Cajun Corner - Vol. 3, No. 32

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 32 – August 12, 2011

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit our catalog at www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.   We are also on Twitter and Facebook.

Did I ever tell the story of my Aunt Philo’s birthday present to me when I was a little girl in Lafayette?  Mama always taught us that when we are speaking to Philo that we should look at her directly to her face and enunciate every syllable clearly because she was deaf.  Now I loved my Aunt Philo.  I believe I probably spent more time with her than my sister did.  Philo would take me places or babysit with me.  She was, by far, my favorite aunt.  I was very aware that people talked with her using their hands and sign language.  I was never taught sign language.  She would read my lips, which is why it was so important for me to speak to her face-to-face.  For awhile we lived at 612 St. Johns St.  Mama let me have a birthday party that year and all of my friends, including my cousin Vicky, who was living with us at the time, were invited to the party.  In the middle of the festivities Philo dropped by with a present for my birthday.  I remember Mama calling me away from the party to see Aunt Philo.  I even remember the present.  She handed me a little white plastic purse containing panties.  Each pair of panties was a different color and had a day of the week embroidered.  Ha!  Even then I loved embroidery.  That was just the greatest present in the world to me.  I’ve always been an emotional person and this moment struck me with the love and kindness of my aunt.  I was overwhelmed with love and appreciation and I wanted to say thank you, but thank you wasn’t enough to encompass my emotions.  I wanted to say thank you in her language.  So, while looking at her face-to-face and enunciating every syllable, I placed my little 7 year old hands in front of her face and balling my hands into fists that immediately flung opened with fingers outstretched as wide as they would go and repeating this action several times, I yelled at her “THANK YOU AUNT PHILO.”  My Aunt Philo is, I believe, 92 years old and quite a remarkable woman.

The krewe was in need of some tiny appliqués of a seashell.  I made them.  While embroidering the less than 1 inch seashells, I began thinking that these tiny appliqués might be nice for scrap bookers.  I don’t know since I don’t scrapbook.  However, I think I may make a few tiny appliqués for the upcoming 4^th Annual Pensacola Beach Arts & Wine Festival the first weekend in October.

That reminds me that I have my entry fee, registration and appropriate photographs neatly in an envelope to send to the beach Chamber of Commerce.  I will probably need to drive over there today.  Perhaps I can mail it and they won’t mind if it is a day or two past the deadline when they receive it.  Heck, they know I will have my booth since I have talked with them about it.  This year the festival will have a few changes.  The change that impacts me the most is location.  Rather than scattered all over the island, the vendors will be centrally located at either the Visitor’s Center or SRIA.  I believe this was a request from the vendors over the years.  I think it is a good move.  Additionally, there will be security so that the vendors do not need to take down their tents/booths each evening.  I don’t mind taking down the booth and putting it back up in the morning.  It isn’t that difficult a thing to do and we’ll probably do it anyway.  However, I do understand that this could be an issue and I applaud the Chamber for these changes.  Of course, the other change is that there is now a registration fee.  I don’t mind paying it.  It is not outrageous and they have to pay for the security.  It is my understanding that vendors are still allowed outside of the businesses on the island and neighborhoods for free.  They just won’t get the security and inclusion in the list of vendors.  Please mark your calendars for the first weekend in October.  The trolleys will be running so just park and ride.  The musicians’ festival and wine tasting will all be included in this Arts & Wine Festival.  Cajun Stitchery will have some of the usual items for sale but I do plan on including some new things.  Come out and join us.

We received a shipment of XL Fruit of the Loom, Adult, short sleeve, tee shirts this week in a variety of colors.  I chose XL because that tends to be the size most often ordered.  Of course, I can get you whatever size you like.  The colors that we have are:  athletic heather, black, forest green, Kelly, khaki, J. Navy, pacific blue, royal blue, true red, and white.  Tee shirts make great gifts and everyone can use them.  So, if you are planning for Christmas, think about giving a tee shirt with a name or monogram embroidered.  Of course, we can embroider anything you like.  Just remember the old saying that the sweetest sound is your own name.  Give a tee to someone with their nickname or special term of endearment embroidered on it.  So what, if you don’t have the entire logo digitized; get a tee with the name of your company anyway.  (If there are enough responses for other sizes, I might get that size next time.)

SALE:  In stock XL Fruit of the Loom, Adult, short sleeve, tee shirts with a name or monogram for $10.00 plus shipping/sales tax.  Sale is good until we run out of stock.  See above paragraph for available colors.

Don’t forget the upcoming Mystic Krewe of Nereid’s annual Splash Party.  The Splash Party will be held on Sunday, August 28^th, beginning at 2:00 p.m., at Paradise Bar & Grill on Pensacola Beach.  Mark your calendars.  It’s going to be a real S-P-L-A-S-H.

Last night George and I met some friends for dinner at a local restaurant, The Oar House.  When we first moved to Pensacola there was still one last drawbridge.  That drawbridge connected Warrington (where we live) with the City of Pensacola.  Since that time the old drawbridge has been removed and a fancy bridge was constructed in another area connecting the two land masses.  The Oar House was built on the Pensacola side of the old drawbridge.  There is an outside restaurant as well as an inside restaurant.  In fact, a musician friend, Tim Spencer, frequently entertains at The Oar House.  The restaurant bridges the gap between a local marina and the site of the old drawbridge.  So, while dining outside, you also get to look at all of the nice boats.  There is yet another uniqueness to The Oar House: they allow dogs.  Last night our friends, Shelley and Richard, brought their dog, Amber Lee.  She is such a sweet dog, a Chesapeake Retriever.  Of course, her collar is made by Cajun Stitchery.  Since The Oar House is so close to our house, we arrived earlier than Shelley and Richard.  While getting our table and waiting on our friends, another friend from the beach walks up.  She happened to be joining some of her friends for dinner, as well.  The rain had passed earlier in the day and the evening was very pleasant.  Amber Lee watched ducks swimming by with longing in her eyes.  She was very well behaved.  All in all, it was a delightful evening with good friends.

Speaking of dogs and animals.  We have lots of stock designs of dogs, cats, horses, and all kinds of animals.  Just sayin…

A friend of mine at WBL (Women’s Business Lunch) is a sales rep for a local publishing company.  Among other things, the publishing company publishes the local Bar Directory.  Talk about being at the right place, at the right time.  Poo Yie!  They had to go to press on the directory but still had a page for advertisement that had not been purchased.  The bottom line is that I was able to purchase ½ page ad for a great price.  I am so excited.  I know from working in local law offices that the Bar Directory is used frequently throughout the year by both lawyers and their staff.  So, for all of my legal friends out there, keep an eye out for Cajun Stitchery’s ad in the new Bar Directory.  Let me know what page it’s on and what attorney you have to look up in order to see my ad.

Also, a local radio station, 1620, has been letting small businesses call in and talk about their business for free each Tuesday morning from 6-9.  This past Tuesday, I received a voice mail that the radio station had called Cajun Stitchery.  I missed it but have since arranged that they will call me next Tuesday morning from 6-9.  It is one of those things that is a really good thing for Cajun Stitchery and no so good for Peggy.  Peggy is not a morning person.  I take after my mother.  Next Tuesday Peggy will simply have to be a morning person.  So, I’m making notes of things to say and ideas to cover.  This will also be a good practice for next month’s WBL when I have to give a 5 minute oral commercial for Cajun Stitchery.

CHRISTMAS is around the corner.  Unbelievable, I know.  Get that Christmas shopping done now and enjoy the holidays.

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. 

The following is taken the book Gumbo Ya-Ya, Chapter 13, Buried Treasure:

“There sure is plenty of treasure buried in Louisiana, but you gotta be care of them spirits.  They do some funny things.  I knew one real well what would come to my house all the time.  He would get behind a door and milk a towel, and all the cows in the neighborhood would go dry.”

“All buried treasure has got spirits watching over it.  Like Lafitte.  You know how he used to do?  He would take five or six men along to hide his stuff, and he would tell them all but one who he was gonna have kilt.  The one he picked was the one what would be the spirit to watch his treasure forever.  After they buried all the old and silver and jools, Lafitte would say very quiet, ‘Now, who’s gonna guard my stuff?’ and the man who didn’t know no better would want to shine with his boss and he’s say, ‘I will.’  Then he would get kilt…”

Cajun French Phrase of the Week:

E ou ce qu'il reste= Where does he live?
E you ce qu't'as mit mon chapeau?= Where did you put my hat?
Qui c'est q'ca? = Who's that?
Par en sous=sneaky

Taken from:  http://www.acadian-roots.com/cajun-names.html

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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 catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Cajun Corner - Vol. 3, No. 19

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 19 – May 13, 2011


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, catalog at www.companycasuals.com/cajunstitchery and www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.

We have a lot to cover today, so let’s get started.

First topic is a trip to Louisiana. A few months back when my cousin Kim came to visit, I kept telling her that aside from looking at all of the Theaux’s for her genealogy, she should also meet and look into the Landry’s. Mama and my Aunt Lil have told me such wonderful stories about being little girls with my great grandmother, who was always referred to as “Mom.” My great grandfather was Henry Landry. Mom’s maiden name was Felecie Romero. Both sides of the family have a rich history, but the Landry’s are, by far, the party animal side of the family. The Landry’s are the Cajun side of the family.

Nevertheless, I told Kim that I need to introduce her to some of the Landry’s. She said that she had a conference coming up in May in one of the Carolina’s and we planned that after her conference, she would fly to Pensacola where we would drive to Lafayette. Sounds like a good time and a good plan. I cannot take off very much time because when I’m gone Cajun Stitchery is closed and Cajun Stitchery cannot afford to be closed. So, I planned one day to drive to Lafayette, one day to visit, one day to return. I contacted my cousin Eddie to help gather some Landry’s for Kim to meet. Eddie replied that he would be glad to help and May was a good month for that. Besides, we wanted to visit with my Aunt Philo who is now 92 years old.

Kim left California for the Carolina’s early this week. I began making some solid plans. First, I contacted Aunt Philo’s friend, Paulette, to see if she would be in town for our visit. It turned out that Paulette is going to be in Daytona Beach the entire week. That’s okay. I will still visit my aunt. Since Philo is deaf, I don’t want to visit if we aren’t going to understand each other. If she can see, she was always able to read my lips and Kim says she is fluent in sign language. So, we are still okay with that.

Neither Kim nor I could get in touch with Eddie since that first message. That’s okay because I can get in touch with my cousin Roland. I called Roland and found out that one of his sons was recently killed in an auto accident in Naples, Florida. Roland said the son was cremated and they had a nice memorial service in Naples and last weekend they had another memorial service in Louisiana. The whole family attended. I was heartbroken. I am so keenly aware of the unfathomable heartache of losing a child, no matter how old he is. Roland, a true Landry, nevertheless wanted us to come. He said to let him know what day we would be there as soon as I knew, so they could gather some local Landry’s to meet Kim.

George had been vacillating about going. He really wants to go. If he goes, then we need to board the dogs with the vet. I called the vet and got the information that I needed. They will board the dogs; give them their shots and annual check up, all at the same time. But they need to know in advance when we will be leaving the dogs. We have to make reservations for the pups which I did not because I wasn’t sure what days we would be going to Louisiana.

I then contacted my friend, Sandy, to let her know that we were coming. Sandy and I have never met face-to-face. She was a good friend of Mama’s and has become a good friend of mine via email and the internet. I would love to meet Sandy face-to-face. Sandy replied that she would love to meet me, as well. She will be in town. One problem, though, Louisiana is having a flood and next week is forecast to be the worse of it because the Army Corp of Engineers is probably going to open the Morganza Spillway which will flood New Iberia and the surrounding areas. They may have to evacuate. She suggested that I watch the flood news and sent me a map of the flood area in the Atchafalaya Basin.

At this point, George and I started realizing that if Memphis is flooded from the Mississippi and they are dealing with mass devastation, and the river has begun flooding the State of Mississippi, and we have to cross the Pearl River in Mississippi and the Mississippi River in Baton Rouge, not to mention the Atchafalaya, it may not be a matter of whether or not our destination gets flooded. It may be that we cannot get there through the flood on I-10. I began searching the internet for any news. The Bonnet Carre Spillway has already been opened to divert the water from New Orleans. The Advertiser in Lafayette is prominently reporting what to do if you are told to evacuate. The flood is headline news all over the area. The Louisiana governor said the Morganza Spillway will be opened and to expect 5-25 feet of flooding throughout the Basin, including New Iberia and St. Martinsville. Lafayette probably will not get flooded.

The last thing that anyone needs during an impending or potential environmental devastation is company from out-of-state. So, I tried contacting Kim. Kim will arrive in Pensacola late Sunday afternoon. Bless her heart, she’s in the middle of a conference and I’m emailing that we may not be able to go to Louisiana. She replied that we will discuss this when she gets here and see the situation at that time. I love a cool head. Of course, in order to make reservations to board the dogs, we have to give at least a little leeway. Besides, if she has work to do in Louisiana, she may want to fly directly to Lafayette, rather than Pensacola. No. She says her work is in Baton Rouge. The last I read was that Baton Rouge has already begun flooding.

Then I called Roland to let him know the situation. Like a true Landry, he says, “it’s not going to flood here.” Then he begins to explain the levy system that was constructed after the 1927 flood. Hmmm. He said that the government isn’t going to close I-10 and I should be able to get there. Hmmm. Roland lives in Youngsville, between Lafayette and New Iberia.

As it stands today, I don’t know. Common sense tells me not to take chances and intentionally travel an area that I know is already having problems. George doesn’t want me to go, especially since my trip back to Pensacola would be me alone, if he doesn’t go. On the other hand, my heart wants to go play with the family in Louisiana. Who knows what will happen between now and Sunday?

As a sideline from calling the veterinarian, it dawned on me after talking with Leigh Ann that I should make the dogs coats with the Cajun Stitchery logo embroidered on the side. I love animals and I know that dogs are built to work. Some dogs are hunters; some are workers, some herd, etc. Evie has always had chores. She cleans the floor and frequently is a pre-washer for the dishes. Stinky doesn’t have chores – she’s a princess. I decided that their new jobs will entail advertising for Cajun Stitchery. You know what they say; the two biggest attention getters are babies and animals. So, I made Evie a coat with the Cajun Stitchery logo on either side. I haven’t made one for Stinky yet. They need to wear their coats to the vet’s. Maybe we’ll pick up some business there.

Over the past year or two, some of the girls have been giving collapsible market baskets for gifts. The market baskets are cloth with a collapsible aluminum frame. They get the girl’s name or initials embroidered on the side of the market baskets. They get these baskets from a really cool store in Gulf Breeze. Well, that’s not right. They should get them from Cajun Stitchery. That is, if Cajun Stitchery could offer them. We can now. Browsing around on the internet for wholesalers, I found the baskets and oh so much more. I did find a place that carries the baskets that the girls have been giving. But I found another place that carries the baskets, but better. I can get either. The girls told me they pay about $30 for the baskets that they have been giving. I can do that, too. I found a really cool wholesaler in Georgia that sells the baskets in zebra, leopard and a multitude of other prints. These baskets are lined with a zippered inside pocket, and I can embroider on them. The cool thing is that I can sell them for $30, too, including the embroidered name/initials. This wholesaler also carries the insulated market basket with zippered top to keep your items cool. I can sell the insulated market basket for $35. They have bunches of other cool stuff. I have already placed an order with them for a variety of items. One of my girls has already ordered the 3 piece rolling luggage with telescopic handles ($200), rolling insulated cooler with telescopic handle ($40), insulated market basket ($35), and lined market basket ($30), all in zebra print. The pictures and descriptions appear to be a high quality. Something else they have that really caught my eye was an entire line of fleur de lis items.

Believe it or not, as I was typing the above, the first shipment from my zebra wholesaler came in. The luggage will be coming in a separate shipment next week. The rolling cooler in zebra print with hot pink trim, came with black trim and the wholesaler is sending the correct one. A fleur de lis wallet that I ordered was out of stock and not included but this stuff is beautiful. I cannot embroider on all of it. For instance, the insulation on the insulated market basket with zippered top would be compromised if I embroidered on it. But I can embroider on the lined market basket and the rolling cooler with telescopic handle. I even got myself a treat. I bought a hounds tooth lined market basket that I will be embroidering our logo upon. There are some really cool wallets and purses. I’m including the professional pictures of most of these items but honestly, some of these pictures don’t do the product justice. It’s mostly laminated fabric. It shines! Email me if you want to place an order or have any questions.

Memorial Day is coming up at the end of May and I’ve listed several patriotic items in our Etsy store. For this week only – through next Thursday – I will embroider “USA” in red, white, and/or blue on your jeans or a shirt or other embroiderable item for $5.00. This is really a good sale because our minimum order is $9.45.

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.

Thank you Kathi for sending the following joke:

Thibodeaux called the airlines information desk and inquired, "How long does it take to fly from Baton Rouge to New Orleans?" "Just a minute," said the busy clerk. "Well, said Thibodeaux, "If it has to go dat fast, I tink I'll just take da bus."

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French Phrase of the Week: The following was taken from LSU.edu regarding Cajun french differing from other french:

In Louisiana when we jouer à la pelote, it is typically a game of baseball, football or soccer that we are referring to. Careful, though, because for our French-speaking Canadian neighbors, la pelote refers to female genitalia.

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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 catalogs and pass some time with me, cher.

Odette: Cousin, Aunt and Me

Oh no!  I didn't post anything on Wednesday.  Well, this is the Wednesday post on Thursday. 

I got a phone call on Monday that started out "Peggy, you don't know me but I'm your cousin."  For someone I don't know, I stayed on the phone for 3 hours.  Most of the 3 hours was consumed in me laughing and I mean belly laughing.  That laugh that comes from deep inside.  Of course, it was one of my cajun cousins (pronounced coo-za with the a sounding like the a in man); from that Landry side of the family. 
After I talked with my cousin, I called his mother.  His mother is another cousin that I had never known but we share the same name, Odette.  It's her first name and my middle name. 

We were both named after my aunt who passed away around 1930 or 1931.  Mama was the oldest of 8 children. Mama was born in 1918.  Around 1931 some sort of epidemic hit southwest Louisiana.  As far as I know, no one really knows exactly what kind of epidemic it was.  It was listed as influenza but could have been many things.  Mama said that the family gathered in 2 houses, next to each other.  One was my grandmother's home and the other belonged to an aunt.  Inside the houses were beds.  Everyone was sick.  Many of the family died during that period, including my great grandmother and Odette.  My precious Aunt Philo became deaf.  The best that I understood was that Philo had a high fever.  She went into a coma.  When she came out of the coma, she was deaf.  I believe the fever burned her eardrums.  During that period in those homes, and many homes in the area, you were either sick in bed, or caring for those sick in bed.

My Aunt Odette was only 9 years old when she died.  All of the little girls went to Catholic school at Mt. Carmel in Lafayette.  When Odette died, so Mama said, the nuns took over the funeral because my grandmother was so busy taking care of the sick.  The nuns did our family a great favor.  The funeral was a beautiful ceremony in all white.  Mama said that she heard (Mama also could not attend the funeral because of the ill people in the home) the funeral looked like a procession of angels going into St. John's Cathederal with the little casket.

I cannot even imagine such a thing happening today with modern medicine.  Those who lived through this epidemic were much stronger.  This type of life situation usually builds strong character and most cajuns have very strong character.

Enough of the old stories.  Let's get back to embroidery.  We finished all of the Nereid caps and visors.  There was some debate on how we sell them.  They are, of course, for sale at our Splash party on August 21st at Paradise Bar & Grill beginning at 3 p.m.  The Nereids will all be wearing the lovely pink visors.  However, there are a few of the pink visors extra that will be sold at the event, in addition to the other visors, ponytail caps and ballcaps.

Remember when I went to the photo shoot?  If you haven't already seen it, you need to see the latest edition of the Island Times.  Go to http://www.myislandtimes.com/, then go to the news and open the latest edition.  Yep, that's us on the front cover.  Turn the page and Wow!  Look at that fabulous article about the Splash Party.  But what is this?  On the right hand side is one of our ponytail caps.  All I can say is "Thank you Shelley and Ms. Jane!"   So, the war is on.  George purchased brand new water artillery for us.  What are you bringing?

With all of these caps and visors, I have sorely neglected our Etsy shop.  I must fill the shop up again and take care of it.

I have to go clean the house and work on some projects.  We're having a dinner guest this evening.  I just love having company. 

Have a wonderful day.

C'est tout, mes amis