Hadley Pottery: An Incredible Gift Linking Women in My Life

Are you familiar with Hadley Pottery? My collection has grown lately, and it makes me so happy. First you need to hear what it is and why I like it. Hadley Pottery was founded in 1940 in Louisville, when an artistic woman, Mary Alice Hadley (who had been born into a family of clay tile makers) designed and painted dishes for her houseboat on the Ohio River. When she entertained, everyone went wild for her dishes and insisted she create a set of dishes for their household in the same style. You can read their legendary story on the Hadley website.

My mother went to college at Denison in Ohio in the early 1950's and she said a Hadley mug was her coffee cup throughout college. I grew up drinking out of that same mug, painted with a pig, and loved that when the mug was empty, I could read "The End" painted inside on the bottom. I thought it was fabulous and drank Ovaltine out of it every chance I got growing up.

When I got engaged in 1991, a young couple I admired from Cincinnati gave us a Hadley salad bowl (Farmer & Wife) as an engagement present. Then when I moved to Seattle, I started going to church rummage sales. One day I spotted a Hadley milk pitcher…price 10 cents! My collection was growing.

When we had friends for dinner, I made a chicken dish with a sauce and served it in my new-found Hadley creamer. I told the story of the Hadley brand as I served salad from the big Farmer & Wife salad bowl. Well, six months or more later, that friend texted me and said that she thought the pattern I was collecting was at a resale shop in the next town. She was out scouting for herself and found loads! I went that weekend, and someone must have donated a lifelong collection! It was a thrill. I bought a giant platter, a covered vegetable, a teapot, and a creamer & sugar. Happy days.  And bravo to Stacie for recognizing the pattern.

Okay, now this is where you will not believe it. I posted this photo below on Facebook, showing that I was finally framing some of my favorite garden photos in some new inexpensive IKEA frames. And I got a comment from my high school English teacher-turned-friend, Pam. “Does that bowl on your table mean you collect Hadley?” What? I was so taken with my project I did not even realize that the bowl snuck into the photograph. I emailed Pam privately and told her about my growing collection that had started back in my mom’s college days. Pam said that loved Hadley china and was so thrilled that I did too. She said that she has a large collection that she has had fun adding to over the last 40 years. She also wondered if I would l would like to take some of her pieces as my own. She was downsizing and was sure that her children would not want as many pieces as she had. Gulp. Oh my, yes. What an honor.

Look how much my collection grew with her generous gift! I now have 2 dinner plates so Dan and I can have dinner together. Her vinegar & oil decanters are perfect with my salad bowl. I now have covered soup bowls for French Onion soup or individual baked vegetable casseroles. I have a honey pot and syrup pitcher too. And some darling holiday mugs and luncheon plates for cocoa and cookies. I really cannot believe it. I feel like an honorary daughter and it makes me misty.

Pam and I have been friends since I was in high school (cough cough). We started off on the right foot because her husband, Tom, had been my Social Studies teacher when I was in Junior High! I loved his class so I remember talking to her about how I knew him. Then when I was her student in high school, in addition to teaching English and Creative Writing, Pam also ran the district's Gifted & Talented Program. 

Pam knew that I spent a lot of my free time doing counted cross stitch and she encouraged me to apply to the Board of the Gifted and Talented Program for high school credit in needlework. The ability for the board to approve/issue high school credit for extra curricular activities had been primarily focused on ballerinas and students in ROTC, when Pam thought to challenge that with another viable creative pastime. 

When I was accepted, we helped the Board figure out what amount of time doing cross stitch should quality for 1 hour of high school credit. If memory serves, I did 134 hours of cross-stitch in one semester of high school. It is staggering now that I think about it, but I accepted the challenge, and it was fun. It was my senior year, and I would often spend that “gifted and talented” time slot doing cross stitch and having tea in Pam’s room. Tea and needlework. I’ve been me for a long time. 

Thank you, Pam, for your generous gift. I promise to take good care of your Hadley and serve delicious meals on it forever and ever. My heart swells with my collection and feels like it may burst.

#hadley #hadleychina #collecting #housewares #collectingdishes #blueandwhite #bluedishes #friendship #storytelling #beautyofeverydaylife #gifts 

 

 

Delightful Feedback: Roadrunner Pin

Remember my recent blog post about wearing Sentimental Jewelry? I suggested that you go to your jewelry box and pull out something that was given to you long ago and wear it. My item was this roadrunner pin from my Great Aunt Wezie, who mailed it to me when she lived near my Grandmother in Arizona when I was about 12. 

Well the next day, a reader wrote me to tell me about HER roadrunner pin! Can you believe it? My post brought her delight and she gave me permission to share her message. She also wrote again to tell me that she would be wearing her roadrunner pin to court soon. This is the beauty of everyday life. 

"I had to write and tell you how much I enjoy your blog. I’m a Probate and Family court judge now.  I see a lot of sad events in people’s lives and find myself checking your blog some days for a bit of sunshine.


Today, I saw your roadrunner pin post.    My mom gave me a gold roadrunner pin after my election, telling me that I had more in common with a roadrunner than anything!  That was seven years and a lot of miles ago.  I thought your post must be a sign to finally email and say thank you for being you and posting such pretty, and cute, things." 

#beautyofeverydaylife #sentimental #storytelling #jewelrybox

Reinhardt Blooms: Remember My Flower Farm Visit?

I was able to visit with Katie Wachowiak from Reinhardt Blooms this weekend!

Remember when a tornado warning sent me scrambling for cover and I drove off the highway and ran into a stranger's house yelling, "I'm taking cover!"

You haven't heard that story? Read it here.

Well, my port-in-a-storm family became my new friends and I was able to visit them later in the summer. Karen cooked me a beautiful dinner and then introduced me to her talented friend, Katie Wachowiak. Refresh your memory and read about my visit to her Michigan flower farm last summer.

Okay, now you are all caught up. It's July 2015 and I was so happy to see Katie again. She is one the most talented floral designers I know. Be sure to check out her floral arrangements on her webpage. I was able to stop by the Birmingham (Michigan) farmer's market and buy flowers from her stand. Look at her bright and vibrant summer bouquet! 

McCormick Spices: My Kind of Flagship Store

This is my kind of flagship store...all spices! 

McCormick & Company opened a beautiful 3,800 square foot "McCormick World of Flavors" retail store on Baltimore's Inner Harbor dedicated to their spices and other McCormick brands like Grill Mates®, Lawry’s®, Zatarain’s® and Old Bay®  

I was a sentimental fool, admiring all of the spice tins of yesteryear. The company did a beautiful job displaying the life of McCormick spices. Remember my vintage spices - the ones that belonged to my grandmother?  Her paprika would fit right in (above).

I am so impressed with the McCormick brand. They are innovative, modern and interactive - as a home cook, what's not to love?  I was instantly a fan of their "Recipe Inspirations" collections. Have you seen them (above)? Each recipe card has the right amount of six spices  to make one recipe. It allows consumers to experiment with new flavors, without having to invest in 6 full jars of spices. Once they fall in love with the flavors, they can buy the jar for their collection. Genius.

I was also very interested in their salt dispensary. You know that I have a salt collection and I wanted to get some of their special flavored salt-by-weight. Sun ripened tomato salt, chipotle sea salt, lime fresco salt - I want them all! I must have gotten distracted because somehow I didn't dispense any for myself.

McCormick and Company was founded in Baltimore, Maryland in 1889, which made 2014 the company's 125th Anniversary. They designed a darling retro blue and white pepper tin and I managed to get that up to the register.  It is my kind of souvenir.

In addition to the commemorative tin, the company launched an initiative called "The Flavor of Together." It is the process of collecting stories from customers around the world about flavors and family recipes, as well as a $1.25 million donation to the United Way to help feed those in need. You can click the link in this paragraph and read hundreds of stories from around the world. 

This company has vision, and to me that is the spice of life!

A Port in a Storm: New Found Friends and a Kindred Spirit

I haven't blogged in a few days because I have been thinking about how to explain something that happened to me last week.  There are some scenarios you think will never happen. 

Last Sunday afternoon, I found myself driving alone on I-75 North when severe weather hit. The dark sky and hail were ominous enough, but when the national weather service commandeered my phone and started barking: “Tornado Warning in your area. Take cover!” over and over I got scared.

I drove a mile in limited visibility before I made it to an exit. There were 2 churches at the intersection, but their parking lots were deserted. I saw a house with a light on in the family room and I pulled into the driveway. I moved carefully across the driveway through hail and rain and started ringing the doorbell when I reached the porch. No answer. I tried the door, opened it and walked into this stranger’s house calling out, “I’m taking cover! Yoo hoo, I’m taking cover!”

When a man came around the corner, I said, “I was on I-75 when my phone went berserk about a tornado and taking cover!” He responded, “Mine too! Come on, we’re all in the basement.”

I spent the next 2 hours (while several storm cells passed overhead) taking cover with a darling family. A pastor, his wife and their 3 children (a baby, 2 yrs and 11 yrs) gave me snacks, told me stories and watched the radar with me. As we distracted each other, we found that the mother and I have a lot in common - would you believe she quilts?

I still can’t believe the circumstances that led me to their door and gave me the courage to walk inside. I’ve been texting with her and she said that she’s glad the wind blew me their way. I am forever indebted to this family in Kawkawlin, Michigan and I've promised to come back and visit this summer (on purpose!) on one of my trips to the cottage.  

We joked that we'll start sending Christmas cards to each other this year and that 15 years from now, someone would pick up my card on their mantel and say, "Wait...who is this?" 

Threatening weather brought me to their door and neither of us knew that I would made new friends and find a kindred spirit.   

The Power of Cute: A True Story that Proves my Theory

I can prove my theory about "The Power of Cute."  I believe that things that can be cute, should be cute.  I know from experience that people respond to beautiful colors, pretty pictures, unexpected touches.  

The power of cute is when you add a touch that people notice and appreciate, even value more because of the effort you made.  Cute is free.  It is the difference between making cookies in the shape of a watering can, instead of a circle.  The cookie cutters cost the same, the effort to make a cookie is the same, but one harnesses the power of cute; the other does not.

Okay, my story...

Because I make Delight Totes (day bags that feature my magazine covers), I have the artwork I created for many gorgeous magazine covers. Here are some displayed on the wall in my studio.

I decided that the Delight covers would make awesome luggage tags.  I printed them to fit inside small laminated pouches and included only my name and phone number on the other side.  They turned out really...cute.

When Dan and I were leaving on our trip to Dallas last month, we had 4 suitcases and 2 carry on bags.  I put my new Delight luggage tags on in a hurry and when I pointed to a bag and asked Dan, does that one "have a tag" he said yes.  When we got to the airport, I noticed that it did indeed have a tag, it was just an ugly old red plastic one that he had written on with a Sharpie pen to update the phone etc.  Not cute, but it was accurate and would do the job.

We checked our 4 black non-descript bags: 3 with a Delight tag, 1 with an old tag.  The polar vortex snowstorm was in full steam that day and we couldn't fly out.  Some flights did make it out (it was -14 degrees), but it took us three trips to the airport to finally get on a flight (that actually took off) for Dallas.

When we got to baggage claim in Dallas, we were looking for our 4 bags that had been "in the system" for 4 days without us.  The computer said that they had made it to Dallas days before we did.
Baggage claim had at least 300 bags in rows and sections waiting to be claimed.  It was a mess.  We walked up and down each row and couldn't find any of them.  Alarmed, Dan went to the luggage claim woman and showed her our claim checks and the "arrived in Dallas" printout.  She looked at the name on the paperwork and said, "I know where they are!" and rushed into the little glass office.

She returned rolling the first of 3 bags.  The only bags she had pulled aside and kept in her office were our 3 bags, tagged with Delight.  We thanked her, but said their was still one missing.  She was surprised and helped us look bag-by-bag through the other 300 pieces of luggage.  We finally found the 4th bag (tagged with the plain tag) among the masses of bags. We were relieved, but I couldn't get over the fact that the Power of Cute had given three of our bags such special attention.

Same black bags.  Same flight.  Same "priority yellow sticker."  The only difference was my pretty luggage tags.  They somehow sent a message to this women that I cared about my bags and the contents.  They "stood out" to her and she treated them accordingly. 

That is the Power of Cute. 

Sentimental Objects: When Spices Are So Much More

Do you have a sentimental attachment to an everyday object?  I love when people tell me about the history of a piece in their home.  The sentiment lies in the story or origin of the item.  Once when I mentioned that I was looking for vintage Pyrex at a garage sale, a woman went into her kitchen cupboard and pulled out her prized blue Pyrex bowl to show me.  It was precious to her and she held it up saying, "This is the bowl my brother made banana pudding in." That bowl should never leave her kitchen. 

These are my prized pieces in the kitchen, spice tins that belonged to my maternal grandmother.

I keep them in my kitchen cabinet and move them left and right as I reach for the new containers that I actually cook with.  These must date back to the 1950's (you can find similar containers on eBay under "vintage spices") and by their weight I can tell that they are still full.  I hardly use paprika or cream of tartar either, so our tastes run in the family.  The cream of tartar tin is marked 43 cents on the bottom!

My mom gave me these tins a few years ago - she had them at home in her kitchen and she knew that I'd like to have them.  She has another melange of her mother's spice containers mixed in with our actual pantry items up at the cottage. 

Every once in a while, when I ask Dan to get me something out of the cupboard, he'll grab one of her vintage cinnamon or mustard tins and bring it out.  I'll say, "Thanks, but those are Nama's. They're probably 50 years old." 

He'll look at me like I'm crazy, but then return to the pantry to try and identify a tin from this decade.  Still, he understands that it is important to my mom and me that those tins stay right there on the shelf where they belong.  Mixed in with the other pantry staples - a part of our every day lives from long ago.

Christmas Village Inspiration

Is this the week you start decorating for the holidays?  Can you imagine having the vision to arrange a village that is this intricate?  Look at how the icy steps lead your eye from the children building a snowman at the bottom right, up past the Christmas carolers, on to the church and its nativity scene and then all the way up to the grand building that overlooks the city.  The display is enormous - this is just one section that I framed and photographed.  I just love it!

My friend's Aunt Pam is the artist extraordinaire that created this masterpiece. She and I see beauty in so many of the same things and when it comes to decorating for Christmas, she is a kindred spirit.  

For more than twenty years, Pam has been collecting buildings, townspeople, trees and ice rinks (many by Department 56) with the sole purpose of delighting the eye.  A display like this is meant to be seen and I am grateful that Pam allowed me to photograph it so that I could show you.  My picture above captures only one tenth of her display, which runs the entire length of her living room and is a multilevel masterpiece.

Now take a moment and study this second picture - the scene from a different angle.  If you look way to the top you will see the same grand building and the church just below it to the right...See?  That is the same area shown in the first photograph, just from farther away.  Now do you get a sense of the scale of her work?  I could stand here for hours and let my mind wander.  This is a different kind of story-telling, don't you think?  Where your mind is allowed to wander through each vignette, gleaning what it can from the visual clues.

In my mind, I walk around this magical little town.  I skate on the frozen pond and then buy hot chocolate in the candy store.  I always climb the steps to the greenhouse and walk inside to smell the humid air scented with potting soil. I always have fun and I never want to leave.  

Sometimes stories are best left in your imagination - you can add to them and change things around every time your mind wanders around a Christmas village. Thank you, Pam, for inspiring us all. 

Talk to Strangers

Talk to strangers...they may have known your grandmother.  

I want to share with you an almost unbelievable coincidence.  I was waiting at the Delta gate in Detroit to fly to Florida, when I started chatting with a grandmother in a wheelchair near by.  She was travelling alone and in the course of conversation she told me that she was 92-years-old. She said that she had already had a long day, because the first leg of her trip had been traveling by car to the airport from Mount Clemens (a town about an hour away).

When I remarked that my grandmother had been from Mount Clemens, she got a hopeful look and asked me, "What was her name?"

"Helen Held"

Well my new friend just about fell over.  "Helen Held!  Helen Held," she couldn't believe it.  "I lived across the street from Helen!"

I couldn't believe it either.  I immediately thought of the house on Gary Road that I spent so much of my life visiting.  Baking Christmas cookies.  Hunting for Easter baskets. Eating grilled cheese sandwiches with homemade pickles.  If it was Sunday, we often said "Let's go ride over to Nama's."

But my mind was called front and center when she said, "Oh, we used to love watching Wilber come pick Helen up for a date."

Wilber?!  A date?  Suddenly we are reminiscing about when my grandfather was courting my grandmother in 1930.  1930. 

She said things like, "Oh, she was a beautiful dresser." and, "She wore high heels!"  She said that she and her sister were about 8 and 10 years old at the time and that they were "fascinated" when my grandmother left the house all dressed up for a date.  She was sharing memories from eighty two years ago.  She said, "I can't wait to tell my sister!"  They talk every day.         

I still can't believe it.  Can you believe it?  My grandmother lived to be 89 and it has been far too long since I have been able to talk to her.  

I joked with my new friend that Nama must be up in heaven urging us to, "Say Mount Clemens. One of you say Mount Clemens. You both know me!"  Whatever she did, it worked.  Not a beat after she said Mount Clemens, I mentioned Nama and we found our connection.  When we said our goodbyes, she held my hand and said, "You're just as beautiful as your grandmother."

Have you found yourself chatting with a stranger lately?  You never know what will come to light.

Christmas Heirlooms

I learned a great lesson about love, collecting and the passing on of heirlooms this year, and now is the perfect time to share.

This photo was taken (by me) at a different outdoor antiques fair, but I'll use it today to show you how vintage ornaments (usually $1-3) can be displayed for sale - in one layer, gently cushioned in tissue.

On the day of this story, the ornaments that caught my eye were in an open, unmarked box.  I wandered down the series of tables to the vendor, a quiet woman in her late sixties, and asked her how her ornaments were priced.  
"$16 each.  But that's because these are the real-deal made-in-Germany blown-glass ones from the 1940's."
"How nice," I said, "they are beautiful, but that is a little too much for me. Thank you, though," and I started walking back toward my husband, who happened to be in the direction of the ornament box.  She followed and when she got to the display, she stopped and started talking to me about vintage ornaments in general.  I responded with, "It was this pale pink one that caught my eye."

"Oh that one was my mother's, here, you can have it," she said lifting the ornament from the box.

What?  Why would she give it to me?  What was happening?  Then I really heard what she was saying as she walked back to her tissue and bags.  Yes, there was mention of her dog that had been getting into her tree;  he even tried to chew one lately.  But she also said, "I don't have any kids" to me...twice. 
When someone repeats something in the same few sentences, that is the real message and thank heaven I caught it.  This women had decided to "pass down" her mother's ornament to me.  By singling it out, I had unknowingly shown her that I would be a good steward for her treasure, and when she told me that it was her mother's she guaranteed that I would be extra careful when I put it away each year.

The surprising thing is that I didn't cry on the spot, as I am now while I write this. 

"Merry Christmas, dear woman, your heirloom is safe with me."

Happy Halloween

The year I moved into this neighborhood, I invited to a baby shower for a woman on the next street a few days after Halloween.  Since the neighborhood was new construction, we all moved in at approximately the same time and were "new neighbors."  

I thought that a baby shower was a perfect way for us to get to know each other.  I remember talking to some of the women that night and saying that I had really "screwed up" on Halloween.  They seemed confused and asked "What does that mean?" 

I exclaimed, "I forgot to hold back any Mounds!"  

The next day, my doorbell rang and my neighbor Mona was standing there with a small Ziploc bag full of Mounds.  I have loved living here ever since.

Wishing you a Happy Halloween!  

Coffee Talk

There is nothing like having coffee with friends.  I have fond memories of having for coffee with our neighbors not long after we moved into our first house. 

The husband opened the cupboard and revealed an entire shelf of coffee mugs.  He mused aloud about which person would like which cup ("Anne should have Walt Disney World and Dan, hmmm, let's see,  Dan should have The Grand Canyon.")  From then on, every time we had an impromptu cup of coffee with them, Alex would choose our mugs.  He selected a different one every time and his choice often spurred him to tell a story about the vacation or the venue that the mug represented.  It was charming, personal and I loved it.

Being thoughtful.  Showing love.  Making someone feel special.  It is as easy as picking out a coffee mug.

Pyrex Love

Can you believe my luck?  I just started collecting vintage Pyrex and the first two pieces I bought (different places, but for a whopping $1 each) are featured in the May 2011 issue of Country Living!  

What I love about Pyrex is how it represents American home cooking.  Classic dishes made by your parents or grandparents.  Sturdy and dependable - but so pretty too!  I am picturing a small wooden cabinet with a screen door (painted pale pink) to display my pieces in.  Wouldn't that be cute?

What is interesting, is that a few days ago I was at a garage sale looking for old Pyrex (no luck) and the woman liked my quest and had to show me the large blue Pyrex bowl that her brother always made and served banana pudding in.  She treasures the memory and the bowl and I told her that was exactly why I loved it.  To me, Pyrex symbolizes the love that comes out of the kitchen.

What is spooky is that I am about to visit my friend in Alabama and she told me on the phone (the day after this garage sale lady) that we were having a special dinner on Saturday night and we needed to make banana pudding!  I feel like the stars and moon are aligning!

Do you have Pyrex love?

Travels with Flowers

You had a sneak peek at this beautiful bouquet in yesterday's post.  A variety of fresh lilacs that I brought home (on a 5-hour car ride!) from the cottage.

I am notorious for not being able to leave the garden wherever I am and cutting bouquets to take with me.  When I leave for the cottage, I cut all of my roses and put them in the car.  When I leave the cottage for home,  it is the same story in reverse.  So much so that my Summer name is "Travels With Flowers" - ha!  

And this has been going on for years.  One time I won a limbo contest in Florida (don't ask) and brought my "prize" home on the plane - an enormous bouquet (3 feet x 3 feet at least) of tropical flowers, like bird of paradise.  The stewardess took one look at me carrying my tropical trophy in a giant clear shopping bag and "safely stowed" it in the First Class lavatory for the trip! 

Do you travel with flowers?  

Visiting England: The David Austins

As I end my series on "Visiting England", it is time to tell you about the greatest moment of my trip.

When I contacted the David Austin headquarters for some hotel suggestions (I stayed at the Park House Hotel and loved it!), I ended up corresponding quite a bit with a lovely woman named Cheryl. She started reading my blog and it was like we were old friends by the time I arrived for my visit.

I knew that the David Austins (father & son) were private, hard-working men and that meeting them was not "the norm" for visitors to the Rose Garden and Plant Centre. But if anyone loves their roses, it's me, so I let my wish be known to Cheryl.

Lo and behold, they both happened to arrive at the gift shop while I was there! Cheryl introduced me to David Austin Jr. and prompted me to show him my DELIGHT tote that features their pale pink English Rose Heritage on the cover (to see my bag click Delight Totes button, then scroll down to "Visiting England"). He loved it and handed me the cut rose he was carrying in appreciation.

Next walked in the rose genius himself, David Austin. Cheryl introduced me as an inspirational writer that came "all the way from America" to meet him (true!). It was so wonderful to be able to look this gardener in the eye and tell him: "Your roses make me the happiest and I wanted to thank you myself." He seemed genuinely pleased, liked my DELIGHT tote and loved that I had a "Lillian Austin" rose (which he named after his mother) in my garden in America.

It was at the point when I started naming which of his roses I had in my garden, that I started crying. Yes, it is true. You know me by now and sometimes I love things so much that my emotions hit "tilt." He didn't seem to mind, though, he simply offered me the cut rose in his hand as well. A David Austin rose from David Austin himself.

Hoping to capture the moment, I took the photo above. These are the Gertrude Jekyll roses they gave me on a chair in the Plant Centre, along with a map of the grounds and the rose-print tissues I had to buy to dry my eyes.

Visiting England

Won't you walk with me through the gate and into the beautiful world of England? I have an incredible number of photos and stories to share from my private tour of England and I am starting the blog series today. While I am still working on my book dedicated to Paris, I have no doubt that I will write another on the delights of England.

On my flight home, I found myself thinking about what my friends had asked me so often before I left on my first trip to England, "Which do you think you will like better - England or France?

As I sat in my seat thinking about my experiences and all of the people that I met on my trip, I realized that I get two completely different (but wonderful) reactions from people in each country. While the French seem genuinely happy that I am visiting, the English didn't want me to leave.

Time after time, I was greeted with warmth, interest and a gentle chiding that if I wasn't moving on to the next region so quickly, they could have sent me to so many places that I would love. Most concluded that, "Well, you'll just have to come back and spent some more time with us." How nice is that?

And there is no doubt that I will.

The Fox Brothers

One afternoon, my nephew (a born naturalist) and I were combing the property looking for signs of our foxes. We had watched all three foxes play in the yard the day before by standing inside our screened porch. We were perfectly still and after a few moments of hesitation, the fox brothers decided that we were not a threat and played for a long time within our view.

We laughed to ourselves later when we imagined the young foxes telling their mother that they seen people out in broad daylight! At which point, we were sure the Fox Mother would have had a fit. "People are dangerous and unpredictable!"

To which the fox brothers would reply, "It's okay, Mom, they were in a cage."

City Series: Washington D.C: The Steps of Lincoln Memorial

I wanted to show you this picture I took from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. It was a gorgeous day and I went up there by myself to see what I could see. I rubbed elbows with boy scouts, families and tourists as we all took turns having our picture taken with Abe.

I rode the elevator down with an older gentleman from Italy. I don't speak Italian and he didn't speak English, but we chatted none the less with gestures, smiles and by showing off our digital pictures.

Little moments like that are why I love people so much. We weren't going to let a little thing like language slow down our enthusiasm for the experience we had just had. That is delight.

Ben and Bernice

Do you know what stands out to me about this picture? The smooth snow. There are no bunny tracks yet. The snow storm ended and the sun came up on this morning before Ben & Bernice made it out of their homespun hutch to investigate.

Years ago, I named the rabbits that live in our area Ben & Bernice (and dubbed their sons, Robbie & Ralphie). In the Spring and Summer they lounge on our lawn nibbling and listening, but in the wintertime, only their footprints give them away.


I have been crafting a children's story about them and the trials of learning how to "be" a rabbit. Sort of a cross between Uncle Wiggley and Anne of Green Gables - a story full of muffin baking and gentle lessons.

I hope to have it published one day...

Needle Arts Studio

A few years ago, I was watching the PBS show "Needle Arts Studio with Shay Pendray" (Shay now collaborates on Knitting Daily TV). At the time it was the only needlework show on television (long before Knitty Gritty and Uncommon Threads) and I watched it faithfully. One day as the credits rolled I noticed that it was filmed in Detroit! I couldn't believe my luck.

I emailed Shay and asked if I could come talk to her (I had suggestions for show segments and I love needlework!). After a great visit, she invited me to watch the taping of her show a few weeks later at PBS. So cool! I sat in the "green room" section just off camera all day, chatted up the guests and had a wonderful time. What you see here is the set for her show - rows and rows of needlepoint thread. I was in heaven. Thank you, Shay!