Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 17

 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 17 – May 5, 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:

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.

Thank goodness the wreck is now only a memory.  George is working on getting the little things on the new vehicle repaired.  He is meticulous about his vehicles, which is one of the reasons the loss of the other vehicle was so disappointing.

We are back to work.  Several items were embroidered this week and it feels good getting back to work. 

If you live in or near Mary Esther or Navarre, FL and need medical help, I highly recommend Dr. Sheryl Roe.  Sheryl is an acupuncture physician, RN, MS, DOM.  I must admit that I have no clue what DOM is, but I know Sheryl and you are in good hands with her.  Sheryl is also a wealth of information about herbs.  She is also an herbalist.  Please visit her website at www.drsroe.com.   In fact, Sheryl is the one who explained to me how to use my stevia.  I am happy to report that, at least at home, I am totally off the pink stuff (Sweet N Low) in my coffee and now use only the stevia.  It either took some practice making it to get rid of the slight bitterness in the stevia or, I may simply have gotten used to it.  Nevertheless, the stevia is what I use now.  The side effect is the stevia is so much healthier for me and there is one more thing that I no longer have to purchase at the store.  Sheryl also has an e-newsletter.  The last one that I received had a lot about the effects of acupuncture on low back pain.  I know I have a lot of friends out there who have back pain and subscribe to pain management.  You should at least give Sheryl a call to discuss what she can do to help you.  Her phone number is (850) 225-3460; or, email her at sherylacudoc@yahoo.com.

My poor Tigger cat is not doing very well.  He has an appointment with the vet on Monday.  There is some sort of a growth in the back of his mouth/throat area causing excessive salivation.  Say a prayer for my sweet cat.  He was Mama’s favorite because he is loaded with personality.  If you have ever visited my house and stayed long enough for the cats to emerge, you may have experienced Tigger tapping you on the shoulder for a pet.

Planting the root end of the onions that we’ve used in the kitchen has provided an extra bounty in our garden.  Yes, it works.  I was also told that if I plant to top of the onion, that, too, will grow.  I’ve tried it but to no avail.  Also, I heard that the top of carrots.  That is one that I tried today.  We’ll see how that works.  When you are chopping an onion for dinner, save the bottom part with the roots and just put it in soil.  Yes, it is that easy.

Last week I showed a handkerchief that I made with lace embroidered corners where I used a tear away stabilizer.  The tear away did not work very well because of the tiny lace open areas.  This week I embroidered the same handkerchief using, instead, netting as the stabilizer.  It worked beautifully and that handkerchief is now on sale in our Etsy Store.  With the same method in mind, I designed a beautiful 10 inch round handkerchief with a beautiful design which we have in stock.  A few issues arose with the round hanky.  The first and main issue is that sewing in the round with open areas tend to cause puckering in the open areas.  I read an article about this a few years back.  However, I have a few ideas in mind to try to resolve this puckering issue which I will try out this week.  The handkerchief is still beautiful, just needs some tweaking.

I have been adding a few items in our Etsy Store this week.  The “Mama Mia” handkerchiefs are back in time for Mother’s Day.

We have also been working on dog collars this week.  I was going to make Tigger a cute leopard print collar but then realized that he has an open wound on his neck and probably should not put a collar on him until he heals.  Nevertheless, I still feel strongly that all dogs and cats should have collars with their names and owner’s telephone number.  Your pet may not be prone to running away but you never know when something unexpected may occur causing a separation.  As I’ve said before, the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan separated many families from their pets.  So many pets could have been re-united with their families if only they had something on them telling how to contact the owner.

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. 

I was remiss last week when I did not thank the person who submitted the joke.  Thank you to Paulette Provost for the Two Trees and a Woodpecker joke

Thank you to Sandra Goodman for furnishing this week’s joke:

Four Worms in Church

A Minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday 

sermon.

Four worms were placed into four separate jars.

The first worm was put into a container of alcohol.

The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.

The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup.

The fourth worm was put into a container of good, clean soil.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister reported the following results:

The first worm in alcohol ... Dead.

The second worm in cigarette smoke ...Dead.

The third worm in chocolate syrup ... Dead.

The fourth worm in good, clean soil ... Alive.

So the Minister asked the congregation, "What did you learn from this 

demonstration?"

Maxine was sitting in the back and quickly raised her hand and said,

"As long as you drink, smoke, and eat chocolate, you won't have worms!"

That pretty much ended the service !!

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The following interesting tidbit comes from a newsletter from www.thetastefulgarden.com:

Water-soluble fertilizers, such as Miracle Gro, were originally developed for growing in greenhouses. We do not recommend them for use in your garden as they can wash away and pollutes ground water. They can also create salt buildup in your garden soil which keeps the plants from getting the nutrients they need. Using natural fertilizers, such as worm castings, leaves, and compost creates a living soil with good bacteria, micro-organisms, and insects that work to break down organic material into nutrients for your plants. Many good organic fertilizers are available and should always be used in place of water soluble types.

Note:  A friend of mine who is a master gardener in Alabama has given me similar advice in the past.

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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. 28

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 28 – July 15, 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.

There is a saying on the beach that you never know how many friends and relatives you have until you get a beach house.  That is so true for many of my friends on the beach.  Their homes have been packed all summer.  Of course, that means that they are entertaining and I don’t get to see them as often as during the fall and winter months.  I sure miss my girls.  Thank God for Wednesday nights.  Those of us who are not encumbered with visitors gather on Wednesday night and enjoy a good meal and stimulating conversation.  This past Wednesday there were only a handful of the normal group but it was really nice. 

I also look forward to meeting with my friends at WBL meetings.  Although it is a meeting and much more regimented than Wednesday night, I enjoy those women.  Just like Wednesday nights, when a lot of people come to the meeting, it’s fun and informative; but, it’s also so nice when there is a smaller, more intimate group. 

I received the most adorable email yesterday:

“Dear Aunt Peggy -

I was real pretty in my embroidered collar - much fancier than the other dogs at our hotel in Cedar Key. Next time my mom will put my collar on right side up!

Love,

Amber Lee Johnson

Chesapeake Bay Retriever and Super Model”

That email was accompanied by photographs of Amber Lee.

The new computer is working fine.  As each day goes by, I remember something, a website, a program, or whatever is on my favorites list of the old computer.  Nevertheless, none of those things have really hampered day-to-day business.  This is a nice machine.

As I mentioned last week, the most difficult thing about the new computer was loading my Quicken program.  By the end of that ordeal, I was flustered and frustrated.  So, Quicken a/k/a Intuit sent me an email asking me to let them know what I thought of their service.  Really?  They made straight F’s and my comment was that if I didn’t need the thing for my CPA, I wouldn’t have it at all.  You can imagine my surprise when, later, I received another email, same email, asking me what I thought of their service.  Rather than berating them once again, I just deleted the email.  You would think that would be the end of it.  If that is what you think, then you have not dealt with this company.  Later, I received another email with the subject line:  “Quick Books Pro POS.”  At this I even called George over to look at it.  Did a light bulb go off in their head and they realized how unhappy I am with them?  Could it be they don’t like their service, either?  Well, I had to open this email.  Much to my surprise, the Intuit Company says POS means “Point Of Service.”  In my book POS still means something totally different.

The most frequently asked question this week was:  “Do you REALLY belong to 58 groups on Facebook?  Yes, I do, but I don’t even know what they are.  I am only active in 2 groups.

I told you about our new customer, Mike Cotton, last week.  We had a meeting this week and at this point we have his logo digitized and stitched out a few time for testing.  This weekend I will be playing around with the embroidered logo on several items that he brought for us.  He is trying to put together a merchandising line of products for his TV show, Senior Xtremers, and I am the embroiderer.

Revamping old t-shirt crew collars was fun last week.  I did a few and have a few more to do.  It is absolutely amazing the change in the look of the shirt.

This week I ordered a dozen white beach towels.  I need them to fill an order for a friend who loved the towels I embroidered with the mermaid in Mylar.  She wants one for her daughter and one for her son-in-law.  For her son-in-law, of course, she wants a merman.  For this type of digitizing, I don’t send to a digitizer because I doubt seriously that the customer would want to pay the $30 digitizing fee.  The problem is that for me to do the digitizing takes a long time.  She ordered the towels a month ago.  So, I’m waiting on the towels to arrive so I can begin the embroidery.

We still have some of the $2 cloth napkins, $4 cloth napkins, market baskets, and fingertip towels.   

A few people sent in guesses last week for the contest but no one sent the correct answer.  The fashion designer who made jersey fashionable was Coco Chanel.  Before Chanel jersey was only used for underwear.  Coco Chanel created fashionable and comfortable clothing with jersey.  Had it not been for Coco Chanel, we would not have T-shirts, polo shirts, or the little black dress. 

CHRISTMAS is around the corner.  Unbelievable, I know.  But it is July.  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 from http://www.ralphbrennancookbook.com/pdf/Crawfish_Etouffee.pdf:

 Cajun folklore is filled with stories and legends, and many of them involve crawfish.

One of the more inventive ones is this:

In the 1750s, when the Acadians first migrated from Nova Scotia to Louisiana,

hundreds of North-Atlantic lobsters, sympathetic to the exiles, decided to follow

them southward along the Atlantic Coast and through the Gulf of Mexico to

the bayous. Along the way, as they swam, the lobsters somehow acquired progressively

smaller shells. By the time they reached Louisiana, they had become

what we now know as crawfish.

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Cajun French Phrase of the Week: Grand Beede'-----------Big clumsy man

(Taken from http://louisianacajunslang.com/language.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. 25

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 25 – JUNE 24, 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 are also on Twitter and Facebook.

Hope all of the dads out there had a wonderful Father’s Day. Next holiday is going to be the 4th of July. We’re back to the red, white and blue and there are several patriotic items in our Etsy store. Drop by for a visit.

I was pleased to find out this week that Paradise Bar & Grill is listed in the top 10 bars in Florida. A hardy congratulation goes to Fred and Rene and the gang! The official ceremony is going to be this Sunday. I think it’s at 4:00 but you better double check. Fred is asking everyone to please attend to congratulate Rene and staff.

I may have mentioned this before but I read an article not long ago about dog collars. The article said that it is very important that your cats and dogs have collars with their names and telephone numbers. This is true especially for disaster purposes. The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was devastating on pets and their owners. Most were never reunited. My cats do not have collars because they are strictly indoor cats. They have had their front claws removed. After reading that article, I plan on making collars for the cats today and will embroider their name and my phone number on the collars. You don’t know what is going to happen at any given time. Another point is that even if your animal has an identification chip embedded, most people don’t think to take the cute little animal to the vet to check for ID. Nothing against ID chips; they are valuable. Also, if a pet finds itself misplaced, it is probably quite stressed. To see the animal’s name and be able to call him/her by name would be comforting and calming to the pet.

Needless to say this article touched my heart. So, this week Cajun Stitchery has purchased the necessary items to make pet collars. Our very first commercial collar was made this week for Daisy. Miss Daisy’s collar was picked up today. I urge everyone with cats and/or dogs to please get identification collars whether from Cajun Stitchery or elsewhere. We feed our pets healthy, nutritious food. We take them to the veterinarian. We train them. We care for them. We love them. Please also keep them safe with identification.

About last November, I received a call from a lady saying that she had an advertising company out of her home where she did advertising on local restaurant menus. The deal was that she provided the restaurant with free menus paid for by the companies advertising on the menu. For the advertising companies, we would get our business card size advertisement on a menu in a popular restaurant for 12 months at a very reasonable cost. In addition, once you lock into a particular cost for advertisement in one menu, you could advertise on any menu that she does for the same amount whether it is today, tomorrow or in 10 years, you would have the same rate. It seemed like a great deal that I could afford with a very small business. In addition, the restaurant would be Native Café on the beach, which has a special place in my heart. I agreed. The lady, in fact it was two ladies, came to my home and showed me the proof for my ad. We discussed changes and ideas. The menu was to come out in January. It was November at the time. I paid her. I signed her paperwork. And I counted the days to see our ad at Native Café. When January arrived, George and I went to Native Café for breakfast and there were no ads on the menu at all. I inquired about the ad with our waitress and she told me that the new menu would be coming out shortly. I called the advertising lady when I got home and she explained that there was a delay and the menus would be out in a couple of weeks. I finally made it back to Native Café last month. Still no ad. The owner came out and told me that there are lots of angry advertisers and he is not happy, either. The lady, who appeared so professional to me, never came through with the menus. In fact, she cashed the checks and no one can find her. She put everyone off long enough so that the bank cannot do anything about the checks. It is really a very sad situation because the idea is brilliant. It is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Haven’t we all seen menus like this with the advertising? Well, I learned my lesson.

People like this make reputable companies look bad. There are reputable companies out there because we have all seen this type of menu. I say this because a friend of mine has a company, Menu-tizing, that does exactly this. She is reputable but I didn’t know about her last November. In fact, Cajun Stitchery will be embroidering her companny shirts soon.

Speaking of shirts for Menu-tizing, our new digitizer is digitizing the embroidery design for Menu-tizing today. This digitizing company has won many awards for their digitizing and I’m looking forward to seeing their work up close and personal. I think this will become a really nice relationship. They told me that all of their digitizing is $30 per design. Of course, lettering and words, unless they are a logo or something that requires digitizing, can be done in-house without a digitizing charge. Same is true for stock designs. Since I have to pay the digitizer upon receipt of the digitizing, the $30 digitizing fee will be required up front.

SALE: Right now I am overloaded with stock, especially cloth napkins. These are the 20 inch square, restaurant quality napkins with hemmed edges. The colors that we have in stock are:

1. Rust

2. Purple

3. Natural

4. Lavender

5. Blue

6. Royal Blue

7. White

8. Burgundy

9. Teal

10. Brown

11. Sea Foam Green

I’m selling these (in-stock) napkins at $2 each; first come, first served.

The market baskets are just adorable and very functional. I have one for myself with the Cajun Stitchery logo embroidered. These market baskets are canvas and really nice. Perhaps it’s because no one else seems to be using market baskets for advertising purposes, but people really do stop to look at them. They have stopped me.

Right now, in stock, we have black, red, purple, navy blue, hot pink, and black with white polka dots. These are all regular size market baskets and the price, without embroidery, ranges from $22 (for solid colors) to $28 (polka dot), each. A name or initials would be $5. Of course, the more embroidery you want on the basket, the more the cost.

I think the purple would be great for Mardi Gras Krewes. Krewes are always lugging around stuff from food, to costumes, to items to create a float. Put your krewe logo on the side of a purple market basket.

We also have a black laptop case($24), a black with white polka dot carryall($14), some blue and white striped canvas purses ($8 each), hot pink purses($8 each), hot pink mini purses($6 each), and a brown purse($8 each). I’ll embroider a monogram (name or initials) for $5.00.

The market baskets have a bunch of uses.

• One customer said they are perfect for a beach tote.

• They make great personalized gifts or gift baskets.

• With your logo embroidered, they are a wonderful advertising tool. If you are like me and always seem to carry a bag with my wares, picking up or delivering items, your logo embroidered on the basket is ideal and unique. It’s an eye catcher.

• Recent embroidery on a market tote was done by embroidering the outline of the word “Mine” and then filling the word with rhinestones. It turned out beautifully. The same technique can be used for any word.

• They also make great picnic baskets. Include a set of matching cloth napkins, a tablecloth, some personalized can wraps, and an assortment of picnic items and you have a great gift. These totes have two mesh pockets on either end on the inside of the basket, as well as plastic feet and a luggage grip. A red market basket with blue or white embroidery, filled with red, white and blue napkins, tablecloth, can wraps, and other picnic items for your 4th of July picnic would be very patriotic.

• Another really great idea is a wedding gift with the names of the bride and groom and the date of the wedding embroidered on the basket. Fill it with household items, linens, or picnic items.

• And don’t forget that this makes a great diaper bag for mom. Embroider the baby’s name on the side. Fill it with diapers, blankets, bottles, and an assortment of baby items. Pink for girls; blue for boys. In fact, today someone came to me at the WBL meeting saying that she thought I brought a baby.

• Fill it with your cleaning items and take it from room to room as you clean the house.

• Same with gardening items. Don’t forget to include a pretty little apron.

• The possibilities are endless.

The 4th of July is next weekend. We now have the red, white and blue stripe, and the blue, white and red stripe webbing, 1.25” wide. There are more rhinestone flag buckles. If you are interested in a pretty terrific gift or patriotic attire for the 4th of July, George will make the patriotic belt for $10 each. Just let us know the waist size. About 6 inches are added to the waist size for proper adjustment of the belt.

I can’t believe that no one won last week’s contest. My very first job in Pensacola was my job for 14/15 years. I worked at the Levin Papantonio law firm as a paralegal.

CONTEST: First person to answer correctly is the winner. Which one of my pets, Stinky, Evie, Sylvester, Tigger, or Poly is the oldest? The winner will receive a set of 4 cloth napkins, restaurant quality, and 20” x 20” with your initials/monogram. (Color choice depends on what is in stock.)

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 Kim von Aspern-Parker for sending the following joke:

The Louisiana State Police had received numerous reports of illegal cockfights being held in the area around Abbeville and had sent their famous Detective Boudreaux from Thibodeaux to investigate.

Boudreaux promptly began his investigation and then reported to his Commander the next morning.

"Dey is tree main groups involve in dis rooster Fightin", he began. "Good work! Who are they?" the Commander asked.

Boudreaux replied confidently, "De Texas Aggies, de local Cajuns, and de Mafia from N'awlins".

Puzzled, the Commander asked, "Now Boudreaux, how did you find all that out > in one night?"

"Well," he replied, "I went down and done seen dat rooster fight in person. And I knowed immedjiately dat dem Aggies was involved when a Duck was entered in the fight."

The Commander nodded, "I'll buy that. But what about the others?"

Boudreaux nodded knowingly, "Well, I knowed de Cajuns was involved when sum_body bet on de duck!" "Ah, I see, I see....." sighed the sergeant,

"And how did you figure the Mafia was involved?" "De duck won."

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French Phrase of the Week: éclairs de chaleur (summer lightning)

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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.

We've Gone To The Dogs

We received an order for a dog collar today.  Daisy is one cute little dog and her owner is a real nice guy, too. 

A few weeks back when we took our dogs to the vet for their annual visit, I made Stinky a collar from white webbing with her name embroidered in blue.  It really looks nice.  I decided to sell the dog collars at that time.

The dog collars have been on my mind for awhile.  Out of all of the webbing that I have purchased, Daisy needs a smaller size, 3/4".  I have 1", 1.25", even 2" but Daisy needs 3/4".  That's okay.  I decided to place the order for Daisy's collar but also for the collar pieces that I am missing with the rest of the webbing, such as clasps, dee rings, and various hardware. 

You see, originally I purchased the 2 bolts of 1" white webbing.  I was going to use that making totes and purses.  In fact, I did use it for totes and purses but 2 bolts goes a long way.  The 1.25" webbing is the red, white and blue; and the blue, white and red webbing used for George's belt.  There's a bolt of each.  I don't even remember why I bought the 2 inch black webbing.  I had also purchased, sometime ago, 5/8" clasps and some other hardware.  Originally, the clasps and hardware were because I wanted to make bowties and I couldn't find the proper hooks.  The clasps work but they aren't the right thing and a bowtie requires specifics.  Although I must say that I have now seen bowties with the little clasps.  Then I was going to use them on cell phone pouches.  I did use them for a few of the cell phone pouches.

After I placed my order today, and gasping at the amount of money that I spent, I decided that I better start selling a lot of dog collars. lol 

I read an article on a dog website sometime ago that every dog and cat needs to have a collar with their name and telephone number on it.  The article was actually about all of the lost and misplaced pets from various disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina.  Without a name and phone number, it's not likely the pet will ever find its owner or vice versa.  I can embroider names and telephone numbers.  It is also a good cause.  I'm almost positive my animals will never get lost.  The cats are strictly inside cats -- no front claws.  The dogs are inside, or if outside, they are in a fenced yard.  But, I lived through Hurricane Ivan.  You never know.  Do you want to take the chance?  I've been thinking about this and the first thing I'm going to do when my shipment arrives is make collars for all of my animals.  In fact, I'm going to make Stinky a new collar and include our telephone number.

An alternative to a collar with the name and telephone number is an implanted chip.  George pointed out to me that if a person finds an animal with an implanted chip, how are they going to know?  How would you know the animal's name to call it and make it feel comfortable?  Not only that but how many times do people find stray animals without identification to call the owner and end up keeping the animal for themselves, never thinking to ask a vet to check for an ID chip.

We love our pets.  In many instances our pets take the place of our children, or become another child in the family.  Many people who live alone have a pet as their sole companion.  We feed them nutritious meals.  We provide a shelter for them and a comfortable living environment.  We take care of their health.  Shouldn't we also take care of their safety?  I do urge everyone to make sure your pet, even if it is an inside pet, has recognizable identification in case something unexpected happens.  Whether you purchase the collar from me or elsewhere doesn't matter.  The safety of your pet is what matters.

C'est tout, mes amis.

Cajun Corner - Vol. 3, No. 22

Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 22 – JUNE 4, 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.

I know I’m a day late on this issue, but yesterday was very busy. I attended the WBL meeting. Then there was a lot of running around to do. Finally, I attended the Nereid meeting with two birthday celebrations. It was a fun day but very busy.

Memorial Day is over. The next holiday is Father’s Day on June 19th. June 17th is my oldest son’s birthday. It’s hard to imagine that my little baby is going to be 43 years old. On top of that, our krewe has two more birthdays to celebrate this month. It’s going to be busy.

Next Wednesday is the Fiesta Ball. The theme is red, white and krewe. We are celebrating the 100th anniversary of naval aviation. Last weekend was full of emails between the girls attending the Ball. We were trying to decide what to wear for the event. Although we won’t be dressed identical; we will coordinate with each other. Obviously, red, white and blue will be the colors. I am making a floor length blue skirt and a red vest. I have a white blouse to wear. This ensemble needs to be completed this weekend. Last Tuesday I went fabric shopping and purchased a couple of beautiful pieces of satin fabric for the skirt and vest. The skirt was the first item and on Wednesday I pinned the pattern and cut the fabric. The edges were serged, as well as the two side seams. The side seams do need to be reinforced but before I do that I must decide whether I want a waistband with a zipper or elastic in the waist. I think the waistband with a zipper looks much more professional but the elastic would be much more comfortable. At my age, I usually veer more toward the comfort side.

I also have an order of some shirts which need embroidery. These shirts must be ready to mail on Monday because there is a deadline.

There are a few more orders but those don’t have an immediate deadline.

This past Tuesday we took the dogs to the veterinarian for their annual check-up. The dogs are “the picture of health,” according to Dr. Armani. We take our dogs to Navy Boulevard Animal Hospital and have taken our animals there since we moved to Pensacola back in 1992. Sandy and Cliff used to own the hospital and, as far as I know, were the original owners. Sandy and Cliff were the vets for the Wildlife Sanctuary and our local K-9 units of the Sheriff’s Department. A few years back, Sandy and Cliff decided to retire and sold the hospital to some other vets. I do not recall their names. It turns out that those owners have sold the hospital to Dr. Armani and Dr. O’Connor, the present owners. Dr. Armani was the vet for Evie and Stinky this past Tuesday.

When Dr. Armani came into the examination room, he immediately looked at me and said, “Do we know each other? You look very familiar.” I couldn’t place him and we both let it go. That evening Dr. Armani called me. He recalled where he had seen me – on Facebook. Before Kim arrived, I had called the vet to see how much they would charge to board the animals if we decided to go to Louisiana. After a delightful discussion with Leigh Anne, I went to Facebook and “Liked” Navy Boulevard Animal Hospital and posted a picture of Evie. That’s where Dr. Armani saw me. We talked about Evie and Stinky and I told him that if they ever need embroidery work done to call me. When I told him the name, Cajun Stitchery, he asked why my business was called Cajun Stitchery. “Well,” I said, “because I am Cajun.” He asked where I was from and replied that I was from Lafayette. He was so excited because he went to school at LSU in Baton Rouge. We chit chatted a bit and I told him the story of Mama donating her body to science at LSU. I offered to drop off some business cards and suggested that he consider getting some dog collars with “Navy Boulevard Animal Hospital” embroidered on them for promotional purposes. He thought that was a great idea. He then decided to become my “friend” on Facebook, noting that “you have a lot more friends than I do.” I have since dropped off some business cards.

Speaking of the dog collars, I made a collar for Stinky that she wore to the vet’s on Tuesday. I have since posted pictures of the collar. The collar is an inch wide, white, webbing with “STINKY” embroidered in royal blue. The clasp is a white, plastic, snap-in kind of clasp. Very pretty. Since I made the collar, I have been looking online at other dog and cat collars for pricing and style. I noticed that the personalized collars have the dog’s name and then the telephone number. We can do that. I’m selling the collars for $9.45 for one or $6 each for 10 or more.

Also, I will be placing an order this weekend for market totes and other bags from a new vendor. Yes, they also have zebra print items, as well as polka dots and other designs. Feel free to browse their items at http://www.wholesaleboutique.com/category/Original-Market-Totes/ORIG/page1 Let me know if you want me to order something for you.

A lady stopped me at the WBL meeting and we discussed how cute the adjustable can wraps would be for wedding favors. The can wraps can be done in all white or whatever colors the bride chooses. They can come without embroidery or with embroidery. The names of the newlyweds, wedding date, hearts, bells, flowers, birds, butterflies, all are possible designs. So, if you need a wedding gift or favors, this is a fresh new idea.

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 Sandy for sending the following joke:

Boudreaux and Thibodeaux, are sitting at their favorite bar, drinking Bud-lite.

Boudreaux turns to Thibodeaux and says, 'You know me, I'm tired of going tru life without dat education. Tomorrow I'm goin to dat Community College and sign me up for some classes.'

Thibodeaux thinks it's a good idea and the two have another Bud-lite.

The next day, Boudreaux goes down to the college and meets Dean of Admissions, who signs him up for the four basic classes: Math, English, History, and Logic.

'Logic?' Boudreaux says. 'What's dat Hun?'

The dean says, 'I'll give you an example. Do you own a weed eater?'

'Yeah.'

'Then logically speaking, because you own a weed eater, I think that you would have a yard.'

'Dat's right, I do have a yard.'

'I'm not done,' the dean says. 'Because you have a yard, I think logically that you would have a house.'

'Mais Yeh, I got me a house dare.'

'And because you have a house, I think that you might logically have a family.'

'Mais Yeh dats right too, I have a family.'I'm not done yet. Because you have a family, then logically you must have a wife. And because you have a wife, then logic tells me you must be a heterosexual.'

'I am a heterosexual. Dat's amazing, you were able to find all dat out because I got da weed eater.'

Excited to take the class now, Boudreaux shakes the Dean's hand and leaves to go meet Thibodeaux at the bar. He tells Thibodeaux about his classes, how he is signed up for Math, English, History, and Logic.

'Logic? ' Thibodeaux says, 'What's dat?' Boudreaux says, 'I'll give you an example. Do you have a weed eater?'

'No.'

'Den you is gay.'

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

Faire l'amour in the minds of the old folks in Louisiana still has the very genteel meaning of "to court," though most people today also use it in the contemporary sense most French speakers are familiar with.

Though the the term is very pejorative in France, une catin is simply and literally a doll in Louisiana. The word poupée is also used here, and both words are often used as terms of endearment.

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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.