It was a whirlwind
trip. We left Pensacola early Sunday
morning and returned Tuesday afternoon.
The graduation ceremony was Monday evening.
Their home is beautiful. They had the house built when they lived in
Pensacola and moved in when they moved to Wimauma. They were one of the first homes built in
their subdivision. So, Hank – like his
mother – made of point of meeting everyone as they moved into their homes. He is such a social butterfly. The neighborhood group gets together
frequently. There are those who like to
visit and those who are a bit more private, like any neighborhood. They even have evenings around the
campfire. I got tickled at them because
they neither smoke nor drink but they have a full wine rack. Hank says it is just for show. At my house it would be well used.
The graduation ceremony was impressive. I have never attended a “pinning” before
this. At most graduations the graduating
students line up and received their diplomas and shake hands with various
people. It was similar for this pinning
except that when they got on stage they sat down and one lady pinned them and
another put the nurses cap on them. I
cried and took pictures the whole time.
Something I learned is that when you receive your LPN, you get the nurse’s
hat in solid white. The RN gets the
nurse’s hat with the black stripe. Shernise
says that she intends to return to school in the fall and work toward her
bachelor’s degree. Despite many
obstacles, this little family has persevered and continues to do better and
better. I love them and I’m very proud
of the family. In fact, Hank and
Shernise have been married for 15 years and have a very similar relationship to
George and me.
When we arrived at Hank’s home, they were all
tickled at my hair color. What was really
funny is that one of my granddaughter’s had dyed her hair the same color.
While we were away, Evie was enjoying an extended
visit at the vets. It was kind of nice
because she got her annual exam, nails trimmed, etc., and was ready when we got
home. She was happy to see us but not
really sure what happened. To make
matters worse, George brought home a puppy the next day, Wednesday. The puppy is named Sammy. Sammy is 10-12 weeks old, a black Labrador retriever
with a white spot on his chest. The vet
says that Sammy is probably full Labrador.
Oh yes, Sammy is also 34 lbs. Not
the little, tiny puppy most people think of when they hear the word “puppy.” He is tall and lanky. So far Evie is ignoring Sammy. I am a bit surprised that Sammy is not very
active. But he is probably just getting
used to a new environment. He did meet
the cats last night and barked up a storm.
The cats, of course, are totally indifferent to him. Since Evie is so attached to me, Sammy is
staying with George during the day. We
are actually thinking of making him a carpenter’s belt.
By the way, on our trip to Tampa, we went via
Highway 98 and then Highway 19 to New Port Richey. George had never been to Mexico Beach and we
made it there in time for breakfast on Sunday.
Taking Highway 98 around Mexico Beach and following it to Highway 19 was
breathtakingly gorgeous. The highway was
right next to the Gulf for miles. As
gorgeous as the scenic route was, it took considerably longer. On the way home we took the interstate
highways which were much faster.
I learned the map function of my smart phone
during the trip and nearly ran the battery dead playing with it. A little blinky arrow appears on the map
showing where you are presently located.
You can zoom in and see the roads around you and even find gas stations and
restaurants.
It is always a good feeling to return home. The asparagus is ready to start
harvesting. Remember the end of the
celery that I planted? It is
growing. The parsley and catnip are trying
to go to seed. The sweet peas need to be
picked. Ahhh, the garden.
The hawk that was sitting on the fence last week,
sadly, was found dead on the ground the next morning. It probably had some sort of hawk disease.
When we returned home we found a package at the
back door. It was our new hoop and table
for Clothilde. The table just snaps into
place and is extra large to accommodate large, heavy pieces of fabric. The hoop can hold a design up to 15” x 18”. That’s pretty big. The same night we received another shipment
of the stabilizer that I ordered. So,
everything arrived the night that we returned home.
A couple of the secret embroidery projects can
now be revealed. The towels are bath
sheets that were embroidered for a young couple’s wedding. These designs are pretty large about 13” wide x
5” high. Brianne’s has rhinestones
applied. The rhinestones did sparkle but
I cannot promise they will remain on the towel after too many washings. The customer who ordered these and provided
the bath sheets said that she and her husband received bath sheets when they
were married and used and enjoyed them for a long time. It is a really good idea for wedding
gifts. With a design this large, the
satin stitching would be too wide and would appear very loose. Instead, we used a fill design that replicated
two or three rows of satin stitches next to each other.
After we got home I was working on some dog
collars. Now I need to embroider the
collar that we got for Sammy. I still
cannot believe that we bought a collar that I can make.
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Want
a beautiful herb garden by your door?
Take 3 or 4 progressively smaller pots.
Fill the largest with potting soil, then place the next size on top and
to the back of the first, fill it with potting soil, and so on for each smaller
container. Then plant herb seeds or
seedlings in the soil around the base of each of the pots. When it grows you will have a small terrace
of herbs. Of course, make sure your herb
garden gets plenty of sun and water.
Harvest often.
Harvesting promotes growth. It keeps plants in their growing cycle instead of
letting them mature and finish their life. So stop by your garden before dinner
each night and snip away. (Never tear.) You can harvest up to a third of the
foliage. And if you see a flower, clip or pinch it off. Once an herb flowers
it’s trying to finish its life cycle.
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C’est tout, mes amis
Cajun Stitchery
(850) 261-2462
P.S. You are always
welcome to stop by and look at all of the catalogs and pass some time with me,
cher.
