Latin and Greek - Translated

Don’t tell me it’s been a month since I’ve written.  Mercy me, how that time flies by.

Not knowing where I left off telling the story of my life, I read my last post.  Ah, it was a humorous story (not to me) of how men and women appear to think just a tad differently.  I wanted hubby-help on a yard project.  He wanted to help me.  (so he said).  Now let me tell you “the rest of the story”.

It had been an early spring here in my Minnesota meadow.  After a long winter and an even longer recuperation from a leg situation, I was able to get outside and enjoy planting and just getting moving again.  Remember how I said in my last post that I don’t understand men?  I think I understand a bit better now…..So just how did my porch turn out?  You be the judge:

What’s that?  You don’t see it?  You’re right – you don’t need new glasses – IT ISN’T THERE!  Huh.  Now to be fair, snookums “might” have gotten the porch built, but there was still a sniggle of doubt in my mind.  I had spent a fair amount of dollars on some very nice plants and was afraid if I waited for the porch to be built, I would by then have killed the plants.  So, I just went ahead with Plan B and planted those little suckers.  They love it there and so do I.  Snookums is also happy – like that’s high on my priority list – but I do what I can.

Probably a porch would have just been an eyesore anyway.   Right?

The lilac bushes were planted last year but I dug up and planted the rest of the flower bed this spring – instead of a porch. 

I filled this bed with 8 daylilies all different colors.  The back of the bed is delphiniums, tossed in a couple Russian sage and some Icelandic poppies.  Hurry  up & grow darn it!!!!

And just in case the other side of the shed door felt left out, I added a couple chairs.  Except not to sit on……….

  

I have a friend – oh don’t act so surprised! – who’s becoming a better friend the more I know her.  Anyway, this friend designs quilt patterns and is a sewing/quilting  tool inventor.  People with talent always just amaze me to pieces and Kari is no exception.  Geez, I should tell you who she is.  Kari Carr is the very successful owner of  New Leaf Stitches.  Kari is a recycled home-ec teacher who has turned over a New Leaf.  Get it??  In case you’re wondering, Kari has some of the most well written pattern instructions you’ll find anywhere.  Very clear, concise & easy to follow.

Any Who.  Spring quilt market was in Mpls. this year so a couple months ago, Kari asked if I’d help her beautify her market booth in a new way.   (This market is where quilt shop owners buy the products they sell in their stores.)  So, she said, how about a home ec room from the 50’s?  Oh, yum, count me in.  Kari was a home ec teacher as was her Mom so it was very appropriate.  The whole thing started with this awesomely cool picture:

From there we added a chrome kitchen table, a sewing machine & cabinet that Kari’s mom had used, a little 4-burner gas stove.  Along with the stove there was also pink cookware as well as a pot holder that had a nasty burn hole.  Wonder how that could have happened in a home ec room?  An old apron on Dee Dee the dress form and an imitation Motorola TV cabinet where an instructional  video loop was played.  The walls were of course aqua, the demo table had an aqua gingham check skirt with a really wide hem – in case the table grew I guess.  In the sewing department, we had a yellow table with a yellow shirt (again a wide hem)  that had black dots.  The chairs were also from the 50’s and were yellow & red.  The colors worked out great and were just a perfect “neutral” background to show off her quilts.  Here’s a couple shots of the finished booth ----

Sorry for the bad focus……..it says:

New Leaf Stitches High School                                                              Home Economics Department, Room 3025                                   Spring Semester – 1955

Almost done setting up the booth:

Notice the blackboard on the front of  the teacher’s desk with their assignments:

Mr. Carr, the younger, is busy filling an order.  What an awesome help he was:

Here’s the sewing department where shoppers were able to test drive the tool Kari invented:

This is our Miss Kari being interviewed.  I haven’t seen the tape but I know Kari did a wonderful job!

Anyway, if you’d like to read more about Kari, about Market or especially about New Leaf Stitches, visit  her New Leaf Stitches blog. 

Considering all the things that went wrong the day we set up the booth, I think it turned out pretty good.   Are you wondering just a little bit what some of the things were that went wrong?  Treachery & betrayal, con artists, altercations and just plain too strange to be believed.  (Just ask #37) 

TO BE CONTINUED……………

Never Put Off Till Tomorrow……..

……what you could do today. It’s a old wives tale. A “Mom-ism”. It probably isn’t even true but I recall my Mom mentioning it a time or two. She told me lots of things that I’ve always questioned. Like “always wear clean underwear in case you’re in an accident”. This is questionable on so many levels – like are there underwear police? If so, what happens? A fine, jail time, a notice in the paper, a notation in your permanent record? Plus, if you’re in an accident, is this going to be your #1 concern? When your Mom gets to the emergency room, will she ask if you’re wearing clean underware? Remember the one, “don’t ever let me catch you doing that again!”. Ya, ok, Mom, I’ll be more careful next time not to get caught. (tee hee) Oh, and there’s the famous “I can always tell when you’re lying”. Oh, God, do I really need to explain how I know that one is wrong? Anywho, there are a gazillion Mom-isms and maybe we’ll explore more of them someday. We just don’t have time today.

Back to “never put off until tomorrow what you can do today”. It’s a troublesome concept. It also happens to be one that works out to be true – at least this week it was. This week when I was computer-less, I was working in my woodshed. Ankle deep in sawdust and still owning 10 fingers, I thought I’d catch a ride on the lawnmower later that afternoon. (It’s a quick 2 1/2 hour job to trim up my 3 acres. That does not include the farm yard but let’s not go there.) Along about 4:00, I remembered the lawn. Quick as a bunny I hopped on the mower and clocked about 45 minutes when the 1st drops appeared. Oh-oh. 3” of moisture later, I no longer needed to finish mowing:

The first part is my lawn and beyond that is (was) a sugarbeet field. Keep in mind that everything for miles around is table-top flat.

North side of my lawn. Won’t be mowing this for a while:

My woodshed – as an island.

This is taken from the road. Note that my house sits up. We hauled in tons & tons (& more tons) of dirt when we built the house. Water has never come close.

I’d like you to meet Baxter. Guess he’s not afraid of the water….

Gotcha Mom. You were right more often than I admit. I should not have put off until later…….

So, was it worth it? Well, ya. Look how much time I saved by not mowing when I should have. AND NOBODY CAN SEE IT NEEDS MOWING!!!! Hey, this chick can justify almost anything.

I found an old chair and “parts” of another and thought I’d fix ‘em up as potty chairs – er, chairs to put flower pots in. This is how the bad one looked:

Not good. Bet you’re wondering about my mental health. I started fitting pieces together:

Still doesn’t look good, does it? Well you doubters:

So in the end, what I got instead of a beautiful lawn:

And you didn’t think I could do it. HA!

SO THEN, I was on a roll. I’d always wanted a 4-sided birdhouse. I bought some lumber:

Cut it up:

Cut roof angles:

Oh wait a minute. That photo was from another project. Well, that’s the “type” of cut for the roof.

Speed up to the end product and where I put it:

I’m sure I’ll be moving it but this is where it landed first.

BTW, I’VE MISSED YOU! Sadly, Mr. Computer took sick and has been in the hospital since MONDAY! AAAAAKKKK. Who was I supposed to communicate with for 5 days? I tried talking to Mr. PF (Picket Fence), but that lasted about 5 minutes. Anyway, I’m back. Lucky you……..:-)

Have a great weekend. I think I’ll go mow the lawn. NOT!

Faye