Thursday, March 29, 2012

Crocheted Bracelets: New Obsession

I have a new obsession!  A friend of mine showed me a bracelet that she had purchased from a friend of hers on Etsy.  I really loved it.  It was very crafty, comfortable and casual... and crocheted!  Of course I went home and found the box of beads from my daughters previous craft projects and along with my mom's microscopic crochet hooks, I was on a roll.  The next day I bought some silver and gold crochet thread and created a few more.  I finally figured out a better technique to add the beads and now I can't wait until I get more supplies!  It's also a great weight loss technique, keeping me busy in the evening instead of snacking.  Thanks Mandy!
Here is her bracelet.

...on a roll



This is the most recent, which is now my favorite.
The next bracelet I make I will take some "how to" photos and put them with my project pages.  Check back again for the details on how to make these bracelets.

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Size Does Matter

Medium is my favorite.
Today I ordered a medium unsweetened ice tea from our local McDonalds.  For the third time in the last month I was told that the ice tea was only served in large drink cups.  The first two times I accepted the cups in a puzzled manner.  I tried to ask why, but the only answer was: "It's our policy."  Never mind, that for the past two years I've been ordering a medium ice tea without any problem, and got one in another city just a week ago.

If you're wondering why I'm making a fuss about this, I'll tell you why.  First, I don't want that much to drink.  The cup is heavy and it's hard to lift from the cup holder.  If someone else wants to use the cup-holder next to it, you can forget it.  That tall large cup over powers the entire drink area.

Today I was not going to put up with it.  As soon as I placed my order at the intercom, as expected, the usual: "I'm sorry ice tea only comes in large." came over the speaker.   I immediately said, "Why?" ( Normally I only harass the servers at the delivery window) I could tell she was stunned with the question.  There was no response, but then it came, " It's our policy."  I'm still at the intercom, and I say, " Why is it your policy when for the past two years I've always been able to get a medium and actually if I came inside right now and got the drink myself I could get a medium?"  "OK,"  she said.  

Of course when I pulled up to the window, I apologized for being so difficult.  She said, "It's alright, I really have no idea why it's the policy". I got my medium ice tea. 

One thing I cannot complain about is McDonald's drink prices.  It's just one dollar for any size drink.  That's a lot better than the drinks at the movie theater we went to yesterday.  I ordered a small drink for $4.50.  Of course a small drink is about the size of the large at McDonalds and after drinking it, almost had to miss the end of the movie.  I was so uncomfortable. (I know, I could have stopped drinking it, but when it's there...)

Well congratulations if you made it to the end of this, and special congratulations if you read this because of the title and you were hoping for another topic.  Actually, in my opinion, no matter what the subject:  Bigger's not always better.
 

Friday, March 23, 2012

Window Quickie

Sometimes I need a "quick project" fix.  I love some of the projects I'm working on, but sometimes I need some  instant gratification.  I was going through my linen cabinet and found some curtains I had purchased at Goodwill, that I loved, but didn't know what I was going to use them for at the time.  That happens a lot!  I was getting a little tired of my battenburg lace valance in the bedroom.  Valances are popular in our house, because I love the light coming in, but it needed a little different look and maybe a little less light.
Battenburg valance.

Flipping the bottom embroidery to the top.
The Goodwill sheer embroidered panels were originally from the "The Company Store" which has some very nice quality linens.  Unfortunately there were some holes in the top of the panel. (Obviously why someone got rid of them)  I didn't need the entire length of the panel, and I really wanted to emphasize the embroidery.  I folded over the embroidered bottom of the panel and flipped it to become the top of the panel.  I sewed a channel for the curtain rod, cut off the other end of the panel eliminating the holes, restitched  what now would  be the hem and ...in less than an hour a "quick project" fix was achieved.  Oh, by the way the panels were $3.
Even though the site says that their down comforters are manufactured in LaCrosse, you can see these panels were made in India. 
I didn't even realize the Company Store was in LaCrosse, WI; an hour away.

Here's originally what was the bottom of the panel.




Before



After...maybe not a big change ... but I love them!  P.S. The crocheted throw made by my daughter, Leah.

Thursday, March 15, 2012

Happy Birthday Bernadine

Happy St. Patrick!
This Sunday my mom would have been 91 years old.  Since her birthday followed St. Patrick's Day, quite a few of her celebrations included a meal of corn beef and cabbage.  I'm not sure that she actually cared for it all that much. If she didn't, she wouldn't have said anything.  That's just the way she was.  My mom had no exclamation point.  My mom never got too excited about anything.  Sometimes when you did something really marvelous, her reaction was very minimal.  I quickly learned that wasn't a bad thing.  When I totaled the family car my senior year, all I remember her saying was:  " I'm glad you're still alive."  Not in an upset, frantic voice, but just a calm, matter of fact tone.

Bernadine Cooper
I learned a lot from my mom.  She taught me how to sew and crochet.  She inspired my love of flower gardening and landscaping.  She would have taught me more about canning and food preservation if I would have let her. She taught me how to play Euchre (a card game of necessity in the Midwest).  Most importantly she taught me patience and perseverance and the importance of family.

Her memories are always close.  It isn't hard to see her everywhere around us.  I use her crocheted pieces throughout the house.  She even had afghans and doilies made for my daughter's high school graduations and weddings prior to her death in 2004.  So, some of her gifts are yet to be given.

"The Workbasket"magazine was one of my mom's favorites.  I've included a few scans from the March 1951 issue along with some pictures of her handy-work.  Enjoy. 

Size 12 was the smallest back then, what happened?
Wouldn't that be nice to have?







Thanks Mom.





Thursday, March 8, 2012

Politically Correct Decorating

Normally I don't get too involved in politics.  Generally I vote with very little research. I listen to the opinions of a few close people and the hardest part is remembering to get to the polls and vote.  Yesterday I received a "forwarded" email.  You know the kind.  If it's not political, it's religious. It's a chain letter email. " If you forward this message to ten people, your prayers will be answered at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning."  The email I received yesterday was a political slam on Obama.  Normally I would have just deleted it, but it talked about re-decorating the oval office and I thought, well I can form an opinion about that myself.

The email basically said that Obama was not having flags behind him during press conferences and that he had changed the red, white and blue oval office to a "middle eastern" theme.  It also said the golden drapes behind Obama had Arabic symbols on them. (It's his secret code to his Muslim terrorist friends)
Here is the photo of Obama with the "Arabic drapes and "no flags".  I did some research and found that the curtains have been there for some time.  They are possibly either the ones that the Kennedy family put up or Barbara Bush switched out.















Apparently the Bush Family are Arabic deco lovers too!  Here's a fun article to read more in reference to this topic: Dastardly Drapes. Obviously this is old news and just now hitting the mid-western emails.

And, what about the new look in the oval office?  Here are some before and after shots: Here is the so-called "red, white and blue look?
Before

After


 What I see is: wallpaper for the walls, reupholstered furniture, a new coffee table and lamps .  The rug has been changed from the sunburst effect to one with quotes from past presidents around the outside of the rug.  I'm not really getting the "middle eastern" look. But then, maybe I don't know "middle eastern". Maybe I have the "middle eastern" deco going and just don't know it!
 
And what about the intro to the email stating that Obama doesn't have flags behind him? 


 I am not for or against Obama, but is this the Republican's campaign strategy? Really?  I must admit, one year we forgot to put the flags on the stage at our high school graduation.  We didn't notice until the pledge was said and everyone turned to the back of the gym to face the flag that was on the wall.  We weren't accused of being Muslim terrorists, but we never forgot again.  The East room gets used a lot.  Maybe someone just forgot to put them out?  Go here for just a little more info about the East room. Here's a great historical photo gallery of the oval office.  Enjoy and decorate politically correct.