Cajun Corner – Vol.
4, No. 25 – July 7, 2012
Bon
Jour! Welcome to Cajun
Stitchery’s weekly email and welcome to our family.
ΘΘΘΘΘ
Visit
our on-line catalogs at:
Did you miss me?
I know. I should have emailed
last week to say there was not going to be a Cajun Corner. I really thought I would write one but Friday
turned into Saturday and before you know it, it is today.
The week before the 4th of July was
very busy. You see, we planned a party
for the 4th under our Live Oak tree.
A simple 4th of July party turned into quite the ordeal. Since we knew it would be hot during the day
and guests were invited to arrive between noon and 1:00 p.m., we decided to put
the Cajun Stitchery canopy up for additional shade. Since we were doing that, we might as well
use the Cajun Stitchery folding tables for the food. Since we were going to put the food outside,
we needed some sort of cover so the bugs, birds and critters would not devour
our food before we could eat it. I
decided to make a food tent.
I think I mentioned the food tent idea in the
last issue. The pile of old blue jeans
were ripped apart and cut and sewn to make a huge role of six inch wide bias
tape. George built the frame for the
food tent our of PVC pipe. He actually
built two of them; one for each table.
The fiberglass screen came in the size of 48” wide and 84” long. We placed the screen over the frame and I
fiddled around with it, placing pins where needed and up the stairs I went to
see Doris in her sewing machine capacity. Up and down the stairs in my off hours were
spent creating the tent. The screen
wasn’t long enough and I had to take part of another role of screen. That’s what we bought it for. Once the screen part of the tent was sewn,
the blue jean bias tape was pinned and then stitched around the bottom. The pieces of the blue jeans which are the
seams were perfect for ties. The front
of the screen was cut up to the middle to create a flap opening for getting the
food. Then the flap required more bias
tape. It looked very nice. I ran out of time in the middle of attaching
the ties. We did put the food tent out
and I pinned ties where needed.
Dollar Tree was our source of decorations and we
were red, white and blue everywhere.
The menu was going to be barbeque beef
sandwiches, hot dogs, potato salad, and apple pie with vanilla ice cream. The recipes came from allrecipes.com. George did most of the shopping during the
weekend while I was working on some rush orders for Cajun Stitchery. Tuesday was filled with cooking and cleaning
the house. I was still working on the
food tent Tuesday night. Wednesday
morning arrived and the bbq sauce was made.
I had seen some real neat ideas for watermelon on
Pinterest. George got 2 watermelons and
Wednesday morning I began carving the watermelons. The first one was to cut the rind of the watermelon
into the shape of a basket. I used a
magic marker to draw the lines and then carefully cut the shape with a
knife. Then all of the fruit was scooped
out. It turned out really cute. The watermelon was then filled with
watermelon pieces, cantaloupe pieces, and blueberries. To top it off, I added toothpicks with little
USA
flags on them.
The second watermelon idea also came from
Pinterest. The idea is to stand the
watermelon on end, cut off the top, scoop out the fruit and fill with ginger
ale mixed with the watermelon juice. I
looked at that watermelon and knew there was going to be a disaster if I stood
that thing on end. Instead, the
watermelon was placed on its side and an oval lid was carved out of the
top. The fruit was scooped out and the
lid replaced. I decided to wait until
the party began before adding the ginger ale.
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Guests were bringing bean salad, coleslaw, baked
beans, potato chips, and a neighbor brought over a cake with the icing design
of the US
flag.
The canopy and tables were placed under the
tree. The food tent was placed on the
longer table. As the guests began to
arrive, so did the rain. In all we had
16 people in attendance. Most were in my
kitchen. By the time we were ready to eat;
we just ate in the kitchen and had a wonderful time. A few were sitting on lawn chairs under the
canopy. After we ate, the rain
subsided. We spent the rest of the
afternoon under the canopy. Never even
put the food outside. Everyone just went
into the house to get food when they wanted some. There was so much food and everyone loved the
barbeque beef. There simply was no need
to cook the hot dogs. Insofar as the
watermelons were concerned, we all ate some of the fruit but the watermelon
with the ginger ale turned out to be unnecessary and one watermelon too
much. We have bags and bags of fruit in
the refrigerator. In fact, George and I
have eaten leftovers every night since the party.
It was a fun party. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. I totally forgot to tell everyone that we had
vanilla ice cream for the pie.
After everyone left, George and I just kind of
crashed in front of the television for the evening.
Thursday brought a couple of customer
appointments and an order for labels. George
decided that the canopy and food tent should stay outside to dry in the heat
all day. It isn’t good to pack these things
away when they are wet.
When I awoke on Friday we were having quite the
lightning storm. The canopy and food
tent got wet, again. Our power went out
and was out for 11 hours. George and I
played cards and took lots of naps.
There really wasn’t much else for us to do. Although we were anxious to get the power
back on, I think our bodies needed the rest.
Despite all of the naps of the day, at bedtime we both fell fast asleep
without a problem.
Today, the canopy and food tent were still
outside drying. Sure hope it doesn’t
rain tomorrow.
The shabby chic, ruffled purse with flowers and
rhinestones that was listed in our Etsy Store for $10 has been sold.
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.
Sprawling over a
million-acre swath of southern Louisiana, the Atchafalaya River Basin
is the largest swamp in the United
States and one of the country's most
ecologically varied regions. Its wetlands, bayous and marshes are home to 300
species of birds, 90 species of fish and shellfish and 54 species of reptiles
and amphibians, including the great American alligator. It owes much of its
haunting and mysterious beauty to the towering, moss-draped bald cypress trees
that thrive in its swamp waters.
For hundreds of years,
the Basin's human dwellers—from the Native Americans who harvested its timber
to the present-day Cajuns who hunt alligators in its murky depths—have
subsisted on its many bountiful resources. In the second half of the 18th
century, the region became a refuge for several thousand French colonists who
had been expelled from Acadie, part of present-day Nova Scotia, for refusing to swear allegiance
to the British crown and church. Known as the Acadians, the settlers adapted
their way of life to the changeable nature of the Basin's wetland environment,
where water levels fluctuate depending on the season, by favoring houseboats
and campsites to more permanent homes. Many began growing sugarcane and other
crops in the fertile bayou soil, while others made a living as loggers,
hunters, trappers or fishermen.
The Acadian community
grew and prospered, eventually giving birth to the distinctly Louisianan
"Cajun" culture, known throughout the world for its food, music and
unique dialect. Today, the Cajuns make up a significant part of southern Louisiana's population,
and many continue to embrace the lifestyle and traditions of their ancestors.
In spite of the
region's natural bounty and unmistakable splendor, swamp living has never been
easy for the Cajuns and other residents of the Atchafalaya Basin.
For instance, the disastrous Great Flood of 1927 decimated many communities,
sparking a mass exodus that dramatically reduced the region's population. But
to many people born and raised in the cradle of the lush and majestic Atchafalaya, the dangers and challenges they face are an
accepted–and even welcome–part of life.
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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.
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