Friday, March 30, 2012

Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 12



Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 12 – March 30, 2012



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



ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com, and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook. 

Visit our on-line catalogs at:



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.

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. 

========================================================

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.

=================================================================

C’est tout, mes amis



Peggy Henshall

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.

No comments:

Post a Comment