Thursday, March 30, 2023

March CupboardScape


Can March almost be over already?
I will be glad when the March winds end.
Hopefully there will not be April winds.
We almost lost our gift shop awning during
the latest winds.
Bob had to strap the one end down by
wrapping it around one of our cement parking blocks
that are in our parking lot.
 

When I think of March, I do think of green though.
This is usually the month where the flowers
start popping out of the ground.
The trees start budding.
I thought it would be fitting to make this 
cupboardscape about green.


I added a green wreath under my pitcher.
Green grass inside a pantry box.


The green vine at the bottom is a Wandering Jew one.
(am I even allowed to say that anymore)
On the left is a make do candle holder made from
an early mallet.


I have been selling this onion grass at the shop.
They are almost gone.


Also sold these cute lil shamrocks.
Another item that reminds me of March.


All reside on and in my white apothecary cabinet. 


The throw is also green with tan leaves.

In other news.
My last dentist appt. was not a fun one.
I have a tooth that had a root canal done
on it which is now rotting from the inside. UGH
They also want me to get my teeth cleaned
now every 4 months.
My insurance will only pay for two times a year.
It seems I inherited my dad's gene
when it comes to bad teeth.
He had dentures.
I have a mouthful of silver.

Bob reminded me that Easter is just around the corner.
I have to get my butt in gear and decide my menu.
I always host Easter.
Ham will be served.
Just need to figure out my sides.
Did decide on a cherry cheesecake for dessert.

Well better also get my butt on my work computer.
Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Bring On The Green Blessings To All!
Janice





Sunday, March 26, 2023

On The Move

 Can Spring be here finally?
Well the March winds sure have arrived.
When I left my mom's yesterday morn,
the waves were at least 5 feet or more
crashing over the break wall on Lake Huron.
Thursday night I found out you could see
the Northern lights as far as 2 miles
south of my mom's.
Unfortunately Friday night the clouds
moved in so I could not see them.
A day late and a dollar short as they say.

The February winds
forced me to leave my back room for work.
I move my desk to the living room
and we closed off that room for now.


While sitting there during the day now,
I noticed the sun come out after many
cloudy and/or snowy days.


Now don't get me wrong.
I so love seeing the sun in the Winter.
It males me more happy,
however I digress it was shining right
 on my delicate early sampler.


Although I do not know how old this is,
it was stitched on a silky linen
which was often the linen choice of
early samplers from the 1800's.


Well after I saw this...
the sampler had to be moved.


Move it I did.
Since this is the sampler I use for most of
my stitching pillows, I needed to save it
from the scorching sun which was fading it out.

Will show you later where it was moved.

In other news,
Mary from 
Windy Meadows Farm blog
asked me if the wool for my rug was cut.
I purchase wool in various sizes.
While most rug hookers have a cutter
to cut their wool into strips,
I hand cut mine.
When Bob and I vended antique shows,
I always purchased my wool from a lady
who sold her wool at the show.
She was from Missouri and I wish I new her name.
You see here in Michigan where I live,
not many wool stores to be found.
Those that do only sell solids.
Am running out of my stash now.
Need to find some soon.

On my way up to my mom's,
I visited my two fav antique friends shops.
I bought something from each.
Will show you in another post. 

Tundra was so excited to see me back.
Bob said he did not even sleep in the bed
like he does when we are both here.
He is a bed hog. LOL

Well we are off to work the stores.
I also have to check in some Summer inventory
that arrived on Friday.

On The Move Blessings To All!
Janice








Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Are You Ready For An Update

Hello friends.
I am really loving hooking this rug!


Since I am only able to hook on weekends
when I am at the store...
not much was accomplished the first day after
my last update.
I had to do inventory and check in more inventory. 


I was only able to complete the Woman's head,
hat and collar.


The next day it was snowing,
so I was able to accomplish more
with hardly any customers coming in.


Started the dress in a tweed-like wool.
Blues, reds and white.


I also reverse hooked the collar.
I felt the gray I first had chosen
washed out and there was no definition.
I like the darker green I chose.
Yeah I know I dont like green, but in person
its hard to tell this is a green wool.


Here is the wool I chose for her dress.


 I used the same green for her riding gloves.
Saundra added lines in the bottom part
of the dress to show the direction to hook.
I took advantage of these lines to add in a darker
wool for an added rendition. Also hooked one row
to the left in the same darker wool.
Was going to redo the dress buttons
that I did as French knots...but heck this 
makes it more primitive.


Well this is my update of
Woman On Horseback.
My last post had her as a Lady.
I realized Saundra wrote the name on the linen. 
DUH
The green at the bottom was the shirt I was wearing.
I was bent over a bit at the store when taking this last pic.
You can also see my black shoes. 

In other news,
my mom's eye appt went well.
She usually spends a few days with us,
but this time wanted to get back as her
church was doing a soup and bread dinner.
Everyone brings a soup to try while others
bring homemade breads.
Sounds wonderful.
She was making cabbage soup.
(I love this veggie soup) 

Tomorrow I go back to the same eye doctor.
Bob is having another peripheral vision test.
Hopefully his left eye is getting better,
but my gut is telling me it is not.

Since my mom left early,
I will head to her house Friday after work
and spend the night with her this time.
Gives us more time together.

Well have to get to work now.

Update Blessings To All!
Janice














 

Saturday, March 18, 2023

Sneak Peek Of Spring

Hello friends.
Today's post are pics
of some Spring decor up front
at our gift shop.
Bunnies have been hopping out
at a fast pace.


I purchased lots of greens and flowers
for this year's Spring decor.


These large cement girl heads 
have already been hit.
I only have 2 left.
I added some faux onion grass to this one.
A grass sphere to the smaller one.


I think there are only 2 or 3 dragonflies left.


White lilies in a galvanized vase.
The sign is metal and 2 are left.


It's bunny season!


The lil birds are hopping a ride on this bunny.
I only have one of these left.
Wish I could buy more, but Easter orders
are done 6 months in advance.


I actually took a pair of these bunnies home.
I loved how they look like they are made from wood.


Bunny bookends.


A bunny pic all written in French.
Took one of these home too!

In other news,
Bob and I had a quiet St Patty's Day at home.
Chicken noodle soup & grilled cheese sandwiches.

Crocheted a bit more for a Christmas item
my mom told me about.

She will be coming down on Monday,
so we will do dinner out.
Usually she spends a few days,
but this time she has something planned
for Tuesday night at her church,
so she will leave in the afternoon. 

Well Tundra. Bob and I are all headed
to Tim Hortons and then work the stores.
I have Summer inventory to check in
that arrived yesterday before I open.

What are your plans for the weekend?

Spring Sneak Peek Blessings To All!
Janice










Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Hooked Me Some Eggs

 
Hello friends!
So back in January I decided to pick up
my hook to make some hooked Easter eggs
for the gift shop. 


I dont have a serger, so I always have to whip stitch
my linen so t does not fray.


I really don't like green,
but it is most appropriate for Easter eggs.


Same for pink and purple, but great for
Easter eggs.


The back of each egg is this white wool.


I only hooked 5.


However I did enjoy hooking them all!

In other news, we have had snow and/or flurries
every day now.
Snowed all day yesterday.

Bob has to have a sleep study soon.
They are concerned his breathing may be
hindering him at night and he may need a cpap machine.

Hope everyone enjoys their St Patrick's Day.
We will stay home and do nothing.

Easter Egg Blessings To All!
Janice









Friday, March 10, 2023

A Tisket

 
A Tasket
A Green and Yellow Basket
(Ella Fitzgerald)


I love baskets!
Since Easter is approaching,
I decided to play show and tell on my baskets.
Not Easter baskets, but baskets in general.


Did you know that early splint baskets
were made from either ash or oak?
These were formed in a woven fashion from
wet splint wood such as the above basket.


All three of these baskets are splint ones.
You can tell an early one from by a newer one
as the older ones are much heavier.


The older ones are all woven too.


I also loved how this one had a hand carved handle
which was also woven in to the top.
You wont see this in baskets today.


The next baskets I would like to talk about are
rye baskets.
Did you know these baskets were mostly used
in bread making?
Our foremothers would make their bread dough
by adding a linen piece to the rye baskets,
and let the dough rise.


All rye baskets were formed by coiling
wet rye grass around a strand of rye grass 
to form these baskets.


The coil would always start at the middle and
the weaver would work the coil around and around
until forming the basket of their choosing.
Some were deep, while others shallow.


This next basket is called a feather basket.
When collecting goose and duck feathers,
it was necessary to have a lidded basket
so your feathers would not fly away.
You would lift the top to add your feathers.
Gramma B had a basket like this one.
(this was not hers)
I helped collect feather for her so she
could make feather beds and pillows.
They were the best and warm in the Winter months.


In the early days our foremothers
used their aprons to collect eggs.
Vintage wire metal baskets were created to hold eggs.
It was thought that eggs would stay more fresh
if they had air circulation.
There are all types of sizes and shapes to these.
I dont really see the practicality of the chicken
 shaped one though.


Growing up on my grandparents farms,
one of my chores was to collect the eggs each day.
While at gramma B's I grabbed a large
enamelware bowl to collect the eggs.
She had about 50 hens.
Now at gramma H's, I used an egg basket
similar to the one above as she had about
250 hens.
Gramma always helped helped me and we needed 
a bigger basket.
This particular one one I use in my bathroom 
to hold our toilet paper rolls.

In other news,
we lost 6 treasures two days ago.
Back in the 1800's a club was built on one of our islands.
It was created for the doctors and lawyers
in the day to take their families to the island
from Detroit for weekends and vacations.
A steamer named the Tashmoo would set sail
from Detroit and make the trip to the island,
and then also stop at different ports along our 
mighty river before going back down.
The Tashmoo also stopped about a mile from our house.
Where I currently live was considered
a Summer home residence too.

The Old club itself was built on land, but the many
cottages to the South were all built on stilts.
Each cottage was painted a different 
color and it was the first thing folks saw
when entering the channel from Lake St Clair.
You could only access if you had your own boat
or travelled on the Tashmoo.

In the 1940's they built a bridge from
Harsen's Island to this private island,
however access is still only for members.
Since the cottages were built over water,
they also built wooden docks to get to them.
These were eventually replaced by steel ones.


I found this pic on the internet of the cottages.
Six of them burned and all that is left are
the docks. A total loss.
At least a few of the cottages were saved along
with the club itself.
The winds that day caused so much devastation.

Well it is snowing right now.
We might get another 6 inches.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!

Basket Blessings To All!
Janice