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.

Cajun Corner - Vol. 3, No. 18

 Cajun Corner – Vol. 3, No. 18 – May 6, 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.

The weekend in Mexico Beach was fabulous. What is the old saying about the best intentions? Several girls, including myself, were planning on going to Mexico Beach to visit a friend. In fact, there were 10 girls. Over the past couple of years this has become a regular part of our calendar. Our friend only has room for a maximum number of 10 overnight visitors. As you have probably noticed our girlfriend network entails a lot more than 10 girls. Being the polite and delicate ladies that we are, we decided that we would not mention the trip to anyone else because we didn’t want to offend anyone. We were not at liberty to invite people to someone else’s home. And, we didn’t want to put our hostess in an awkward position, either. It all turned out to appear that we were keeping this trip a “secret” from everyone. In fact, we all felt like it was a “secret” and we never intended that to happen. All I can say is that we truly meant well. Oh, by the way, we had a wonderful time.

Today, Cajun Stitchery was closed for half a day because George and I attended a memorial service for a friend.

When I got home last weekend, the lilies had bloomed. They are beautiful. I love the lily time of the year.

I finally finished Kim’s diaper stacker. Oh, it turned out so precious. The diaper stackers are not hard to make at all. I was just taking my time because I knew she didn’t need it right away. I have a pattern that I kind of use for the diaper stackers but they don’t really require a pattern. You just need to know that it is 8 inches deep, 13 inches wide, and 25 inches high. Cut 4 rectangles a bit larger than 8 inches by 13 inches and sew 2 of them together on all 4 sides for a sturdy bottom. Take the remaining 2 rectangles and sew them together on three sides. Slip a piece of sturdy cardboard or foam board into the open end. This piece will go inside the diaper stacker for a solid, removable, base to hold the diapers flat. Then take a piece of fabric 25 inches tall and wide enough to go completely around the 8 inch rectangle. That would be 8”+8”+13”+13” for 42 inches. Then take 2 strips of fabric 25” tall, the width is up to you, to sew to each edge of the 42” piece of fabric, right side of strip to wrong side of big fabric. Do this to each end of the 42” piece, iron the seam toward the strip, and fold the other long side of the strip in about ¼”, and iron. Then fold over to the seam on the right side of the 42” piece of fabric. Do this one each of the 25” sides of the 42” fabric. Pin, baste and sew the large fabric to the base. At this point, you can do what you want with the top. I make large pleats on the sides and sew the top closed, then put a triangular shaped piece of fabric (doubled) on top enveloping the top seam. Then just add something to hang the diaper stacker from and you’re done. I use an O ring. If you have any questions, drop me an email and I’ll be glad to explain the process a bit better.

One of my friends told me that one of the baby hummingbirds fell out of the nest on “As the Birds Turn” and has gone to see its maker. George and I were taking a break this week in what George calls our Summer Patio and we heard little cheeps. I went to look and there was a baby chick sitting in the leaves at the base of one of our oak trees. This area has lots of ants. In fact, we are having a terrible time with ants this year. We thought the chick had fallen out of its nest and we were worried that the ants would get it. So, we put it in a shoe box and took it to the Wildlife Sanctuary. Then we had second thoughts. Of course, at this point it was too late to do anything. Now we think that this was a sparrow and they nest on or near the ground. Now we feel like we have ripped the sparrow family apart. We were just so worried that the chick would get eaten by the ants.

This week I’ve been working at the Etsy store. I still don’t have 100 items for sale but as of today, there are 90 items in that store, 42 items are handkerchiefs. I wouldn’t make so many handkerchiefs if that wasn’t the main thing that people buy at the store. I love dainty cloth hankies but never realized how much others do, too. Since Mother’s Day is Sunday, I’m now looking toward Memorial Day and Father’s Day. The red, white and blue are well represented in the Etsy store.

While at the refreshment part of the memorial service today, a friend of mine told me that although she has sewn in the past, she would like me to give her a refresher course so she can make some aprons. We won’t be doing this right away but probably next month some time. I was pleasantly surprised at this request. I have been playing with the idea of teaching sewing when the house next door gets remodeled and we move in. After all, I have 7 working machines. There seems to be a re-emerging of the old handmade skills. That makes me very happy. For a long time I’ve noticed that young people, as well as older people, don’t know how to sew and weren’t taught by their mothers. It would be a shame to see these skills become only memories. It’s important to keep these things alive. So, we will find out if I can teach. I’m very excited about this.

Another friend of mine just got back from a trip to Argentina and Chile. I still want to hear more stories of her trip. She says it was confusing with the north being the hot area and the south being the cold area – just the opposite of us. Sounds like a fascinating trip.

The joke this week reminds me of my mother. Since Sunday is Mother’s Day perhaps a story about Mama would be appropriate. New Iberia has a beautiful main street with lovely antebellum homes and beautiful lawns. One Sunday morning in spring Mama decided to go for a drive. As she was driving down this street, she would drive over to the left to see those pretty flowers. Then she would drive to the right side of the road to see those flowers. Mama said no one else was on the road because everyone was at church. So, she took her leisurely drive and then turned a corner to head back home. A police office came behind her and pulled her over. “What were you doing back there?” he inquired. My mother rolled down her window and with a look of total disgust, said, “Young man, never pull over an old lady when she has to pee. If you don’t let me get home, I will pee right here in my car. How in the world am I going to clean this up?” He was laughing so hard, he let her go. True story.

Another time Mama was stopped for a red light when a police car pulled beside her in the other lane. She rolled down her window and motioned for the officer to roll his window down, as well. He did. She said, “Want to drag?” My mother was a piece of work. I couldn’t make this stuff up.

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.

This may be a repeat but it’s so funny. Thank you Sandy for sending the following joke:

Older Woman: Is there a problem, Officer?

Officer: Ma'am, you were speeding.

Older Woman: Oh, I see.

Officer: Can I see your license please?

Older Woman: I'd give it to you but I don't have one.

Officer: Don't have one?

Older Woman: Lost it, 4 years ago for drunk driving.

Officer: I see...Can I see your vehicle registration papers please.

Older Woman: I can't do that.

Officer: Why not?

Older Woman: I stole this car.

Officer: Stole it?

Older Woman: Yes, and I killed and hacked up the owner.

Officer: You what?

Older Woman: His body parts are in plastic bags in the trunk if you want to see

The Officer looks at the woman and slowly backs away to his car and calls for back up. Within minutes 5 police cars circle the car. A senior officer slowly approaches the car, clasping his half drawn gun.

Officer 2: Ma'am, could you step out of your vehicle please! The woman steps out of her vehicle.

Older woman: Is there a problem sir?

Officer 2: One of my officers told me that you have stolen this car and murdered the owner.

Older Woman: Murdered the owner?

Officer 2: Yes, could you please open the trunk of your car, please.

The woman opens the trunk, revealing nothing but an empty trunk.

Officer 2: Is this your car, ma'am?

Older Woman: Yes, here are the registration papers.

The officer is quite stunned.

Officer 2: One of my officers claims that you do not have a driving license.

The woman digs into her handbag and pulls out a clutch purse and hands it to the officer.

The officer examines the license. He looks quite puzzled.

Officer 2: Thank you ma'am, one of my officers told me you didn't have a license, that you stole this car, and that you murdered and hacked up the owner.

Older Woman: Bet the liar told you I was speeding, too.

Don't Mess With Mature Ladies

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

Cajuns try not to be shocked if newly arrived Canadians remark upon all the grosses bibittes in South Louisiana. They mean the roaches and other insects. They're not being lewd; they simply haven't yet learned that bibitte in Louisiana French refers to male 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.

Will, Kate, and the Kentucky Derby

Several of the girls and I returned yesterday from a wonderful and relaxing weekend in Mexico Beach.  I feel so full of inspiration and totally revitalized.  If you have never been to Mexico Beach, Florida, I highly recommend it.  It is a slice of old Florida; a true artist's paradise.

The Etsy store has been listing several new handkerchiefs for Mother's Day.  Please do not forget your mother on Mother's Day, which is May 8th this year.

There are so many fresh ideas that I don't think I can get them all down at once.  If you saw Will and Kate's wedding, you won't be surprised to know that hats are back.  In fact, one of my friends is going to the Kentucky Derby this week and she has been hat shopping.  That's a pretty big deal in Kentucky.  I love those beautiful, wide brimmed, antebellum hats, but the truth is that I have a very short neck and the wide brimmed hats look ridiculous on me.  I look much better in a pill box type hat or a hat without a brim.  I am thinking about trying my hand at a little millinary.

The other news of the day is Osama Bin Laden's death.  George just got home from some errand running and says the whole town is full of red, white and blue.  Yes, it's that time of the year to wear the red, white and blue.  Memorial Day is this month and, at least around here, we are celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Naval Aviation.

If you want to play around with hat making, here's a simple, basic pattern.  Measure your head from ear to ear, across the top of your head.  Then measure your head from the back/crown of your head to your forehead.  Cut a rectangular piece of fabric with those measurements.  Either gather the long back edge of the rectangle, or cut a circle of fabric and gather the long back edge around the circle.  Now you have a basic bonnet.  Use your imagination from here.  Add lace and frills.  Don't forget to add ribbon to tie around your chin.  A single ply fabric will be very floppy.  Try cutting two pieces of fabric for the rectangle and/or circle and sandwich some newspaper or stabilizer in the middle for added stability.  Have fun with it:>)

C'est tout, mes amis.

Cajun Corner - Vol. 2, No.20

Cajun Corner – Vol. 2, No. 20 – may 21, 2010

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

ΘΘΘΘΘ

Don’t forget to visit  www.cajunstitchery.etsy.com often.

The good news is that so far the oil has still not landed on the shores of Florida. Prayers continue that our shores be spared. The bad news is that it may be in the Gulf Stream headed toward the Atlantic.

I think we are over the stuffed grape leaves. They were delicious. I took the leftovers to my Wednesday night girls’ night and we ate more of them. The leftovers from Wednesday night went home with a friend of mine. We have more grape leaves in the freezer and the vines are full of even more. If anyone wants grape leaves, come on over. Although I loved the Greek sauce, everyone else said it was too garlicky and were not impressed with it. Maybe next time I’ll try my hand at making the tzazuki (no clue how to spell or pronounce it) sauce.

Our neighbor made it to Pennsylvania and arrived safe and sound. We heard from her on Saturday but nothing since then. She is probably busy starting a new job and getting settled in a new apartment. Sure hope we hear from her soon.

Good news! One of our new neighbors, across the street, surprised us with a homemade carrot cake this week. He said that his father taught all of the boys in his family to cook just in case they ever marry a woman like their mom, who doesn’t cook. I smiled. I blushed. I took the cake. I gave him carrots out of our garden, just in case he wants to make another one. As Mama would say, “En tout cas.” I marveled at how Mama could always find someone else to cook. I think God takes pity on us and provides these wonderful cooks. Nevertheless, I am thrilled at this outcome.

We now have more new neighbors. A rental, a few doors down, that has been empty for awhile is now occupied. I understand that the occupant is the owner. The speculation in the neighborhood is that he is here to remodel or upgrade but we really don’t know. I wonder if he cooks? It’s time that we have a neighborhood gathering for the new neighbors. I’ll start working on that.

The nail technician’s design has been done and delivered. The salon is called “Malachite” which is a green stone that has swirls of various shades of green. The design was a lady’s hand poised over a bottle of nail polish with the nail tech’s name “Reiko” off to one side. The hand is the green swirls. It does look odd to have a green hand, but it’s a cool design.

George and I are still working on resolving our insomnia issues. I think we just have a lot on our minds. We will go to sleep and sleep for 2 or 4 hours and then we are awake for the night. By mid-afternoon we crash for a few hours. We keep trying to make ourselves stay awake until bedtime and that has worked on a few occasions, but most of the time, we get our second wind by then and we’re still awake until the wee hours of the morning. George got some over-the-counter sleeping pills. They seem to work for him but not for me.

I’m making lots of cell phone holders to put on Etsy. If they don’t sell on Etsy, they will be offered for sale at the crafts festival in October. But I’m really trying to figure out what sells on Etsy. The Muwaa hand towel with the kissing lips has a lot of people looking at it but no takers. Of course, from what I’ve read, that gets people to our store and they will look around. I still need them to purchase something. No more totes. I say that, but you never know. What I do know is that I, personally, have more totes than I can use and I think my friends do, too. Totes were such a big deal and are necessary to take shopping but just how many totes can a person use or carry around with them? George, bless his heart, keeps a stash of totes in the back of his car for when he goes grocery shopping – then he forgets to take them out. Haha.

Facebook is a wonderful networking thing. My friends tease me because I have so many friends on Facebook. Last count I had 1,099 friends. No. I do not know all of these people but I am getting the Cajun Stitchery name out there. And, we are getting some business from the Facebook friends. The inquirers that had messaged George about embroidery never ordered anything, at least, not yet. However, we have had a few people order from Facebook. This week we received another order from someone that I only know from Facebook. This order may turn out to be a series of orders because it is for a business. Woohoo!!!!

Always remember that we are just a call or email away at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com or 850-261-2462 and place your order.

ΘΘΘΘΘ

"Marie," Boudreaux whispered to his wife late one night, "if I died, would you get married again?" "Mais, yeh, I guess," she replied. "Would you sleep in de same bed with him?" "Well, it's de only bed in de house, so I guess I'd have to." "Would you make love to him?" "Cher," Marie said patiently, "I guess, since he'd be my husband." "Would you give him my pickum-up truck?" "No, Boudreaux. I wouldn't never give him your pickum-up truck." she yawned, "Besides, he don't know how to drive a stick shift."

ΘΘΘΘΘ

French phrase of the week: Mon frère a travaillé douze ans dans les clos d'huile. (My brother worked for twelve years in the oil fields.)

ΘΘΘΘΘ

From: http://www.dailyecotips.com/

With Memorial Day usually outdoor cooking follows along. This is a fun time for the family and neighborhood. Take the time to think about changing a few things to make your Memorial Day party more Eco-friendly. Below are just a few hits on how you can change a few things to make a difference.

• Green Grilling- Use a solar powered grill for your grilling fun this Memorial Day. If you must grill with something other than solar power use a grill that burns natural gas as it is cleaner than charcoal.

• Pre-Party Cleaning- Use natural cleaning products to clean your outside patio furniture.

• Go Organic- Shop at a local farmer’s market for food ingredients. You can find great local produce and meat at your local farmer’s market.

• Bio Dishes- Switch to biodegradable utensils, bowls, cups and plates.

• Napkins- Use washable napkins to reduce paper waste.

• Compost- Compost leftover food scraps

Please let me know if there is something that you would like to see in the weekly email. You may always call me at (850) 261-2462 or email me at cajunstitchery@yahoo.com.

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.

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.

SALE OF THE WEEK (Good through Thursday, May 27, 2010)

In Honor of Memorial Day Sale

SALE: Tie Dye Patriotic Flag Tee = $20.00 (no embroidery)

Gildan - #TDUSA

Tie Dye Patriotic Flag Tee

Taped shoulder-to-shoulder. Seamless collarette. Double-needle neck, sleeve and bottom hem.