Showing posts with label nereid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nereid. Show all posts

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 21 – September 7, 2014

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 21 – September 7, 2014

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

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

Visit our on-line catalogs at:

This has been a very rough week.  Most of the Labor Day weekend was spent working on a rush order for a left chest logo that was needed on Monday.  Tuesday was going to be our Labor Day holiday.  When Tuesday arrived I received a disturbing call from one of my Nereid sisters telling me that one of our youngest members was in the hospital.  She suffered from a cardiac arrest Monday morning and had been in an induced coma ever since because of the time she went without oxygen to her brain caused swelling in her brain.  I sat at the hospital on Tuesday with the family and one of my fine finned sisters.  Although she was still in a coma, the medical staff was bringing her out of the coma.  I was able to visit with her, although she was still comatose.  The medical staff brought her out of the coma on Wednesday morning and the neurologist was able to perform an EEG which revealed a complete lack of brain activity.  Since one of her brothers suffered from kidney failure and was on dialysis, the family decided that her kidneys should be donated to him.  The protocol for that procedure took a day or two and turned out that they were not a match.  The family then decided that her kidneys, and other salvageable organs would be donated and she would be able to help at least 3 additional people.  She was taken off of life support this past Friday at noon.
Needless to say work was not a top priority this week.

A few orders did come in from our Etsy store which, of course, were filled and shipped.
This weekend I have gone through all of the items in our Etsy store and placed 94 items in a Sale category.  A lot of the sale items are marked down at least 50%.  If you are looking for Christmas gifts and stocking stuffers, please browse around the store.
This year we have had a few issues with the post office not delivering our items.  The only way I know to track through the mail is via priority mail.  The policies in our Etsy store have changed.  The default is 3 day priority mail, and first class mail upon request.  Shipping to Canada remains the same, first class mail, because priority mail is outrageously expensive to Canada.

Another addition to our Etsy store are a few fall and Halloween items.  Only a couple of Christmas items have been listed at this time but I do plan to list more.
All in all, I just want to get rid of the old stuff in order to make room for newly created new stuff.  As always, I am open to ideas and critiques.  So, bring it on.  What do you like about the shop and your shopping experience?  What don’t you like?  Got any ideas on improvements?
George found two old dining chairs that were left over from the previous homeowner or somehow got in our garage.  He took the seats off and painted the chairs white, at my request.  I plan to recover the seats with, of course, embroidery.  I just have to decide on the design.  You can never have too much seating.
Last year I was looking for large bolts of fabric to make curtains for the studio.  I found an online site out of New York that seemed to have what I needed.  All I wanted was plain, white muslin.  I purchased 100 yards of plain, white muslin and received a fabric that did not appear to be muslin.  It turned out that it was 100% polyester muslin.  That was pretty difficult for me to understand.  In my mind, muslin is a 100% cotton fabric.  I went back to the site and found they offer 100% cotton muslin and 100% polyester muslin.  After a little research I found that you can purchase about any kind of fabric you want in polyester or a poly-blend.  The polyester fabric is, of course, cheap.  The truth is that I’ve just about used up my 100 yards of white polyester muslin on a myriad of items.  It is strong but doesn’t have the nice cotton feel to it.  However, it goes against my “all natural” side.  I later purchased 75 yards of 100% cotton, red muslin from the same company and I am satisfied with that purchase.  I really like the company because although they are the middle man, they state that they purchase only from mills in the USA.  Their fabric is all made here.
The same issue appeared recently when I purchased chiffon scarves from a different wholesaler.  The caption stated that they were 100% chiffon.  When they arrived, I found them to have the same feel as chiffon.  The tag says “100% poly – Made in China.”  I suppose they are 100% poly-chiffon.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK

If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list. 
No time to read Cajun Corner?  Visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com and click the Odiogo button to hear the computer read the blog.

Natural Nail Polish Remover:

Pour equal parts vinegar and lemon juice into a small bowl and soak a few cotton balls in mixture. Meanwhile, soak your hands in a basin of warm water for 10 minutes to loosen the polish a bit. Apply the cotton balls on the nail and leave on for 20-30 seconds. Wipe off the polish gently. Repeat if needed.

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.

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 20 – August 24, 2014

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 20 – August 24, 2014

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

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

Visit our on-line catalogs at:


Let’s just get this anniversary story going.  What I decided to do for George was hire a chef to come to the studio and cook us a very nice anniversary meal.  I got in touch with a friend who is a chef and she agreed.  I was so excited about this.  I even kept the secret from George, which is not an easy thing for me to do.  Our anniversary was on a Thursday.  That Wednesday morning I turned on FaceBook, as usual, and there was an X-ray of my chef’s hip and leg.  She was in an accident the day before.  I contacted her to find out her status and she said she would be slow because she was on crutches but she fully intended to cook that meal for us.  I had my doubts but was so excited about my grocery surprise.  Thursday she contacted me.  She was in a lot of pain and would have to cancel.  Well, bummer.  Now what?  At least I was able to tell George the wonderful plan I had.  We had Chinese take out for dinner and watched a movie.  Please don’t feel sad for us because the next night, Friday night, we went to Paradise for dinner.  I had posted on FaceBook for friends to join us for our little celebration.  When we arrived one of my sweet Nereid sisters, Chrissy and her husband, Mike, were waiting for us.  We had a delightful dinner together.  Chrissy and Mike then left and I was surprised that one of our very best friends in the world showed up with her mother and great niece.  Suzie is more family than friend.  She has been with us through every major (and minor) event since we moved to Pensacola.  We visited and had a wonderful time.  Then my friend, Angela, and her husband Keith arrived.  Angela, like Suzie, is more family than friend.  In fact, Keith likes to say that Angela wouldn’t have married him if it wasn’t that Suzie and I insisted.  Not only insisted but I performed the wedding ceremony.  After awhile I looked up and another friend, Lisa, appeared.  I hadn’t seen Lisa is many years and we had a lot of catching up to do.  We had so much fun that George said we need to do this every week.  Things always work out for the best and even though I still think the chef idea was a fabulous idea, we had a simply splendid anniversary.
This summer has been very busy at Cajun Stitchery.  Aside from in-town orders, the Etsy handkerchiefs are having a bumper year, especially the lace handkerchiefs.  As you know, I get so tickled at all of the writing these young ladies want on these handkerchiefs.  One lady wanted a lace handkerchief for the groom’s mom and for her mother.  The lace handkerchief has less space for writing than most because the lace takes up the space.  This lady had long sentiments, for a handkerchief, and no matter how I played with the embroidery digitizing, the wording simply was not going to fit in the ¼ hanky area customary for monograms and wording.  I suggest she try another style but she had so much wording that it wouldn’t fit in that ¼ area on any of the handkerchiefs.  Not to mention that she had her heart set on a certain font that just would not stitch out as small as it would need to be.  The end result was letting the wording flow into the rest of the handkerchief and not stay in the ¼ area.  They turned out beautiful and she was very pleased.
I received a call one day from a panicked bride-to-be in Milton.  She needed 2 handkerchiefs: one for mother of the groom and one for mother of the bride.  Problem: she called on a Wednesday and the wedding was the following Saturday.  And, I had other orders ahead of her.  I wasn’t sure I would have time to get this done for her but she was desperate.  Rather than driving to my house, I told her to get on Etsy and go to my shop; then message me that she is the girl I talked to; and she could pick the handkerchief she desired from the Etsy store.  It worked perfectly.  The order was placed, paid, and I made the handkerchiefs.  The only trip required was her fiancé picking up the handkerchiefs.  They were already paid on-line so he didn’t have to bother with anything but the pick up.
We mailed another handkerchief this morning to a lady in California who is getting married next week.  Another goes out Monday to Michigan.
One of the beauties of the wedding handkerchiefs is the stories that go with the orders.  They have either waited too long and are in a hurry to get the hankies, or they want everything just perfect and want to go through every detail.  I think it is so sweet.  I spend much more time on these handkerchiefs than I get paid, but it is kind of nice to think that someone is carrying or gifting something that I made on one of the most special days of their life.  Every bride deserves to have something very beautiful and special.
Since the handkerchiefs are such a hit and because I am a bonafide fabric-holic, I purchased 3 bolts of satin: white, ivory, and black.  The handkerchief section needs to have new and special items.  I’m going to design some satin handkerchiefs and see if the brides like that. 
For a week in early August we had onesie week.  It seemed like all orders were for onesies.  In addition to the orders, I had some baby birthdays and showers to tend to myself.  The shower was for a baby boy who is to be named Cruz.  For some reason I got the name Chaz stuck in my head.  I did some really cute monogramming for Chaz.  When I was ready to wrap the gift, thank goodness, I looked at the invitation and saw Cruz.  Well, there is no taking out these stitches.  I ended up monogramming a baby bib and baby cap.  Of course, they never knew what happened.  So, if anyone knows a newborn named Chaz, I have a couple of really cute onesies that I’ll sell cheap.
Then my computer crashed and died.  Thank you Shelley for telling me about Joe Stukey, who now has my computer.  Things I’ve learned from past experiences with computers may have saved the business. 
#1.  The only things that I keep on the C drive are my programs; never my files and documents.  Files and documents are kept on an external hard drive, flash drives, and Dropbox.

#2.  Always, always, always make recovery disks and keep them where you can find them.

#3.  Back up everything and do it often.
Our newer computers have Windows 8, the older ones have Windows 7.  I had made recovery disks for Windows 7 but didn’t know how to do it for Windows 8.  The computer guy said that Windows 8 is the first one that will allow you to copy the recovery disks onto a flash drive.  He made a recovery flash drive for George’s computer and I’m still trying to figure it out for mine, but we will get it done.
The other thing that saved the business is that we each have 2 laptops.  Now that my Windows 7 laptop is in the shop, I’m using my Windows 8 laptop.
HAVE A GREAT WEEK
If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list. 
No time to read Cajun Corner?  Visit our blog at www.cajunstitchery.blogspot.com and click the Odiogo button to hear the computer read the blog.
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.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 5 – February 2, 2014

 
 



Cajun Corner – Vol. 6, No. 5 – February 2, 2014

 

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

 

ΘΘΘΘΘ

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

Visit our on-line catalogs at:



Wow!  What a wonderful weekend I had.  This was our Mobile weekend and all of the girls spent the weekend with one of our krewe members in Mobile.  We shopped, ate, and played.  Okay, mostly we played.  There was a lot of laughter emanating from her home.

What can I say about last week?  We had snow and sleet.  I-10 was closed going east and west.  All of the bridges were closed.   The government and schools were closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Sissies!  I walked to work everyday; put in a full day at the studio; and, walked home in the evenings.  Okay, so my studio is next door, but I still went to work.

Our dogs had never seen snow or sleet.  When we awoke on Wednesday morning the grounds was white.  No.  It wasn’t the fluffy snow of beautiful winter scenes.  It was ice and very slippery.  Sam and Evie were so cute when they first stepped out onto the frozen tundra but adapted quickly and began their usual checking the perimeters routine, and other things.  My poor old Evie would do what had to be done and she was ready to go inside.  Sam had stored up energy and just wanted to play.  Our usual roller coaster weather began clearing on Thursday.  Friday wasn’t too bed but the evening was cold.  By Saturday, hmm, did it make it to 70 degrees?  If not, it was close.

Last week we stitched out mermaid and fleur de lis masks and created and stitched out jester masks.   There was also quite a bit of time spent on digitizing a beautiful heirloom monogram.  I’m still working on that one.

Our Etsy store even had a few sales last week. 

This past weekend, among other places, we went to Toomey’s in Mobile.  One of my Nereid friends and I were comparing pricing to The Mardi Gras Store in Pensacola and here are our results:

1.      Last week I purchased several toy throws.  None of the toys that I purchased were available at Toomey’s.  Of course, Toomey’s had lots that were not available at The Mardi Gras Store.

2.      Some hats that the girls were intrigued with at The Mardi Gras Store were also at Toomey’s for the same price.

3.      One of our girls purchased a case of beads from The Mardi Gras Store for $30.  Toomey’s had the same case of beads for $42.

Conclusion:  Each store had a different set of merchandise; some the same; some similar.  The beads are very interesting because our krewe, like most krewes, buys many cases of beads and this is a significant savings.  Both stores should be visited each year.

The jewelry that I ordered from our new wholesaler came in and was beautiful.  This weekend the girls were given some of the jewelry and tried to figure it out.  They love, love, love the hand jewelry and the hair jewelry.  However, the ear cuff, all rhinestone studded and shiny was a flop.  They didn’t feel comfortable with ear cuffs.  Hey!  Two out of three isn’t bad.  Besides you can always count on my girls to make the best out of a bad situation.  The ear cuffs are becoming necklaces and pins. 
Now that George has finished our inventory, you should stop by the studio and take a look.  We have lots of items for sale.  Come over, have a cup of coffee with me, and do your shopping.

Next Friday is the Mystic Krewe of Nereids Moon Pie Party at the Sandshaker.  Come out and party.  There will be a new introduction that you won’t want to miss.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK
If you are not a subscriber and would like to receive Cajun Corner weekly, please email cajunstitchery@yahoo.com and let me know to put you on our email list. 

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

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.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 33

 
 

Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 33 – September 2, 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:



George has been working with Boudreaux lately.  Now that we have Clothilde, I rarely work with Boudreaux, unless I need to use some of Boudreaux’s hoops.  Boudreaux has a greater variety of hoops than Clothilde.  As time goes by, and money comes in, we’ll get more hoops for Clothilde but for now Clothilde has the biggest hoops and Boudreaux has the largest variety of hoops.  Nevertheless, George had stopped embroidering when he went next door to remodel the house.  He’s back in the saddle, again.  He is definitely my hat guy but can do it all on the embroidery machine. 

It turns out that Clothilde embroiders on structured hats better than Boudreaux.  When we first began embroidery on hats and caps, we simply couldn’t get Boudreaux to stitch on structured hats.  We read periodicals saying that different machines embroider better on various types of head wear.  That must be true because Clothilde does fine with structured hats.  The problem is that Clothilde has to stop all of her beautiful “couture” embroidery to do the hats.  Some day we will replace Boudreaux with an Amaya but that is way down the road.

A local pastor contacted us requesting embroidery on his robe.  The digitizing was done and he brought the robe over for embroidery right before Hurricane Isaac.  As he was leaving, he asked if we were prepared for the storm.  I told him that I prayed the then tropical storm would go someplace else and not hit Pensacola.  We were prepared but I believe in prayer and TS Isaac just had to go elsewhere.  As it turned out, Hurricane Isaac did go elsewhere and we only got some tropical storm winds and rain.  When the pastor returned to pick up his embroidered robe I asked the topic of his sermon this week.  He said, “Forgiveness.”  I told him I was surprised it wasn’t on the power of prayer.

Speaking of Isaac, I was very happy that my friends and family in New Orleans and SW Louisiana were not hurt by the storm.  The ones I’ve been in touch with told me that they never lost electricity but did gain a houseful of guests who had lost electricity and utilities.

As I said, we just got wind gusts and some rain.  The wind did clean out the trees.  Sammy, the 70 pound, 8 month old puppy, must have thought it was Christmas.  He is a retriever, after all.  As the branches would fall from the trees, he was running around retrieving all of the limbs.  George said it would have been nice if he had then stacked them all together, but such was not the case.  Sam has played with tree branches all week, just running around with branches in his mouth.  He is a bit perplexed about a large palm frond that fell.  He tried carrying it around but it was just too big. 

This November I turn 62 years old.  I have debated all year whether or not to apply for early Social Security.  Cajun Stitchery is three and a half years old and doing well for three and a half years.   After vexing over this, I decided to go ahead and apply.  I did the entire thing online.  Now I have to make an appointment with our local Social Security people and bring them my certified birth certificate, and then it is done.  Wow!  It is just amazing to think that I have reached this age.  Does this mean that I am now old and wise? 

Next Sunday the Mystic Krewe of Nereids will be hosting our annual Splash Party at Paradise Bar & Grill on Pensacola Beach.  The event begins at 1:00 p.m.  We will have a dunking booth, lots of water guns, 50/50 raffle, and raffles for water guns and coolers and a whole lot of music and fun.  Please join us and bring a friend.  I think our charity this year is breast cancer.

Cajun Stitchery has embroidered krewe tee shits for the Splash Party.  Just look for the girls in the California Blue tee shirts.  That will be us.

Have a wonderful week.

HAPPY LABOR DAY

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. 

If you think last week’s Louisiana Crazy Laws were, well, crazy, then take a look at some crazy laws in Florida.  True?  I don’t know.  But I found this at http://www.dumblaws.com/laws/united-states/florida


 


Florida Crazy Laws


 


  • It is illegal for a doctor to ask a patient whether they own a gun.
  • The state constitution allows for freedom of speech, a trial by jury, and pregnant pigs to not be confined in cages.
  • One may not commit any “unnatural acts” with another person.
  • Unmarried couples may not commit “lewd acts” and live together in the same residence.
  • Corrupting the public morals is defined as a nuisance, and is declared a misdemeanor offense.
  • Doors of all public buildings must open outward.
  • It is illegal to sell your children.
  • Women may be fined for falling asleep under a hair dryer, as can the salon owner.
  • A special law prohibits unmarried women from parachuting on Sunday or she shall risk arrest, fine, and/or jailing.
  • If an elephant is left tied to a parking meter, the parking fee has to be paid just as it would for a vehicle.
  • It is illegal to sing in a public place while attired in a swimsuit.
  • Men may not be seen publicly in any kind of strapless gown.
  • Having sexual relations with a porcupine is illegal.
  • It is illegal to skateboard without a license.
  • When having sex, only the missionary position is legal.
  • You may not fart in a public place after 6 P.
  • It is considered an offense to shower naked.
  • You are not allowed to break more than three dishes per day, or chip the edges of more than four cups and/or saucers.
  • Oral sex is illegal.
  • You may not kiss your wife’s breasts
 

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.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Cajun Corner - Vol. 4, No. 3




Cajun Corner – Vol. 4, No. 3 – January 27, 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:



The Mardi Gras season is definitely upon us now.  We are getting our Krewe Den this weekend.  All Nereids are to try on last year’s costume, put it on a hanger with your name pinned to it, attach a note saying if it needs to be taken in, let out, any rips or repairs needed, etc., and have your costume at Krewe Den in the Costume Department before next Wednesday.

The Nauga Brunch is tomorrow beginning at 10 a.m.   All of those attending please wear your animal print pajamas and join those Naugas for THE party of the year on the beach.

Last Friday was the Mystic Krewe of Nereids Moon pie Party.  That was the best moon pie party that we’ve had since I became entangled with these crazy Nereids.  The crowd was huge.  The music was loud.  The moon pies were all over the place.  I know I danced so much that I worried that I wouldn’t be able to move the next day.  Since this is our year of the Dancing Queen, she had us all on stage doing last year’s dance routine.  It was pure and simple fun, fun, and more fun. 

I’m still fascinated with Pinterest.  One Pinterest item that I read a week or so ago said that rather than using a dryer sheet to get out the static cling from your clothes, lightly wad up a piece of aluminum foil and throw that in the dryer.  We did it and it works.  The aluminum foil comes out wadded tightly but there is no static cling AND you can use the foil over and over again.  This reminded me of my daddy.  I remember when I was a little girl living in Lafayette, one day my hair was standing on end with static cling.  My daddy told me to go hold onto the metal plumbing pipe.  I did and voila the static cling was gone.  I think the aluminum foil in the dryer must be along the same principle as holding onto the metal plumbing pipe.

George and I have had a couple of really nice, big, carrot salads lately.  Just mix shredded carrots, raisins, and a bit of mayonnaise.  There simply is nothing like fresh vegetables right out of the garden.  Right now we are harvesting carrots and have planted more.  About now, Mama would be commenting on carrots being so good for your eyes.  When I was little she would tell me to eat my carrots so I could see well.  I’d eat them and she’d says, “What can you see now that you’ve eaten your carrots?  You should be able to see really good now.”  It is a shame that we’ve never been able to grow beets here.  Mama loved beets, as I do.  She would tell me to eat my beets so that I would get smart. We have some broccoli plants that have not begun to produce yet.  This year we remembered to plant celery in January.  I sure hope it grows.  Oh yes, the sweet peas are growing, too.  If that’s not enough, the camellias and snapdragons are blooming. 

There is a bit of sad news this week.  Our little white, spaniel mix dog was put down on Monday.  Stinky was 17 years old.  George got Stinky when he worked for the zoo.  The wife of the owner of the zoo couldn’t keep Stinky anymore and asked George if he would like to have her.  I don’t think she ever weighed more than 25 pounds and this last year she was less than 20 pounds.  I remember the day George brought her home.  She was sitting in the passenger seat of his black truck and the contrast between the little white dog and the black truck made her look so pretty.  She was a beautiful dog.  We had pizza for dinner that night and our other dogs were trained not to touch our food.  I didn’t think anything about leaving my pizza on a plate in the living room while I went to get a drink.  The next thing I knew this little white dog had my pizza in her mouth and was running across the living room floor.  At Christmas she would lay down on the sofa next to me and as I would open presents, I would put the sticky bows on her head.  She was adorable.  One year we dressed her up as a MerMutt and took her to the beach for the Critter Crawl.  We could tell that age was getting to her this past year.  She began having tumors; her teeth were bad; she had cataracts; she had a bad back that atrophied, just a lot of old age problems.  Monday morning she couldn’t walk.  We took her to the vet and it was time.  Normally, George would send me to pay the bill while they euthanized, but, I held her.  I held her in my arms as they gave her a sedative and then THE shot.  I still held onto her, petting and caressing her sweet little body.  The vet listened for her heartbeat and told us she was gone.  I continued holding her and stroking her soft, white fur.  My little friend for so many years was asleep and peaceful.  Tears were streaming down our faces.  We said our goodbyes.  There was a beauty about this.  It is hard to explain.  I know that she is in heaven running in a large field.  She could run like the wind in her younger days.  I do miss our little Stinky but I’m so grateful that she is no longer suffering.  She is in a better place and I will see her again someday.

All of my work in our Etsy Store is beginning to pay off.  Last month and this month have been our absolute best months ever with the Etsy Store.  We still need to increase sales more, but these 2 months have been very encouraging.  This week I received a call from a young lady who had made a purchase from us on Etsy.  She has not received her purchase yet and she made the purchase on January 5th.  This is the first time we’ve had any problem with our Etsy customers.  As it turned out, she gave us the wrong address.  Apparently she moved from her last apartment to her new apartment during this time period.  I told her to please see if the package arrived at the old address and if she did not receive it or had any problems, I would make her another.  I want happy customers.  Her demeanor totally changed and she said, “Really?”  Yep, I want happy customers, period.

This year the Mardi Gras season is pretty short.  Our parade on the beach is on February 19th.  One of the krewes from Pensacola contacted me wanting patches.  Several ladies in this krewe are friends of mine from my legal career days.  The krewe will be meeting at the end of January and deciding how many patches they want.  Right now I have an order for one.  One is a beginning.  The krewe I the Krewe of Sirens and the patch is a mermaid.  As I told a friend recently, I am up to my ears in mermaids and I love it.

I have several other projects on my plate right now.  If they all come through we are going to have a very busy Mardi Gras season, indeed. 

The krewes that have contacted me have all said the same thing that the Nereids are saying right now:  “Oh my gosh, Mardi Gras is here and we aren’t ready!”  Last minute orders are becoming the routine.

Have a wonderful week and don’t forget to SMILE:>)

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. 
===============================================================

Thanks to Chuck Steele for this contribution:

Even if you're a non-believer you need to read this! BELIEVE IT OR
NOT, IT’S AN INTERESTING TALE!

Louisiana Ghost Story (true story)
This happened about 6 months ago on Louisiana Hwy 57, just outside of
Dulac, a little town in the bayou country of Louisiana, and while it
sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's real.
An Ohio businessman, Saul Rubins, abandoned his disabled vehicle on
the side of the road, and attempted to hitchhike. The night was pitch
dark in the middle of a thunderstorm. Time passed slowly and no cars
went by. It was raining so hard he could hardly see his hand in front
of his face.

Suddenly, through the sheets of rain, he saw a car moving slowly,
approaching and appearing ghostlike in the rain. It slowly and
silently crept toward him and stopped. Desperately needing a ride,
Saul jumped in the car and closed the door. Only then did he realize
that there was no one behind the wheel and no sound of an engine to be
heard over the rain.

Again the car crept silently forward and Saul was terrified, too
scared to think of jumping out and running... He saw that the car was
approaching a sharp curve and, still too scared to jump out, he
started to pray and beg for his life; he was sure the ghost car would
go off the road and into the bayou and he would then drown!

But just before the curve, a shadowy hand appeared at the driver's
window, reached in and turned the steering wheel, guiding the car
safely around the bend. Then, just as silently, the hand disappeared
through the window and Saul was alone again.

Paralyzed with fear, Saul watched the hand reappear every time they
reached a curve. Finally, scared nearly to death, Saul had all he
could take, jumped out of the car, and ran to town...

Wet and in shock, he went into Schmoopy's. Voice quavering, he ordered
two cups of coffee, black, and then told everybody about his
supernatural experience. The room became silent and everybody got
goose bumps when they realized Saul was telling the truth and was not
just some drunk. About 30 minutes later two Cajuns, dripping wet,
walked into Schmoopy's and one says to the other,

"Look, Boudreaux, ders dat idiot what rode in our car when we wuz
pushin' it in DA rain!!!"

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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.