WE Interrupt This Blog.....

..... and all projects begun around here as of last Fri.  This chief project coordinator and blog author has developed a case of sinusitis that has been remedied by a trip to the ER with prescribed antibiotics and meds for congestion.   The good Doc. says she may be out of commission for a few days.


NOT what I wanted to hear but after spending two days in bed with cold packs and pain medications that were not working, the thought that getting some meds that might put me out of my misery was goodness to my aching ear!


So until the huge white horse pills I was prescribed start taking effect, the painting, new flooring, and stacks of stuff I don't know what to do with, work in the studio, etc. will be in my thoughts.


We did make a little progress in the living room before sinusitis showed up!  Dave painted the ceiling, I got the first coat on the mantle wall and hauled all my priceless treasures to other areas of the house.  So now it sits.  Man, that really bugs me.  But I'm trying to behave myself and count my blessings the pain has gone down enough to write a short post!


We have decided on the  middle sample of laminate flooring to put down in the living room.  So even without the help of the chief project coordinator I think the officer for heavy labor and laminate layer may carry on. He has also been awarded the prize for  best husband who sits in ER with you for over two hours waiting to see a Dr. while watching Harry Potter on the t.v. in a crowded waiting room.  Did I mention he hates Harry Potter?   



Will try to keep you posted on how things are going!


I did see that Kim is celebrating a two year blogiversary over on her blog Millie's Mats with a great give-away of a hooked mat!  Congrats to her on all that hard work as she updates her blog almost daily while caregiving and all the other duties of running a household and working to boot!  Go wish her good things! 


                                            Cathy G  

Too Hot For Underwear

Etsy seller vengeancedance

Please keep reading ladies and gentlemen. Try not to get your shorts in a bind while I explain the title and scathing photo on my blog today!


Lest you think I frequent porn sights for photos I want you to know this one was found on Etsy.com by simply typing in the word underwear in the search box. The more adventurous of you may want to try that someday while cooped up inside during these treacherous and merciless hot days of summer.


These hot sticky days reminded me of a time in the 1960's when I was a kid on a farm in the middle of a hot humid summer. The old farmhouse had no air conditioning of course. No ceiling fans either. My memories of sitting on and sticking to the wooden dining room chairs and leaving behind white cheek marks linger to this day.


We had an old upright piano in the dining room and Mom had purchased a rather cheap wooden piano bench (the kind with a lacquered finish) and that baby really showed those cheek marks after the hour of piano practice in the summer! The lid opened on the bench and I stored my piano lesson books inside.


On occasion my Mom's Aunt Pearl and her husband Frank would come visit in the evenings. Pearl was a plus size woman who played the piano and sang gospel hymns like they were bar room entertainment. Pearl always wore a dress. When she played the piano I always kept an eye on my bench wondering if the legs would hold out from all that heavy rockin' and rollin' as Pearl pounded the ivories.


One particularly hot evening after Frank and Pearl had gone home I was examining my piano bench and the rather large cheek marks embedded in the wood when my Mom said so matter of fact "she never wears underwear you know". Horrified I looked at Mom and said "never?" "Hardly ever" she said. Well! And only inches away from my beloved piano books! I'd never practice "Bill Grogans Goat" again after that without thinking of Great Aunt Pearl's booty unclad and sticking to my bench. How convenient for Uncle Frank. ( I only think that now.... ha..... not nice I know.)


So that is what prompted my search for a photo to accompany that story. I couldn't find anything on the internet that I deemed suitable. But my search turned up miss Vengeance up there selling ( what WAS she selling anyway?) on Etsy.


Seriously folks I hope you are all staying safe and keeping hydrated during these hot days. Maybe the time spent indoors icing down in front of the fan will bring back some of your own memories of hot summer days when it was too hot for underwear!

                                                                  Cathy G

Dog, a Cat and a Rat!

This is a short video of a homeless man in Santa Barbara and his pets.
They work State Street every week for donations.
The animals are pretty well fed and are mellow. They are a family.
The man who owns them rigged a harness up for his cat so she wouldn't have to walk so much (like the dog and himself).
At some juncture the rat came along, and as no one wanted to eat anyone else, the rat started riding often on the cat!
The dog will stand all day and let you admire him for a few chin scratches.     

                                Click below to watch video:

Dog, a Cat and a Rat and one enlightened human!

     (Thanks to my Niece Alicia for passing this along this morning!)

Where Blogger's Create~2011

 

Talk about last minute decisions!  I was blog hopping and came across a blog called My Desert Cottage that was having a "Where Blogger's Create" link-up party!  Last year there were over 300 bloggers who participated by showing photos of their studios or creative spaces!  I was in a party mood so I signed up!
But, the post has to be submitted tonight because the party is TOMORROW!  OMG!  No time to tidy up and that's bad because I spent the day out there doing what all of us who have a studio are supposed to be doing in our studios........ creating.





Even though I have a bed in my studio it is usually buried beneath wool and the occasional odd rolling pin.  What's that all about?  So no sneaking in a nap when I'm out there!

Cooler temperatures today prompted me to work on these wool and velvet pumpkin pin cushions. Why does the whole studio end up in chaos for something so small?!.  To be honest I have another rug on the frame,  a few mats hooked and ready to be made into kits for my students. Then today in the mail I received a booklet of new patterns that I ordered from Kelly Belfast at Kank-N-Chester!  Kelly you are a genious!  I am ready to get hookin' some of those charming designs!    Thank-you so much! 








If you would like to see more photos of my studio check the Flickr flashing badge over there on the sidebar.  It was half-way clean and organized then!So go check out some of the other blogger's creative spaces this weekend!  Here's the link:  My Desert Cottage~Where Blogger's Create
Cathy G

The Good OLD Days!

Ninety three years old and still weaving gorgeous rugs on this old loom!
HOT, HUMID, Kerosene smoke, click clack of old wooden rug looms, ladies in long dresses and bonnets, rug weavers, chair caner, old sock knitting machine,rug hookers(YaY!) quilters, butter churning, wide eyed children getting a glimpse of what it felt like to be living in the 1800's.

Being part of Heritage Days this past weekend at the Pioneer Village Museum demonstrating the age old art of rug hooking felt like I belonged.




The kids were very eager to try their hand at the wool cutter!




I met a fellow rug hooker who lives a couple of hours north of me. Kristan Martin was hooking on a Maggie B pattern.  On monks cloth ( bless her heart!)  It is already gorgeous!



Getting a little wild with the wool cutter!  This little girl wanted to cut up ALL of my hand dyed wool! Yikes!







I think I may have found a future Gene Shepherd!







Fascinating old sock knitting machine from the 1800's!



Quaint cabins and old gas stations moved here from other locations.  The village has an old church, dentist office, jailhouse, numerous old buildings preserved for future generations to experience. 











The village as it may have been set up in the early days.









Yes, I really do think this young fella could turn into a Gene Shepherd in the near future! What do you think?



Cathy G