"... a Book ... -- Jeff Smith"

Quote Credit:  BrainyQuote
Picture Credit:  Jeff Smith, "Bone" Original Artwork

"Life is funny ... -- Elisha Cuthbert"

Quote Source:  www.brainyquote.com

"Always remember ... -- Margaret Mead"

"Life is ... ~ Mary Engelbreit"

Image Credit:  Illustrator Mary Engelbreit

"Play, Laughter, Joy ... -- Proverb"

Picture Credit:  globalawareness101.org

"Thrive -- Maya Angelou"

Picture Credit:  3dimensionallife.wordpress.com

Quote Source:  BrainyQuote

"The Christmas Goose by Miriam E. Waters"

by Miriam E. Waters

Lemon Blush was a shy cat and making new friends was always a challenge for her.  Awkward introductions and silences often resulted when she made the attempt to include someone new in her world.  It was easier to avoid the problem whenever possible.  It was lonelier, but certainly easier. 

She felt adventurous this bright winter’s morning and decided to introduce herself to the Christmas visitor.  The cat knew it to be a goose.  She had seen others when they landed on the pond outside the library’s windows.  She envied their elegant appearance and graceful ballet as they fell and rose from the pond’s surface.

She feigned disinterest as she studied the goose while lounging in the dust-dappled sunshine streaming in through the window.  A festive red ribbon adorned the goose’s black and tan body.  Its face was a mask of black and cream with just a hint of tan at its temples.  Unlike those other geese, a small saddle hugged her potential new playmate, empty and awaiting a rider.  The goose, she realized, was not leaving with all of the other seasonal visitors.

Lemon Blush flicked her tail and reached forward from a safe distance to gently swat at the edge of the Christmas goose’s bottom. The velvety pads on her paws brushed the visitor’s surprisingly hard body.  It was a friendly tap, intended to spark a bit of conversation.  The newcomer responded with an easy to-and-fro rocking.  How delightful.

Intrigued, Lemon Blush stole a few steps closer to her potential new friend.  The goose was no longer rocking as she slowly circled it.  Her body was tensed, ready to flee at the earliest hint of danger.  Lemon Blush peered into the stoical face of the goose, anticipating some sharp response.  None came. How odd.

Emboldened, she reached out, this time tapping the goose on its black beak.  Once again she was rewarded with motion by the goose.  Fascinating.

Lemon Blush stepped closer to the odd creature.  When she encountered no resistance, she rubbed her shoulders and head along the length of the goose’s body.  Now, marked with her scent, the little goose once again began to rock.

Satisfied, Lemon Blush mounted the goose’s back and curled herself into a cozy ring of fur in the saddle.

"Snowball -- in Falling Up -- Shel Silverstein"

Credit:  "Snowball" by Shel Silverstein as found in Falling Up

Picture Credit:  www.wired.com

"... Good Thing ... -- Mae West"

Picture Credits:  

forage.us
fablesandflora.wordpress.com
forestryimages.org

Quote Credit: "Daily Gratitude"

"Tuesday; August 23, 2016 -- Laughter -- e.e. cummings"

Tuesday; August 23, 2016

"... Lemons ..."

Sunday; August 21, 2016 -- S&P -- "Pepe' Le Pew & Penelope"

"Stitch Markers"

"Collections -- Button Jar -- Miriam E. Waters"

by Miriam E. Waters

Author's Note to Reader: I found a basket filled with buttons today in a local consignment shop that rekindled my love of buttons.
Did your mother or grandmother keep a “button jar?”  It’s a place to store all those loose buttons that appear in the laundry, on the floor, or inherited from mother or grandmother … I suspect that the practice was in response to Depression-era frugality.  I find it interesting.

I have two “button jars.”  The first is actually a decorative box and a companion ceramic jar.  It holds all of those “extra” buttons that come with new clothes or all those buttons that have somehow liberated themselves from their clothing and wait in limbo to be reunited.  This is the more civilized of the two “jars” – I know where the buttons belong, but haven’t had a need to repair the offending article of clothing to repatriate the errant button.  

The second “jar” was until this morning an actual jar – a gallon blue plastic jar half-way full of buttons and other bits of stuff.  I don’t remember where the jar came from or its’ contents originated.  I contributed to the blue jar and filled it with the odds and ends of buttons collected by others.  I may have inherited some … others I picked up at garage sales and wherever … I have no memory of this, but there is the jar, so it must be true.

I like buttons … they come in a range of colors and shapes so they are useful when I want to add eyes or decorations to one of my projects.  I collect “blue jar” buttons because I never know when one might be needed.

The “blue jar” came out of storage this weekend after I picked up a small bag of buttons at a garage sale.  I sorted through the bag trying to find sets of matching buttons for future projects.   This sort of activity appeals to me in the same way that sorting coins, jigsaw puzzle pieces, and trading cards appeals to me.  I tied the sets of matching buttons together and set the “one-of-a-kind” buttons aside to be added to the “blue jar.”

I was in the mood to continue sorting and so after 30+ years decided it was time to take a look at what the “blue jar” held.  It was an interesting exercise. The majority of the buttons were white, but I also found many colored and metallic buttons in the stew.  I found bingo chips, snaps, buttons with angels on them, wooden buttons, wooden beads, and two ceramic beads – one with the letter “P” and one with the letter “I” … did they come from something useful or were they just leftovers?  “Pi” or something more pedestrian?  By far the most unusual and disturbing discovery was a tooth.  Creepy.

The “blue jar” buttons have a new home in a storage unit comprised of little bins (once meant for screws and hardware).  The bins are over-flowing and ready to be mined for future treasures to finish off one of my projects.  Perhaps I’ll tackle my “extra” button box and jar sometime before another 30 years passes.

"So Sorry ... Postings Rained Out!"

Revisited -- "Fabulous Find -- "Crochet Slang" -- The Crochet Crowd"

"The Crochet Crowd" is a fabulous resource for crocheters. The site offers advice, tutorials, patterns, projects, challenges, a newsletter, inspiration and more.  TCC can be found at www.thecrochetcrowd.com and on Facebook.

~~~~~~

Most crocheters are familiar with the “Abbreviation Guides” published with most patterns.  “Slang,” however, is omitted from the guides.  “The Crochet Crowd” compiled the following guide to “Crochet Slang” in their “Keeping Up with the Crowd! A Hooker’s Journal.”  Some of these terms are just plain fun …

C2C -- Corner to Corner (A crochet stitch pattern.)

De-Stash -- Cleaning out your “Stash” of yarn of the stuff you had to have but will never use

Free Hand -- Crocheting something without a pattern

Frogging -- “Rippit, Rippit, Rippit!”  Rip it out baby!  For whatever reason you find yourself undoing your hard work, it is the art of Frogging.

Hooker -- A term of endearment for a crocheter.  One who “hooks” for enjoyment or compensation.

HOTH -- Hot Off the Hook

Stash -- Your collection of yarn, most often stashed in nooks and crannies around the house.

UFO -- Un-Finished Object

WIP -- Work in Progress

Yarn Bomb -- The art of crochet graffiti where an object or place is taken over with crochet art. 

Revisited -- "Crochet -- Hooker Minions"

"Knitting -- The Master Plan -- Lesson One ... by Frank Habit"

Credits:

Mary Jane's Tearoom & patterns2.othermyall1.net

Click the image to read "Lesson One" by Frank Habit for Lion Brand Yarn ... it's not to be missed.

"Sunday; August 7, 2016 -- Calvin and Hobbes"

"... Everything in Nature ... -- Garrison Keillor"

Credits:

"Steampunk Cat" by Jeff Haynie -- fineartamerica.com

Garrison Keillor Quote -- www.goodreads.com