Sunday, April 28, 2013

Cajun Corner - Vol. 5, No. 16

Cajun Corner – Vol. 5, No. 16 – April 28, 2013

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit us at www.cajunstitchery.com, www.flickr.com/photos/cajunstitchery, and, www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often. We are also on Twitter and Facebook.

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

http://www.imprintit.biz/cgi-bin/cobrand/site.w?location=olc/catalog-home.w&top=catalog&frasmes=no&target=main&sponsor=000699

and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

Boxes, boxes, and more boxes of Mama’s kitchen stuff. It turned out that the thermometer posted last week is a commercial refrigeration thermometer. Why would Mama have that? Well, there are many do dads that we have discovered. George says there are enough eating utensils to feed our entire neighborhood and then some. Bless his heart, he has unpacked more boxes and washed more dishes this week than you can imagine. We do, however, think we have finished with the kitchen boxes. Although there are some things that I remember that are not there.

We were able to give Mama’s microwave to a young, struggling couple. The girl said she had been without a microwave for several months. That would be terrible. It’s the only thing in the kitchen that I feel I have a handle on operating. How can a young couple live without a microwave? Nevertheless, the young lady was so grateful and we were happy to give the microwave to her.

The garden is looking pretty nice right now. George spent time today planting seeds. We have more flowers than usual around the garden area this year. We have nasturtiums, Johnny Jump Ups, pansies, mums, daisies, roses, and snapdragons. Our blueberry bushes have more blueberries on them than I’ve seen before. The Satsumas and lemon trees had flowers but there is only one tiny lemon on them now. Our tomato plant from last year is still producing tomatoes. So are our bell pepper plants. We have carrots, sweet peas, horseradish, and lots of herbs.

This week I’ve been picking blackberries around the yard. I have to get them before the birds and squirrels do. Blackberries are very special to me. Aside from the fact that I love blackberries and do know how to make a cobbler, they always bring back memories of my childhood in Georgia.

Each summer Mama would take Nancy and me to spend the summer with my Grandmother Poor in Woodstock, Georgia. At the time Woodstock was a very tiny town. We would drive in from Marietta. The 2 lane highway would turn into Main Street in Woodstock. We would turn left onto Elm Street. The chicken hatchery was on the corner. There was a sign at the city limits of Woodstock that read “Woodstock, Home of the World’s Largest Chicken Hatchery.” Grandmother Poor lived at the end of Elm Street which wasn’t even a mile long. As we drove down the little paved street, we would encounter the big elm tree in the middle of the road and veer around it to Grandmother Poor’s house. Across from the elm the landscape slanted into a small green valley with a creek running the length of it; then it turned up on the other side to Mills Street. Directly across the front of Grandmother Poor’s home the valley was full of blackberry bushes. There are absolutely no bad memories of that house. As we drove in front of her house the street curved to the left. On the right was her flower garden. At the flower garden there was a fork in the road. We would go straight and park on the gravel parking area. If we went right at the fork, it would take us just beyond the flower garden to the huge coal pile that was storage for the coal company. The drive down Elm Street was always full of excitement. Nancy and I could hardly contain ourselves to see our grandmother and begin the summer’s adventures.

Each year Grandmother Poor would give us each a bucket and send us into the blackberry bushes. The bushes were much taller than we were. There were rows and rows of blackberry bushes and just wide enough on each row for one child. More than one child and someone got pricked by the sharp stickers on the bushes. We would spend most of the day in the blackberry bushes picking and eating blackberries. By the time we would finally go back to the house, we were scraped from head to toe by the bushes and covered in blackberry juice. We always made a point of filling our buckets with blackberries because Grandmother Poor would make cobbler. Grandmother Poor’s blackberry cobbler was out of this world delicious, but when you are a little girl and know that you picked those berries, well, yum yum the cobbler was very special.

There are numerous Woodstock stories. We were related to almost everyone in town. We were also a novelty. The closest Catholic Church to Woodstock was in Marietta. Each summer the little Catholic girls had to go to Summer Bible School. We were allowed to choose which church’s Summer Bible School we wanted to attend. My grandmother was Methodist. My father and grandfather had been Baptist. My great grandmother had been Presbyterian. All of the churches wanted us. Nancy and I would visit each church and inquire about the treats being served. The Baptist church always won us over with chocolate. Those Baptist people sure knew how to cook.

Have a wonderful week.

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.

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 catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Cajun Corner - Vol. 5, No. 15

Cajun Corner – Vol. 5, No. 15 – April 21, 2013

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit us at www.cajunstitchery.com, www.flickr.com/photos/cajunstitchery, and, www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often. We are also on Twitter and Facebook.

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

http://www.imprintit.biz/cgi-bin/cobrand/site.w?location=olc/catalog-home.w&top=catalog&frasmes=no&target=main&sponsor=000699

and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

All of the furniture is now in the house next door. With the sleeper sofa and Mama’s bed, we can sleep 4. All of the windows have curtains, or more appropriately, covers. Proper curtains with embroidery will take some time but that is the next step. Ah, visions of overnight guests are filling my mind.

We have begun the task of going through the boxes of stuff for the kitchen. Yes, I have begun tossing things out. Used aluminum foil pie tins went into the trash, as did empty jars. Some empty jars may be antique and were kept for the time being. One was a glass jar in the shape of a maple leaf. I believe that syrup originally came in that jar. There are also several jelly jars from long ago. We found a can of sardines – unopened. We were stumped when we found the box of wine that was never opened. Is that stuff still good?

Some of the stuff is going to Waterfront Mission unless someone pop ups and wants it. We don’t need her microwave, toaster oven, or Mr. Coffee, since we have those things already. If anyone wants them, they are yours for the taking. First come, first served.

It is mind boggling how many sets of dishes she had. Going through the items from the kitchen drawers is interesting. There are some things that we cannot figure out what they are. Other things are unique items. Still others are obviously very old. There are pots and pans, bake ware of all kinds, measuring cups, you name it and she probably had it. I’d venture to say that there are more boxes from Mama’s kitchen than anything else. The amazing thing about that is that she didn’t cook – ever. She collected and read cookbooks and had to have every kind of kitchen utensil, but she didn’t cook.

The most recent box that has been opened seems to be full of spices. That is where we have stopped. There will be more to come on this topic next week.

Last night we had a few guests over for a shrimp boil. Shrimp have been on my mind for awhile. We had tours of the house next door going on for awhile. One guest suggested that we have a slideshow of the “before” pictures on the TV as we give our tours of the renovated house. Not a bad idea. I wonder how I would get that on the TV? Does anyone know?

One of our friends brought a salad that everyone raved about. The last bit of that salad was my lunch today. It had broccoli, grapes, crasins, cheese, and all sorts of things in it and it was delicious.

The wine flowed, as did the conversation. I try to invite guests who I think will be interesting to each other and that seemed to be the case last night. Everyone not only got along well, but interacted in some very interesting conversations. We all ended the evening on the back deck just talking and drinking wine.

The dogs were very well behaved during the entire evening. Sam, “the puppy”, no longer jumps on everyone. He still sniffs and gooses everyone but hopefully he will stop that as he matures and is around people. Otherwise, even the dogs got along with the guests.

Last week I was playing around with some cutwork embroidery designs trying to use the boring needle rather than stopping the machine to do the cutting. So far, it hasn’t worked but I haven’t given up hope. Practice makes perfect and I’m convinced this will work.

I did make some lace coasters for next door on the embroidery machine. I used plastic for the stabilizer so that the coasters would be waterproof. They turned out very nice.

Have a wonderful week.

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.

No time to read Cajun Corner? Visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com and click the Odiogo button to hear the computer read the blog.

Found the following at http://www.aokcorral.com/how2feb.htm

How To's and Projects

January 2000 Heart shaped gift boxes

Instructions for making heart shaped boxes:

Materials needed:

Card stock paper or poster board

Masking tape

Scissors

Ruler

Pencil

Spray paint

Hot glue gun or craft glue

Decorating accessories;

ribbon, lace, flowers, buttons, etc...

Draw these hearts on 1x1 inch graph paper.
(The inner heart is suppose to be drawn 1/8 inch
inside the outer heart)

Heart shape patterns

Cut card stock or poster board according to the
following dimensions and patterns.
For Small Box:

Cut one strip 1"x 10" (For top of box)

Cut one strip 2.25"x 9.5" (For bottom of box)

Cut two heart shapes (Small hearts on pattern)

For Large Box:

Cut one strip 1.25"x 18.5" (For top of box)

Cut one strip 2.75"x 18.25" (For bottom of box)

Cut two heart shapes (Large hearts on pattern)

Now you are ready to assemble the box:

Pre tear several pieces of masking tape for use.

Take the two heart shaped pieces that are for the size of box you have chosen.
Starting at the bottom point of the heart, tape the thin strip of poster board to the larger of those heart shapes. Then tape the thick strip to the smaller heart shape. (These steps are shown on the smaller box in the photo.)

Bend the strip slightly inward at the top mid-point of each heart as you tape the pieces together.

Overlap the ends of the strip, being sure to bend the strip at the bottom of the heart to make a point.

(Tip: Apply tape to strip edge first as seen in photo then roll the strip along the edge of the heart folding the tape over onto the heart at the same time.)
( Do not worry about bumps and folds in the tape.)

After you have fully assembled your box you need to texture it:

Tear small pieces, (approx. 1/2") of masking tape and stick them randomly all over the top and bottom pieces of the heart box. Cover the box completely with the tape pieces. (This step is shown on the large heart box in the photo.)

(Tip: Be careful not to fold tape to the inside of the box, this would give it a messy unfinished look.)

You are ready to finish the box:

Set out the box pieces on newsprint in a well ventilated area.
(Tip: Make sure that the inside of each box piece is facing down so that only the areas that are covered with tape are showing.)

Spray paint thoroughly and let dry completely.

Decorate the box with ribbons, lace, doilies, buttons, charms, anything you like! Fill with candy or small gifts!

Happy Creating!

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 catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

Cajun Corner - Vol. 5, No. 13

Cajun Corner – Vol. 5, No. 13 – April 7, 2013

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit us at www.cajunstitchery.com, www.flickr.com/photos/cajunstitchery, and, www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often. We are also on Twitter and Facebook.

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

http://www.imprintit.biz/cgi-bin/cobrand/site.w?location=olc/catalog-home.w&top=catalog&frasmes=no&target=main&sponsor=000699

and www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery.

This weekend George and I moved some of Mama’s furniture from the garage into the house next door. Oh man, the memories are flooding into my head each time I touch a chair, drawer, or any of her stuff. Having sat in our garage since 2008, all of that furniture needed to be cleaned. George would bring the furniture in and I would clean it with my Murphy’s Oil Soap. Oh, that stuff smells good. Before moving the furniture in, the house was so spacious and I was concerned whether we had enough furniture for the entire house. It is funny how once the furniture starts moving in the place looks so much smaller. We don’t even have all of the furniture in there yet. For months, if not years, we have planned out where everything would go. We knew that her California king size bed would not fit in any room in that little house. Now that we are moving things in, we are finding that the furniture we had ear marked for certain rooms weren’t quite the size we had envisioned. My precious dining room table may not fit where we planned. We are, however, flexible and have already decided where to put the table if it doesn’t fit.

That dining room table has plenty of stories behind it. Back in the early to mid-1970’s my Grandmother Theaux and I corresponded frequently. In one of her letters she told me that she wrote my name under the dining room table and that when she passes that table belongs to me. I really never gave it a second thought because, at the time, I did not have room for it. A few years later she passed away. I wondered what happened with the table because I never got it. I figured everything had been sold to make money to care for my Aunt Philo and Uncle Dickey. Years later when I did visit Mama in New Iberia, lo and behold, there was the table. There was no sense is saying anything, so I didn’t. One night, after Mama moved in with us, she told me that when they went to remove the furniture from her mother’s house there was a name written underneath the table. I told her that I knew about that. She said that she wanted the table, so she erased my name. Well, I’ve got the table now.

What’s so special about this table? I was always told that the table is over 200 years old. As the story goes, my Great Great Grandmother DuChamp had this table shipped from France to her home in St. Martinsville. No doubt the table is old and definitely over 100 years old, but I’m not sure how they came up with 200 years old, unless the table was passed down in the family in France and then shipped to Louisiana. My mother did have a wonderful imagination and could exaggerate things at times. Nevertheless, I have fond memories of that table at my grandmother’s home.

While working in the house today I perked our first pot of coffee in the new Cajun Stitchery. Woo hoo! Just kind of breaking it in.

Our friend who was going to help us move Clothilde on Saturday forgot that he offered to assist at a funeral at sea on that day and promised to help move her on Monday. That means no embroidery work on Monday. That’s okay.

As I have cleaned furniture in the house this weekend, I keep remembering that I took pictures when we bought the house. Actually, at the time that I took the pictures, George had already emptied the inside of the house of the clutter. The pictures were taken so that we would have a before and after comparison. I’m so glad I did that. This weekend I took pictures of the inside of the house, after remodeling. Today, George and I sat down and watched the two slideshows of pictures. All I can say is that my husband is one heck of a guy. Except for the heating and air conditioning, plumbing and refinishing the floors, he did all of the clean-up and remodeling by himself. He began in 2005 and although he finished in 2012, there were 2 years that he wasn’t able to work on the house at all.

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.

No time to read Cajun Corner? Visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com and click the Odiogo button to hear the computer read the blog.

April cold with dropping rain
Willows and lilacs brings again,
The whistle of returning birds
And trumpet-lowing of the herds.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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 catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.